The geriatric gang 👵🏻🤰

[Stillwinston]

Just a lighthearted thread for those of us now considered to be geriatric by the NHS 😂 looking to meet other women TTC who may also be feeling past their prime!

A little bit about me - I'm 36 and TTC dc no.2. Been trying for over 2 years now and depressingly started AF today so am yet again starting CD1. Hubby doesn't quite understand how upsetting this is each month so it'd be great to chat with ladies who get how I'm feeling ❤️

BFN . Think that says it all 💔

@MK85 Sorry to hear that 💗

😭😭 AF arrived last night. So much for the slight differences and what I thought was a faint line on Hcg. Although my cramping has none stop on off from Wednesday.
Work is thankfully taking my mind of it but last night and this morning was tough!

@MK85 sorry to hear you were BFN also
hugs from afar

Sorry @niknaks37 and @MK85 - the disappointment is crap. Hope you're both okay.

The age gap thing doesn't even come into my head, it just means both my children (if I'm lucky enough to get one to stick around again) will be bought up as only children, spoilt rotten with love and whatever they need. My DS (22 this month) lives abroad and this won't impact him so I think why would I not try now that the time is right again. The parents that I know that have found it the most difficult are the ones with multiple children with short age gaps. It might not be deemed as 'conventional' but it's how life pans out sometimes🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks @Stillwinston @cornflakes86 @Infinitebows . Feeling the cloud lifting a bit today. Funny things hormones aren’t they!

Sorry to hear about your bfn @MK85 and AF @niknaks37.

group hug and reset for next ovulation?

Just realised my AFC scan will be around ovulation time so it will be interesting to see what my ov test is doing compared to what they can actually see.

Think I'm out again this month. BFN this morning, and I should see a faint line by now. Balls anyway. I'm not even sure I'm ovulating at the moment. Might have to investigate further. Has anyone had the probe where they check how many eggs you have left? My sister mentioned this earlier.

@Maizie83 I have. It's an Antral Follicle Count test, it's done with an Anti-Mullerian Hormone test. The AMH is tested via blood and the AFC test is carried out with an transvaginal ultrasound probe. Both tests can be done at any point during your cycle.

@Maizie83 my last sentence was poorly worded. I meant that both tests can be done at any point in your cycle as long as they're done together.

I did a AMH blood test via Randox, it was about £45. The hormone indicates what sort of egg reserve you have.
I’m booked in for my AFC scan next Sunday, that’s £140. They can physically see the antral follicles and count them which again indicates what your egg reserve is like and it also gives an idea as to how your body will respond to egg stimulation for IVF.

If you want to see if you’re ovulating, you need to do a progesterone test on day 21 (if your periods are 28 days ish and you ovulate mid way through the cycle.)
You could always try ovulation test strips and/ or BBT.

@MK85 @niknaks37 @Maizie83 so sorry to hear that AF has arrived/your tests are negative, was really keeping everything crossed for you all; this TTC crap is so bloody disheartening. Hope you're all doing ok ❤️ x

Thank you @Stillwinston for your support and @ttcat37 and @SarahShorty for these tips, really useful! I appreciate it so much.

@MK85 sorry about your bfn I’m thinking of asking about Clomid soon but my suspicion is that I’m ovulating and my eggs are crap quality. Have you considered trying ovulation induction with iui or timed sexual intercourse ? The fertility clinic I went to mentioned it as an option. I think it’s reasonable enough if u go private and they would monitor you then. I was considering it but I do think I’m ovulating. If I suspected I was not ovulating I’d definitely go for it.

@niknaks37 sorry about Af I was keeping my fingers crossed for a bfp for you. This ttc business is just downright cruel sometimes

@MK85 by the way I mean it’s reasonable compared to ivf !

@Maizie83 virtual hugs. Is so shit isn't it. I'm just sitting around waiting for AF now. Ive reached my ttw and tested today again and 👎

@cornflakes86 that's also quite a concern of mine, that my eggs are super crap quality because I have pcos and when you factor age on top of that. It feels like odds are just against me. Apparently if you have pcos your 3 times more likely to miscarry. That dosent exactly fill me with hope should I get pregnant.

