Forty and over trying for a first baby - join us here

Hi Chewy Giraffe. The answer is really no to most of your questions. I've just had my af so will probably start taking the tablets at the end of May. I've not had an IUI but am trying to work out the best dates to dtd. When I last spoke to my consultant in March, we'd talked about having scans to coincide with the tablets (I'd already had taken them for 3 months at a lower dose and one scan arranged by my Gp, showed I'd ovulated) but then a HyCosy was mentioned, the next lot of clomid was forgotten and the consultant decided I would go back onto clomid in June. Due to my amh result, I've been sent the tablets early. I'll be bringing up monitoring the follicles and next steps when I see her in June. I'm quite new to this so not quite sure if I know all the facts and what I have to do. X

Hi all, I'm just popping in from the 'other' 40+ thread to wish everyone well and tell you about two first time mums my friend recently told me about when updating me on old friends/ acquaintances.

They both came to ttc late for different reasons (and not because of career obsessed blah blah blah DM stuff!!). One had her first at Christmas at 45 after successful IVF. The other had her first just recently at 46, conceived naturally.

So keep on trying ladies, it does happen.

Special congrats to Jessie, who I've just seen is happily expecting baby boy in August. I've lurked occasionally on this and the previous thread so know how hard you've tried!

My best wishes to everyone else, and to those who have recently had set backs. I know how this feels.

Interesting chat - may I ask a couple of questions?

Joeypotter - Interested to read about your clomid.

• Are you/have you been taking the clomid already in your current cycle?
• Is this with a view to timed intercourse or IUI?
• Whilst on the clomid, are you being monitored by ultrasound scans (to see how many follicles you're getting and to guide the timing of DTD or IUI)? Especially if you've increased your dose of clomid, I did wonder whether anyone watching to see whether you're maturing multiple follicles and assessing your risk of a twin/multiple pregnancy?

Kwick709 - So glad to read you seem back on again with "this IVF thing"! When are you thinking about trying IVF again? Did your consultant have any 'learning points' about the previous cycle, or suggest tweaks for the next one?
Also on the DHEA - I was very interested to read you had a 'professional' recommendation for DHEA, so to speak. Did your consultant suggest/prescribe a particular brand, or say how long to be taking it for before your next IVF?

Rememberaball - I'm half thinking about IVF abroad too, but WHERE to choose is quite the dilemma! Wonder if you've considered similar clinics to me? PM me if you like.

AnnieHoo - Chin up chick. FWIW I hope you get your baby too. You come across some selfish 'me, me, me' people on MN (as in life), but pretty sure you're not one of them. So if there's any justice in the world, baby for you!

Good luck to everyone else.

The CQ10 could be causing the headache. I was taking it at night and couldn't sleep because my mind was so active. I think the pills may have caffeine in them. I switched and took it in the morning and drank 2 litres of water a day and it was fine. When I was taking at night I couldn't sleep.

If your consultant had recommended it that's ok. I was just worried because j was taking it
Unprescribed.

But both DHEA and coq10 are supposed to help the aging process
I need to feel that I am contributing to this ivf thing!

Hi kwick I've stopped taking the DHEA and the CQ10 because I don't know what the hell they are!!

I honestly don't think anything can help egg quality. My simpleton logic is: when people say "just relax and drink lots of water, take vitamins, try a naturopath" I think, well this doesn't reverse the ageing process for any other part of my body like my skin or my hair or my heart so why would it work for my ovarian function? I'm ageing. I can spend an infinite amount of time and money on trying to reverse that process but it won't change the lifespan of my cells and organs.

Oh I'm on one today! I had made up my mind to stop ttc and then I saw an older mum in town and her beautiful sons... I want one!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks loueeza
I am on coq10 also plus vit d, c, b, e and trying to have a baby supplements.
I appreciate it is controversial... But seeing as my consultant proposed it I am going with it. Just wondering though if persistent headache could be related to consumption.

Now all I have to do is wait for AF... And try and lose loads of weight in the meantime....

Hi Kwik. I was taking DHEA for about 4 months before my IVF, but a consultant I recently saw (NHS) told me that he wouldn't be taking it if he was me because it's not an approved drug. At the IVF clinic though they recommend that all their 'older ladies' (!!) take it before their cycle.

This has left me not really knowing what to do about it. I've read about it online of course and it is a bit controversial. Apparently it can help to get better quality eggs, but some believe it can be detrimental if you don't really need it. From what I understand it raises our testosterone levels, which us older girlies are sometimes deficient in, which affects egg quality (I may not be explaining perfectly correctly, but it's something like that!). The problem is is that if you don't really need it, it can have the opposite affect.

