Fabulous forty + ttc and having success!

[TwinklyMusic]

Old thread just about finished. Here is a new one... Fx for lots of well earned BFPs for those ttc over forty. We also welcome stories from those who have successfully had their babies over forty and we love hearing back from our graduates.

twinkly sorry you had such a shit experience. Are you hypothyroid? I was told to up my levoT dose by 25% as soon as I know i'm pregnant (but maybe check with your endo even before getting pregnant about what you should up your dose to) I too worry about progesterone - that's my period turned up so my LP has now shortened to ten days with temp dip around day 8/9 so there's no chance of implantation. GP only wants to prove I've ovulated which it appears I may have done this month (first this year!) - I'm going to make an appointment with a consultant next week

Damn pressed too soon * private consultant

Hi everyone , bloop my LP eas 10 days sometimes 9 x

TwinklyMusic I've wondered about the opk vs temping thing. I temped one month and found it very difficult. I don't sleep well anyway (for obvious reasons) so I found myself struggling to temp after a decent block of sleep. Sometimes my longest 'block' would end at 3am, so I'd temp then, and then be wide awake for hours! Even so, my chart looked OK and the results weren't completely wacky. It showed a clear second rise after implantation, and then a dramatic drop just before the mc. I think maybe it's helpful to know what your hormone levels are doing and if you've ovulated at all (although not everyone seems to find that). Trouble is, it's no good for predicting ovulation and timing your fertile window. It tells you AFTER its happened, so I still prefer OPKs for that. OPKs don't tell you if you ovulated, just if you had an LH surge. Temping usually does. So I suppose it depends on what you need to know. For me, the lack of sleep while temping was awful, so I stopped. I figured it would do more harm than good for my chances. The clear blue digital OPKs seem to be spot-on for me.

As the months go on I feel I'm striking a slightly better balance between keeping on-track of things and chilling out. I figure sleep, general health, and managing the stress are more important than any number of charts & pee sticks.

BeeGee - mine went from 15 days to 11 now ten in past few months. I know ov can change quite a bit but the LP is meant to be within a day or so of a 'usual' length. I get a temp dip and spotting from 2-3 days before af starts which means on a 10day LP my progesterone runs out as early as day7. Most implantations don't happen until day 7-10 so it really rules pregnancy out for me. If ten days was my normal I wouldn't be concerned at all.

Amanda- I'm a terrible sleeper but I worked out as long as I get 3 hours at any time in the night and temp immediately upon waking there's no massive variation. I usually wake about 3.30-4 for a pee so it's perfect timing really. I don't sleep much after that.

Hi bloop sorry for late reply - it's reprofit in Czech Republic. Is cheap with great results and I've read lots of good reviews

Hi everyone
I'm 41, have 3 kids 12,10,8. Have new partner with no kids. We would love to have a baby together.
Cycle 1
Cd 14
Currently dtd like crazy as we do anyway. Really hoping it doesn't take long. I've suddenly become very aware of my body and thinking every niggle means something. I keep doing bbt and I'm taking a concoction of vitamins. Although I realise I'm lucky in that I already have children.
Anyone else in similar position to me?

Thanks muppet! Hope everything goes well for you... I'm off to google ;)

Hi lousylear - I'm sure there are quite a few in a similar position who'll pop up here. I'm ttc no2 fairly unsuccessfully. I too am 41

Amanda I found the faith in nature better than Jason but I have very fussy hair. I think I used an apricot one. I seem to remember the Jason bottles are big so good value if they do suit you. Any pg symptoms yet?

Twinkly if you're not sure you're ovulating or worried about short LP then try temping for a few months to see. Otherwise I would just continue with opk's. I hated temping.

I'd love to be caught out too. Several friends have just had their second or are just starting to think about it. They are all younger than me though.

Bloop did you make that private consultant appointment? Hopefully it won't turn out to be someone you've already seen!

Welcome lousylear. I'm ttc #2, already have a 2yo, so not quite in the same position. Also I'm 3 years older! Early days for you though and you have a good track record so fingers crossed for you.

Beegee I hope you and the little bean are doing ok. Are you going to book an early scan?

I'm 12dpo today, I think. I haven't tested as I don't think there's any point. Ordinarily I'd expect AF tomorrow but LP has been a few days longer the last 2 months so who knows.

Big waves to everyone else.

Thanks guys. FX for us all. I am very impatient. The 2ww is going to be a nightmare! However I am determined not to test too early.

