Hi lovesgreentea,
first time posting here, I've been reading various threads but I'm quite passive...
It's hard to comment on your situation without knowing basic details about you such as your age, AFC, FSH and so on. I too have DOR and we are also dealing with MFI. As you'll see from my signature, we had 4 failed IUIs last year and a really poor response to our first attempt at IVF... For that failed attempt, we did antagonist protocol without BCP suppression; I had an AFC of 7, started with 300IU gonal-f, got bumped to 375IU, but had only one follicle growing
Our latest attempt with microflare protocol, again without BCP, was successful (so far); I had an AFC of 9 (me RE wanted a minimum of 8 to start a new cycle), I did low-dose lupron and stimmed for 8 days with 375IU gonal-f, my RE decided to let the biggest follicle go to waste and wait for the other ones to catch up. I had only 5 follicles at retrieval, but they all fertilized with ICSI. Went in for a 5 day transfer and got my first ever BFP 5dp5dt.
I had originally asked my RE whether he would do EPP, but he said that my ovarian reserve wasn't that severely diminished yet. There is huge variation in how we respond from cycle to cycle, my RE kept telling me we have to wait for the right wave of follicles. I was on DHEA and co-q10 for a full year by the time we did IVF. I also did acupuncture for 3-4 months as well as some acupressure on my own at home. For the 3-4 months leading up to IVF, I also drank wheatgrass juice, took royal jelly, fish oil and L-Arginine to help with egg quality. My RE was aware of these supplements. I also worked on improving my diet, even made my own bone broth (supposedly highly nutritious). I did yoga daily, well, leading up to the cancellation... then switched to walks as the weather improved and I needed some sunshine. I also did femoral massages before ovulation/ER to help with blood flow.
Quite frankly though, I don't think natural IVF is the way to go based on what I have read... I would recommend you get a second opinion about your situation. Send me a private message if you'd like to share more info about your situation or if you have any questions I may be able to answer.
Whatever you do, please do not lose hope. DOR isn't easy to deal with, but there are lots of women who've had successes with ART.
Me (32) - DOR
Him (33) - MFI (10-20% motility, 0-5% morphology)
Jan 2013: started TTC
Jan 2014: first consult with RE; Mar 2014: dx with DOR (AFC:7, FSH:12.5), started 75mg DHEA and 600mg co-q10 daily
Jul-Oct 2014: FSH varrying between 3.5 and 6.5! ... IUIs #1-4 (3 x femara + 1 x overlap(femara+gonal-f) all BFN
Feb 2015: DH had follow-up with urologist, no varicoceles detected, DNA fragmentation is 9.77! Prescribed Clomid
Feb 2015: IVF 1.0 (AFC:7; FSH:?) - Antagonist protocol (no BCP): 300-375IU gonal-f ... cancelled due to poor response converted to IUI#5, BFN
Mar 2015: IVF 1.1 (AFC: 9; FSH:6.5) - microflare protocol (no BCP): 10 units diluted lupron twice daily + 375IU gonal-f daily: 5R/5M/5F-ICSI (2015-03-17), transferred 1 day 5 embryo grade 5AB (2015-03-22); froze 2 early blasts (grade 1BB) on day 6 Faint BFP at 5dp5dt... Beta#1 (10dp5dt): 391, beta#2 (12dp5dt): 1097! First US (2015-04-17): measuring 6w1d, 117bpm, EDD: Dec 10
May 2015: DH had follow-up with urologist, Clomid did nothing