All this chat about fertility declining has really opened my eyes and given me a jolt.

[OracleInaCoracle]

I know that i dont fall into the "have-it-all" category, having been ttc #2 for just shy of 4y and only being 31. however, its taken cons forever to try us with clomid and i have responded well to it although am not up the stick. tis only 1st cycle but i had a lovely crop of eggs anyway, cant afford ivf so dh and i are disussing egg share, cut off for egg donation is 35, so only 3.5y till im too decrepit

seeing cons in sept, provided im not up the stick by then (and i obviously hope and pray that i am) should i put my name down for it then? would they take me with my history of mc (although my bloods have all been normal)

[Caitni]

Hi Lissie

Fistly, wishing you all the luck with the clomid. Getting a good crop of eggs means there's an excellent chance it'll work for you (maybe even multiples ).

Secondly, I saw you on that AIBU thread with all the stuff about fertility declining with age (also saw the resultant DM story - it made me quite but that's another thread!). Aaaanyway, I'm on my tww of my first IVF (going slowly bonkers waiting to test!) as we've got male factor issues so were told ICSI was our best chance (we're ttc no 1).

Since I'm 31 too, we decided to just go private straight away as we'd ideally like more than one child so wanted to give ourselves time to have as many shots at this as we can. I thought long and hard about egg sharing though as I think it's an amazing thing to do for a couple struggling to have a baby. We even went to an open evening at the clinic we had already chosen (the Lister) and found out that egg sharing doesn't necessarily impact on the donor's chance of success (that was my big worry). In the end, because it was our first time, we decided not to go down the egg share route but I'd definitely consider it if/when we need to do this again. There's lots of info about egg sharing on the HFEA website: www.hfea.gov.uk/24.html. You need to also consider that any child born as a result of your donation may get in touch with you when they're an adult. This didn't really bother me, as I'm sure I wouldn't feel like the mother, but it's definitely an issue to consider. Another good place to look is the FertilityFriends website - they have a whole section on egg sharing: www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=15.0 (and that website is a general font of info on all things assisted conception related). Loads of private clinics offer egg share programmes so you can pick whichever has the best success rate stats and is the best fit for you.

Good luck with whatever you decide (and of course hoping the Clomid works and this is all hypothetical!).

Caitni xx

[OracleInaCoracle]

thanks for your reply. didn't think that we would even have to consider this for a few years, but we do need to look ahead i suppose. thanks for the links, i use ff already, so may pop onto the egg sharing forum and have a nose.

when can you test?

[Caitni]

It's tough looking ahead but it's good to consider all options IMO. And the clomid may well work!

Am testing on Tues (our two year wedding anniversary) which is 14 days past egg collection. And am utterly bricking it! Too nervous to even buy HPTs . The progesterone means I have just about every early pregnancy symptom I can imagine but I know they mean nada at this stage. Had two blasts transferred so have a good chance but it's still so nerve wracking...arrgh! Am going slowly mad I think .

[OracleInaCoracle]

lol, its half exciting and half terrifying isn't it? crossing everything for you. success for ICSI's quite high isnt it?

[Caitni]

ICSI's the same success as IVF really (they just inject the swimmers directly into the egg instead of leaving them to their own devices in the little dish!). But blastocyst transfer does up the chances.

As I said on your other thread - keeping my own fingers crossed for you too!

[OracleInaCoracle]

thank you, and ditto!