5 things you need to know about egg quality and fertility
Advice on improving egg quality from Dr. Aimee, The Egg Whisperer
On the fifth episode of My Fertility Podcast, Dr. Garcia and Dr. Wais are joined by the amazing Dr. Aimee, AKA The Egg Whisperer. Dr. Aimee is a fertility specialist with a practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she’s also the host of the number one-rated fertility podcast, The Egg Whisperer Show.
Most women would choose to have a pregnancy with their own egg first. However, often a woman or someone with ovaries’ desire to have a baby doesn’t match up with the viability of their eggs. It is important to note that it’s not just about egg quality; the things that improve egg quality also help with long-term health and longevity. This article will cover Dr. Aimee’s approach and advice regarding:
- Approach to improving egg quality
- Supplements
- Therapies to improve egg quality
- The next big discovery in the world of fertility
- When you should consider freezing your eggs
Dr. Aimee’s approach to egg quality
Be strong: first off, be strong – both mentally and physically.
Exercise: it is important to keep active.
Look at your body size: Recent studies have suggested that increased BMI can have a negative impact on pregnancy rates, both for spontaneous pregnancies and pregnancies resulting from fertility treatments
Treat all your medical conditions: whether it’s diabetes, thyroid issues, blood pressure – make sure everything is in check.
Sleep: at least 7 hours per night.
Hydrate: drink water throughout the day.
Find something that makes you vibrate every day: Do something that makes you feel like you’re vibrating- something that excites you! Because this journey robs us of so much joy. Be as joyful as possible. Attract what you want. And think: I have beautiful eggs. I’m worth it.
Diet: avoid elimination diets. Don’t make yourself crazy! Nothing proves that eliminating gluten, dairy, or sugar improves your fertility. Instead, eating a well-balanced diet and avoiding ultra-processed foods is going to be helpful. There are so many mixed messages online on social media, but if there was an elimination diet that actually improved your egg quality, I would be shipping those food kits to your home!
Supplements that improve egg quality
Prenatal vitamin: start with a good prenatal vitamin, that has fish oil in it or you can also take everything separately and take a separate fish oil, vitamin D and CoQ10.
Resveratrol, which contains pterostilbene in it.
Nicotinamide.
Niboside (brand Tru true Niagen); begin with 150 milligrams first thing in the morning and then slowly go up to 300 milligrams. The reason why I say slowly is because it can make your heart race and sometimes that can feel like you’re having an anxiety or panic attack. Once you’re at 300 milligrams, then start to increase even higher.
And lastly, melatonin (your eggs need their sleep).
4 things you can do to improve egg quality
Red light therapy: do this every day for about 20 to 30 minutes. It’s basically a very fancy heating pad that also has other benefits, Ie. you can use it for surgery recovery.
After an egg retrieval, patients say that they recover much better while using red light therapy. For patients with endometriosis, they have less pain, their periods are better, they sleep better and feel more well-rested the next day. Patients use this up until their transfer day or up until a positive pregnancy test.
It is also recommended for use by men (not to be wrapped around their testicles). There is evidence that in men, red light can increase testosterone. And we know that testosterone is going up because sperm production is increasing as well. They can put it on their chest or lower back.
Ovarian rejuvenation: not all ovarian rejuvenation procedures are the same and it’s important to know how it’s being done. What kind of needle is being used? How they’re processing your blood for the procedure before you agree to do it? Dr. Aimee has performed this on at least 300 patients.
Rapamycin: it may reverse ovarian aging, it might slow ovarian aging and it might improve egg quality. It is important to know that this is not FDA-approved for this indication.
There are two common side effects:
- Cystic acne
- Sores in the mouth or stomatitis
Weight loss: Dr. Aimee prescribes the injectable medication semaglutide. She highly recommends it to her patients, especially if their BMI is over 30 to lose weight and lose weight pretty rapidly in a way that you could never have imagined before these medications were available. Patients can’t believe the results – they are life-changing. These should be stopped one week before an egg retrieval and for the transfer, they should be stopped at the beginning of the transfer cycle.
The next big discovery in the world of fertility in the next 10 to 15 years, according to Dr. Aimee
IVM or in vitro maturation: this is something scientists are working on. So many immature eggs are discarded and it’s quite disheartening.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) from the DNA that’s extracted from an embryo. This could be coming soon and be the next biggest breakthrough for us because then we would have a better way of prioritizing embryos for transfer. And if we can do that, we can also really see if an embryo is mosaic or not.
Maximize your egg quality: Consider freezing your eggs
Women between 25 and 30 should consider freezing their eggs. And considering egg freezing means learning about your fertility.
This doesn’t mean that everyone should freeze their eggs, but you should assess your family planning goals and timeline, and if there’s a chance you do want to bear children, freeze your eggs. In doing so, you will be able to prevent a lot of the infertility that we’re seeing due to age by freezing eggs at a young age.
When egg freezing first became available, people were doing it as a reaction to being older or as a reaction to having levels that weren’t very good and in turn, people were freezing bad eggs.
Now things have changed. People are freezing better and younger eggs, which is great to see. This includes those who are already married or partnered, or even the independent women who have a baby will freeze eggs as a way to preserve fertility and to prevent secondary infertility. And more and more people should be doing this, especially with embryos. This is the best way to maximize your egg quality.
A few words from Dr. Aimee
What would you say to people right now who are struggling with infertility or people who are discouraged because they’ve been told they need an egg donor or are struggling with egg quality?
I would say something along the lines of hope never killed anybody. Having hope doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t kill you. And it’s okay to be positive and it’s okay to really want something when other people are telling you it’s not going to happen. That is okay.
Take care of your mental health from the very beginning, and that’s why I talk about vibrating every day, you know, find something that makes you so happy that you look forward to and do it every single day. I need you to find that.
Don’t allow this journey to rob you of the joy that you deserve. Life’s too short; live this life for you and make the decisions that’ll make you happy and bring you joy.
I want people to remember and know that it’s okay to have hope. Don’t allow this process to rob you of your joy. And get help for any mental health issues you have from the very beginning of the journey. Don’t wait until you spiral.
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You may also be interested in learning more how to improve female fertility and/or about fertility preservation and egg freezing at Markham Fertility Centre.
A recent news story about freezing your eggs after 40 with Morgan Hoffman.