TTC for fabulous 40+

[xserialshopper]

I've decided to start the new thread

Anyone coming to join me?

ladymac that's great news - congratulations! And fingers crossed that everything continues to go well. I haven't got any really good 'I'm not drinking because' lies stories as most people don't know I'm trying. I find a mysterious but firm 'I'm off the drink at the moment' tends to rebuff nosey questions though...

Here's hoping for a few more BFPs in the coming weeks

WELCOME all newbies and CONGRATULATIONS LADYMAC

Ladymac. That's amazing! Well done - you give us all hope.

I've just had some blood test results back. I appear to be a medical marvel, with an FSH level of 2.3, and LH of 1. Almost 'too low', apparently. But I did test positive for ureaplasma, some kind of genito-urinary infection, which has sent me into a worry spin...

ladymac, CONGRATS! keep us posted on how you get on!

hi herb, good to read your post. hmmm, are you on antibiotics for your infection? hope it gets cleared real fast !

Herb that's fantastic about the FSH, perhaps the LH could be a bit higher, not sure.
The genito wotsit, does that actually influence your fertility? I have heard of antibiotic treatment for some couples to improve fertility, so perhaps it might be a course of medication and you are ready to rock and roll. I hope so.

We need more graduates!
I want to graduate as well!!
Soon please!
Think I will start temping as there are so many of us doing it now. Will have another crack at it. Who knows perhaps I have a luteal phase defect. Would that have been picked up by the day 21 test do you think???

hello ladies! i think we should be limbering up to a few graduations, don't you? Just heard from a friend of mine in the states who adopted a little girl from China (now 2) and to her complete shock discovered that she was expecting her first child at 48! A healthy boy, now 6 months old. So there's hope for us all

Rhetorician thats what happened to a friend of mine. She adopted at 46 then got pg at 47 !

Rowing, I know what you mean about wanting to graduate. I'm starting to feel like an old timer on this thread. Will it ever happen? Day 18 for me and we flagged badly this month. Only managed to bd 12,13,14 and 16. Feeling fed up. Will go and eat a huge chunk of galaxy now.....

ooh galaxy, yes please.

I have no idea what you ladies are talking about with luteal phases, etc

I suffered from endemetreosis for years before having my eldest, being pg sorted it out and i have to say i have found it quick and easy getting pg since.

Really not ready to give up bf dd yet but if i don't, i'll never get preggers.

dh is making noises about us getting too old, he's 39.

Gem good going - day 16 as well!!
We gave up after day 14. DP did say on day 15, should be bd today, but it wasn't a good time and involved leaving DS in the bath by himself for an extended period.
DS isn't helping, he keeps distracting us - perhaps he likes being the epicentre of all attention.

Hi all - apologies for lurking (am 39 & counting).

Just wanted to say to Herbaceous that the ureaplasma results sound like good news in a peverse sort of way. I think ureaplasma can cause recurrent mc but is easily treatable with antibiotics - and FWIW I have a good feeling about your luck changing. Clearly ftc has sent me bonkers - am now having psychic good feelings about random strangers .

should also add that the 48 year old first time mum looks absolutely wonderful - which is also strangely cheering. I have good feeling about this month and am sure we're going to have lots of graduates!

IWBP - thanks for your psychic positivity! From frantic googling yesterday, it seems that ureaplasma is present in 80% of women, but generally doesn't cause any problems. Though its not good to give birth while infected. In the US they think it's benign enough not to treat, but my doc says I should have some anti-biotics to make sure.

I have had lots of miscarriages, but at least the last two were due to chromosonal problems, so hopefully the UP hasn't been a factor.

I'm a bit cross, actually. I went to this private doctor as I couldn't stand being fucked about by the NHS any more. I had blood and swabs taken on 15 July, and still haven't had the results in writing. I had to nag by email and phone to even get them over the phone.

As for the FSH and LH results, she took the blood on day 23 (?), saying it doesn't make all that much difference to FSH if it's after ovulation. This whole business gets more and more confusing the more you know about it.

One of my best friends is going through IVF at the moment, with donor sperm, as she is a lesbian. She's about to have three embryos put in. Such is the awfulness of FTC, that I already feel sick with envy at the thought of her being pregnant. After one go. I'm a bad person.

herbaceous you're so not a bad person for feeling that way; I think we all have pregnancy envy and it does certainly make me feel that I'm not very nice sometimes. But I'm sure your friend has had her battles to get to this point, even if they are not the same as yours. Very few clinics suggest going straight (sorry!) to IVF even when using donor sperm.

Your FSH and LH stuff sounds a bit odd to me; I thought that they had to be done BEFORE ovulation, as their job is to stimulate ov, and afterwards their levels drop. Day 23 (ish) is usually progesterone testing, to see if you have, indeed, ovulated. I am not surprised that you are cross. Would your GP not do the tests for you - mine did (I live in Ireland, where the health system makes the NHS look absolutely wonderful)

I think FSH is usually done early in the cycle as that's when it's lowest, so maybe her thinking was that it will be pretty low at day 23 too. It wasn't just blood tests - she also scanned my innards to see if there were any issues there, which I'd been waiting for months to even get a referral for on the NHS.

