Over 40 TTC - lots of baby dust for us...3!

[SparrowSG]

New thread for us 40+'s

Can anyone recommend a progesterone cream at all? I wonder whether it might be worth a bash. I've got some pessaries kicking about from when I tried (and gave up) the 'killer cells' steroid programme but they made me feel sicky and crap...not in a pregnant way either, just felt mentally and physically rubbish.

@karryk, how are you doing? I would be interested to know about the progesterone cream too. I seem to lose them like clockwork on day 39 of my cycle.

Caved in and went to the GP about the spotting and breathlessness, have been booked for an early scan at 7 weeks. The GP read my age backwards (I assume) and told the EPU that I was 24 - I wish that were so!

Good luck to you all!

@turquoiseturtle good stuff about the scan - fingers and toes crossed for you!

I've had less spotting today so I'm holding off going to the gp for now... I had breathlessness with my dd - less this time around but I do have quite the pounding heart especially at night!

Ha..oh to be 24

@turquoiseturtle do you take baby aspirin ?

Hi everyone

I'm about to read back but wanted to ask if anyone here has had successful IVF aged 40?

Atm an odd cycle this month, not huge amounts of ewcm and ov sometime over the weekend, it's normally at the full moon but v achy R ovary.. only managed to dtd on thurs night and sat morning.. so fingers crossed there are some swimmers in the tubes..
welcome @AJy3llow5 and sending lots of love and baby dust to you all and those little beans 💕

@twinkledag - I had IVF last year aged 40 and my beautiful twins are 1 week old today 😊 feel free to message me if you want to.

I think the IVF success rates on here have been quite high, which is why I'm seriously considering it as an option now

I'm out af has struck ☹️

@Chatbash72 I'm hesitant in case it interferes with the efficacy of my levothyroxine. I'm struggling to keep my TSH low enough, and think thyroid may have contributed to earlier problems.

(I get mixed messages from doctors about this - the GP I saw on Monday 'corrected' me and told me that I didn't need TSH under 2.5, but I know otherwise from the fertility clinic!)

@hmmm123 sorry to hear that!

Sorry @hmmm123

@turquoiseturtle that's been a battle for me - my old gp and current one will not back down from their view that tsh does not need to be under 2.5. My old gp actually called up a colleague at some fertility hospital (forget which) while I was in the room and put him on speaker to tell me that she was right!

But it's contrary to what I learned at the private clinic I was briefly under for my second (unsuccessful) pregnancy.

Everyone has different opinions which doesn't help at all!

@turquoiseturtle I'm on thyroxine too, but have been advised by my consultant to take baby aspirin - what makes you think it might interfere with the thyroxine? I haven't heard that before and now I am a bit concerned!

@Constance1234 - I just meant that I'm a bit wary of taking drugs or supplements 'off my own bat' without a doctor prescribing them, since I'm already on a prescribed drug that I'm struggling to get to work properly. Haven't heard anything specific about aspirin and levothyroxine, and if your consultant has prescribed both, I'm sure it's fine.

Sorry didn't mean to frighten you!

How are things going with you?

@turquoiseturtle ah ok fair enough! Thanks for putting my mind at ease :) Things going ok thanks, just trying not to be too pessimistic each time I get a slight twinge! Good you’ve got an early scanned booked. I have one booked at 7+4 - really hope I make it that far (I’m 5+3 at the moment)! Such a worrying time, I hope that you are coping ok x

@Constance1234 Thank you for your kind words! x
I’m freaking out every chance I get. I think that’s normal though.
I’m 5+4 I think. If I can make it to the scan (6+5) I will feel I’ve reached a new level.

@karryk yes, there seem to be a lot of differing medical opinions. I’m following what the fertility clinic (and the British Thyroid association) have said, that your TSH should ideally be under 2.5 when you conceive, and you should increase the dosage of levothyroxine by 25mg per day as soon as you find out you’re pregnant, in order to keep it that low. The clinic wrote to my regular GP asking her to prescribe a dosage to get me under 2.5 and she hasn’t argued! It must be really frustrating to be battling to get the GP on board with this.

