# do i need fertility treatment - 43 years old



## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hello I am very frustrated, I managed to conceive twice in the last 12 months but had 2 miscarriages. I don't know if I should go for DE or just keep trying.  My eggs must be at issue here.


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## bib (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi Hun

Welcome to ff.  This is definately the place to be for support and information.

I am not an expert on these matters, but i wouldn't think that DE would necessarily be the route you need to take.  I really don't know the answer...........

I am so sorry that you have been through such an awful loss - if must be hard for you and your dh to take.

I am sure that there will be someone on the boards who will be able to help more.

Just wanted to say hi and welcome.

Bib xx


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thanks for your kind reply, I am going to go for some tests soon to see what my egg reserve is, I have never had this done before so I will be interested to see what there is. I am a little low at the moment. But I don't have the time to sit back and hope for the best as my age is against me. I don't know if age of mothers menopause makes any difference my mother had hers at 54-56 she can't exactly remeber.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi bottleofwater,

Sorry to hear you have had two miscarriages. It is very good news that you have managed to conceive twice in the last 2 months but very sad that you have lost these pregnancies.

There are two things here. At your age sadly miscarriages can be more common due to the higher number of chromosomally abnormal eggs. You could continue to try in the hope that one of your eggs is normal. However, there may be other issues going on and given your age, it would be perhaps helpful to eliminate as many problems as possible while you still have a chance of using your own eggs. You may also want to see a fertility clinic in order to maximise the short window you have to conceive at your age - this may be by using injectibles and having sex if you have no other problems other than age. This will increase the number of eggs released per cycle which is a way of speeding things up. You may be advised to progess to IUI or more likely IVF. However, more women your age have live births through natural conception (or injectible cycles) than ivf.

You may have other issues apart from age which could be tested for and eliminated. This would involve going to a clinic for tests although many could be done with your GP to keep down cost. I would definitely advise perhaps a consultation with a fertility clinic to see a way forward for you. You could have the basic FSH, LH and E2 blood tests and would advise that your partner also has sperm checked. I would advise you to also have some basic miscarriage testing to eliminate common causes e.g. insulin resistance, thyroid checks, karyotyping for you and DH, sperm assays and fragmentation, blood clotting etc. There is a list of tests here:-

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=80433.0

It is also a good idea to have these tests even if you do decide to move on to donor egg as if you have any other cause other than 'old eggs', this will of course affect your donor egg pregnancy as well.

I know it is very frustrating that you can't stay pregnant. It is a good sign that you do conceive at 43, but sadly it may be that aneuploid eggs are the problem. However, don't just assume this - IMHO I would be proactive and get some advice and testing to maximise the time you have....

Wishing you the very best,

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thank you Daisy that was really helpful, and good to know that i could be wasting time on ivf. I have enquired about some tests today but I think you have given me a far more comprehensive list.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi,

You may or may not be wasting your time - it is a tough call.  If you can afford it, you may want (for closure) to try a cycle with a top clinic who have had births with women your age e.g. ARGC, the Lister, UCH, Woking Nuffield, London Fertility Centre, CARE Notts.  I would recommend going to a top clinic straight away - don't waste time with anything but the best!!

I got pregnant 3 times with ivf at age 44 - 44.5 but sadly miscarried - the causes of which could have been old eggs, but I also miscarried donor eggs as well.  I was later found to have clotting and autoimmune issues and, with the help of meds., gave birth to twins last year through donor embryo.

Basically, I would have a consult and weight up your options.  You may be a very good candidate for ivf as you have already achieved pregnancy and producing and replacing more embryos may speed things up for you.

Best wishes,

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thanks again Daisy, so sorry to hear about your miscarriages but it is wonderful to hear you eventually achieved success. Can I ask you at what age you managed that?  I also wondered if my problem was that I have had D&C twice for polyps and evactuation of retained products x 1 (for missed miscarriage) and I recently read that these procedures can weaken your internal organs.  I had all these procedures in the last  4 years.


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

Hi Daisy 


I have worked out your age now from the bottom of your post, sorry I am a newbie here.xx


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

I also wonder if I have a blood clotting disorder as I bruise easily and on one or two minor operations I seem to bleed alot and the doctor did ask if I had a clotting problem.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi bottleofwater,

Yes, I was about 2 weeks away from 46 when I got pregnant with DE and 46 when I gave birth to my twins.  It is hard to know if you have a clotting problem from those symptoms alone - best to get some tests which will tell you.  It can be treated if you do have issues.

There can be issues from polyps definitely that can impact negatively on a pregnancy - I would definitey have a thorough uterine check via an hysteroscopy preferably (most thorough check).  D&Cs can sometimes cause scarring - again this could be a cause of miscarriage.  Would advise a consult to book these kind of investigations very soon.

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thanks again, I will do that.  THe body is a minefield of complications. So much to worry about.  xx


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## anjela (Aug 25, 2006)

bottleofwater said:


> hello I am very frustrated, I managed to conceive twice in the last 12 months but had 2 miscarriages. I don't know if I should go for DE or just keep trying. My eggs must be at issue here.


