Clearblue fertility monitor, 41 yo, 2 months no peak

[newmumcrazytired]

I’m hoping for some advice. I conceived my first baby at 38 years old. We are now trying for our second. We’ve been trying for four months and been using the Clearblue fertility monitor to DTD on peak days or around then. However, for the last two months, there haven’t been any peak days. Just lots and lots of high days. I’m so worried and sad. Could I be perimenopausal? Is it something wrong with the monitor (I’ve had it since we conceived our first child)? Do I need to see a fertility expert and if so where do I start with this? I feel so scared that I’ve left it too late. My mum had a baby at 43 so I think I was lulled into a false sense of security about the whole thing. It is so stressful. Any advice is very much appreciated. Thank you so much!

Hey, I’m also 40 and trying for another. How many days high fertility did you get? When I last conceived I remember I had 9 days high fertility and was going to stop testing and then I did one more day and finally got my peak (so after 10 days of flashing smileys!).
It’s also been 4 months for us and I’ve just seen GP to ask for a referral to the fertility specialist to get some monitoring done. The referrals take a while so I just thought I’d get on the list and see what happens.
Wishing you luck!

@newmumcrazytired get the cheap premom ones and do several a day around peak. Use the app too.

At 41 you should ask your GP for day 3 hormones and privately get your AMH tested plus have a scan. So you know the lay of the land, as fertility prospects vary a lot at this age.

Thank you so much! That is very helpful to know. I have some of the premom ones already. I’ll also do those other things too. Thank you very much again.

@newmumcrazytired I've said this to others on here recently too - but if it turns out you have favourable FSH and AMH levels and you can afford it, IVF will be the best bet.

The reason being that at 41, c.25% of embryos are chromosomally normal. Which means conception (that won't result in loss) is only possible around 3 months out of the year regardless of anything else you do to try. And if a doomed embryo implants, you can lose up to 6 months. By 43 there's on average 1 normal egg a year. IVF locks down your egg quality as it is right now, rather than running down the clock one egg per month.

That’s very interesting. Thank you. I think we need to look into it.

I got over 10 days high last month and 8 days so far this month. I’ll keep testing but my mucus has been fairly nonexistent whereas last week it was a lot (sorry TMI!) so that makes me feel I haven’t peaked this month and the window is closed. It’s all very stressful, isn’t it?!

My DH and I discussed IVF this evening and after reading the science in your post he is on board too. So I just wanted to say a big thank you! We are going to find a clinic as we can (just about!) afford to go private.

I am 43 and am 12 weeks pregnant with my third. I used the clear blue monitor for years and had loads of months with only highs and we didn’t have any successes. Last year I switched to a Mira monitor and the tests that also test for fsh. It reassured me I wasn’t peri and we conceived on our third month using it. All is well so far and prenatal testing is clear. We dtd on the days leading up to ovulation. Day of and three days after. After three years trying something clicked and I’m convinced the better info from Mira vs. Clear blue is what did it.

Let me know if you have any questions! I did IVF at 42 and was able to bank chromosomally normal embryos in back to back cycles (I tested them all). Transfers will be in the next couple of months.

Can I ask how many embryos you got and from how many eggs?

Congratulations! The monitoring may have helped with conception timing but the success is ultimately because your ovaries produced a rare golden egg that month, like a claw crane lucky dip.

I got a lot of poor quality eggs (despite not having PCOS) but across rounds made 9 embryos and 4 were normal.

Yes, definitely! I will keep you posted. I have just signed up for a fertility clinic webinar next Tuesday. The big thing is that my DH is now on board 😊

Wow! I’m going to buy one right now! Thank you!

Is it this one? Thank you so much! So sorry - - quoted wrong person! I’ll try again!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mira-Fertility-Ovulation-4-Hormone-Analyzer/dp/B0FSLWY36K/ref=mpsa11sspa?adgrpid=181687556850&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.d3kp4yRHSo6lik2xVE27H2rL-1IkDSOPIXOVLSHzR3rfF6C-vokyOLMPFKEA-g2diu1uff11Je3CGiz0DeTUz4HJCEzLTEgtvVfskKChNUfUEDP3wkwV9K8IkIDvd9324trrAr792bvwRxVTGEoI2RS7wO9yuFl1yRBqjIrB3LzjGRbn8kWuz8R1k-H8EzAzAjC-72xEbz0kj7kK8Iw.7ZnUP4ZjAvYXQDEbQ-ED0QCxQ0LpNoWGfk11d7umpbY&dibtag=se&gadsource=1&hvadid=793495263353&hvdev=m&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9045429&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=12932923089015124952&hvqmt=b&hvrand=12932923089015124952&hvtargid=kwd-584279053801&hydadcr=82642427590414699&keywords=mira+fertility+tracker&mcid=0457cee143053ee9a6768b28392fb74e&qid=1770940971&sr=8-1-spons&aref=UlQzCY4UmJ&spcsd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

