Welcome to 'Trying To Conceive Over 35'

[jm1355]

everyone!

Ali...yesterday I didn't know my numbers from my hormone tests. So, my Fertility specialist is mailing the results to me, but gave me my FSH and AMH numbers. FSH = 7.8 and AMH = 6.3. She siad those were good numbers. Are they?

Yes!!! Did they give you your LH? It should be about the same as your FSH. AMH is dependent upon where it was tested, but generally speaking anything above 2 is acceptable, and 6 is great! That would put you at the ovarian age of a 30 yr old Also, the FSH should stay low, I believe under 9 is considered normal. If it is elevated, like 15, it means your pituitary gland is working too hard to get the response from your ovaries. So 7-8 is awesome

You are like me.. with great numbers even in your 40s. Count your blessings Not all women at 40 are as lucky as we are.

So from what you have told me you have a clean bill of health, and now you just have to get busy during your fertile times

Thanks Ali...I needed to hear that. I was pretty sure that the nurse told me my numbers were good. But then after Coy responded I began to wonder if I misunderstood. I am about 99% sure she said my numbers were good. I didn't ask her about my LH. But she is mailing everything to me, so i will find out soon enough.

I really think I am ok and that maybe there was a bit too much mucus in my tubes stemming from my gluten sensitivity. But I think it is fixed now. And soon I will get my BFP...and hopefully deliver around BF's birthday (that is, if I get pregnant next month.)

Well the PCOS thing is something to consider. Not all women that have PCOS are fat, and not all women that have PCOS have cysts on their ovaries. It is a confusing syndrome. If your LH/FSH ratio is off, and you have cysts you could have PCOS and not have any irregularity in your periods. As I said it manifests itself in strange ways. I do think the chances of you having it are slim, but without your LH, I can't say for sure. If you get the value and it is close to your FSH, then I'd say you are fine.

Take a look at this website when you get your results by mail, it is what I used to figure out my levels. Now remember the results on this page are for women who had day 3 hormone levels checked. So if you didn't have your blood drawn on day 2-4, this may not help much. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a range and an explanation of what each test should be and why.

https://www.fertilityplus.com/faq/hormonelevels.html

I had it done on day three. I have never had irregular periods. Never any problems at all with my female organs...except that my uterus just did not want to have an IUD in it.! Lol! Well, I am feeling pretty optimistic right now. So, I am going to stick with my "too much mucus in my fallopoian tubes" story and put it all in God's hands. That's where it's been all along, regardless of all the research and testing I do!

Thank you Ali!!

Yep! I think you are good to go, I prescribed you a schedule.
You might want to try mucinex and evening primrose oil? Also maybe a baby aspirin every day? These things will help make your lining nice and hospitable and giving you lots of EWCM to help the get up there. Otherwise, go for it!!! Then as soon as you get your go in and have your progesterone level tested to make sure it is high enough to sustain your pregnancy. so happy for you, I sincerely hope this is your month!

I started the Mucinex and evening primrose oil over two weeks ago and i will continue until the BFP appears! Baby aspirin? Really? Hmmm...

 

[alicatt]

everyone!

Ali...yesterday I didn't know my numbers from my hormone tests. So, my Fertility specialist is mailing the results to me, but gave me my FSH and AMH numbers. FSH = 7.8 and AMH = 6.3. She siad those were good numbers. Are they?

Yes!!! Did they give you your LH? It should be about the same as your FSH. AMH is dependent upon where it was tested, but generally speaking anything above 2 is acceptable, and 6 is great! That would put you at the ovarian age of a 30 yr old Also, the FSH should stay low, I believe under 9 is considered normal. If it is elevated, like 15, it means your pituitary gland is working too hard to get the response from your ovaries. So 7-8 is awesome

You are like me.. with great numbers even in your 40s. Count your blessings Not all women at 40 are as lucky as we are.

So from what you have told me you have a clean bill of health, and now you just have to get busy during your fertile times

Thanks Ali...I needed to hear that. I was pretty sure that the nurse told me my numbers were good. But then after Coy responded I began to wonder if I misunderstood. I am about 99% sure she said my numbers were good. I didn't ask her about my LH. But she is mailing everything to me, so i will find out soon enough.

I really think I am ok and that maybe there was a bit too much mucus in my tubes stemming from my gluten sensitivity. But I think it is fixed now. And soon I will get my BFP...and hopefully deliver around BF's birthday (that is, if I get pregnant next month.)

Well the PCOS thing is something to consider. Not all women that have PCOS are fat, and not all women that have PCOS have cysts on their ovaries. It is a confusing syndrome. If your LH/FSH ratio is off, and you have cysts you could have PCOS and not have any irregularity in your periods. As I said it manifests itself in strange ways. I do think the chances of you having it are slim, but without your LH, I can't say for sure. If you get the value and it is close to your FSH, then I'd say you are fine.

