Over 40s TTC & success stories.

[Grizzer]

Starting a new thread for support & advice ladies. Not quite ready to graduate yet!

ababsurdum thanks for the Maca info I'll have to see if I can get any of that to add to the various supplements I'm taking! Anything worth a try! Totally agree it is different this time, higher risks etc and think you're right, if no2 is not meant to be then we are blessed with one and can still do lots of fun things actually probably have more money to do more things

Hi to everyone. So af arrived for me on Friday. I felt really really down about it - it's been over 2 years now without a sniff of a bfp. So I decided to take some action and I booked myself an appointment with a private clinic. I'm not sure how far down the route I want to go, but I feel like I want some proper, thorough testing and advice, not the piecemeal random stuff I've been getting through the NHS. I know that age is the biggest factor for me, but I can't help feeling there is something else. I got pg twice very easily when ttc#1 and this time there has just been nothing.

Anyway, having decided this (and already made the appointment) dh came home from work and saw how upset I was this month and then suggested the exact same thing!! I of course then had to pretend that I hadn't already made an appointment and then acted really surprised when all the forms etc arrived really quickly in the post!! So, I have my first consultation on Tuesday and then I guess they'll tell me what tests they want to do. (And how much - eek)!! I always said I would never do IVF for a second child, but I will see what they say......I guess this is my way of trying to get some control back as nothing else seems to be working. Oh, and the fact that it's my 45th birthday at the end of the month

joey good for you taking back some control and booking that clinic app! I hope they get some tests done for you and can help you. It's good that DH is on the same page as you too! How funny you had to pretend about the appointment! Good job he's up for it too. Remind me again how old is your son? I was same as you said never IVF for no2 but I would do it now if needed. Let us know how you get on and good luck!

Joey I agree that the tests are a good idea. The great thing about going private is you can get them done quickly though they are expensive of course. Good luck with your appointment.

I think I will get another AMH test done as it's been more than 3 years since I had the last one. It will be interesting to see the change and get their opinion on risks etc. I don't see the point of dh getting another semen analysis as it was fine and his lifestyle is no different. I also don't think there would be any point us doing IVF this time. As we'd had no invasive testing before we had no idea if we could conceive naturally. Now we know we can and of course the IVF didn't work for us though I know people who were lucky first time.

Emerald I'm not taking any 'fertility' supplements at the moment as I'm still bf ds and I'm not sure any are safe. I was taking a few last time - epo, royal jelly and probably others I can't remember. The month that I took the maca and coenzymeq10 (and conceived) I had much more ewcm than usual and in my head I'm convinced it was because of that.

ababsurdum what's epo supplement? I take royal jelly and CoQ10 and need to get some Maca.

evening primrose oil hunny

you can get maca in tablet form from ebay, thats where i get my many many supplements from!

I take - daily

2 x selenium (pound shop)
agnus castus (ebay)
evening primrose oil (")
red clover (")
calcium/magnesium/d3 (")
2 x co enzyme q10 (")
l-arginine (")
Maca (")
folic acid (")
(dong quai (")
zinc (")
pregnancy vitamin all in one (asda)

and soy isos on days 2-6 of my cycle

Yes, evening primrose oil. You're supposed to take it from CD1 untill you ovulate only.

Just checking in and saying hi. My cycle was a reasonable 33 days this month. Better than the 80 day one!

joey just wanted to say that when I was first ttc, I got pregnant straight away but miscarried at 12 weeks. I then went about 3 years without a bfp despite sex at the right time and doing everything possible. But in the end I did get that bfp which resulted in ds. I thought there must be something wrong with me or Dh, but we got there in the end. Hopefully your bfp will come soon.

joey I think it's great that you are being proactive and trying to find out more. Going private doesn't necessarily mean that you will go on to have IVF! Lots of other things could result in unsuccessful ttc, and hopefully, the investigations will shed some light into what might be going on.

aba Was your AMH result good last time? I always wonder about the value of this test - at our age, egg reserve is bound to be low, but it doesn't say anything about the quality of the remaining eggs, or about risks associated with ttc... I have very low AMH, even lower than average for my age, but I still managed to fall pg twice since I had the test, one ended in mc due to chromosome issues, the other is still going...

Waving to everyone else, sorry for not name-checking! Seeing all the lists of supplements brings back memories... Rooting for you all xx

Cloud off the top of my head I think it was 15.9. The consultant who did the test said it was average for my age, the consultant at the IVF clinic said it was better than average. I think opinion varies as the test is relatively new. You are right of course, by itself it won't mean much either way. I guess it would show me the change though and we can discuss other issues with the consultant. I don't think dh sees any point having it either. We discussed it briefly again last night. Dh wants us to revisit the info that we found online about risks etc. again but having previously been fairly positive about trying he seems to be having second thoughts.

Sorry, and congratulations!

