# Over 40 and considering PGS



## Kiss (Oct 23, 2017)

Hi all I am new to the forum and also the whole area of having babies! Never tried as never been in relationships that would allow it. Single for over 5 years and basically gave up on my dreams of family and a nice man as never had the luck. Now I have decided to be brave and go it alone and even braved telling the parents of my thoughts, which was terrifying, as they all just think I am happy like I am so admitting I am not is a shock. So I went to CARE and got an AMH test which was 15.2 and I am nearing 44. This was okay they said and recommended OE IVF with PGS. I saw the price and realised I can't do it. I then emailed Serum who gave me hope with pricing but said they don't do PGS testing. This scares me as at my age the eggs are likely to be in bad shape and I don't want to risk the likely miscarriages and perhaps a fear of birth defects throughout my pregnancy. I just wondered what others are thinking about this. Am I being too worried? Should I look at another country other than Greece? Any support welcome as its a lonely place to be. I am scared of throwing money and my health and sanity away in the process!


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## Laquinn (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi Kiss and welcome. Hats off to you for following your heart  There are always risks but I think you can reduce them through research and preparation. There's lots of info on the forum about nutrition, supplements and procedures which may increase your odds. Some clinics offer guarantee packages where you would receive several rounds of ivf and maybe switch to a donor egg if you weren't successful with your own. There are also tandem cycles where you can use a combination of your own eggs and donor eggs. I've not got round to IVF yet but from what I can tell it's a real test of egg quality and the environment you can offer an embryo. Over 40 the odds are not on our side but there are plenty of people in this age bracket getting pregnant and having healthy babies. Having suffered a loss and a devastating late loss I have been looking at PGS myself. This article here is interesting: https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/ivf-abnormal-embryos-new-last-chance.html

I've been looking at DE options in the Czech Republic if we don't have any luck with OE at Create in UK.


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## Kiss (Oct 23, 2017)

Thanks so much Laquinn for taking the time to respond. Your experience is definitely a fear I have and you are my hero for talking about it. I will read the article and look into the tandem cycle and see what more I can learn. I know the tests reduce the likely embryo numbers but I wonder if it's in a good cause or not. It's all feeling like a massive gamble but i suppose the more informed you feel then the more in control. I hope you have a better time in your new attempt. I was okay with the DE concept but like most people  the idea of just a little go with OE is a massive temptation. I guess the clinics know that and it is hard to know what is best for you. Thanks for the support   I can't tell you how much it means.


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## Laquinn (Sep 4, 2017)

Thanks Kiss    

Know what you mean about the temptation of OE. I'm going down the immune route at the moment before I think about IVF; because our losses were unexplained I've been having a lot of tests to rule out possible causes before we go any further. 

Good luck with your research


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## Kiss (Oct 23, 2017)

Tons of luck with it. I would do the same to help lower the risks.  I will be doing more reading up!


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## kittykat76 (Jan 17, 2016)

Kiss - Good for you going it alone! I am 42 and doing the same and am currently 32wks pg after IVF. I did 3 fresh cycles and had NGS each time, I have immune issues and had 7 miscarriages in total so for me it ruled out one area as I knew what was being put back in was chromosomally good so I knew it was the soil and not the seed. I also produce a lot of eggs and had lots of top quality blastocysts which looked good but were abnormal when tested so I could have kept having them put back in and miscarrying. for me it was a no brainer to do the NGS,it does add on quite a lot to the cost though. I did my IVF in London, I know IVF Spain and Team Miracle in Cyprus both do PGS,I know Penny at Serum doesn't like doing it but lots of other overseas clinics do it. Please pm me if want any other info on what treatments/info I have picked up on this journey or if just want to chat to another lady going down the same route


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## Tootles (May 9, 2017)

What a useful thread. 

Laquinn - thanks so much for posting the link to that article. Absolutely fascinating. 

I'd considered PGS testing too. I'm at Nurture and it's advertised on their website. I was quite surprised when my consultant at Nurture was actually very dismissive about it and suggested I didn't bother. He is of the opinion that it can do more damage then good to the embryo both in terms of transporting to the lab as well as disturbing the embryo at such a vulnerable time.  He said he didn't think it was worth the expense.  That article is so reassuring.  Thanks so much again for posting it.  I don't feel like I'm missing out by choosing not to go down the PGS route now.


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## Kiss (Oct 23, 2017)

Thanks so much Kittykat76   it's good to hear what your thought process was and I'll drop you a message   I know there is no right or wrong with this more the risk we are each willing to take or not. It doesn't make deciding very easy to do. I think I have changed my mind 10 times a day over 10 different parts of decisions. I keep reminding myself I am lucky to have access to so much info but it's also so confusing.


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## Laquinn (Sep 4, 2017)

Pleasure Tootles  

That's interesting to hear how your consultant views PGS. Some clinics seem to offer so many extras it's difficult to know which ones are necessary and which ones might actually decrease your chances...


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