Fertility

[43andwantingababy]

Hi I have just turned 43 and after 4 years of discussing having another child, have finally got my husband to agree. Now I fear it is all too late, have tried without success to conceive for 6 months so had a trans -vaginal ultrasound to discover on day 9 of my cycle I have 4cm ovarian cysts on both ovaries and no follicles present. The scan operator said the cysts would go by themselves, usually after 6 weeks or so and to just go home..now Im confused does that mean im unable to have children now? Thanks you xx

Ovarian cysts don't stop you ovulating Or having children - I've had one on my left for over a year now and I actually got a better response from that ovary during ivf than my other one

Unfortunately I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that your age is your biggest problem - if no follicles seen on your ovaries you're not ovulating - if you can afford it ivf is likely your only route but success rates over 42 years of age are really low especially with your own eggs x

@43andwantingababy my cycle has been all over the place since Sept, before that since I was 13 it was like clockwork! I booked myself a private trans vaginal scan in Dec because i thought there was something wrong and we'd started TTC. The doctor noticed a few cysts in my ovaries but said they go away after 6 weeks. She also said that this would not prevent a successful pregnancy and that it was very common for them to appear and disappear without any treatment. She did say that this could have caused irregular cycle for me. So anyway, 4 months later my cycle is returning to normal. NHS decided now to book me in for a scan! too late now! but i wouldnt worry too much! they should disappear after some time I would ask for a follow up scan after 6 weeks just to be sure x

Hi Keepingspiritsup .. thank you for your advice..have been asked to come back in a month so am hoping no cyst and lots of follicles but yes it isn't looking that positive atm x

mila1988 - yes my norm is a 28 day cycle, but for the last 2 months I've been having 2 periods a month so i 2 knew something wasn't right!! Glad your cycle is returning to normal, hopefully mine will soon. I thought it was strange that both left and right ovaries had the cysts and both were the same size - I do have twins so maybe my body was trying to ovulate from both sides again??? So many questions, yet when I ask doctors/nurses at my GP's they don't seem to be able to answer me!!!

@43andwantingababy snap! I had 2 periods in December which is what got me very worried. Its finally become regular, cycle still varies between 25 - 30 days but atleast we're getting there! I'm sure your's will start getting back to normal soon. Both my ovaries had more 1 cysts at the time. We're TTC #1 with no success so far :( My NHS GP brushed me off and didn't help at all so I paid for a private scan. I showed those results to the NHS GP and she just ignored me and didn't like the fact that i went for a private scan as opposed to NHS which is when she referred me for another scan. Anyway I went back to private GP where i had my scan done for a detailed report thats when she explained everything x

Yes you can't bea private, especially as they are experts in their field rather than general..Well good luck with your journey, I'm sure it'll happen soon, not so sure about myself but you never know! xx

Hi @43andwantingababy I am the same age as you and have been trying for the last 7 months also to get pregnant after a miscarriage last year. Hopefully when your cysts have gone you will ovulate again. Do you track your bbt? I do and see the shift every month so assume I ovulate but who knows.
Can I ask where you went for your scan? Was it the antrial folical scan? I have been debating having one myself just to see whether ttc is pointless now.

Hi! I had a scan around my 41st birthday if memory serves as my period were awful and erratic. I was told I had no follicles and a couple of chats on each ovary but nothing worrying (thee sort themselves out).
Anyway, about a year later I had my son about 18 months later. When I queried the follicle issue, after the birth, they said that it was most likely that I was just at the wrong part of my cycle to get an accurate idea of what my body was doing and that I obviously was still ovulating. My son is now 4 so it wasn't in the dark ages. I'm just wondering if this is a factor. If you want a baby don't give up hope. The best bet are blood tests at stages throughout your cycle to really see.

Sorry for the typos!

Hi Daisypod..I definitely think a private scan just to have alook at what's going on is worth it. I found the cheapest one I could at £135 with ultrasound Direct. They have places all over the country. If you go onto their website they do scans for everything including a fertility scan. They checked my uterus, the lining, cervix, fallopian tubes and my ovaries which as I said showed the cysts. What they couldn't read which I was hoping to see was my ovary reserve to see how many if any I have left. I think that is more specialist and costs quite a lot. They can also do all your blood work to see if you are producing the right levels of all the hormones to conceive.

