Over 40 ttc - summer baby dust for me!

[Orchid222]

Ladies here's our new thread!

Thanks ladies x

CRITTER - wow - how amazing those piccies are x

CLEO - the exact same thing happened to me. Neighbour got pregnant at exactly same time as me but her pregnancy was successful. She now has an 18 month old and whilst I’m delighted for her it’s like a permanent reminder of yet another m/c so I really feel for you

SHINY - I’m not very knowledgeable re; Clomid - I hope you get answers soon. Sorry you’ve had a crappy day x

Welcome Claire and Hobbes, I feel an updated list coming on.

Claire, I would say test and if it's negative it was probably late AF. If positive you'll probably need a scan to confirm a pregnancy as hormones can take a while to get back to normal.

Hobbes, what a difficult time you've had; so sorry to hear of your losses.

I'm taking ubiquinol, B6, folic acid and a multivitamin. Other ladies on here have much more comprehensive regimes.

Re the oestrogen testing, seems that sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't, at least where I am. Last time round they did for me, but not this time. I really can't fathom why they wouldn't - GP puts "fertility" on the request form, surely that includes oestrogen every time. Very odd.

Amazing pic Critter, thanks for sharing!

Welcome new ladies! Hobbes, sorry you've had such a rough time. Wish you all lots of luck xxx

Thanks for the pic Critter... its absolutely amazing. Wishing you lots and lots of luck xxx

Welcome claire and hobbes!

Has anybody done a fertility cleanse? I'm currently doing one as I think my hormones are all out of whack after that ridiculously heavy period. I don't think it's the maca that did it, I think it's the L-Arginine. I've since discovered women take it for irregular/missing periods and it increases blood flow to the uterus. That's definitely something I don't need! You can't ttc while doing one so I'm taking this month out. If nothing else I think it will help me mentally get into the place where I believe that my body is capable of sustaining a healthy pregnancy.

Welcome Clairexx1 and Hobbes39 and so sorry for you rough journeys.. I only take Superdrug pre natel vits and omega 3,6,9 but yes a few ladies do take quite a wide verity.. try to cook everything from scratch and am not eating cold stuff or drinking cold stuff.. which is a struggle in this weather but can see the principle behind it.. (keeping a warm body ) am very lucky that in my ripe old age still ov, lots of ewcm and regular periods.. just last 2 little beans didn't stick but am still trying to stay positive.. v hard at times but this group is a godsend.. xx

Critter- amazing news and great pics, keeping everything crossed for you!
Cleo- I get cross with young people for being fertile too...
Welcome Claire and Hobbes.
Claire- if you had a mc chances are your test would still come up positive but like someone said you'd need a scan to confirm a pregnancy. It's possible that if you're pregnant you're still ok after bleeding since many women bleed during healthy pregnancies but the only way to tell is through a scan.
Hobbes- so sorry for your losses and the difficult time you've been having. If you go back about a week on this chat you'll see what supplements everyone is taking since I asked the same question (feeling I needed to up my game after the mc I'm going through at the moment) and I got lots of answers. I think the most comprehensive list was by Littlemimosa.
Re: oestrogen testing, I didn't have it tested during my basic blood tests only when the fertility clinic requested it.

Critter - amazing photos. Got everything crossed for you.

Dickybow - can you please explain fertility cleanse and what you’re doing?

Welcome Claire and Hobbes. Hope you find support here.

I’m so fed up. Hot flashes are back and no ovulation on cd 23/24. I think this is the beginning of the end for me:( I can’t even try to conceive like this. I think if I’m honest things have been haywire for ages now. Early ovulation and changing cycles. I’m trying Agnus Castus but if I’ve no eggs left what use is it? Sorry to moan ladies, just so lost.

Welcome Claire and Hobbes!
Claire, I would take a a pregnancy test, that should give you some answers.
Hobbes, sorry you have had such a hard time. Sadly I can relate to the miscarriage, particularly the one where you saw the heartbeat as I had the same. Unfortunately the baby would have stopped growing veey soon after that scan and I did not find out until 4 weeks later. It's so disheartening as we get so hopeful after seeing that heartbeat. But try to keep hope, it can still happen and it can still be successful.

When I had my day 3 tests it was just FSH and LH, not E2. I've no idea why they don't test for oestrogen, but I do know that in my area it's always bare minimum for fertility on the NHS as we were one of the first places to have the funds cut.
As for suppliments, I take royal jelly and wheatgrass (to lower fsh), ubiquinol (just upped dose to 200), EPO, B complex after ov. I have also purchsed, but not used yet, vitex and progesterone cream.