Ababs - I had a freebie tour & my gynae recommended two consultants to see who deal specifically with fertility but I keep chickening out of actually making the appointment. I'm scared they say IVF is my only option as we couldn't afford that anytime soon, even with some of the lower overseas prices.

ababs I have fussy hair and fussy skin! I'll stick with Faith in Nature for now. Nope, just the usual tww symptoms now - cramps, sharp boob pain, hot flushes, general crappiness! The main 'only when I'm pregnant' symptoms for me are tingly nipples, things taste strange, super-smell, strong cravings, and suddenly silky-smooth skin (as opposed to the usual acne!) which I don't have. Hey ho. Off to get my head around IVF tomorrow night.

Bloop if it were me I would make the appointment. Go in with a list of questions and be very up front that IVF is not an option for you but you're keen to know what else can be done/what other advice they can give. Even those people who are told IVF is the only option still sometimes manage to conceive naturally so it's not like you have to give up trying.

Amanda I hope the open evening is good. Have you got a list of questions too? Fwiw I did not find IVF nearly as bad as I expected, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks so much ababs. I will probably take you up on that. I'm glad to hear your experience wasn't too bad. All I've had from a friend is how difficult and upsetting it was for her, and how it was the worst time of her life! She knows what we've been through, and she got a healthy daughter out of it, so I was a bit pissed off tbh. I can only assume that she's had a charmed life, if successful IVF is the worst thing she's ever been through! I've been trying to think of questions, but I know so little about it I don't know where to start ifykwim. Maybe after tonight I'll be picking your brain!

7dpo-ish & woke this morning to really bad cramps. Won't get excited as I've had this in the tww before, and it's just been bloody evil and very early PMS. Wont get excited even if it is something - it will mean nada until it sticks and grows. God I've turned into a cynical old cow!

Back from holidays, trying to find some energy to dtd amid load after load of holiday clothes laundry and catching up on work emails. Still, it was great! You have all been busy posting while I was away. Too many posts to check in on you each individually.

Beegee hope no news is good news for you!

Hope the open evening goes well, Amanda. Your little boy looks so precious. I hope the cramps portend more than AF.

Sounds like we're in similar situations, ababs

I'm impressed with you all managing to eliminate the plastics, etc. I read It Starts... and felt too overwhelmed to do much of anything!

Welcome to the new people. I hope your stay here is short.

Sending big hugs to you all.

Welcome back Pies! I haven't eliminated plastics unfortunately, I wear contacts too so I'm screwed there I think.

Amanda I mentioned upthread that my IVF didn't work. That's the main reason we haven't considered it this time round. Obviously everyone is different and react differently to the drugs etc. It's not something you want to be doing of course. I guess I'm just saying don't think it will automatically be awful from a physical point of view as it may not be.

Welcome home Pies! Good luck!

ababs sorry ivf wasn't successful for you. As much as you found it to be more tolerable than you imagined, it must still be a lot to go through when its unsuccessful. I tend in general to take more in my stride these days, as recent events have put so many things in perspective, but I may eat my words! Well, hopefully it won't be too long before I find out xx

Thanks pies and ababs health wise I seem to be okay. I am just struggling emotionally as I am petrified. I am terrified that I am going to destroy everything with my children and I am very scared of telling them.sorry x

Beegee I'm sure it will all work out, try not to worry too much. It's a really common worry so you are not alone

Amanda I conceived my ds the following cycle so I didn't have too long to be upset about it. We were gutted when I started bleeding but we went into it expecting that we might try 3 rounds as the stats were not great over one round but better over 3. I allowed myself to wallow a bit then started investigating what I could try to do better the next time, acupuncture, supplements etc. We were so lucky we didn't need a second round

AF started this evening so it looks like my LP is back to 12 days. And on to another cycle...

Sorry the witch got you, ababs. Onwards and upwards.

beegee it is so common to worry, but it really isn't at all productive. My husband works in mental health and suggested to me (when I was pregnant and fretting) that I set aside a particular period of time every day for worrying. Then if you think of the worry outside of that time you set it aside until the worry time. It did help to limit the worrying. But it is such a stressful time!

Amanda how was the open evening?

It was interesting thanks ababs. We spoke with the embryologist after the presentation. He was going on about using Caremaps or chromosome screening to help with recurrent miscarriage. Any opinions welcomed.