40+ and Trying for 1st? Join in!!

[Pussycat1]

Hi ladies, it's been another long time since I posted. Since then I've had my first round of Donor IVF and just found out its a BFN. I'm sure you all know how I feel especially as we waited such a long time and this is really the only chance we had at our clinic. However as today has gone on I've been motivated and emailed a clinic in Czech Republic which is half the price, short waiting time and 60% success rate. So we will see but it does worry me that perhaps there is something else going on with me as I've now failed with someone else's eggs too. Perhaps I'm just really unlucky 😔 I haven't even paid for this failed treatment yet.
Emmi, I remember you from way back, so so pleased you got your BFP and such a great response to IVF. You're the same age as me so you've inspired me not to give up. I hope you are well and you get your twins, that's what I hope for too.
Hi to everyone else (regulars and newbies). x

 

[Weezy9]

Hello Ladies
It's the first time I've joined a forum so still trying to work out how all this works.
I'm going to be 42 next month and trying for my first. I really don't want to go through the Ivf route but turning 42 has made me feel my time is running out and could be the only way to pregnant. Does anyone feel the same way?

 

[Pussycat1]

Hi Weezy9, welcome. I would strongly suggest getting your hormone levels FSH, Oestrodel and AMH tested as an indication of your biological age. People do get pregnant at our age but it's harder and time is not your friend. Good luck! x

 

[Weezy9]

HI pussycat1
Thanks for the welcome and advice. I have had some tests done already , my Day21 is 42 and my FSH is 7 IU/I LH 4 IU/I. I've been told by my doctor that it's all normal but I don't know how to interpret that in biological age. Does anyone know if it's good or bad?

Have also had a HSG and it came back as clear....it was very unpleasant..well actually it's painful...and in my moment of pain, I took a glance at the monitor and saw my left tube seems to be a bit narrower in one section (though there was still dye going through it). I ask the gynecologist about it and all he said was it's normal and clear, and said I'm not train to interpret a scan, how would I know.*Gynecologist and doctor just left it at that.
My husband and I are trying Acupunture and chinese herbal at the moment. It hasn't got us a positive yet but have seen an improvement on our health.

We've been ttc for 2 years and it's not a long time compare to some. Given the choice I would carry on trying naturally for a bit longer but as Pussycat1 you pointed out rightly, time is not my friend. I'm not mentally ready for IVF but I think if I don't go for it now, I'm worried it's too late to try later on. I suppose no woman can be fully prepared for IVF and what they're about to go through.*

0h also want to ask, has anyone ever used The Stork (the home conception kit)? If so what do you ladies think of it.

BABY DUST TO ALL XXX

 

[Weezy9]

Hi Pussycat1
Thanks for the welcome and advice.
I have had some tests done already, my Day21 is 42 and my FSH is 7 and I think LH 4 . I've been told by my doctor that it's all normal but I don't know how to interpret that in biological age? Is that a good range?

Have also had a HSG and it came back as clear....it was very unpleasant..well actually it's painful...and in my moment of pain, I took a glance at the monitor and saw my left tube seems to be a narrower section (though there was still dye going through it). I ask the gynecologist about it and all he said was it's normal and clear, and said I'm not train to interpret a scan, how would I know. Gynecologist and doctor just left it at that.

My husband and I are trying Acupunture and chinese herbal at the moment. It hasn't got us a positive yet but have seen an improvement on our health.

We've been ttc for 2 years and it's not a long time compare to some. Given the choice I would carry on trying naturally for a bit longer but as Pussycat1 you pointed out rightly, time is not my friend. I'm not mentally ready for IVF but I think if I don't go for it now, I'm worried it's too late to try later on. I suppose no woman can be fully prepared for IVF and what they're about to go through.

Baby dust to all xx

 

[Doxie]

Hello Ladies
It's the first time I've joined a forum so still trying to work out how all this works.
I'm going to be 42 next month and trying for my first. I really don't want to go through the Ivf route but turning 42 has made me feel my time is running out and could be the only way to pregnant. Does anyone feel the same way?

All of the tracking and timing with going invasive makes me nervous to think about. Full time job plus other responsibilities...don't know! I'm 40 and trying for my first, too. Welcome to the club!

