Trying to conceive over 40

[October1979]

Here is a new thread for us girls

@October1979 hugs to you too… i think we have to try abs stay positive (so easy to say)

A) we know it is possible to get pregnant and stay pregnant age 40+ (@sabtom and @Littlemiss41andfabulous are our proof)
b) we now have appointments to get checked out - so if there is anything ‘wrong’ hopefully it will be found
C) now we are ‘in the system’ WHEN we do fall pregnant hopefully we will be looked after by the drs and won’t have argue for every little test/scan

At least that’s how I am trying to rationalise the fact we’ve had such bad luck so far.

@October1979 massive hugs and sprinkles all around - it's so hard to stay positive but @Honey2 is right there are several reasons to look on the bright side - it's just a tough journey to get there x

@Honey2 you are so right. I am holding on to all those reasons too. I will pick myself up and be positive xxx

A bit more proof for everyone:

My best friend: 1st at 38 after 2 years of trying, second conceived at 40 and born at 41 after 4 months of trying - both natural conception

My other good friend: 1st at 39 and second at 42, both took 5 months if trying, both naturally conceived

Both said they almost gave up but then just got lucky xxx

@October1979 completely understandable to feel down. Give yourself a bit of space to feel sad about it (because it is really sad) but know that it can still happen for you and now that you’re being taken seriously this will hopefully increase the chances. It just takes one good one!! Sending lots of virtual hugs

I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been feeling down @Honey2 and @October1979 It is completely understandable. You’ve both been through so much. I think you’re right @Honey2 there are always positives. In early June I was sad after finding out my best friend is pregnant. Someone said to me, it’s always darkest just before dawn and they were right. You both could have good news right around the corner. You’ll need strength for when it happens as then it’ll be onto the next stage of worry that pregnancy brings. I’m sorry for anyone else who’s struggling too. Xx

So ladies it’s good news from me today. I’m 6 weeks plus 2 and we have a healthy looking little bean with a heartbeat. It’s early days but we’re beyond happy. ❤️❤️❤️

@Catconfusion ahhhh that’s brilliant 🤩

Congratulations @Catconfusion
I’m interested to hear what’s worked for you as you’ve conceived a few times… this is my first month with ovusense and I’m 8 DPO . Won’t test yet as not getting any pregnancy symptoms. The one thing I could do is follow a low carb diet… which is something I did before my son was conceived.

Hi @Portlandia

I’m sorry ladies who are feeling a bit down. . I have a feeling this is not my month.

@Honey2 I hope they do more than just that for you, it's so unfair when we get no answers.

@Mattieandmummy thank you, I am a vegetarian of 26 years so not eaten red meat for a long time, may look into the gluten free though, I only use full fat milk for tea anyway and the odd bit of cheese so hopefully that won't effect it! 🤞🏻 x

@October1979 I'm feeling exactly the same, they must all just be bad eggs in there and it's so sad, I just wished we had tried sooner but we hadn't been together long!

@Portlandia hi and welcome, I can't give you much in the way of tips I'm afraid as being tried everything and nothing works for me 😂

@Catconfusion congratulations lovely, so pleased everything's going well for you

Congratulations @Catconfusion delighted for you xxx

Thank you ladies. It means a lot. We’re so pleased. I’m vomiting multiple times a day so hoping to get some meds from my doctor. It’s come on so early. Apart from that, we’re all good. Just hoping all is well in a couple of weeks.

Really hoping there’s more bfps on here soon. Xx

@birdbybird I’d definitely recommend low carb. We’ve been following a Mediterranean diet with plenty of fish, leafy greens and beans. We’ve not been that strict but I wonder if it helped my cycles regulate a bit. Although, this baby was conceived on day 27.

This cycle is the first one I started progesterone (200mg pessary) every night 3 days after ovulation and I’ve taken baby aspirin every night throughout my cycle. I took the Zita West Vitafem prenatal. Plus 200mg of ubiquinol and an omega 3 tablet with epa and dha. Proceive do a really good omega 3. We also managed to dtd 2 days before O and on the day of O.

Interestingly the EPAU nurse said they’ve had a memo to say studies have proven Progesterone leads to more live births in ladies with recurrent miscarriage or with a history of spotting in pregnancy. They now have the green light to prescribe it. I’m on quite a low dose from my GP. The dose for miscarriage prevention is 2 200mg pessaries twice a day. I had the option of increasing but I feel like the dose I’m on is ok. It worked when I was pregnant with ds and I don’t have a history of spotting. Also I’m feeling really rough and suspect progesterone could be to blame.

I’m really not sure what made this cycle different. I do wonder if there’s just a lot of luck involved. Another theory is that it’s to do with vitamin d. I conceived my ds 10 days later two years ago. Summer seems good for me.

I really do wish you all the luck in the world. Ttc at our age is really tough. There’s so much negativity out there as well which doesn’t help. Today the nurse said they see plenty of 42 year olds and older with viable pregnancies so it’s totally possible and plenty do best the odds. Xx

*beat the odds

@Catconfusion thank you so much for your post. It was so reassuring to hear you say that the epu nurses said they see plenty of women who are 42 with viable pregnancies. It made my day. Is the normal progesterone dose 2 200mg cyclogest pessaries a day one in evening and one in the morning or 2 in the morning and two in the evening?

