Anyone doing IVF at 40+ pt 2

[lucymills1234]

Setting up a new thread as the old one was nearly at the limit.

@Anxiousbuthopeful
@Islandstars
@Woodcottage1
@Unicorn9
@SerenditySunshine

Welcome @Scrumpy10 I have the same regrets, wish i started IVF sooner, but i think so many of us would say the same and circumstances are the biggest factor. The timing has to be right, as it's a huge emotional and financial undertaking.

In terms of your low odds, to be honest, plenty of us here, myself included, have better stats on paper, but it still hasn't worked for us, so i do believe a large amount of luck is needed with IVF and the means to keep trying for numerous cycles if need be.

I don't know if Care do Natural/Natural Modified IVF, but Create specialise in it. I'd suggest signing up to their free monthly seminars online, at least for info. They may suggest a 3 cycle package to gather the best number of eggs possible.

Thanks @SerendipitySunshine @LouScot @IslandStars @Scrumpy10

I feel like IVF is never straightforward. I've just posted a new thread as I'm worried this cycle is messed up. My clinic did a blood test yesterday, something they've never done during stims before. But, they said go ahead and do my final stims injection late afternoon and they'd call with my trigger time.

I did as I was told, but when the nurse called to give my trigger time they told me not to do the final stims dose as my estrogen is really high. I said it was too late, I'd already done it as they told me. There was a long pause whilst they were obviously figuring out what next and eventually said ok, go ahead and trigger, as my follicles are too large to do anything else.

My worry is firstly that 7 of my 11 follicles were already over 20mm and giving further stims will push them to over mature so I'll get nothing usable from them (they'd grow in the time between the scan and EC even without stims)... and secondly that studies show high estrogen has a negative effect on implantation. If I have to switch to a freeze-all, I think FET would fall right over the Christmas closure, so I lose a couple of months.

If the clinic thought my estrogen could be too high, why not tell me to wait until the results were in before I took more stims? Once the drugs are in, you can't do anything to reverse the effect so I am feeling really despondent that things could've all gone wrong. I really want to get the view of a Dr but they aren't accessible. I'll have to hope I can speak to someone at the EC tomorrow.

@Scrumpy10 I'm not entirely sure if mild/natural IVF are the same, but @99pctpractice was asking about that approach a bit further up this thread, it might be worth scrolling back up! I've not tried it myself. I totally get what you're saying about beating yourself up for not trying earlier, but hard as it is try not to! You can only deal with the situation you're in right now, and you're doing all the right things by looking into your options.

@lucymills1234 That's so frustrating. I think the clinic have messed up their timings. If you were due to take your last stim late afternoon, then they needed to call you back with blood test result earlier.

I always have bloods at every scan during stims. They have to be done by 11am so the results come back around 3/4pm i think.

High estrogen can cause OHSS, so most fresh transfers would be cancelled for this reason. I take it they didn't mention during your scan that you were at risk of OHSS? My clinic told me once before as they could see fluid on the scan, so they switched my trigger to a non HCG one, Buserelin instead of Ovitrelle.

Do you have an email address for a different nurse or admin staff to check with them? Maybe they could ask a Dr for you.

Thanks @IslandStars. I am so so frustrated. It's front of my mind that this may be my last try and the last thing I want is for it to go wrong because of clinic mistakes. I am kicking myself that I did not wait for their call before doing my stims dose but if you are told to do something at a certain time, you do it. I think the issue is first that rather than a day 10 scan (as I've had before) they pushed me to day 11 because day 10 was Sunday. Then they should've told me not to take more stims until I'd had test results, not give me a fixed time to do them.

I asked about OHSS at both my day 8 scan and yesterday, because my last cycle was a freeze-all. On day 8 I was told I was way below the risk level (based on follicle count - no bloods were taken). Yesterday, I was told it was highly unlikely that I'd have high estrogen based on having 11 follicles and only one ovary. I wish I could rewind and not take that last stims dose. If my results are rubbish as a result that's effectively wasted all my money, time, effort, taking supplements etc, when I have neither money nor time on my side.