My friend is 43 and will be 44 at end of June, she is pregnant oyet again with her third child, they were all natural pregnancys, her oldest is 22, youngest 3 and a boy due in 6-8 weeks time.......she has no problems only irregular periods but has done it naturally, and in September she was pregnant for 5 weeks but had a miscarrige, so doctors told her to have a rest and try again in a couple of months, so November came and she asked her husband to go again and yes she got caught!

She doesn't want anymore now, but i said i would love for her to keep going to prove to the medics that it is possible to have a kid over 40! she always stayed positive and ignores them all...even now they are scaring her at her age, BUT she is a healthy individual so why shouldn't she get pregnant? she has DONE IT AND PROVED IT IS POSIBLE!


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

hi angela  hope i spelt name right, as I can't see it now I post.  That is great news for your friend.  I just saw my acupunture lady today.  Who said her oldest sucessful pregnancy was 46 years, it was natural and the woman had had a miscarriage in the past.  She thinks I will be ok.  But I will go down the egg donor route if not.  I will go for a full set of tests in July to see if I have any problems.x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

just to say I had an ultrasound on my fibroid and it is pretty low and not obstructive to conceiving which is great news.  Will get a full blood test soon to see if I have other problems.  I ask the gyno if it was a hormonal issue that I have and can be corrected but she said that she didn't think progesterene pesseries etc worked, there was no good evidence.  So I will wait to find out if I need other assistence after my blood tests. I am going to seek a good nutrisionist too.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi bottleofwater,

Sorry, but with respect, the average gyno knows very little about ivf and fertility issues(IMHO).  Yes, it is true that with a natural pregnancy progesterone has not been proved to help unless you have low progesterone levels post ovulation of a luteal phase defect.  Did she test for this?

If you are doing ivf progesterone supplementation is absolutely vital to getting pregnant and staying pregnant.  In a natural pg, the corpus luteum produces progesterone when you ovulate.  With ivf you do not ovulate, therefore v. little prog. is produced by egg retrieval. This is even more important if you do a donor eggs cycle as the body produces no natural progesterone at all.

Therefore in ivf you need progesterone in order to get pg and to keep the pg.  Some women do not absorb pessaries very well and either need more/higher doses of pessaries or injectible progesterone. 

Wondered what blood tests you are having? 

I am not an expert in fibroids, but I personally would have it removed just to be on the safe side.  I don't believe they can categorically say it will not have any effect on implantation.  Have you asked the women on the fibroids thread - they have a lot of knowledge in this area.

Hope you can get some answers soon.

Good luck

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thanks Daisy, the woman said it was very low in my uterus. I will go on to the fibroid thread I did conceive with the fibroid last time, I am worried about scarring and having to wait if I get it removed unfortuantely for now I may have to take her word, but I will ask, I saw an image on the screen but it means nothing to me as I never had one before. My miscarriages were naturally conceived so I didn't need the interactions of hormones per se, but I read some women, maybe in the states are given progesterene pesseries, I know I am very estrogen dominant at the best of times, always have been even though I am actually thin person. I have pcos, I have had polyps (non thank god at the moment). I can have erractic cycles and get very sore breasts. 

The asked about blood tests, but she didn't say exactly what they are called but I would need to wait 2-3 weeks for them.  She wants to test my partner but I don't think I will do this at this stage.

Part of me wants to try naturally again but the heartache is that I probably have very few good eggs. I wish there was a way to make your eggs healthy.  I know two women no previous pregnancies got pregnant at 45 no miscarriage and healthy child. So unfair.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi bottleofwater,

Sorry it is so hard to get answers.  I wondered why you didn't want your partner to be tested?  He may be contributing to your problems/miscarriages....

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

Hi Daisy,

He is very sensitive and I would like to know my own status first, I think being female and 43 it's more likely me than him. He gets upset at the losses and maybe I am just protecting him at the moment. x

Strange thing we never planned to be parents, I thought I was infertile, I had pcos that wasn't diagnosed for years, I had to wait to go private to find that out before I was always shown the door for abnormal bleeding at my NHS GP or given pills for PID which I never had. It wasn't until my late 30's I became pregnant with early miscarriage that I thought of children and of course that sets your hormones off.  My partner then got cancer and of course I didn't make any effort to try as I thought I would lose him then wham accidentally pregnant again, but another loss, trisomy 13. He never had chemo so there will be no effect to his sperm but I don't like to put him through any mill if I can.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi bottleofwater,

Sorry.  This is very hard I know.  Hoping you can find some answers and move forward.

Daisy
x


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## bottleofwater (Jun 19, 2007)

thanks Daisy, x i posted on fibroids site as well, thanks for the suggestions, you are very helpful and have alot of good info re: blood tests, I would never have mentioned it if you hadn't told me of such things. I do know that my normal range of blood is good, but I don't know about fertilty blood tests. I got a feeling I had a clotting one for other reasons years ago that was fine.x


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## BETTYBOO831 (Jun 28, 2011)

Hello Everyone,i am 43 years old and i have not been able for fall pregnant for 22 years,i am remarried and would love to have a baby with my husband.can anyone tell me about ivf and cost? I know i have problems falling.Please,please help as i am so depressed.I am always looking at baby stuff to buy everyday.


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