I did try to track my BBT but my body temp seemed to jump all over the place all the time so wasn't consistent enough to read into. I now use really cheap Amazon ovulation sticks, you get about 50 in a pack so can track from the day your period finishes to the day it starts again and get a good understanding if and when you are ovulating, obviously this month I haven't had any positives but yes hoping for next month fingers crossed..good luck with your journey xx

Hi AloneLonelyLoner...Oh wow that's so nice to hear of a successful outcome that it isn't the end of the road. I do worry that i've left it all too late but I have 2 good friends, 1 is 42, just given birth and another 43 gave bith 3 months ago so fingers crossed it'll happen for me. My Mum said i'm being stupid to want a baby now but I can't help it, it's all I think about...xx

@43andwantinganotherbaby

We have been trying for over 18 months. GP was useless and so we went and got everything done privately. I had a cyst initially that appears to have gone away on its own but did give me a 43 day cycle at the time.

I am 37 and have 2 children already who were both conceived pretty early on once we decided to try.

4 years later and 3rd time around I just knew it wouldn't work. All the tests say we are fine and can find no reason why we can't conceive.

Husband won't try anything medical, meanwhile I am actually loosing my shit over it all.

If you can go private I'd do it. At least things move along quickly and they actually answer questions you may have as they are experts in fertility and GP's are not!

I am devastated and though I know how lucky I am it's still almost finishing me off.

@Minibow Thank you, yes I agree. 6 Months ago, at the beginning of trying, I asked my nurse at the GP surgery how i could tell if I was ovulating, she said if I was having periods I was definitely ovulating!!! What the f!!! I'm not a doctor but even I know that's wrong..so yes going down the private route also.

Im sorry to hear you are feeling so devastated....but if there is nothing wrong then there is still hope for you and you are still young. I know how you feel, I have 3 children but just can't let it go, I feel like it was meant to be..Will your husband not have his sperm checked out?

Just a thought, but I have been advised to take Vitex herb. It's a pregnancy hormone balancing herb to ensure you get the right amount of progesterone and everything else you need to ovulate successfully. I researched it on the internet and have heard amazing success stories, maybe give that a try, ive just ordered mine xx

I'm the same. Ive seen a counselor who always asks why I feel I need three children.

It's what you've always seen in your future isn't it? Hopeless feeling trying to explain it and then there's the guilt over the children you have and the ladies that don't have any.

Husband has had seamen analysis. Supersonic sperm there so not an issue on his side.

They've offered me Clomid or an IUI. Tbh if I was able to choose any treatment I'd go straight for the IVF. That appears to have the best odds at my age.

I'll give vitex a try. I've been taking dhea and cpq10. Cost is adding up now so so I won't be getting anymore as they dont seem to have done anything in the last 9 months I've been taking them.

I've also tried reflexology and currently throwing £ at acupuncture. The acupuncture is very relaxing and this month I seem to have ovulated on cd17 which is better than the cd24 I was on. But who knows if that's coincidence!

@Minibow

Yes exactly, like you know them already they just aren't here yet. That's great re sperm count at least he was willing to do that, mine won't!!

I think if you are ovulating that late, there won't be enough of the second stage of your cycle for the embryo to take hold before the uterus starts to shed, unless your whole cycle is quite long? Check your progesterone levels are correct and research vitex. I've bought the Gaia brand. xx

I didn't realise vitex is Agnus castus. I took that when trying for my 1st when I had 6 week cycles.

I've had all the tests. Luteal phase was shortish but now it's back to 12-13 days.

We are 'unexplained'. It's super helpful. There's basically nothing I can do except keep trying. Which after 18 months and zero success seems utterly pointless.

I think you can get an idea of ovarian reserve with an AMH blood test. It looks to be about £79 online. Fingers crossed for you.

@Minibow - an old friend of mine who had unexplained infertiliy discovered after years of trying that her immune system was working on overdrive and getting rid of any embyo's. She said at the time it made sense as she hadn't had a bug or any illness in years. I don't know what course of action she took after finding out but she now has 2 little girls...maybe worth looking into...good luck with your journey, I hope you have a successful outcome xx

@Petitprince Thank you that's really great to know I will definitely look into that x