Would anyone look at my test results and give me tips?

[AWombWithoutAFoof]

I'm 43, DP is 39.

He has an "essentially normal" SA, "with some anti-sperm antibodies". I think the level was 12%, but that's not in the report.

My numbers are as follows:

Day 4
FSH 6.1 U/L
LH 4.5 U/L
Oestradiol 119 poml/L
Prolactin 115 mU/L
This apparently indicates "good ovarian reserve"

Day 22
FSH 5.7 U/L
FH 11.2 U/L
Progesterone 1.2 nmol/l
Oestradiol 328 pmol/L
Prolactin 132 mU/L (102 - 496)

Day 2 of the following month
FSH 6.3 U/L
LH 4.8 U/L
Oestradiol 100 pmol/L
Prolactin 197 mU/L
Ditto the ovarian reserve

We can't afford IVF, but the consultant said there would only be a 10% chance of it working anyway.

"Good ovarian reserve" sounds positive to me, what else can I do? Happy to rattle with pills!

Sadly there's no chance of getting hold of that money, we are absolutely skint at the moment.

I wasn't hoping the GP would give me advice, I want them to look again at their files to see whether there are other results they didn't pass on. I also want to ask about being retested, and how long that will take. I'm expecting the answer to be months.

In terms of private fertility clinics, can you pay on a piecemeal basis? eg in the first stage just for a package of tests?

Does Clomid do anything for the quality of eggs, or just the number? I remember the consultant saying he wouldn't recommend it due to it thinning the womb lining.

OP, on reflection my last post was a bit blunt, so I apologise. I's just that your posts are so laden with fear you're even giving me the heebie-jeebies! I'm sorry IVF is out of the question; it is the answer to all us oldies but the success rate with own eggs is very poor. Shellster is sadly correct about viable eggs. At the age of 43 only 1-in-6 are euploid (chromosomally viable) and that deteriorates to 1-in-10 at age 45.

I can only tell you about my IVF clinic abroad: all tests were conducted here in the UK (one scan required during injection stage to check the womb lining was good and no polyps or other unexpected baddies); blood tests etc. My superb gynae here prescribed all my drugs (£500+) so the only outlay at that stage was the £100 scan I have just mentioned.We then flew to our destination where the balance of the IVF was paid (we had to send most of the money fairly early on so our donor could, of course, be paid).

From the moment I emailed the clinic to say I was considering DE IVF to the day they transferred two embryos was a total of eight weeks. Unbelievable experience and an adventure I actually enjoyed, not just because I became pregnant first time but because we knew that DE IVF at a clinic with the best success rates in Europe was giving us closure. If we hadn't got pregnant we knew we had given it all we had.

Womb, there is nothing to improve the quality of our eggs; all Clomid will do is ensure eggs are released (more than one of you're lucky). At my last scan my womb lining was a healthy 7mm (which is what is required for IVF, incidentally) and when I was on Clomid in 2012 my womb lining was not negatively impacted (quite the opposite).

Informed consultants will dish out Clomid to the over-forties because they know we are desperate and the drug will at least make us feel as though we are doing something. We know it's a long shot but the alternative is to accept the harsh truth that it is unlikely we will become pregnant without IVF.

Thanks five. Fear is right, I feel like I've spent ages just 'trying', with supplements etc, in the belief that I'm ovulating. I'm full of regret that I didn't push more when I started investigations all that time ago.

Did you go abroad because donor egg IVF isn't available in the UK?

Can I ask what country you went to? A mate of mine went to Spain three times, no result yet for her sadly.

It does sound like you had an amazingly efficient experience.

Can I ask, did you have reservations about donor eggs before? It's not something I've ever been tempted by, but I'm thinking about it now since you've replied.

Re knowing whether you've ovulated, when I was TTC, I used a device called Ovacue to predict when I would ovulate. I found it extremely reliable. There's an attachment you can buy for it which you stick up your vagina, and it tells you whether you HAVE ovulated. I can't vouch for the attachment, as I never had it, but I conceived 2 babies in quick succession using the basic monitor, having had no luck for a year before that. May be worth a try? I know how frustrating it is when other indications are good, but you have no idea whether you're actually doing the crucial thing.

I will PM you Womb.