We are planning to just try naturally now as don’t have the money to do ivf anymore and i was getting quite down re my age so it was great your message…

@Unicorn9 glad it helped. Its funny but whenever I’ve dealt with healthcare professionals while ttc and pregnancy (I was 40 when I had ds) they’ve not had the same concerns regarding age. My midwife called me a spring chicken at 40 as she had two ladies over 50 on her books. There’s not the same panic when younger people take a while to conceive or have pregnancy loss yet with the over 40s there’s the assumption it’s age. Someone on another thread said their consultant didn’t think pregnancy loss in those under 45 was usually age related. I thought that was interesting.

Yes the recommended dose is 2x 200mg twice a day according to the nurse. She said she would check with the consultant to see if I needed more but I forgot to ask on the way out after the scan. I think I’m ok on the lower dose. Xx

That's really interesting re: progesterone, our consultant put me on 400mg once a day or 200mg twice a day and it was their idea. The dose for IVF is 400mg twice a day apparently so if the ivf clinics are doing it, there must be something too it.

@Marvellouslymadmum you're welcome, I'm going to try it for a few months and see what happens.

@Catconfusion congratulations on your scan. That must have been wonderful. Hope the meds you get for the vomiting help soon.

@October1979 and @Honey2 and @Marvellouslymadmum sorry you're feeling so low but it's completely understandable. This TTC is such a rollercoaster. I'm glad we have each other to share the highs and the lows with and that my pregnancy is a source of encouragement for you. I was so down the month before we conceived, thinking it was never going to happen and when it did I was so happily surprised. I hope you get your BFP's soon too.

@Portlandia welcome to the group x

A little update on me; 15 weeks and 5 days now. Still needing a nap every day but getting my energy back and mange my first short jog in 4 months yesterday. I am definitely beginning to develop a bump in my lower abdomen, most pronounced first thing in the morning, before I have a wee. I can feel my womb underneath - it feels about the size of a mango.
That's not all baby - they found some fibroids in my womb at the 12 week scan which was a surprise to me, but they don't seem too concerned and said that's quite common. I'm also now prescribed low dose aspirin for the rest of my pregnancy due to my age, to reduce the risk of blood clots. It's all going very smoothly and I'm hoping I'll begin to feel baby in the next few weeks x

Hi everyone, I was on the 40+ ttc thread for years. I have one DS and we were ttc for years but I'm def peri menopausal now at 49. Interesting to read about progesterone as my gp put me on HRT and it says that progesterone can increase fertility! I've just come off it as i had side effects but maybe i should have persevered!

@Catconfusion.. I remember you well from the old thread. Congratulations!

Good luck and baby dust to everyone x

Aww lovely news @Littlemiss41andfabulous glad it’s going well. It’s amazing how quickly time goes. Xx

@BooseysMom of course I remember you. Thank you, we’re really pleased. We’ve had three early losses since January so really pleased this one appears to have stuck. Interestingly my friend was diagnosed with peri menopause at 36. By 40 she had menopause symptoms so started HRT. She’s now 14 weeks pregnant at 41 years old. I had no idea you could fall pregnant on HRT. It’s been a big shock for her but also a lovely surprise. Xx

Morning all!!

Sorry I’ve been a bit AWOL but I’ve been lurking lots! So exciting to hear how well it’s going for the BFPers @Catconfusion @sabtom @Littlemiss41andfabulous ❤️

It was my 43rd birthday yesterday so I write this on a hangover 🤣 But after deciding to bin the OPKs this cycle has been soooo much less stressful. I looked back over the past 6 months and so I understand my ovulation pattern. It’s meant that DTD has been way more fun when not waiting for a flippin’ smiley face 🤣 Will it work? No idea. Probably not. But I definitely feel emotionally lighter not obsessing like I was.

What’s interesting is over the past 6 months I’ve discovered I generally surge day 9/10 so ovulate days 11/12. That’s been largely consistent. But the month I got pg I was using a generic period tracking app that put ovulation at day 14, which is when we dtd. And it resulted in a BFP. All the months of ‘targeted’ trying = zilch.

@October1979 & @Honey2 how are you guys feeling today? I feel like I’ve had some really low moments in this ttc journey too. So depressing not having any control over body/future and being made to feel soooo old all the time. And really discombobulating not knowing what the ‘right’ decision is moving forwards. Sending empathy and love xx

And welcome any newbies! ❤️

Hey @Geriatric1234 great to hear from you. Thank you for the good wishes. Also happy birthday. I hope you’ve had a good time.

Interesting what you say about opks. I found my surge was long lasting, usually 48 hours. The cycle I got my bfp we managed to dtd with the first peak and then two days later which I confirmed was the day of O. With previous cycles we’d not dtd on O day. We’ve had three early losses as well. I don’t know if dtd on the day of O helped with making it a sticky bean. It probably is just good luck.

So glad you’ve found not tracking has helped with your enjoyment of dtd and lowered stress levels. I’m sure I read a study that showed women who didn’t track were more likely to get a bfp. Easier said than done I know. My cycles are long and irregular so I had to track really so we caught it. Anyway I wish you the best of luck! Xx

Hi

I've just started a 40+ thread because I'm dying to discuss Joanna Page and Alex Jones et al pregnancies.

But thought I'd also introduce myself on this thread as well.

41, TTC 4 after a 3 year gap ( last child conceived/born when I was 38).

I'm loosely following It starts with the egg in terms of supplements etc.

My DC3 died after illness earlier this year which is my driver for conceiving #4.

@Catconfusion sorry about all the vomiting but at least it's for a good cause!

@Littlemiss41andfabulous thank you, it's really hard when it just feels like it'll never happen, so Pleased it's all going well for you!

Happy birthday for yesterday @Geriatric1234 hope you had a lovely day!

@feelingkenty welcome to the thread, I'm really sorry to hear of your loss 😞