Take a look at this website when you get your results by mail, it is what I used to figure out my levels. Now remember the results on this page are for women who had day 3 hormone levels checked. So if you didn't have your blood drawn on day 2-4, this may not help much. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a range and an explanation of what each test should be and why.

https://www.fertilityplus.com/faq/hormonelevels.html

I had it done on day three. I have never had irregular periods. Never any problems at all with my female organs...except that my uterus just did not want to have an IUD in it.! Lol! Well, I am feeling pretty optimistic right now. So, I am going to stick with my "too much mucus in my fallopoian tubes" story and put it all in God's hands. That's where it's been all along, regardless of all the research and testing I do!

Thank you Ali!!

Yep! I think you are good to go, I prescribed you a schedule.
You might want to try mucinex and evening primrose oil? Also maybe a baby aspirin every day? These things will help make your lining nice and hospitable and giving you lots of EWCM to help the get up there. Otherwise, go for it!!! Then as soon as you get your go in and have your progesterone level tested to make sure it is high enough to sustain your pregnancy. so happy for you, I sincerely hope this is your month!

I started the Mucinex and evening primrose oil over two weeks ago and i will continue until the BFP appears! Baby aspirin? Really? Hmmm...

Yes, the uterine lining is important too! Did anyone mention the words triple lining? You want to see a triple lining if at all possible, it is thought to be the most inviting to the embryo to implant. One way to make it more inviting is to take 1 baby aspirin a day. It is thought to increase blood flow to the uterus and ovaries to help aid in follicle development and your uterine lining.

 

[FirstTry]

Jess: I think you should only take the EPO until ovulation.

Ali & Jess: my doctor said don't take baby aspirin unless you have recurrent miscarriages. Side effects of easy bruising and taking longer for blood to clot aren't worth it if you don't need it. For instance, if you have an accident which caused lots of bleeding, you don't want aspirin in your system.

That said, he said EPO and vitamins are okay. I take C and B complex, as well as CoQ-10.

 

[jm1355]

Jess: I think you should only take the EPO until ovulation.

Ali & Jess: my doctor said don't take baby aspirin unless you have recurrent miscarriages. Side effects of easy bruising and taking longer for blood to clot aren't worth it if you don't need it. For instance, if you have an accident which caused lots of bleeding, you don't want aspirin in your system.

That said, he said EPO and vitamins are okay. I take C and B complex, as well as CoQ-10.

I take a sublingual B-Complex, mucinex, and EPO...I have noticed the difference in my CM and my FS is ok with me taking that. He didn't mention baby aspirin. I think I will just keep doing what I am doing... Maybe I will add a prenatal.

 

[alicatt]

Jess: I think you should only take the EPO until ovulation.

Ali & Jess: my doctor said don't take baby aspirin unless you have recurrent miscarriages. Side effects of easy bruising and taking longer for blood to clot aren't worth it if you don't need it. For instance, if you have an accident which caused lots of bleeding, you don't want aspirin in your system.

That said, he said EPO and vitamins are okay. I take C and B complex, as well as CoQ-10.

I take a sublingual B-Complex, mucinex, and EPO...I have noticed the difference in my CM and my FS is ok with me taking that. He didn't mention baby aspirin. I think I will just keep doing what I am doing... Maybe I will add a prenatal.

That is really interesting about the aspirin. Mine wants me to take it and I don't have a history of miscarriages. When I asked why, they say 1 baby aspirin is good for you in general, that is why they tell old people to take it daily, and that it helps with the blood flow to your ovaries and uterus. I could see not taking aspirin if you have a clotting issue, but it is a fairly harmless drug in my opinion.

Jess.. are you going to go back mid cycle for an ultrasound? It might be beneficial to go back right around the time you are to ovulate and find out what your lining looks like, and if you have a nice follicle. That way you will know how your uterus is presenting itself and whether it might be helpful to take baby aspirin in the future. Key things to look at just before ovulation:

1) Number and size of the follicle(s), without and drugs you should only have one nice one, depending on your CD, and when you ovulate you want to see the follicle around 16-24mm
2) Thickness of your lining should be between 8-15, optimal is 9-12 - too thick/thin and it can be an issue
3) If it is a double or triple layer -triple is best

 

[Grey Eyes]

Jess- if optimal fertility is between 4.0 and 6.8 then you- at 6.3- are about as perfect as it gets!! No worries! I'm sorry if my post was confusing or disheartening, I sure didn't mean it to be...Hey didn't I say you should strut? That means GOOOOOD! lol! You don't have pcos, yes, I am prety sure you would know as it affects your cycles so drastically- super long cycles, etc. Jess...STOP WORRYING! I think (in Ali's words a few months ago) they just had to clean the cobwebs out! You're in perfect shape for a bfp now! Oh yeah--I would def add a prenatal and an extra folic acid

Ali- prescribing ? lol, you make me laugh, thank you, I needed that! Prescribe me something too, I want something too I waaannnnttt...chocolate. I would say prescribe me too but Too early? .......

