Over 40 TTC - lots of baby dust for us...4!

[SparrowSG]

Here's our new thread (sorry, not good at coming up with exciting titles!!)

SparrowSG: 44. 1 DS 2.5. TTC for ever! 1 ectopic 10 wks Feb 2014, 1 successful IVF 2016, 1 failed IVF 2018, 1 MC 12 wks Feb 2019. Planned IVF Oct 2019.
KCM99: 43, 2 DC, ttc no.3 since April. 3 early losses since then.

Have changed phones and now locked out of my Kindara app... have emailed for a new password log in but nothing has arrived yet..
am day 26 slight spotting last night.. which is perhaps a day earlier than normal.. However I'm wondering if it's a sign to stop with the charting.. I only chart when we dtd and when I take my vits. It works out my fertile period but it tends to be around the full moon.. af arrives few days around the new moon and I'm kinda good with cm..
but think I'm going to knock the app on the head..
not stopping trying but we are in the contraceptive free dtd any time of the month zone anyway..
feel a bit odd these last few days which is why the spotting was a little surprising 😞 oh well let's see what the next few days bring.
Sending lots of love and baby dust to all you amazing ladies xx

Sounds interesting Chat..... amazing too that you still cycle around the moon phases:)
I don’t chart at all anymore. Only log my cd1 that’s it.
Seems like I’m the only one struggling to actually ovulate now:-(
I can only hope for regular cycles these days. It makes me think I’m truly down to the last few eggs. What a scary feeling.

Hope I can join in. I'm 43 with a 2.5 year old daughter. We've never used contraception and finally got pregnant again last February but had a miscarriage at 10 weeks. Everyone told me I'd be super fertile after the miscarriage but no evidence of that yet!! This is my first time posting on a thread so apologies in advance if I mess up

Welcome @Alarica and so sorry for your loss... nothing to mess up... we are a kindly bunch xx

@Alarica welcome to the group. Sorry to hear about your MC. I had a missed miscarriage in May from IVF, recovered and got a surprising BFP in July, natural conception but sadly also ended in a miscarriage, I was around 7 weeks and with the enlarged yolk sac which is bad news after all although the consultant wasn't worried about it! And when I asked my fertility doc at the same time, she was direct with me and said it wasn't good. I'm 43 and my DD is similar age as your toddler. We're starting donor egg cycle next month.
And this bunch of ladies here are the greatest support!

@Alarica so sorry about your miscarriage, I had a mmc at 9 weeks in June this year, which was later found to have been caused by trisomy 21. I’ve just turned 42 and also have a 2.5 year old. Wishing you lots of luck, this thread has some great advice x

Thanks for the lovely welcome.
@Russkispy it sounds like you've had a really tough year. Hope the donor egg journey is smooth and successful for you. You may have tried it before, but I found Vitex really good for getting my cycles back on track after the miscarriage.
@Samosaurus I suspect my miscarriage was due to chromosomal issues too. I miscarried over a weekend so there wasn't anything to test by the time I got an appointment at the EPU but my early scan report showed a yolk sac well below average and although the sonographer didn't mention it, my google searches made me concerned at the time.
Does anyone know how to source safe DHEA in the UK? It seems to be the only thing to improve egg quality or does anyone have other suggestions?

@Alarica thank you. I always bought mine from this site:
www.biovea.com/uk/product_detail.aspx?PID=21504&deptid=1&cid=22583&OS=202&NAME=dhea-25mg-300-vegetarian-tablets
I took 75mg a day, and I also took Inofolic every morning.

@Alarica I'm taking a bunch of supplements at the moment, but one that's supposed to good for egg quality is Inositol which I started taking after my mmc. My 7 week scan was perfect, so the mmc was a real shock, but finding out it was chromosomal rather than my body rejecting a healthy fetus was very comforting. Just got to hope that we catch a good egg next time, although my consultant said the chromosomal anomaly could have equally have come from the sperm - or even been a random mutation when the cells were dividing 🤷‍♀️

Thank you @Russkispy
That's interesting @Samosaurus , I just blamed my decrepit eggs! It helps to think my body might not be too old for pregnancy if I can just manage to release a healthy egg, easier said than done though. If you don't mind me asking, did you find out about the Inositol yourself or was it recommended by a professional? Is there a brand you could recommend?
I've been taking lots of supplements too- ubiquinol, omega, macca, folate, conception multivitamin, costs a fortune but I want to give it my best shot.