We've actually recently talked about combining IUI with clomid. I said we'd give it 2 or 3 cycles to try on our own to see first. I read a few nights ago that combining iui with clomid is a good option. We've discussed seeing a private doctor but where do we even start is the problem. The vast majority we've seen this past year were useless. Its finding one that understands pcos so that they can guide us on the best appropriate path. I've read that clomid isn't the best option for pcos anyway, and it's more recommended for unexplained infertility and that letrozole has a much higher success rate for pcos so id be interested to switch. I haven't heard back from the consultant at hospital yet so I don't really know what my plan this next cycle is. I don't know if I want to do another unmonitored month . You can only have 6 cycles and I could be wasting another month if I'm not responding . I'd also like to get a baseline scan to ensure my womb lining is adequate before starting again. There's no point me taking it if it's negatively impacting my lining.

We had savings that we had planned to put towards starting fertility treatment but when covid lockdowns struck, we pretty much lost the vast majority of our savings . If it wasn't such a financial splurge atm I'd be queued up at a clinic . I think we may ultimately have no choice but to pursue treatment anyway as although our review appointment at nhs fertility clinic is next month , apparently the waiting list for nhs ivf here is 12 months and all we'll get is one ivf cycle. Its recommended we have icsi due to his morphology but nhs are reluctant to offer icsi for first cycle. I could only imagine the shape of my eggs in another year's time. We've also discussed freezing embryos in the hope that could buy us some time for a few years as I know each round is never a guarantee. The other big dilemma is picking a clinic .

I took clomid this month knowing that i might already ovulate , if not every month then at least from time to time. I suppose the hope is that if you produce a couple of eggs at a time that perhaps you'll manage to catch one good one. Wishful thinking eh

@MK85 Alot of people do have success with clomid though, and you have just as much chance as anyone to have success with it. can understand why you don’t want to do another unmonitored month though. I’d be willing to try it myself and might suggest it. I’ve a fertility appointment again in June. So we will see. It’s actually a joke how expensive private fertility treatments are.

@MK85 i feel your pain. I just sold my car to pay for treatment. Although we’ve not got to any cycles yet, so far everything has been paid for bit by bit. It all adds up but it helps when it’s £250 here, £150 there. I’ve also done some of the blood tests privately through online kits etc. I’ve got my consultation at Care fertility and their AFC scan which I need to have before the appointment is £220, so I’ve booked in at a smaller place for £140. For my HSG, it was meant to be about £450 at spire but we went to the next nearest spire and it was £300 and something. So if you do decide to go private, shop around a bit as you can save a few pounds.

By the way ladies, be sure to add easy at home to the shit pile. Took a test today , negative. Came back an hour later and went to bin the test and as I starred hopelessly at the BFN for a moment, there it was .. f*King evap

@MK85 There is always an annoying “what if” with evaps isn’t there . When it’s happened to me I’ve googled photos of evaps vs bfps for ages and all sorts . This is why I just wait for afs inevitable arrival now ! I’ve ordered easy at home tests and cos they are so cheap I know I’d be inclined to early test . Still u never know. Not to give false hope but they say you aren’t out until Af arrives!

Hello. I'm about to turn 40. I feel so old ttc number 1. Does anyone else have any success stories trying to conceive around 40. The fertility doctor is trying to push me towards using doner eggs

Hi @Hopingforamiracle12! I wish you the best of luck. I don’t have a success story at 35 (my age), let alone 40. I don’t think 40 is ‘too old’ as long as you’re happy to just have one. Sadly, I do think 40 may be too late to have more than one.

Why is the doctor urging you to use donor eggs? Have test results shown that your eggs are not ideal or is it ageism? How long have you been trying?

My DH's aunt struggled to conceive for years and finally had a baby at 41. Her baby is now 23. It's possible, it's just really hard.

There's a 40 plus ttc group on Mumsnet, in my previous pregnancy a few of the girls in the group were 40 and over... it's just like anything else I guess for some people it'll be harder than others, and we never know someone's full story unless they're sharing it all....

@Hopingforamiracle12 I had my first at 2 weeks after I turned 40 if that helps 😊
Are you using OPK's ?