Thanks Fatty! That's a long list of supplements you have there, I thought I was bad with 7! Who recommended you to take them or was it your own research? Some of them on there I've heard of. What's l'argine do? I'm currently taking:
Bee pollen
Bee propolis
Royal jelly
Folic Acid 400mg
Vit C 500mg
240mg COQ10
Pregnacare conception

aba your AMH levels sound good! Mine was low/undetectable and 1.28. Since having it taken all its done really is worry me that now I really am in last chance saloon! I got pg since then but was MC in June. Like Cloud says, it doesn't say about the quality of them which is what I want to work on now. Hope DH is not having second thoughts for you.

Well, I agree with emerald that your AMH levels are great, aba! Mine were 0.4 Makes me wonder if I literally caught the last egg! But nevertheless, it happened.
There is so much still unknown regarding ttc and pregnancy and all the factors that play a role, it is so frustrating. And very 'expert' that you ask tells you something different.
However, for what it's worth, the consultant that I saw privately still rated my chances of a successful pregnancy at 50%. He did acknowledge that time is not on my side, but I prefer to have all the facts.

Emerald I think my negativity has rubbed off on him! I honestly don't know what to do for the best - try or not try.

Quality is the most important thing. Plenty of people get pregnant with low AMH levels, equally those with high levels can struggle - pcos gives a high AMH I believe. Have you decided to keep ttc?

We're the same age cloud so I guess those stats are mine too. I think seeing a consultant may help. It seems like a logical starting point anyway.

If it was your last egg it was a good one at least

I think I'm same age as you both? 43? Yes aba we are going to try again, we said we would give it abit longer, but having all tests done first in case so least we know we've done all we can. However I'm petrified of the risks of downs etc and of MC again, but if you don't try you don't know I guess. So hard.
Cloud. it really is very hopeful and encouraging that with your AMH you still had success! Maybe it really was the last egg!

Which tests are you having Emerald?

Hi all,

I pop on this thread every now and again just to be nosey because I chatted with a couple of you this time last year...

I had my first baby, a healthy little girl 3 months ago at the age of 42. It took a year of trying to the point we gave up before finding out I was pregnant the following month! I truly believe 'giving up' so no longer stressing and worrying about the occasional cup of coffee or glass of wine helped.

It can happen! Good luck! xx

from here emerald

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=294994.0

its a very good list of what is good for fertility and what it does, for both men and women.

very comprehensive and very helpful xxx

L'Arginine: 500mg - 2000mg per day (i.e. 0.5g - 2g).
Take for 1-3 months prior to conception. Improves egg quality and uterine blood flow.

My story: came out of a ltr in which neither of us had felt sufficiently strongly about having a family to ttc. Met someone new when I was 43 who had told me that he had been told he was infertile after an accident. I assumed that I had missed the boat due to my age so we were rather careless about contraception. Not long after my 44th birthday I thought I had gastric flu as it was going round the office. Then it dawned on me that flu doesn't usually result in going up a cup size in a week I did the poas and the line was showing well before the time was up.

The midwife advised that I should go straight to the amino rather than having the nuchal which I did as my age suggested a possibility of 1:32. It came back negative and other than morning sickness lasting to 39+4 I sailed through the pg, safely delivering an 8lb 2oz dd 16 days late.

We are both healthy and loving life. We did ttc no 2 but without any success, I was tested very swiftly and told there was no way I could conceive unless I used a donor egg. Given the demand for eggs I didn't feel it was right to deprive another woman of the chance to become a mum in order to have a second baby so I didn't pursue it.

I hope that your conception journeys are successful and if not that you are able to come to terms with it. I am grateful every day for my good fortune when so many people struggle.

to everyone

Thanks fatty! Will have a read of that.
abs having bloods done at St Marys for clotting, thyroid, lupus etc issues and a saline scan on uterus to check for scarring. NK cells with Shehata.
purple what a wonderful story!! Just shows it can happen. Maybe no2 will happen like that for you too!

I'm not taking any supplements apart from folic acid - now I feel like I should be! Thanks for the link FattyFishwife.

Thanks for your success stories Inshock73 and purplesprings, love hearing them.

No sign of AF here, but a neg test this morning. I think I just ovulated later than usual this month, so it's delayed.

Interesting to read all the supplements! Personally, I feel like a pharmacy!

I take: EPO (1st half cycle), agnus castus (first half cycle), magnesium, coq10, b vit complex (includes folic acid), royal jelly, myo-inositol, 'FertileCM' (has L-arginine), and random multi vits and iron depending on what I have to hand. I take omega 3 when I remember (or can face knocking back another big tablet... yuughhh...).

I've now got this progesterone cream too. It says on it that is has an associated cancer risk (sorry, did not mean to alarm when I mentioned it!), so I wanted to see if anyone knew anything about that. I've googled it, and from what I can make out, some cancers are more likely from low levels of progesterone, and others from higher levels... So we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't?