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 ❤️

@cornflakes86 to be honest, I've actually no idea 🙉 one consultant told me 6 months while another told me 4 months. Ive now completed 2 clomid cycles. I think they sent the note electronically to the gp so I've no clue how many months is on the gps system. I've got an appointment with the fertility gynae in hospital on Tuesday so I'll find out from him. He did promise me In his letter a few weeks ago that he would make arrangements to ensure I'll have proper monitoring in cycle 3 . He actually advised that I held off cycle 2 until he had seen me due to the prolonged pain I was having and the risk of OHSS but I'd already started cycle 2 before I received it.

@mommabear64 any update? Did af arrive ?

Oh wow, haven't been on in ages and there are a million messages I've missed 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 not going to even attempt to get back up to speed so just going to say that I hope everyone's doing ok ❤️

We've had a very nice couple of weeks not trying or thinking about pregnancy and just enjoying life and I think it was the tonic I needed - very much ready to get my head back in the game for the next cycle 💪🏻 sending love to everyone 💓

@MK85 I remind myself that the best sleepnoge had was when I had anaesthetic! 🙈 They know what they're doing and it will be worth it the end. How long have you been doing the intermittent fasting?

@MrsLully I might give the intermittent fasting a go. What times do you eat/fast? Can you drink in the fasting window?

Welcome back @Stillwinston ! I'm doing the same, having taken an opk, done bbt or logged anything yet this month and it's been quite nice. Intending to get back to it next month but trying to stay relaxed. Sending you lost of baby dust for your next cycle 🌟

@Butterfly2000 I used to just skip breakfast, so my first meal would be at around 12, then dinner as usual. Then I introduced a 24h fast a couple of times per month to speed up the process, so I'd go without a meal from dinner to dinner. It took me roughly 3 months to lose 12kg.
I've kept it off by no snacking mainly, I haven't fasted since las year. You can have water, black tea or coffee during a fast, no sugar or milk.

@MK85 nope. Not arrived. I had norovirus and was throwing up violently as well as the other all night before the bleed. I could feel sharp womb pains as i was tensing so hard. I remember thinking if there's a bean in there it will be a miracle if it survives this. Then that tiny bleed the next morning. Nothing more though and i'm now recovered. I am no techinically due af till next Saturday though. So maybe i burst a little cyst ir something.

@MK85 good luck with the appointment anyway. It will be good if they monitor you properly it would prob take some of the stress away

Fingers crossed for you @mommabear64 .

Hi all,

I’ve been silently stalking this thread for a while. I’m 39 and AF started yesterday so I’m onto cycle 11. I’ve had 5 CPs in that time. Getting pretty despondent that this isn’t going to happen for us. I’ve been to my GP who did a blood and hormone test but I’m not entitled to anything else until my BMI is under 35. The stress of knowing I need to lose the weight before I turn 40 is a lot. Sorry just having a bit of a Debbie downer today.

@Lifegivesyoulimes sorry to hear what your going through. I've had one at 5 weeks and I thought that was hard enough. It's so bizzare they won't refer you to the recurrent clinic, especially since you've went through this 5 times.
I was told your entitled to investigations on nhs but any treatment would be subject to meeting the strict criteria

@MK85 oh thank you. I feel like you become a bit hardened to it. I do see people sharing their BFP all over the chats and can’t understand how they are so happy because for me it has no far meant absolutely nothing.

The first appointment I had with the GP she couldn’t understand why I’d come to see her after only 6 months even though I was just about to turn 39 and told me to keep trying and come back at the 12 month mark. At which point I have to admit I cried. She then offered to a blood test to look at thyroid levels and to speak to one of the other GPS about anything else they could do. Further to this she then phoned me back and offered another blood test to check hormone levels and a referral to gynaecology. However the referral got bounced straight back and I was told to refer again once BMI was down. DH is supposed to be going for a semen analysis but hasn’t bothered yet.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting private tests, perhaps AMH and 21 day progesterone but even if I can prove there is something wrong I know I can’t get any treatment for at least months until I sort my weight so what’s the point.

Sorry for the brain dump. TTC seems like such a lonely place especially at this age.

@Lifegivesyoulimes the nhs advise anyone over 36 should speak to their gp sooner ( 6 months) its posted on the nhs website.

My advise is , when your ready, if your planning on using nhs, I wouldn't bother going back to gp. I'd just self refer to gynae ( you cant go straight to a nhs fertility clinic without going through gp or gynae) and waiting times really vary dependant on area ( I waited 3 years) you would have to pay for the appointment privately but any treatment or tests offered can be done on nhs.
Every board has a different criteria and you don't want to time out since the process is extremely slow. I was originally referred over 4 years ago now.
The criteria for my local board is
• under 42 years of age
• bmi under 35 for treatment like ovulation induction ect
• bmi under 30 for ivf ect
There's lots of waiting between appointments. Had I of known it would take so long , I would have really pushed things along and nhs take forever. We were only moved forward before completely OI due to my partner having poor morphology and just not getting pregnant at all, otherwise they would have made us wait another 6 months doing medicated cycles.

