Starting our private IVF journey - Unsure of process

[Rememberallball]

This is my first time posting on this group. I've posted on the conception group before but stopped when I was getting disheartened with our failure to conceive naturally.

So we've been told that our only hope of a family together is donor egg IVF and that the issue is my age (will be 45 in a few weeks). Because of my age we have also been told our only avenue for treatment is down the private route with no assistance to pay for our treatment.

I had a pregnancy in 1998 and another 2007 but have no children as both pregnancies failed (first was anencephalic and second miscarried). Neither pregnancy were with DH. DH has 2 adult children with his first wife.

I have had bloods taken last year with the following results
March 2015
Progesterone

OP being brutally honest, I would ask the clinics about their success rates for your age

A woman on a Fertility Friends thread I'm on is 45 and consulted with both ARGC and Lister. I believe ARGC told her that they'd never had any live births with any patients of her age

Also make sure you ask about take home baby (life birth) rates NOT just clinical pregnancy rates

And don't accept success rates for 43+

43 is very different to 45 when it comes to own eggs so it's important to get the clinic's data for your age, so you can make an informed decision about proceeding with an own egg cycle

Argo whatever their patients say do cherry pick. Lister and Hammersmith are less fussy.
Hammersmith has similar results and pushes technology in similar ways. My Amh levels were v low, and crgh wouldn't let me do normal IVF so did natural IVF with them (nhs cycle) then went to Hammersmith and took 3 cycles but didn't need de!
But for DE abroad seems to be where everyone goes however crgh have a decent de programme I think (although it is 5 years since I looked at it x)

How does ARGC cherry pick? They're treating enormous numbers of women, one of the largest patient cohorts in the country.

ARGC won't let you cycle with them if your FSH is above 10

They will let you do a natural modified cycle which doesn't go in their main clinic stats

I believe CRGH have an FSH cut off of 15

Lister and Create do not refuse patients with high FSH

That's interesting! Thankyou!

That's quite normal for clinics to pick and choose (cherry) that's how they get high results as turn away those who problems

For example I was told about zita west clinic Looked into info and as I was over 40 and had had 2 failed cycles they wouldn't take me on

Agree with all what banana said. ESP the live births rates. Not pregnancy

Many older woman get preg but then sadly have a mc or non viable preg but some clinics use that data as yes tech they got preg

Thank you all.

One of the clinics I have been looking at (was one of the Cyprus clinics) did list not only pregnancy rates but also 12 week continued pregnancy rates; I saw one with break down of success by age groups in 5 year batches and separated DE from own egg treatment.

I have considered trying a tandem cycle as FSH and LH are not too high and are comparable to each other (which I've read is good) it's just my low amh which had the consultant say that I'm likely to have poor egg quality as well as quantity!!

I think our next step will be to get my GP to repeat my bloods as they're over a year old now; gather together my results and see if I can get my hycosy results from the hospital so I have everything together in one place. Then I'll try and speak to a few of these clinics and see what they have to say!!

AMH doesn't say anything about quality - it's just quantity

However quality is determined by age

www.advancedfertility.com/fertility-after-age-40-ivf.htm

After age 44 the US national stats show the chance of live birth using own eggs per cycle is about 2%

Tandem cycle sounds like a great option