 

[Pussycat1]

Ladies if it's any consolidation and you do go IVF, I really didn't find it so bad. The thought of injecting is much harder than the reality, it was fitting in the scans around work (not helped by my inflexible and always running late clinic). I'm 43 and did my first IVF at 41, but I so wish I hadn't waited. Please don't be scared of it, the alternative is far worse. x

 

[Weezy9]

I hate needles and the thought of injecting really freaked me out. So it has reassured me. I am fortunate enough to be self employed, so I have the flexibility of not taking work on after my currant contract (which is good for time).
I am researching into different IVF clinic at the moment to take out my treatment. Ladies, any clinics anyone can recommend I can look into which is suited to our age? (I'm based around London/ South East UK). Looking at ARGC at the mo

 

[Reverie22]

Hi Everyone, this is my first time joining/posting in a forum so bear with me as I figure out how this works.
I was wondering if anyone had read the article on IVF vs IUI that came out earlier this year on Older infertile couples should try in vitro fertilization first?
It won't let me post the link as I am new to the forum.
My DH and were married last October but have had difficulty timing BD due to his extensive travel schedule. My hormone levels tested last January revealed normal levels except an elevated FSH at 14. Another panel ran in May showed the FSH dropped to 12. Unfortunately my ultrasound revealed low ovarian reserve.
The ER was not concerned with my low ovarian reserve or FSH, he said those numbers can change. He recommended 3-4 rounds of IUI and then proceeding to IVF.
I started acupuncture and a TCM herb and nutrition regiment in May, I'm due for another baseline. I turn 42 this fall.
Does anyone who's had IUI wish they had started with IVF? Cost is a factor, the clinic charges $5480 per round of IUI, $20,000 for IVF. My DH works in another state and we just received an excellent referral to a clinic there that charges significantly less. We have a home in each location and I work from home so we are most likely switching clinics.

 

[terripeachy]

My insurance (Aetna) said I could move straight to IVF if I wanted to because I was 40, but I was too scared to spend that kind of money if IUI worked. I did two IUIs and they didn't work, so then I went to IVF. The injections honestly weren't bad, and for me, there was no other option so I did it. I'm currently in the TWW of my first IVF, so I'm hoping it worked because I didn't have any frozen embryos for next time.

Have you had your DH tested? That would give you an idea of which procedure may work better for you. If he has severe sperm issues, then obviously, IVF is the way to go. Good luck!

 

[Reverie22]

The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published online April 29 in Fertility and Sterility. Researchers found that women aged 38 and older were more than twice as likely to become pregnant through IVF within their first two cycles of treatment than if they used oral or injectable fertility drugs. They also were twice as likely to have a successful birth from that pregnancy.

"In this age group, time really is of the essence," said lead researcher Marlene Goldman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, in Lebanon, N.H. "Moving to a more effective treatment quicker is the way to go."

The participating couples had to have been trying to conceive for at least six months, without previously using any of the treatments in the study. The female partner had to be between 38 and 42, and both partners had to be in relatively good reproductive health.

Within two cycles:
•49 percent of those who received IVF became pregnant and 31 percent gave birth.
•22 percent of those with oral medication became pregnant and 16 percent gave birth.
•17 percent of those given injectable medication became pregnant and 14 percent gave birth.

All couples that had not been successful in their first two cycles of any treatment used IVF in their subsequent treatment cycles. The couples in the immediate IVF group of the study ended up needing 36 percent fewer total cycles before conception than the couples who began with oral or injectable medication.
By going directly to IVF, doctors can help women in mid-life conceive despite the "double whammy" of fewer eggs produced by the ovaries and eggs that are genetically abnormal due to their age, said Dr. Avner Hershlag, chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

About 84 percent of all live births in the study came about as a result of IVF.
These findings should cause insurance officials to reconsider their refusal to cover IVF, given that pregnancy occurs more rapidly with IVF and with fewer complications, said Dr. Tomer Singer, a reproductive endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Singer noted that the oral and injectable medications work by hyperstimulating the ovaries, which often causes a woman to conceive twins or triplets. Those pregnancies tend to be more complicated and more costly.