To be honest, there's probably no immediate concern regarding his sperm. There's clearly not an issue with them meeting the egg and fertilising it.
I probably wouldn't bother with the day 21 test either as that's more to check if your ovulating and you clearly are since you've managed to conceive 5 times. If you do conceive again, you'd be better booking a progesterone test then just to check if your progesterone levels are rising during pregnancy. It may be as simple as you may need a progesterone supplement. Taking it while not pregnant and knowing your already ovulating , I think you'd be wasting your money.
Taking a amh would do no harm as it'll give you an idea what your working with. ( nhs gp or gynae won't offer this anyway and it'll only be offered by the clinic at point of starting treatment like ivf. Bare in mind , you could have a billion eggs left but it won't tell you the quality of those eggs. You could fertilise an egg every month and maybe only one or two in a year would take. I don't think you can change age related quality but I do think you can do your best to give the developing egg its best shot by getting enough nutrients and cleaning up the diet . ( I believe that because I went from not ovulating or getting pregnant at all in 18 years to producing an egg every month since November with one cp, so clearly theres been an improvement. Although past 2 months were through ovulation induction)
Do you have much weight to lose? I shifted weight relatively quick ( even with stubborn pcos insulin resistance) 16lbs . It can definitely be done if you put your mind to it .

Well ladies, temp is definitely rising so I believe I ovulated around CD30/31. Not sure what effect ovulating that late might have on conception.
I'm also still absolutely baffled how the follicle had ruptured before my lh surge. Fertility Dr was certainly I'd already just popped the egg yet opk was positive the day after .There goes my body defying science teachings.
I'd definitely make sure you ladies are getting busy a few days before expected ov in the event your like me and display a delayed surge.

I've got another appointment tomorrow morning with the gynae. Yay to another probing. Can't wait 🤪
Although, can't be as bad as the one I had in the fertility clinic. The nurse stayed behind the curtain while I wiped the lube off my lady bits and proceeded to watch me get dressed 😊🙈

Ladies I said I wasn’t going to use ovulation tests this month but I did! And I have a positive.
I did not manage to have sex yesterday but did the day before.
am I still in with a chance?

if my progesterone was very low would I still get a positive?

Hi all,

Sorry haven't read everything, seems to have been a flurry of messages.

So cross with myself- have managed to completely miss ovulation window after banging on about trying to track this month.

Just been so busy with work and various things, had a quick look at the DOT app and have sailed past high chance days without having any sex or even noticing.

So cross with myself.

@40andtrying1 yeah you would your progesterone before ovulation dosent matter as its naturally baseline low during your first part of the cycle ( from period until ovulation) , its your estrogen thats the dominant hormone, up until you ovulate. If you've successfully ovulated then progesterone takes over the second part of your cycle and remains elevated up until your period then its drops off again. Having low progesterone before ovulation won't prevent you ovulating, hope that makes sense

Well Af has arrived . Another cycle bites the dust !

@cornflakes86 ah so sorry my love.
I'm currently around 6dpo. I don't have any tests and I'm going to refrain from buying any unless AF dosent arrive

Do any of you ladies have endometriosis?

@MK85 thanks I knew it would arrive anyway. I did a few tests I usually never do but it’s so tempting with the easy at home cos you get so many in the box. Not gonna bother next cycle ! Will keep my fingers crossed for you this cycle! No history of endometriosis here .

think i might be out the game for good sadly. No proper period last month and no pregnancy. Due on yesterday and no period again. But also no pg symptoms. On my hols so i can't test till saturday night but if its negative i think i need to let the idea go sadly. I'm only 44 but my mum said she just went straight into menopause with no symptoms so maybe its just my time and i need to accept it.

@mommabear64 wishing you luck.

@mommabear64 sorry to ask if you've always previously said. There's just so many messages lately that it's hard to keep up. When did you last have bloods done ?

@MK85 years ago. I skipped one period about 5 yrs ago and they tested my bloods. Said it was a one off as I wasn't in meno. That was around age 39. And it was. I've had super regular periods since. Right up until 2 months ago when we started trying. Periods just stopped. Only had spotting since and no BFP tests. All negative. Oh the irony. But we won't be testing again now. I have two so i'll have to be content with them x

@mk85 I have endometriosis. Do you or are you suspecting it?

I haven’t caught up with the thread, so many posts but took a bit of time out as have been struggling lately with the whole ttc situation. I think the stress has caused me to ovulate late… got my peak LH on day 17 so probably ovulate day 18 which is v late for me. Managed to dtd every day so at least covered all bases but it never seems to work so I am not feeling very hopeful. Need to try and keep busy for the next 2 weeks but I seem to gradually unravel towards the end and start testing multiple times a day 🤡

@Endomummy I've never been offically diagnosed with it but I saw the gynae on Tues and he's mentioned that it could be a possibility .
He pondered weather we should go ahead with the laparoscopy as its the only way to know but then he decided against it as I'm awaiting ivf .
I'm not really sure what to expect with regards to how endometriosis will affect my overall fertility/ implantation ect and weather it should removed before ivf or what. Have you received any medical advice at all about how to manage the condition and what is to be expected?
Do you mind me asking what symptoms you experience?
Gynae is baseing it off the fact that I had a hydrosalpinx ( big fluid filled tube ) diagnosed last October on ultrasound but hsg came back clear. He thinks now it could have been releated to endometriosis . I also had a scan at fertility clinic that Thurs and he wasn't sure if I had a follicle or a cyst.
I mentioned to gynae that I constantly feel like I have period pain , all month long. ( apart from this month which has been amazing relief, no pain) is that a symptom? He never really explained anything to be about the condition. I've heard elevated estrogen can make endometriosis worse . I did go without a period for 2 years a few years ago ( due to my pcos) and gp offered no help. Then , I started bleeding all the time for weeks on end which was they explained was due to my high estrogen and my womb tissue was building up and up until it was popping off. It was a few months after that I suddenly developed the hydrosalpinx, which apparently is common with endometriosis as tissue can grow and block the fallopian tubes. From what I'm reading on Google, all these symptoms do fit so now I'm obviously quite worried as I'm currently taking clomid and that works by tricking your body into thinking its low in estrogen so produces more so then I'm thinking could it cause the tissue to grow back at the faster rate