Oh and seven seas pre conception before ov and pregnacare after ov

Shiny - sorry to hear about your bad day, sounds rubbish. Do they have a plan for you to help with the lining? I think there are quite a few 'home remedies' to help, if you google. I think things like raspberry leaf tea and pineapple? I've not looked into it too much as in the past I've almost been to far the other way, but I have seen it discussed during my many researches. Could be worth looking in to.

Dickybow - I have heard of the fertility cleanse, but never considered doing it as it seemed like hard work! Is it a bit of a mission?

Chat - with the eating of warm things - does that count pre ov? Just wondering as not much need for a warm womb when there's nothing going on there so I gauged on icecream.

Mimosa - don't loose hope. It's not the beginning of the end, it's just a bad cycle. I totally understand how frustrating and upsetting it is as I've been there. I lost hope, it was so distressing and I thought that was it for me, but things DID get back on track for me. You just need to get through this. Keep some positivity, take the right suppliments, be patient (bloody impossible) and you'll come out the other side. But you have my full sympathy on this as it's flipping horrible.
Would you consider going to the gp? There may be something they can do to move things along a little bit. Or give advice

Just checking in. Welcome to Claire and Hobbes and hope you find help and solace in this lovely community as I have. Critter / excited for you - I hope (in the nicest way) you will be leaving this board soon to join the pregnant ladies!! X
I’m still in no man’s land. Today I’m CD 45. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without a period (Claire I’m almost 44) and now 15 days late. I haven’t taken a test as I know it’s futile and likely I’m just now in the peri stage. It’s like all period type feelings have left the building, strangest feeling ever. On a positive note - as I don’t have any schedule to work to, I’m actually having a bit of a holiday from trying (obviously not ideal but there’s less obsessing in relation to dates)
I ordered the Ovu-Sense monitor and it arrived the next day. I hope to start using it this weekend - one of the things I’m kind of looking forward to is the accuracy in terms of it telling me I’m not actually ovulation - if this is the case then at least I have something concrete to take to the GP rather than all the guesswork - will keep you ladies posted. Happy Thursday everyone. Fingers crossed for you Critter. XxxX

Morning Ladies - welcome CLAIRE and HOBBES

Just out of curiosity - all the ladies who have suffered repeated m/c including chemicals, I was wondering if any had undergone investigations regarding killer cells/immune issues?

I had my first mc at 14 weeks I then went on to have a healthy pregnancy. After DC1 my third pregnancy ended in mc at 13/14 weeks. I have hypothyroidism as well. I then went on to have quite a few chemicals. I seemed to get pregnant easily but couldn’t hang on to them.
To cut a long story short I went to see Mr Shehata at the Miscarriage Clinic in London who after tests told me I had high killer cells and would need to take steroids amongst other things (vit d, omega oil, aspirin and folic acid and pre-natal vitamin and progesterone ). I also had thyroid antibodies which were high. After taking his advice and taking the meds I fell pregnant on first try and it was a successful pregnancy at age 42.

I saw him a couple of years ago and the killer cells had abated somewhat (they can fluctuate) hence some pregnancies will be successful if you get pregnant when they are low. However pregnancy itself can raise the killer cells hence repeated chemicals if you get pregnant repeatedly one after the other

It just seems to me that some of you
May possibly fall into this bracket? it just seems to resonate with me when I read about so many chemical pregnancies etc and some of your experiences. I’ve been in this thread many years now and have
mentioned this before but obviously his will be quite a while ago now
I myself feel that my chemicals lately are
more due to my age unfortunately as I’m probably the oldest on here and I’ve not taken the steroids as I should be (which is at ovulation and to stop if no BFP and continue if you get a BFP). I’m hoping to take any steroids if I get the BFP and commence them then. Part of me does wonder if this is the reason for my chemicals but I did have a mc on the steroids and I was told that any mc that might be due to chromosomal issues etc obviously cannot be prevented with the steroids. Anyway I’m sorry for such a long post but I just wanted to put it out there that immune issues are a big factor with a lot of women without them being aware and thats with IVF too obviously xx

Hi @MATTSMAMMA - yes, killer cells is something I'm now wondering about... I have contacted dr Quenby to see about having tests and have finally been referred for the standard repeat mc tests at my clinic now I've had 3 'proper' miscarriages - they don't count chemicals...
I feel frustrated that until now, and even now, the presumption is that it's just age - I know it might well be, but I was only 38 when we first started trying for #2, so feel a bit like I've been written off too early.

Hobbes39 yes that’s exactly how I felt. I was 34 when I had my first mc - it was so traumatic couldn’t even think of trying for ages. Then I was 37 when I had dc1. After the next mc I asked for tests and the nhs were pretty useless really. They were more or less saying it was age but I knew deep down it was something else. Mr Shehata basically said that all the blood tests the nhs had done were a waste of time. I did meet one female gynaecologist who was helpful in that she said aspirin for some reason helped women to actually get pregnant and stay pregnant. They didn’t know the exact reasons for this but indeed aspirin was part of the prescription list of meds from Mr Shehata. Prof Quenby is really good too I have heard. I hope you get some answers soon but I have to say that in a lot of cases there is an underlying reason. Yes of course some miscarriages are sadly a one off and natures way of
preventing something that wasn’t meant to be. For me however I knew having at least 12 mc’s (inc the chemicals as Mr Shehata said they are mc no matter how early) I just knew it had to be something else.

