Secondary Infertility & IVF

[MerryDuck]

Hello all,

I am 40 years old, 41 in a couple of months. I have an amazing 3 year old daughter and am very lucky! I have been TTC for the last 2 years. A few months ago I got pregnant but sadly had a miscarriage at 7 weeks. I don’t really know where to go from here.

I haven’t been to the doctors as I was under the impression they won’t be able to do anything as I am not eligible for IVF with the NHS. Or am I wrong here. Is there something they could do?

Or am I better off going privately. I don’t even know where to start with this. I’ve had a look online and it all seems so confusing and expensive. I think the first thing I need to do is book a consultation. So I guess I am looking for some recommendations of good clinics (South Wales), or even just warnings of which ones to avoid.

Thanks in advance!

You're correct, the NHS won't cover fertility treatment if you already have a child.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/availability/

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I was in a similar place a few years ago.

I’d suggest going to the doctors. They may be able to run some tests, and depending on on what they find, further NHS treatment may be available to you that could help resolve any u settling issues (e.g thyroid etc). IVF depends on the area, but we didn’t qualify here (south London).

We used Care clinics (excellent should they also have one with you via a private consultant). Deciding to go private was, for us, the only option any way, but was also the best decision for us.

I can't help with the clinic recommendations as not in the right part of the country unfortunately. You can look at the stats for different clinics to understand success rates and there are usually Facebook groups or forums where you can ask for specific experiences.
It is expensive as well as emotionally gruelling at times, and obviously not always successful, so definitely worth researching a bit beforehand to make sure it's something you really want to do.

Good luck OP, happy to answer any questions about the process. I've been through several rounds of IVF.

I had some tests on the NHS (primary infertility here) but they don’t test AMH which indicates your ovarian reserve. So I’d recommend going privately for a fertility MOT. It’ll be about £400. The NHS told me I was fine but then it turned out (when I got tested privately) that I have very low ovarian reserve caused by endometriosis (they give you a scan as part of the private fertility MOT).

I do qualify for NHS IVF but have been on the waiting list for nearly a year even though the nature of my infertility means time is of the essence. So maybe that makes you feel better about not qualifying on the NHS? You’d probably have run out of time by the time you got to the top of the waiting list!

I’ve had one round of ivf and got 3 embryos. First ended in miscarriage at six weeks and I’m having the second one transferred next week. I can’t recommend going privately enough.

The one thing I’d say (no offence meant but it’s a fact unfortunately) age massively affects ivf outcomes. This is because the meds for ivf work better if you have more eggs. Younger women usually have more eggs and their eggs have better dna for growing into embryos. I think at your age you could be looking at a 5% success rate. I believe some clinics don’t let you use your own eggs past 42 either. So if you’re going to do ivf, do it sooner rather than later if you want to use your own eggs and not donor eggs.