AFM- Ok, I have some stuff now I voted My attorney is taking my case so now he is just trying to get a case number...dumb cop (sorry, my language ) hasn't even filed the charge yet! He's hanging on to it ...I had to contact the prosecutor as we have no case number yet so cannot officially request information through discovery Anyway he said to use the citation number Works for me, trying to get the ball rolling here.......Then, let's see...I went to get drinking water. Oh. And my last case opposing attorneys are finally sending our money - Sweeet! So I can pay my attorney now.... Something wrong with this picture...LOL!

Ahhh...I feel in the future......someone post some pics or something! Ahh! LOL!

 

[Philomena]

Phil - glad your stress level is coming down, that is very important! It is also good to see you are managing your GD so well! Did you have issues with your blood sugar before you got pregnant? I ask because I don't have any now, but it does run in my family supposedly, and I worry that it will manifest itself when I get pregnant.

The your tree cutting tradition sounds amazing! I wish we had something like that here. Alas, we don't have any Christmas trees growing naturally in FL! They have them shipped in from North Carolina I believe. I do have memories of cutting down a tree with my Dad when I was little. I cherish that memory. I'm sure you will continue your traditions with your DD and new baby and these times will be special to them as they grow up.

Hi Ali, I did not have any issues with diabetes before this pregnancy, and even in early pregnancy was fine. I did not have GD with my first baby, and they say you can't predict who will or won't get it and that many women who have more than one baby do not get GD with all their pregnancies.
I skipped the glucose screening 1 hour test because frankly, I didn't want to do it - I thought it would be a waste of time... actually it would have been, because they would have sent me for the Glucose Tolerance Test anyways, (the 3 hour one) and that one is more informative anyhow. They usually do that one between weeks 26-28 because that is when GD often first shows itself. It's related to how the placenta messes up with the body's ability to produce and use it's own insulin. I have type 2 diabetes on both my mom and my dad's side, so that's a risk factor. Being an older mom and being overweight are two more risk factors. Certainly, it's not the end of the world, and although there are things to be aware of and deal with, I'm not worried about the baby at all. It's the uncontrolled GD moms which tend to have more issues, and here they really try to test everyone so they can catch it. My biggest objective is to be informed so I can advocate for myself when it comes to how my delivery will go to the best of my ability. I am unhappy I have to deliver in the hospital, but aside from that, I have been able to hang on to my midwives and have them advocating on my behalf for keeping babes in as long as is healthy and feasible. The other thing we have to watch for is an aging placenta which can happen due to the elevated blood sugars. This is the reason some OBs routinely induce at 38 weeks. My hope is that with monitoring, and my extra healthy eating, I can keep my placenta healthy and working which will make it possible for Babes to come in her own time.

How are you doing? how are your fur babies doing??

 

[Philomena]

Hi Ladies,

for those of you who believe in the power of prayer, I would ask that you please, please pray for my good friend, Laura-Lynn....

Her 81 year old mom, who is in a wheelchair was caught up in a house fire in Turner Valley this week, and is alive in hospital only because her heroic neighbors came in and saved her. She is very severely burned and it appears that she is very poorly off and my friend and her dad will have to make a very hard decision today or tomorrow.
Please pray for their comfort and send as many angels as you can!

I truly, truly thank you from the bottom of my heart....

 

[Philomena]

Hi ladies!

Ali- yes, it was pretty funny. " Anyway, I am much more relaxed now that I know I have a good attorney. If it's just "'lil ol' me" the wolves seem to grow new teeth for some reason How's ZOe doing today? Romping like normal? Does she ever pull Alpha on Zach?

Phil- wow, you are getting so close! Funny how babes makes your belly move around at this stage isn't it? Another week or so and she'll be so cramped you'll start to worry as she won't have room to move much and she will slow down--totally normal! And I am glad that you are controlling your GD- no worries GL with your ultrasound--do we get to see pics??