@Alarica A friend who'd be seen by Zita West recommended the inositol, and I did quite a bit of research on it and came to the conclusion that it couldn't do any harm, but could do some good in regards to egg quality.
I got the Bulk Powders brand from Amazon and have it in water alongside wheatgrass powder every morning.
I am also on a low dose of aspirin which my consultant prescribed, he also has told me to take high-strength folic acid, a vitamin D spray, and an omega 3 supplement. I am also spending a fortune of supplements, but like you I want to give it my best shot :)

@Samosaurus do you take the aspirin throughout the whole cycle? I take Co enzyme q10, omega 3,6,9.. preg pre vits and the vit d spray.. upped my q10 to 400mgs nearly 3 months ago x

I think i forgot to say Congratulations Karigan!

Thanks Reality.

Love & bd to all & welcome new ladies x

Good morning @Chatbash72 I do take it the whole cycle, it is may enhance blood flow to the uterus which can only be a good thing. I wouldn’t take it without medical advice though, but I am super wary of self medicating!

I'm also taking aspirin throughout the cycle and my fertility doc recommended that

I saw a fertility specialist in Ireland while trying to conceive my DD and was prescribed 5mg folic acid, 300mg CoQ10, omega 3, vitamin D and 75mg aspirin as well as 75mg DHEA. The DHEA was reduced to 25mg two weeks later after a testosterone blood test. Six weeks later I found out I was pregnant, possibly just a coincidence. Anyway the doctor recommended continuing with the aspirin, vit D and folic acid during pregnancy. I also gave up coffee for a year before getting pregnant.
Sometimes I wonder if I could have prevented the miscarriage if I'd been following the same supplement regime as three years ago, also went back to one coffee a day when DD was 6 months old. Other times I think I just got really lucky with my first pregnancy and the supplements etc are just a placebo 🤷‍♀️

Meant to say thanks @Samosaurus for the info on Inositol, have looked into the wheatgrass too and I think I'll give them both a try. Like you I'm a little reluctant to take medication without supervision so I'm wary of the DHEA but the above seem very natural. Thanks 😊

@Alarica no problem :) I think it’s great that we can all share our knowledge. Fingers crossed for us all :)

Please can I join you all?
I've just miscarried at 7+2 😢 but just happy it's happened naturally and I can get back trying soon, hopefully....
I am nearly 46 and have 5 kids, my youngest is nearly one.
I've had 4 MC at 7/8 weeks in my 40s though, so I know it's not going to be easy. Obviously I'm incredibly grateful for my existing large family. We just have so much love to give to just one more.....
I am thinking of trying low dose aspirin. Although think my losses were probably chromosomal, due to my age.
Bxx

Welcome Beckymum. Good luck on your journey. Mc are heartbreaking, I have also had 2 since we started trying over 2 years ago.

Afm, cd11 today, no signs of any upcoming ov, last cycle ewcm started on cd7. Not liking this irregularity

So sorry to hear about your miscarriages @beckymum hope you're getting lots of love and cuddles to get you through
Hi @Cleozeta do you mind me asking what age you are? I've read through the thread but hard to keep track of who's who! I thought my cycle was settled after the miscarriage, ov day 15 (static smiley) and 31 day cycle for two months (later ov and longer cycle than pre MC) but this month static on CD 11 so maybe AF will come earlier. Also haven't noticed any EWCM since MC so wondering if static smileys are LH surge but no egg release

Alarica - i am 42 but have high FSH & low AMH. My cycles changed after my last mc (October) my LP went right down to 9, so I have started on progesterone to increase that. So far ovulating every month though but worried that may change.
Do you temp? Thats the only way to confirm if you definitely ovulated. Although to be honest if you are getting +opks and then a normal af between 8 - 16 (or so) days later then you more than likely are.

Thanks @Cleozeta that makes me hopeful about ov at least. I don't temp, thought about getting the Ava bracelet cos I don't think I could do it myself but it's very pricey. What do you use for temping/opk?

I use ava bracelet. Takes all the faff out of temping orally. I used to temp orally but I found it difficult always waking at the same time and I don't think it was very reliable for me. Ava is great, it's just like a watch that you wear over night, and it does all that for you, plus you get extra data like heart rate etc which is really useful once you know what you are looking for.
Here is a referal link where you can get £20 off
avawomen.ref-r.com/c/i/12607/15728512

For opk's I use either cheapie's from the internet (one step), clear blue fertility monitor or Eveline

Thanks @Cleozeta really appreciate that 😊