Unfortunately though no one really knows for sure, but IVF clinics have seen some improvement in egg quality.

For the moment I've decided to ditch it and take COq10 (also good for egg quality) which seems to be less controversial.

I think it's one of those things that you have to do a bit of reading about, and then make your own decision :-)

Lovely ladies: any advice on DHEA? My consultant has put me on it (even though I have PCOS - well at least some of the symptoms), but would be appreciative to hear your experiences.

Thank you AnnieHoo and Jessie. I feel more positive about my the whole thing now. I'm glad I had the test as at least I've got a higher dose of clomid and when I see my consultant, we know the facts and can talk about the next stages now rather than discuss them in September.

Don't worry joey, loueeza is right, it's ONLY quality that matters. It only takes one good egg.

Quality is all that counts and so many ladies with extremely low AMH (as in 0-1) have gone on to have healthy babies!!!

Having a high result is no comfort btw. In July 2014 mine was 14.5 and to me it just means I have extra duff eggs so more miscarriages.

So don't worry just keep on keeping on!

Thank you Loueeza for your kind words. I managed to arrange to have a higher dose of clomid and when I see my consultant in June we'll look at next steps which will be hopefully IVF.

Hi Joeypotter! I know it's hard, but try not to panic. I'm by no means an expert, but I think that sounds pretty 'normal' when you're over 40. Mine is something like 4.7 (or it was 6 months ago, so probably lower now). I've been told more than once that this doesn't mean that much necessarily. It just means you have a low ovarian reserve, which is to be expected as you get older, but it doesn't say anything definitive about quality. Certainly for IVF it's more about quality, although getting a few more eggs is good because then you can freeze some for future cycles. :-)

Well I called the clinic and it is 3.84 pmol/l so hopefully that will make the results a bit clearer. I've also called the hospital and my consultant will hopefully call me back soon to discuss the result and hopefully increase my clomid medication to a higher amount of mg. I hope everyone else is okay out there.

It didn't say on the letter I received which is why I've been looking at lots of different websites, trying to convert and not being quite sure where I am. I've just sent an email to the clinic where I had the test to ask. Thanks - I was in panic/crying mode yesterday but I'm now ready for answers and action today. Thank you for listening.

Ng/ml

If you know whether your results are in pmol/l or NGOs/ml it will make it easier for you to interpret your results.

Thanks for your help. I've been so far seeing a consultant with the NHS but have now sent an email to see the same consultant but with a private clinic so we can discuss what to do next and start to get the ball rolling a bit quicker.

joey my AMH is 2.0 - my report says that there was a change in Feb 2015 - for direct comparison multiply by .75 if results prior to that date... Blimey this is all so complicated!

Thank you for replying Rememberallball. I keep looking on different websites to see if my results are normal for a 40 year old but they seem to be using a different conversion system so I can't work it out. I guess I'm just trying to put my mind at ease.

Joey, no your AMH isn't 'really low'. Mine was 1.85 when it was done in August and my consultant said I had little to no hope of naturally conceiving and her only recommendation was donor egg IVF.

We're trying supplements and then, if no success will look at private IVF (perhaps abroad)!!

Hello everyone. I went and had an AMH test and my result was 3.84 and it said with this result it would expect a below average ovarian response. It has suggested a higher dose of stimulation medication. Is this a really low result? Do I still have a chance with IVF? Sorry, I'm trying not to panic at the moment but am worried. Is there anyone with a similar story? X

citizen your results sound encouraging and fx that this is your month!

Kwick sorry to hear you're not feeling great. Hope the allergic reaction clears up soon and the food poisoning too. It must be a very sad time for you - take care of yourself as best you can. I am trying to clear out clutter as well and I can certainly sympathise with only doing a bit at a time. Even though I've cleared out a lot I don't feel I've done anything. Good luck with it though and hope you have success with your sales on ebay.

I went to the doctor on Monday and everything is OK with my tests. She said my blood tests indicated I was ovulating so that's good. DH's SA results come out next week so we'll see what they say. My doctor has referred me on to the fertility consultant and asked for an ultrasound. I thought it might depend on what my DH's results were but she said we might as well start now. I do feel pleased with my doctor and how they have been with me. I know I'm lucky to have a good doctor.

Then when I did my clear blue ovulation thing it says I'm ovulating on day 9 which seems really early. I did feel as though I was ovulating but thought I must be imagining things. So we've dtd already on day 8 and 9 and hopefully some more over the next few days just in case that monitor thing was wrong! We were going to try sperm meets egg plan again but that seems to depend on me ovulating around day 12 or 14. Never mind. We'll do our best.

Sorry for the long post. Welcome to all the newbies and hello to everyone. Hope everyone is OK.