Success at 38. Should I bother with ivf?

[LoveYouHoneyBadger]

About to start my first ivf cycle in a few weeks. Starting to wonder if I should bother spending the money we already don't have but its just not happening naturally and we've tried other options.
Watched eastenders last night and it's left me feeling hopeless. Sonia is apparently 38 also and the clinic told her chances are only 19% and although would go up with consecutive cycles ( suggested upto 6) they said at most it would still only be about 40%

Starting to wonder now if there's any point and if we should cancel .
I really thought from reading online success would be about 20-30% for this age and didn't realise even with several cycles it wouldn't be above 50%

I’m about to turn 39 and I remember seeing 19% success rate on the NHS website and being really disheartened, but our clinic (in Ireland) have a live birth success rate of 45% in women aged 38-39. No idea why there would be such a difference in the stats! Maybe speak to your clinic about it.

@LoveYouHoneyBadger sorry to hear you feel that way. I don't watch Eastenders but I think I read an article on that story they were doing, does the partner have MFI? That would also contribute to the %. But in all honesty, it's a soap opera, and as much as they want to convey a real story there does need to be an element of drama to it to get viewers. Every fertility journey is different, I know of a few 38-39 year olds that have had success with 1 or 2 cycles of IVF. Personally I am not one of them being 37 but I have low AMH and always anticipated if we were going to stand a chance it would involve multiple cycles... but as I say each journey is different so please do get individual advice in your personal circumstances, definitely worth having a couple of consultations

@GabbyGal do you mind me asking what clinic you used? As I'm also based in Ireland.

@Sunflower360 I know in reality there's lots of women who have success but I personally don't have any friends who've achieved a pregnancy at this stage in life.
We do have male factor ( very low morphology and I do have pcos ) although I do ovulate on my own

@LoveYouHoneyBadger depends how low morphology is but ICSI can resolve that if all other SA parameters are ok, we had morphology as a slight issue but ICSI was advised. I don't know too much about PCOS but a Consultant will definitely be able to advise a tailored approach

@LoveYouHoneyBadger I'm 39 and am 15 weeks pregnant after my second cycle. I also got pregnant on the second transfer of my first cycle but miscarried. And I have low ovarian reserve. My advice would be not to pay too much attention to percentages - your chances are unique to you.

I did a lot of reading and got stuck into the supplements. FH PRO for women, vitamin D, magnesium and NMN.

@countrypunk “your chances are unique to you” - that’s a great way to put it!

@LoveYouHoneyBadger I’ll PM you with our clinic, but most Irish clinics seem to publish their success rates online.

Hi there
I am 39 and had IVF, had never had a previous pregnancy. They calculate your own individual stats due to your test results and we were given a percentage of 30% at our initial appointment.
It worked on our second try and I am now 27 weeks pregnant.
Best of luck to you xxx

I'm 40 and currently 14 weeks pregnant. We started IVF at 38 after trying for 7 years I conceived 2 months before my 39th on my 4th transfer (2nd collection) I never thought it would happen but I have my little miracle baby on the way.
Don't give up hope it can happen believe me, it might seen so far away but anything is possible.

Can I ask where you are on your IVF journey now?

I wish you all the best with your pregnancy, can I ask what your AMH level was before conception?

Can I ask where you are on your IVF journey now?

Hello @Digon

My baby is 6 months old now, and he was the first transfer on our second cycle. We were told our chances of success were pretty low. We also have two embryos in the freezer, so we have a shot at a sibling.

I wish you all the best with your pregnancy, can I ask what your AMH
level was before conception?

@Digon thank you so much, he’s now a beautiful 6 month old and worth all the tears and stress of the last few years.
My clinic didn’t test directly before the IVF as they went on my previous bloods which showed a reading of 15 at 36 years old.
Keep at it, miracles do happen, I’m proof of that x

My advice would be... would you regret it if you didn't try now you're 38? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Digon I posted on this thread around this time last year. I'm 38 and 21 weeks pregnant following a 3rd FET. AMH was 4.3 in Aug last year when egg collections were started. All the best

I am 40, worked on second transfer (first frozen transfer) and this was my first cycle. It can work but everyone is so unique/different. Currently 19 weeks pregnant.

So happy for you, always good to hear of success stories😊

Wonderful news so happy for you, miracles do happen🤞

That’s wonderful to hear, congratulations to you all.

Thank you @Digon ♥️

My AMH was 3.6, and six months earlier on our first round it was measured as 7.1. So it really nosedived. But I've heard conflicting things about the value of AMH levels, and also my doctor told me different labs often produce different results for the same woman.

I wish you so much luck.

You definitely have a great chance. I’m 38 (was 37 when I did IVF) and was told we had a 10% chance of success across 3 cycles. I had low AMH and my partner had dodgy swimmers. We only got 2 eggs but miraculously it worked first time. I’m now 21 weeks with a little girl. Don’t give up! I know I was incredibly lucky and it usually takes 3 cycles but you have every chance of it working - in IVF terms 38 is still fairly young-ish really! Sending positivity for your cycle. ☺️

@LoveYouHoneyBadger @GabbyGal Would you mind messaging me which clinic you both went to please? Im in Ireland also and feeling so overwhelmed 😔

Respectfully OP, you need to speak to your own clinic about your own chances.

Do not base your decision on an episode of Eastenders.