I'd had my FSH, LH, prog done before, and all were fine, so this was just confirming all that, really. For a large fee.

oh right; that makes sense - it does all get a bit confusing, doesn't it? Scanning of innards always handy - I had to pay a fortune to get that done here. It's a bit disappointing when you go private expecting a little more and you get pretty much the same thing, only politer, more punctual and pricier...

Hello again everyone, haven't popped in for awhile...big well done to ladymac and hope everything goes well for you.

Here is another celeb expecting twins: www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1042080/Double-joy-Lisa-Marie-Presley-announces-shes-co ntinuing-Hollywood-twins-baby-boom.html

and she is 40!!

We did the deed on days 8, 9 and 13 this month but I will have to wait until next week to know if we were successful or not!!

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1042080/Double-joy-Lisa-Marie-Presley-announces-shes-continuin g-Hollywood-twins-baby-boom.html

If this pregnancy does continue, I don't think I'll be wearing a frock like the one sported by Lisa-Marie in that link!

Thanks to everybody for the good wishes. I am obviously very happy but trying to (and I hate this cliche) take things one day at a time. Only symptoms at the mo are full and slightly tender breasts and an enhanced sense of smell. As I said before, I'm having absolutely no trouble at all staying away from alcohol, whereas in my previous pregnancies I still fancied a glass of wine so had to make an effort to abstain.

Other than taking all my vitamins is there anything in particular I should be doing? If I make it to 10 weeks will definitely have CVS, so not sure when I should see my GP.

Gem, happy birthday for yesterday. Hope it was a good one. Good wishes and positive thoughts to you from someone only 5 days behind x

ladymac glad to hear that all is well and one day at a time is a cliche, but cliches are there for a reason! there's usually some truth in them. Try to stay positive; it can't do any harm

Hi everyone,
Ladymac, I don't know what to suggest, apart from take it easy, keep your tummy warm, keep up your liquids. Hope this is a sticky one for you, fingers crossed.
I have now phone the GP to confirm that the letter for the second opinion has been sent. I then phoned the endocrine reproductive unit or whatever it's called and they confirmed the letter had gone to my original consultant who had then passed it to another consultant. So yay! However, the women mentioned there was an 18 week wait for appointments boo!
So it is likely to be near to Christmas or the new year before I am seen again.
Now on day 24 and have absolutely no symptoms. Also feeling a bit tense about my 42nd birthday looming next month. I said I would stop by then.
Growing increasingly impatient and even considering using my credit card to fund IVF - noooooo!
XSerial when is your op?

I'm getting ahead of myself a bit here but I am genuinely curious...of the two invasive tests (CVS and amnio), how do you decide which one to go for (presuming that you favour such tests)? I know that CVS is done sooner than amnio - is this a reason in itself for choosing CVS over amnio? Do the two tests check for the same things? And if you are over 40yrs old, are these tests automatically recommended or is it dependent on other factors?

The main reason for me choosing CVS is the fact that it is done so much earlier than amnio.

I didn't have either in my last pregnancy. I had some bleeding at 10 weeks and was told that I was not a good candidate for CVS due to greater risk of m/c. I then had a much lower risk of Downs than I'd anticipated after the Nuchal Fold test. By that stage I'd got terribly nervous that amnio might cause me to miscarry (this was a much longed for 1st baby with dh after a 10 yr gap since last child with ex partner). I had a very understanding consultant who said she would do the most detailed scan she could and if any markers showed up she could do the amnio then and there. Obviously this didn't rule out everything but it helped me to feel more positive.

CVS has a higher risk of miscarriage than amnio but my consultant has lower rates than the national average.

Thanks for the birthday wishes Ladymac. 45 is a bit of a bummer really but I'm being quite brave about it

I chose the amnio over the CVS simply because it has a lower mc rate. I was 42 then and had a 1 in 200 chance of downs at the nuchal scan. CVS was a 1 in 100 chance of miscarriage and the amnio was 1 in 200. Mind you, I know a lot of people who have had the CVS and they have all been fine. The advantage of the CVS is that you can have it done much earlier. You dont get the results from the amnio until nearly 20 weeks by which time you've spent half your pg wondering if all is ok.

Rowing, they always give you the worst case scenario with appointments. Maybe they will get you a cancellation. Perhaps you should ring them regularly so that they keep you in mind?! I'm a few days behind you , day 21 so lets hope for a lucky month

Happy Birthday Gem!! Sorry, I missed that.
It seems to have become busy on here again, which is great.
It's day 25 for us now, and I have just eaten a bar of chocolate, which is not a good sign. Don't generally do things like that.
I have been having a freak out about my birthday and have been manically looking at IVF abroad again. There seem to be good reports from others, so might just email to get and idea of prices and what's involved. It makes me feel a bit more cheerful.
Stupid tubes are just not working IMO!
The old consultant said he would give me some clomid, but I suppose that was before I asked for a second opinion from his colleague.

Hi Rowing, I thought I heard on the news that there has been a new report saying that clomid is no better than nature [hmmm]. Certainly hasnt worked for me. You might as well arm yourself with as much info as you can get because it will help you with any decisions you need to make. You shouldn't worry about being 42, it sounds quite young to me . As for the chocolate, well I've just eaten half a tub of hargen daas...Oh dear, I'm going to regret that tomorrow.