"Your body isn't broken," my doctor said gently.
"What you're experiencing is called NAD+ depletion. And it happens to almost every single person after 30."
She pulled out her chair — that familiar squeak of medical office furniture — and leaned in close.
"Let me show you what's happening."
She pulled up a chart on her screen.
"These are your NAD+ levels as you get older." She traced the dropping line with her finger.
"Every egg in your body needs an enormous amount of energy — for chromosome separation, cell division, maturing properly so it can be fertilized. All of it runs on NAD+."
"And here's the crucial part — after 30, your NAD+ levels decline sharply. By 40, you've lost up to half."
"Wait," I interrupted. "You're saying this isn't about my age? Or my cycle? Or how religiously I track ovulation? That there's something actually breaking down inside my eggs?"
"Exactly." She smiled.