I've read back and caught up. Congrats to all who have BFPs and 🤞 to those still waiting. Extra special congrats to @CritterTamer on your beautiful twins and hello to @Hobbes39 who I've seen on other boards.

My history is this -
I am 40 and 6 months old!
1 DS conceived via IVF in 2013. TTC #2 since August 2016. Have had IVF twice - 1 x embryo transfer in 2016 BFN.
Frozen 1 x embryo transfer in 2017 BFN.
Fresh transfer in 2018 of 3 embryos ended in miscarriage.
Frozen transfer in 2018 of 2 embryos - BFN

Just completed another fresh ivf round in April this year - 6 eggs collected, only 1 blastocyst, PGD tested and not viable for transfer.

We have Male factor - low morphology but count and motility normal.

I really want to continue as I don't feel this is the end for us but am I throwing good money after bad?

I've had 7 embryos transferred since I was 37 and all I have to show for it is a mc and a lot of debt 😢

Hi @twinkledag - I remember you from before too . Sorry to hear you are struggling, but I dont think it has to be the end of the road for you, however only you and your DP can really decide that... I really had to be convinced to go for this round as like you i had multiple rounds and no reward, and money aside I just felt I was getting to that point I couldn't keep banging my head against a brick wall. We started IVF when I was 38.5, we transferred 9 embryos in total before these 2 (2 fresh, 2 fresh,1 frozen, 2 fresh, 1 frozen, 1 frozen) and all I had was a CP and 2 MMC to show for it. So we did this round being absolutely clear that it was def our last as I was approaching 42 and just had had enough.
Thank god we did do it though as I'm here now 21w pregnant with twins, and had my '20w scan' yesterday and all looks good with both babies measuring as they should and hearts kidneys etc all as they should be too. I don't think I'll truly feel we can say 'we finally got there' until the day I have them healthy in my arms, but it's looking good so far! I honestly feel that it was just finally some luck, as we did less this time than before. I think it's difficult to know when to give up, but I was getting close to the point where continuing was more heartbreaking than stopping, but I wasn't quite there... I think that's how you decide really. Good luck xx

Thank you @Hobbes39 for sharing your story and good luck with the twins! Wishing you safe delivery 😊

Who did you cycle with?

welcome twinkle - don't give up hope, you have eggs so you have hope.

Hmmm - so sorry about AF x

Hobbes - congratulations on your 20 week scan - great news - it gives me such hope:-)

To answer a question from up-thread - I'm using Biovea Progesterone cream. It's 'natural' progesterone and is a really nice cream. It's easy to measure and apply. I'm only on day 3 of using it so have a way to go yet to get a true picture of it but hope that helps. I'm about 4/5DPO so i'll be using it for at least another week or so yet. My only query about it is this - if anyone can help - most websites say to apply it onto your skin where it is thin (so inner arms, behind knees, chest etc) so that it goes straight into your blood stream and not into fatty areas where it can just be 'stored' and will accumulate. Hoevever, I'm also reading that it should be applied onto the labia and vagina walls so it's as close as possible to your uterus and ovaries.

Anyone shed any light on this?!

Mimosa - I've never heard of applying it to the privates. I think it's only supposed to be places like inner arms & legs, soles of feet, palms of hands, bum cheeks & face

Cleo - thanks for your thoughts. I do feel a bit weird slapping it straight onto my vag lol. Might try just a teeny tiny bit and see what happens though. For kicks😆 How’s things with you?

And why not 🤣

Things fine so far, plodding through another cycle. Much better than last cycle so far but I still don't think there will be any success, but I like having the control and predictability of the progesterone pesseries

Morning ladies

Quick update.. After a lull of a few days, the spotting is back and it's heavier so based on past experience and how I'm feeling I think this one is also on the way out. Taking some heart from the fact that I had more symptoms than last time so maybe it'll be tired time lucky at our next attempt.

Don't have time to go to the docs this week so will go next week and get a referral to the EPU to scan to make sure everything is passing through.

Gutted but on I go....

Xx

Whoops..meant third time lucky....but I am tired as well!!