Good luck - this thread is brilliant for support. I don’t continually post but I read everything xx

Cleo - thanks so much for your kind words. Can I ask, did you have any warm moments/hot flashes? They aren’t very strong but there.

Has anyone else experienced the hot moments?!

I’m sorry ladies I can’t contribute to the chat about miscarriage and killer cells. Have no knowledge and as far as I know never had a miscarriage (apart from the one I had years ago).

FAith - I suspect I’ll ge joining you in no mans land soon. I’m on an anovulatory cycle so guessing logically that I might get a 6 week cycle in total. Do you think you ovulated?

Mimosa - I don't think I had many hot moments, although it was hard to tell, as it was summer (about this time last year) although thinking about it, I did get overly hot when rushing around, and I'd wake up in the night with sweats and palpatations - but only after alcohol.
The main symptoms I remember from that cycle were extreme tiredness, mild nausea, sore boobs, and just feeling generally 'out of sorts'. All opk's were glow in the dark white. And I had major bladder issues, felt like a uti but results at gp came back clear. Then I finally got af which was heavy and constant for about a month, until I got medication from the gp to stop it. Cycle came back after that and I felt a lot more normal. Prior to that I'd had several cycles of very heavy, clotty periods and mid cycle spotting. Plus one cycle where af was very light and long (almost like the tail end of af, but for just over a week) I don't know if I ovulated that cycle as we were not trying then. It was almost like a big build up to this one epic crash cycle, then things restabalised afterwards

At work so posting quickly, but cleo and mimosa the cleanse consists of doing a liver detox first, which is basically some herbal teas and supplements and then the second phase is a 'uterine cleanse' which is more teas and supplements that are meant to be good for the womb. I feel like i need a good detox after that ridiculously heavy period. You just follow a healthy diet and avoid caffeine, alcohol etc. I'm trying to lose weight too so that side of it should be easy.

I've booked a Dr's appt tomorrow to ask for some blood tests to be done to see where I'm up to. What should i be asking for in case the GP isn't well versed in these things? Its a locum I'm seeing.
Day 3 FSH/LH, oestradiol and day 21 progesterone? Anything else? Do they do AMH on the NHS? Is is even worth doing? If the results are bad then what? Eek!

@Dickybow321 - I don’t think many GPs will do AMH, it’s a lot more expensive than FSH, LH and progesterone. Never hurts to ask though! It seems to be a lottery as to whether you’ll get Estradiol as well, my GP wouldn’t do that nor even my private clinic (but I think that’s just because they use AMH which is said to be the best indicator).
Good luck with the appointment tomorrow 😊

Mimosa - I just don’t know what’s going on - and that’s the truth. OPKs have never worked for me so I’ve gone on pain and EWCM - both of which come every other month. Since the TCM - cycles have gone from 27 days to 40+ but this could be coincidental tbh. As I said I have been lured into buying Ovu-Sense just to get a grip of what’s going on - it’s supposed to be over 90% accurate so I feel hopeful. I just want to know. Today is day 8 of feeling like crap - nausea and generally off food, then feeling starving but not fancying anything - so fed up feeling like this. 😬 I’ve heard lots about killer cells but know this would be a private test so not for me atm. X

Dickybow - good luck at the doctors - the NHS are not fertility friendly in most regions but I wish you a benevolent GP! X 🍀

Cleozeta not sure about all month, I can't remember which lovely lady said it now.. but on days like today it's hard not to hit the lollies.. but I'm being good..
shinyblackdog I think I also read about raspberry leaf tea for womb lining..
littlemimosa could you try just dtd every couple of days throughout your cycle... it does get so disheartening but while af still comes there's still hope.. 💕

Dickybow, fertility cleanse sounds interesting, I might look into doing that.
As for NHS tests, it will be basic FSH/LH and progesterone. And if its bad (as mine was) then you'll need to try and suppliment etc to help it. GP won't do any more.
Good luck

Hi all

Ladies that have had DC and/or BFPs (sadly I’ve had neither), what does implantation cramping feel like? For the past couple of hours I’ve been having weird pinching and pulling feelings in my uterus - some are quite sharp and uncomfortable. Trying not to get too excited and hopeful but also worried something is wrong - never felt anything like this before. I don’t even get AF cramps so have nothing to compare it to.

Sorry if it’s a silly question - just a bit concerned/excited LOL