How Vitamins and Acupuncture Saved My Sanity (and Maybe My Eggs)
Let’s be honest—when I first walked into the fertility clinic, I was hoping for some easy reassurance. A pat on the back, a “Don’t worry, you’ve got time.” What I got instead was a punch in the gut. Words like low reserve, and unlikely were thrown around. The statistics I was given felt suffocating. My body was failing me—or so I thought.
Before I started, I didn’t know how important egg quality was—or that I had any control over it. Turns out, your eggs need about three months to mature before they’re ready for retrieval. That means everything you do during those 90 days—every meal, every supplement, every ounce of effort—can help to influence their health. And there are several studies that show the benefits of certain vitamins during egg retrieval and IVF.
Here’s what became part of my daily routine:
CoQ10: This stuff is the MVP. It’s like a personal trainer for your eggs, giving them the energy they need to function at their best. If you’ve got low ovarian reserve, CoQ10 can help.
Myo-Inositol: This helps regulate hormones and improve egg development. It’s particularly helpful for anyone dealing with PCOS or irregular cycles.
Vitamin D: Why didn’t anyone tell me earlier that almost everyone is deficient? Turns out, vitamin D plays a massive role in fertility. If your levels are low, it could be affecting everything from ovulation to implantation.
Omega-3s: Anti-inflammatory magic. Need I say more?
Then there was acupuncture. I know—it sounds woo-woo. Believe me, I was skeptical too but the science behind it is solid:
It increases blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, which can improve egg quality and support implantation.
It helps regulate hormones—and let me tell you, when you’re pumping your body full of fertility meds, you need all the regulation you can get.
Most importantly? It lowers stress. And stress isn’t just an emotional thing—it messes with your fertility, too.
Here’s the part that still blows my mind: In my first round of egg retrieval, I only got three mature eggs. Three. But after months of vitamins, acupuncture, and treating my body like it was preparing for the Olympics, something shifted. In my next round? They retrieved 17 eggs.
Seventeen.
It helped me defy the odds and improve the outcomes after being diagnosed with low ovarian reserve.
Take the vitamins. Try the acupuncture. Do the thing that gives you hope, no matter how small it seems.
You’ve got this.