Was it this one? Thanks so much! www.amazon.co.uk/Mira-Fertility-Ovulation-4-Hormone-Analyzer/dp/B0FSLWY36K/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=181687556850&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.d_3kp4yRHSo6lik2xVE27H2rL-1IkDSOP_IXOVLSHzR3rfF6C-vokyOLMPFKEA-g2diu1uff11Je3CG_iz0DeTUz4HJCEzLTEgtvVfskKChNUfUEDP3wkwV9K8IkIDvd9324trrAr792bvwRxVTGEoI2RS7wO9yuFl1yRBqjIrB3LzjGRbn8kWuz8R1k-H8EzAzAjC-72xEbz0kj7kK8Iw.7ZnUP4ZjAvYXQDEbQ-ED0QCxQ0LpNoWGfk11d7umpbY&dib_tag=se&gad_source=1&hvadid=793495263353&hvdev=m&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9045429&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=12932923089015124952--&hvqmt=b&hvrand=12932923089015124952&hvtargid=kwd-584279053801&hydadcr=8264_2427590_414699&keywords=mira+fertility+tracker&mcid=0457cee143053ee9a6768b28392fb74e&qid=1770940971&sr=8-1-spons&aref=UlQzCY4UmJ&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

How did you get going with the whole process? Did you just find your nearest clinic and book an appointment? We are based in Worcestershire so it looks like our nearest will be Birmingham. Do you have any recommendations on good providers? It is all a bit bewildering right now! Is it quite time-consuming? So many questions! I don’t really know where to start…

@newmumcrazytired worth starting supplements now. They don't really affect chromosomal status but can potentially help with embryo quality, in terms of having the energy to reach day 5 (blastocyst stage), which is the gold standard.

You don't need to do all of the It Starts With The Egg stuff or crazy long lists, but suggest limiting or cutting alcohol (especially him) and:

You: Vitamin D, Omega 3, prenatal, coenzyme Q10 (200g three times a day with food)

Partner: conception vitamin with antioxidants like selenium - Wellman is fine. And 200g Coenzyme Q10.

As you have a proven track record you may as well continue TTC in the meantime. As despite the intense stats before, if an embryo does implant it has already overcome incredible developmental hurdles and the miscarriage % is lower than the % of embryos that are abnormal overall (as in, when an embryo is abnormal the most likely outcome is arrest a few days after fertilisation or non implantation/ early rejection, rather than miscarriage or having to discuss TFMR).

I started TTC for the first time at newly 42. I looked at the stats and thought I'd try for a few months and then go straight to IVF despite no history of problems. The 4th month of TTC I went for an initial consultation and scan at a clinic I'd chosen based on stats and price. Was about to press go but found out I was pregnant a few days later. When that ended in loss around 9 weeks I went back to the clinic and got started quickly.

Less familiar with Birmingham options but you can look up clinics on the HFEA site.

It can be a bit inconvenient during monitoring, but it's all over within about two weeks.

Here's how it worked at my clinic:

• Baseline scan on cycle day 18-25 to make sure you've ovulated, that you have no cysts, that everything looks normal etc
• Start injecting FSH on cycle day 2
• monitoring scan to track follicle growth around day 5, at which point you also start a second injection to prevent ovulation
• Scans and blood tests every other day or so, until the majority of follicles are in mature size range (16-24mm). This usually takes about 10 days of injections but can vary.
• A trigger injection of HCG mimics an LH surge and collection is 36 hours later. Partner submits a sample at the clinic the same morning.
• Eggs retrieved and mixed with the sperm, or injected directly if there are any sperm issues
• Embryology team call the following morning to say how many were mature and fertilised
• Embryology call again on day 3 to update on cell numbers/ fragmentation and days 5/6/7 as needed to let you know how many reached final blastocyst stage. I opted for genetic testing, which requires freezing while you wait for the results, otherwise you can consider a fresh transfer.

There is also a longer protocol where they switch off your ovaries first and then restart all the follicles together but a lot of clinics prefer not to do this for women over 40 in case ovaries don't snap back into action.

I had my DD at 40. We just used the DTD daily method, it took 5 months for us but it worked, she’s 3 next month

Thank you so much! That is wonderful advice! I’m just digesting it all now. I may have some more questions later on down the line. Thank you so much again!

Congratulations! I really hope it works for us that way too but no harm in exploring other options. I’d just love another little baby to complete our family. It’s big stuff isn’t it?!

I’ll be buying all those supplement today. I already take Seven Seas Trying to Conceive ones but I’ll try the others now too.

You won't need an extra prenatal if already taking Seven Seas.

As well as day 3 hormones (FSH, LH, oestrogen, testosterone) your GP might also agree to do the below:

• Thyroid panel (there are optimal levels for conception)
• Vitamin D (ditto re optimal levels)
• Total blood count

Get the actual numbers from them if you proceed, as often the NHS will just say "normal, no action required" unless really abnormal

That’s really good to know. Thank you so much!