"If insurance companies will realize they may save money by following this route of treatment, this will eventually be the way to go," Singer said. "We are covering standard insemination, and those patients are taking the risk of twins. That will cost us so much more than helping a couple achieve a healthy pregnancy with one embryo."

 

[Reverie22]

Hi Terripeachy,
Thank you for replying. Yes, I forgot to post that my DH semen analysis showed his sperm are healthy all aound and had high motility so we are good there. If it came back showing poor motility then I think the case would be stronger for IUI.

 

[Reverie22]

Terripeachy fingers crossed for you! That is so exciting!

 

[terripeachy]

Thanks...that's great about your husband..so I guess your next steps would be to call a fertility center and get started! I think the success rates of different centers are all listed on sart.org, so check it out.

And thanks for the copy of the article. I think it just depends on the person and what they are comfortable with. IVF is no joke and it is expensive, so a lot of people don't want to go straight to it. My doctor gave me options and recommended IVF, but I wanted to try IUI and that's what I did. I hope I'm one of the success stories very soon!

 

[Pussycat1]

I see this whole process as steps and I haven't felt ready to move onto the next one until I'd exhausted the first and felt happy that I'd tried, I tried IUI first, then IVF now onto Donor eggs, kind of running out of steps though ... It's such a hard thing to choose, with hindsight I would go direct to IVF, but at the time I just wasn't in that place. I think we've all said it before, the important thing is to do something. x

 

[Weezy9]

I know what you mean Pussycat1. That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. I wanted to try as soon as I got married. People wondered why I hadn't tried in my 30's but because they didn't know I've battled with Vaginismus for nearly 4 years and by that time, I was nearly 40. I feel I could try longer with conceiving naturally but my logical brain tells me that's not an option. IVF here we come!
Just need to do the research!!
What's your next Plan forward Pussycat1?
Reverie22 that study you shared was reassuring

 

[Weezy9]

I know what you mean Pussycat1. That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. I wanted to try as soon as I got married. People wondered why I hadn't tried in my 30's but because they didn't know I've battled with Vaginismus for nearly 4 years and by that time, I was nearly 40. I feel I could try longer with conceiving naturally but my logical brain tells me that's not an option. IVF here we come!
Just need to do the research!!
What's your next Plan forward Pussycat1?
Reverie22 that study you shared was reassuring

 

[babybabyb]

Okay everyone. My first frozen donor egg transfer is scheduled for October 6th. My husband and I really hope this works. Not looking forward to the injections but honestly I've been pricked so much and given so much blood in the past three years dealing with infertility issues, its starting to get routine, lol. We have had a good experience with Shady Grove so far. I hope that we finally get our miracle. I kind of knew that the IUIs were a waste of time, but they were actually covered by my insurance so we decided to try. This is the first time throughout this whole ordeal that I have felt optimistic. If it doesn't work the first time, hopefully the next.

 

[terripeachy]

I hope it works for you too babybaby. Sending tons of early your way!

 

[kaysbc]

Hi gals, I haven't popped by in a while. Lots of new people. Welcome babybaby, doxie, reverie, weezy! Glad you have joined us.

When I first started seeing an RE I was pretty opposed to IVF. Mostly because of the cost but also it seemed so invasive. But as time has moved on I've become more comfortable with the idea of IVF, and it seems more and more people around me are doing it so its starting to seem so normal. But-- the cost is really the killer for me.

My doc quoted me some astronomical amount for IVF. I can't remember what it was but in the 20K ballpark. I simply don't have that type of money. I found another clinic that charges 10K, and back in Feb/March I was pretty much ready to give them a call and hand over a credit card and get started. But then I got a BFP, and somehow that changed my mind about rushing into IVF, because suddenly I felt that it was actually possible for me to get pregnant naturally. So now I'm hesitant again about IVF.

I know time is not on our side, but I feel like trying for a bit more. As long as we're doing something the time is not wasted. But, time has freaked me out a little bit lately, because August is now my 2-year anniversary of TTC.

Terrypeachy, best of luck to you in your 2ww. how exciting!

babybaby sounds exciting for you too

Emmi how are you doing?

good to see you back again pussycat, so sad to hear about your recent BFN.


~best wishes to all of us~