TwoToGo- I agree with Ali- hormones is a huge issue especially for young men at this point. At least that's what dh tells me And yes.....did you test? Wait- I just caught your other post...Thursday?......but that's a whole 2 days away... lol

Jess- I am trying to remember the stats on those numbers and my brain is a fog at the moment! If your doc said they are good you can probably bet on it but I am going to research it for you anyway If your FSH is: FSH = 7.8 I think that is perfect as from what I have read a great balance is anywhere between 3 and 10--so perfect! And your AMH is = 6.3. Odd. From what I have read (very brief research mind you) AMH should be over 1.0 but also anything over 3.0 can be considered PCOS- so that doesn't make sense. Your cycles are perfect so I am fairly confident you don't have pcos. What did they measure your AMH by? ng/ml? I am wondering if that is where the differences are at. BUT I think there are so many variables to deal with when considering AMH. First is age- and in that category you are strutting woman! Most women over 30/40'ish are looking at ranges between 0.20 and 0.50. SO I would say you are freaking awesome!! And have nothing to worry about Check out this link

https://www.ivf1.com/AMH-Ovarian-Reserve/

Hi Coy,
It was such a short u/s today! they don't mess around! in, measure, look, out, and send me on my way!
Babes is doing really well... 150 bpm heart rate (perfect) and measures 5 lbs 4 oz weight (also perfect) - the measurements and weight put the baby in the 45th percentile which is definitively NOT large for gestational age... *grin*
So as long as I keep control of the GD there shouldn't be any issues.... IMHO...
they only gave me one, blurry profile pic, which I wasn't even expecting this time around.... it was thoughtful, but the other ones I have are way better!

 

[Philomena]

here is the account of what happened to my friend's mom.... thank you for all your prayers etc....

https://www.calgarysun.com/2012/11/...conds-to-spare-as-her-home-erupts-into-flames

 

[Lucedrama]

So AF due tomorrow or Thursday. First month trying. 13 dpo with temperature raised still. 38 years old but extremely immature. I don't even know how 38 happened. How do you post chart?

 

[alicatt]

Can I just say that I am so glad the election is here. I just want to know who won, and what the ramifications will be for our the US.

I must say I really hate all the campaign commercials, especially the negative ones. I am very happy that I won't have to see another one for a really long time!

 

[twotogo]

Phil - I am praying.

 

[twotogo]

AFM - I am tired to the point of tears and nausea. I could barely make it through Walmart buying the few groceries that I got. I am so thankful that our ASL instructor couldn't make it tonight.

Had the ultrasound done this afternoon. Very thorough, but I'm tired of people messin' with my boob! Okay, I'm tired and cranky. Think I will get off here and go to sleep. I'll be in a better mood in the morning.

 

[alicatt]

Phil - I am praying.

Me too!

 

[FirstTry]

Jess: yes, take a prenatal vitamin! We should all be taking them. Ideally, you would've taken folic acid (which is in all prenatals) for at least 3 months before conception. But you should be fine if you start now.

 

[twotogo]

Charting question: I woke up very early this morning at 2:30 and took my temp. It was 97.33. I ate (didn't eat much supper last night), took half of a tylenol pm, and went back to sleep. Just woke up after 8:00 a.m. Now my temp is 98.23. I usually temp at 5:00 a.m., so I don't know which temp to use. Any thoughts?

 

[FirstTry]

Charting question: I woke up very early this morning at 2:30 and took my temp. It was 97.33. I ate (didn't eat much supper last night), took half of a tylenol pm, and went back to sleep. Just woke up after 8:00 a.m. Now my temp is 98.23. I usually temp at 5:00 a.m., so I don't know which temp to use. Any thoughts?

That happens to me almost every night, since I generally wake up when DH comes to bed (3:00-4:30am) and then at 7am for work. I'd say if you had slept at least 5 hours before the 2:30 wake up, then use that temp. If not, pick something in the middle.

Hold on, I just looked at your chart. You are 16dpo. Did you test this morning?

 

[alicatt]

Charting question: I woke up very early this morning at 2:30 and took my temp. It was 97.33. I ate (didn't eat much supper last night), took half of a tylenol pm, and went back to sleep. Just woke up after 8:00 a.m. Now my temp is 98.23. I usually temp at 5:00 a.m., so I don't know which temp to use. Any thoughts?

Did you take your temp immediately upon waking? No moving around, going to the bathroom etc. If so, I'd take your second one providing you got a true 4 hours sleep. Or perhaps something in between. It is a little curious that you had 2 very different temps! Have you tested again? How do you feel? Does it feel like AF is on her way or do you feel like perhaps it isn't?

 

[twotogo]

Charting question: I woke up very early this morning at 2:30 and took my temp. It was 97.33. I ate (didn't eat much supper last night), took half of a tylenol pm, and went back to sleep. Just woke up after 8:00 a.m. Now my temp is 98.23. I usually temp at 5:00 a.m., so I don't know which temp to use. Any thoughts?

That happens to me almost every night, since I generally wake up when DH comes to bed (3:00-4:30am) and then at 7am for work. I'd say if you had slept at least 5 hours before the 2:30 wake up, then use that temp. If not, pick something in the middle.

Hold on, I just looked at your chart. You are 16dpo. Did you test this morning?

No, I'm testing tomorrow morning if AF doesn't show, but I feel like she's getting ready to make her appearance.