I hope you don't mind me asking a question. I'm 43 - 44 in 6 months. Would most private clinics see that as too old? I've had a look at a few and I can't see anyone that says we stop at 42 but from what I've read, 43+ is very unlikely to be successful?

Hi Kirinm, and hello everyone, sorry to jump in, I am 45 and have not long started my first round of IVF, I am using Care Fertility in Birmingham.

hi @Kirinm and @TB1976 - its so nice to see you!!! I'm 43 and feeling so rubbish about everything. I'm old, fat and single so it's a bit of a struggle :-) I think yes our rates are likely to be less than if we were younger, but I'm trying (really trying..) to stay positive.. I'm in Scotland and the clinics I'm using isn't keen over 45, and weren't overly positive about my success rates but I'm still going ahead - waiting on donor sperm. Do either of you know what your AMH is? Mine is 5pmolish (was 4.8 then went to 5.5 so I'm saying 5 to be safe) which is "low" but not horrendous. I had a stims round to save eggs a few years ago but didn't respond particlarly well, and my weight got the blame - I've found the pandemic so hard and not managed to lose any - if anything I'm heavier, so trying to hope for quality..

@TB1976 I'd be really interested in hearing your experiences of Care

@lucymills1234 how horrendously frustrating for you. I hope you get a decent sleep tonight though, and that the eggs that are collected are the eggs you need for healthy embryos x

@lucymills1234 Seems this has all been caused by their lack of day 10 scan as it fell on a Sunday, then telling you to go ahead with your last stim and not calling you sooner when the bloods contradicted that.

I think if you end up needing to freeze all, you should push them for a discounted FET as they could have avoided this with a bit more attention.

For now, the good thing is that you still have plenty of decent sized follicles and between day 10 and EC it's always a bit of a gamble whether any are lost through being too big or do not grown fast enough to make it.

@kirinm It really depends on individual fertility. I am nearly 43, but so far have got more embryos than many women younger than me. The issue i cannot really change is that my eggs are old so less likely to be normal/euploid and implant. The reality is that it's much, much harder after 43, but not impossible.

Some clinics may suggest donor eggs, but it really depends on how your ovarian reserve looks upon investigation. Even younger women can find unknown fertility problems once they delve further into IVF.

@TB1976 Welcome and good luck with your round. Hopefully you can bring us over 40s some luck! Did Care suggest PGS or are you just going to take your chances with what you get?

@lucymills1234 sending you lots of positive vibes.

@islandStars - thank you, sorry if I am not up to speed with everything, just trying to get my head around all the terminology etc, so some background, this is my first round of IVF and I am using my own eggs, I will be having ICSI and PGS.
I met my partner later in life, we just started trying when I fell pregnant in Jan this year, but it ended in a partial molar pregnancy at 11 weeks (hence IGSI)
I then had to be monitored by a specialist unit, it took 3 months before I was signed off and able to try again, that's when we decided to try IVF rather than wait any longer.

@kirinm - I know its really tough, I am not sure what I expected with IVF but its very different, I'm not sure if its because of the pandemic though !
My AMH is 4.5 and at my scan i had 8 follicles, not sure if that's good or bad for my age.... I realise its the quality of the eggs and that my chances are low, I know its my own fault for leaving it so late.

@LouScot sorry I didn't include you in my last post - I am clearly not very good at this.
My AMH is 4.5 and at my scan i had 8 follicles, not sure if that's good or bad for my age.... I realise its the quality of the eggs and that my chances are low, I know its my own fault for leaving it so late

@TB1976 its not your fault. I have days of saying the same to myself, so when I see you saying it I want to say, no, its not your fault, its the way life has turned out and you're not at all to blame for it. It's easy to say but please don't beat yourself up for it (she says, sitting here in tears :-) ) It'll be harder for us, but we will get there.

I think 8 follicles is good at our age. I had 6 last year when my AMH was 4.8 - this year they just tested the blood with no scan, but imagine its similar.

@LouScot - Thank you.... I really do hope we all get there, life is hard.

