# Over 40 - advice re: initial tests, fertility clinics in London/Herts area?



## JasB171 (Jan 5, 2017)

Hi all, I am new to this site and was hoping that someone might have some pearls of wisdom to share.

I am currently 43 (44 in May) and am TTC.  I got pregnant in Oct/Nov 2015 after trying for about 8 months but had a missed miscarriage in early Jan 2016. We have been trying since then, but no joy.  

I have not had any tests done at all up until now, but thinking that that is probably the next step.  I had a very brief discussion with my GP regarding this and she said that I could get some tests done on the NHS but, as my periods are now irregular after the miscarriage, it might be difficult to pinpoint the right days for the tests, so it might be better to go to a fertility clinic. Any views on this? 

I am not sure whether I want to go down the IVF route - at this stage, I just want to know if there are any obvious problems.  But I am thinking that, if we did go to a clinic for tests, it would be best to find one that we would then consider if we did want to do IVF.  Does anyone have any recommendations for clinics in the London/Herts area that are particularly good with women over 40?  Also, if we did decide to go down the IVF route, I would want to use my own eggs rather than donor eggs. I know that the chances are better with donor eggs at my age, but I don't feel (at the moment anyway) that this would be the right option for us - are there some clinics that are more amenable to using own eggs over 40 than others?

We have been looking at CREATE, CARE (in Herts), ARGC (although I have read that they are quite brutal and I am not sure I could deal with that) and also Zita West.  If anyone has been to any of these clinics and has any advice, I’d be really grateful!    Thank so much!  And sorry for the long post....


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## GirlFullofHope (Oct 26, 2015)

Hello and so sorry for your loss.

I have experience of Create and know they do a lot of work with over 40, and they are known for their more natural IVF approach if you do get to that, which is said to be better for 'older' eggs. Overall I would say they are clinically very good. The admin side, like everywhere can sometimes be frustration, but keeping on top of things yourself, copies of everything and having all written down helps. I don't know the others, but on a practical point it is pretty easy to get to from Herts if you get into Euston, only another 20-30 mins usually. 

We had tests on NHS and our first IVF as was younger then and qualified. Main thing I would say is to be careful how much time it would all take as just being realistic, time does make a difference at this stage, especially if you are aiming for using your OE at present. 

I found that going to open days really helped get a feel for a place. Doing that at Create included a mini-consultation which really helped us to feel it was worth investing in a full consultation. This could be helpful even if not doing the whole IVF thing, but tests as like you say if it did escalate, be nice not to have to move clinic. Again though, I would not necessarily wait months if there is no open days yet for places you are interested in, giving them a call or sending emails can give you an idea of how well different clinics respond. Really good luck with it all and hope you find plenty of support on here too. x


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## hambone1 (Aug 18, 2016)

Hi JasB171,

I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

I just wanted to say that I agree with Girlfullofhope's advice to get tested as soon as possible and not to wait - I am 43 going on 44... and whilst I started with a relatively high AMH/AFC back in July... it has been heading downhill steadily with every test I've taken since, which seems to happen at our age.  You can get a full fertility check privately with results the next day (or at least get your AMH and FSH levels done so you can quickly get a sense of how you might respond to IVF treatment and decide if you want to go ahead.

I've pm'd you about my London clinic experience.

Good luck!


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## kittykat76 (Jan 17, 2016)

So sorry to hear of your miscarriage- it's so painful. I agree with what the others have said about not waiting,even if do it on nhs everything takes so long and they won't help you with ivf after 40 sadly. I am with Zita West and can't recommend them enough, if you want to pm me please do x


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## JasB171 (Jan 5, 2017)

Thank you all for your kind messages, advice and support! 

Given the timing of my cycles, I have managed to get my day 21 tests done and will get my day 3 tests done in the next week or so.  I figure that I would have to stick to those timings anyway with a private clinic for FSH etc? So I thought I may as well get them done on the NHS.  My doc had also suggested I try clomid for a few months to see whether that has any impact - what I may do is see if I can arrange to attend some open days and do some more research on clinics whilst I am deciding whether to try to clomid route or launch straight in.  I know that this may be wasting valuable time but I am not sure whether I feel quite ready to do the IVF thing.

Does anyone have experiences with Lister?  That's another one that I am contemplating. 

I wish you all the best of luck! x


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