I have been for a scan today to check down regulation, but my lining is still a little thicker than they would like and although they gave me medication a couple of weeks ago to bring on a bleed it hasn't happened, hence another blood test today, if the test shows I am down regulating I can move onto the next stage (start stimulation medication) but if not they are going to reassess my plan.
I am on the long protocol, and I've been taking Buserilin injections for the last 4 weeks. So I have no idea what is happening to my body - any advice ?

@TB1976 Sorry for your loss, 11 weeks must have been devastating. I guess it's a good sign that you fell pregnant and your fertility stats are definitely good for over 40s, so i hope you get enough embryos and a good result from PGS. Don't blame yourself for leaving it late, we can only work with what life throws at us.

@TB1976 good luck with everything. I am new on here as well.

I think everyone has different stories as to why left until later in life. It is hard to find the right relationship and settle down these days. It sounds like you have great fertility for your age.

@lucymills1234, sorry to hear things have been so difficult this round. That is really poor communication on the part of your clinic, how were you to know they were concerned about your hormone levels if they didn't tell you. I hope everything goes smoothly for EC. Will have everything crossed for you tomorrow.

@IslandStars you mentioned you were with Create? We sat through webinar last night and it was interesting. I'm still unsure if it's right for us as there is no impartial advice to help us navigate this. How do you find them? Can I ask why you chose to go with them? We're likely to use the Hertfordshire clinic.

@IslandStars @Scrumpy10 Thanks, I have no idea if my stats are good for my age, all I ever hear from doctors etc is that its all about the quality of the eggs etc etc no one has really said if my starting point is good....so I appreciate you saying that, I am sure you are a lot more experienced in this field than I .....Just waiting for a call from the clinic to give me my blood results, I am really hoping my body has down regulated so I can move forward.
I hope everyone is ok today x

@Lulu106 I'm with Create St Pauls. I mainly chose them as i wanted to do mild/short protocol and the location was convenient. I was realistic that at 41/42, my chances were not going to be high with any clinic. They are also more affordable than some clinics.

The consultants and embryologists are really good, they will listen and offer advice and don't try to push more meds or treatments for financial reasons, as they generally don't seem to have any idea of how much things cost anyway! That's all left to admin. You can get scanned by different doctors each time, so that may bother some people, but i take the opportunity to ask the same questions to each to gauge opinion! Nurses are helpful and nice too.

Downside is the call centre can take a while to get through to. You ring them to book appointments, not your actual clinic. You'll be given a patient co-ordinator who you can email/call about your cycle. I've had 3 in just over a year and just one was a bit rubbish.

I think with all clinics, you need to be proactive and advocate for yourself, as they're all busy, so they need pushing.

How are you doing @lucymills1234 ? Hope everything has worked out in the end, although i know you'll still be waiting on day 1 update etc.

@IslandStars thank you for the information. I think we may approach them for a consultation. It's difficult to know the best course of treatment so I'm guessing we will have to go with gut instincts. I'm still confused by why mild IVF creates better quality eggs, maybe they will explain in consultation.
@lucymills1234 thinking of you 🌈

@lucymills1234 thoughts and prayers with you today 🙏

Thank you @IslandStars @Scrumpy10 @Lulu106 @Bryterlayter1 thank you all for the messages.

EC yesterday was fine, they collected 12 eggs and I found out earlier that all were mature and amazingly, 10 have fertilised - that's the highest fertilisation rate I've had of my 3 collections. The other two are showing signs of fertilisation but may or may not progress. There's a long way to go and I'm still worried about eggs being over-mature but it's a good start, hopefully.

Nice to see some new people, welcome!

@kirinm Statistically, yes it's a challenge at 43/44 but as IslandStars said, it's worth checking your own results so you can make informed decisions and also get informed advice.

@TB1976 Welcome :) 8 follicles is definitely a good start! It's just a fact that eggs deteriorate as you age, but if you have decent reserve you have a better chance of finding a 'normal' (euploid) egg than someone who has a poor reserve, as you probably know. So don't feel too despondent and definitely don't beat yourself up for leaving it late - there are so many of us who never saw ourselves in this position, but then life gets in the way...

@islandstars I hope your scan goes well today and you can crack on!