# 40 and a half...What are my chances???



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Dear FF,
Please can anyone help? I have been ttc for 5 years and have my first consultation at the IVF clinic this May.
I start to get butterflies when I think about IVF and have had real trouble reading up about it and facing the reality of my situation...I am currently trying to read a really good book by Niravi Payne called 'The Fertility Solution' and she writes really positively about one's chances to conceive as a forty plus year old...Has anyone got any words of wisdom for me? 
Luv,
Mushi x


----------



## Ellie.st (Mar 11, 2005)

Dear Mushi
It's true that the chances of success are lower as you get older but your own circumstances (eg reason for infertility, response to IVF drugs etc) also come into it so there are no hard and fast rules.  I had my first IVF cycle when approaching my 41st birthday and was told then that my chances of success ("unexplained", ttc 8 years) with IVF were about 10-15% per cycle. I was also quoted a rate of only 1-2% of conceiving naturally per cycle, so in my view, IVF was well worth a try as it increased our chances significantly. In general, however, I think it is probably better not to think too much about the stats but instead to be positive and to do your best to prepare for treatment health-wise while also being realistic about the chances of it working (if that makes sense).

I should add that different clinics have different success rates for over 40s - if you have the option, it is probably worth doing some research on the ones who have the best outcomes for over 40s. (Have a look at the HFEA guide).  

I know what you mean about trying to get your head round the idea of having IVF.  I put it off for years but, having now had two cycles, I can truly say that it really isn't bad at all physically.  The emotional rollercoaster aspect is more difficult to deal with but, on the other hand, when you have been TTC for a long time, you already have alot of experience of dealing with that). 

By the way, have you read Zita West's "Fertility and Conception" book yet.  I find it really helpful.

Best wishes

Ellie


----------



## ♥Meerkat♥ (Nov 14, 2005)

Hi Mushi 

I agree with Ellie's comments - especially not dwelling too much on the stats and keeping positive.

I am sure that when you have your appointment in May, you will feel so much better having met everyone and they will go through the whole process with you.  

All the best and let us know how you get on



Meerkat x


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Hi Ellie,
Great to get your reply!(That was my first message!)
I'll have a look at the book you suggested.
Good Luck for your next cycle in April.
Cheers Mushi


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Hi Meerkat,
Lovely to hear from you!
I think you are right that once we meet the consultant things will start to become clearer. I must try not to overthink and worry about it all!
I'll let you know how I get on.Our appt is 21st April not May!
Luv Mushi
PS I love the magic fairy!!I haven't worked out how to use the graphics yet!


----------



## Shamrock63 (Jan 24, 2005)

Hi there
There are SO many stats out there that tell us we're less likely to get pg after 40.  But its not impossible.  I've got numerous health problems - diabetes, hypothyroid, iron deficiency anaemia and PCO and managed to get a BFP on my second cycle.  I'm now 9wks plus pg and will be 43 in June!  Don't give up!
Shamrock63


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Dear Shamrock 63,
Greta to hear from you.
Congratulations on your BFP! I hope all is going well from you!
It gives me great hope to hear that it is possible to conceive with IVF over the age of 40.(I discovered recently that both my tubes are blocked....after trying for so long...)
With best wishes,
Mushi
P.S. Do you know what level your FSH has to be ideally for you to be considered for IVF?


----------



## joolzj (Mar 29, 2006)

Dear Mushi,
Hi there. We had our first appt at Oxford clinic on Mon and am waiting for our first IVF appt now. I was told my FSH was borderline at 10.4 but realised on going through all my tests again that my GP had arranged my blood sample to be taken on day 5 instead of day 2 or 3 (every website/book stipulates day2/3 for the test, usually 3). Having spent hours and hours over the last few days researching FSH levels to find out if the day 5 result might be expected to be higher or lower than a day 3 reading, I can tell you that 6-9 IU/L is good, 9-10 is fair, and 10 - 15 is borderline (as in eggs starting to degenerate). Some clinics say 12/12.5 - 15 is borderline but there seems to be a consensus that if level is over 15, it is unlikely that you will be offered IVF with own eggs and prob suggested to use donor egg.

As for my own query, I have no definitive answer but looks like could be slight rise of 0.4 between day 3 and day 5 which would put me at 10 and change the category I was in (sorry to bore you! - you know what it's like, this clutching at straws malarkey!).

Hope this helps,
Julia


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Dear Julia,
THANK-YOU for all the information!
I am having a blood test for my FSH levels this Weds(5th) which all being well should be day 2 or 3 of my cycle...I have no idea what my level is....
It would be good to hear how you get on at your 1st IVF appt. Ours is on 21st April...
With best wishes,
Mushi
PS Would you be able to have your blood test redone on day 2-3 seeing as your GP got the day wrong?
Actually my GP said to me that 'the blood test for FSH these days could be done any time of the month' and it was only because the clinic had told me that it was to be on day 2/3/4 that I knew the correct time to book it!!


----------



## druzy (Jan 25, 2006)

Hello!

I'm 41 in May and have had 2 failed IUIs and on 2ww for 1st IVF, test April 6.

Re. FSH mine is what they called mildly elevated at 11.6 (mind you that was last August).  From my research I understand that elevated FSH does lessen your chances, but not sure exactly why.

The doctors are concerned you won't respond to stimulation from the drugs because if your body already needs to produce more FSH to ovulate then giving you more artificially doesn't work.  However I did respond OK to stims.  If you type Lister FSH into google you come across some research that the Lister in London did on FSH and they concluded that it produces a lower live birth rate but that there is no pointing waiting for a month when the FSH is lower (it fluctuates apparently and some clinics wait for a month when it goes under 10 before treating) as the woman is just getting older.  One of the most successful clinics, the ARGC in London, doesn't do IVF if the FSH is over 10 (I spoke to them this week to check this) and that may explain their high success rates and also confirm there must be something in it.

ANYWAY, you may not have high FSH!!

From what I understand the other important thing is age.  And at the end of the day the older you are the more your fertility decreases and that apparently is quite fast after the age of 38 and not good at all by 42. The eggs are older and just genetically less reliable.  I read somewhere on this site that at 41 your chances with IVF are 12.5% and at 42 5%....Just to confuse you further my cons told me of a woman of 43 who's FSH is good (ie around 6) but she didn't respond at all to stims whereas I did with FSH of 11.6 and at 40 and a half.

BUT, these are just stats and how do you know where you, as an individual, stand in them.  And as shamrock63 has shown it can be done.  My Granny had my mum's youngest sister at 42 - so there you go.  Some people (ie my mum!) say it's easier to have a child later in life if you have already had one earlier but I don't understand why (how can that affect egg quality?) - does anyone know anything about that?  I said that to my cons and he just nodded blankly, I think he was getting a bit bored by that stage as I had been there a while 

I kind of think ,that if someone said to me that if I went swimming in that particular sea, I would have a 12.5% chance of being eaten by a shark, I wouldn't go in.  When you think of it that way, 12.5% seems pretty high odds, mind you in that scenario so does 0.01%!

Personally I'm thinking that if this round of IVF doesn't work, and like I say I feel remarkably thin and normal and non- hormonal, then I will do one more with my own eggs, hopefully with 3 embies put back, just so I know that I gave myself the best chance and then start thinking about DE in Spain.  If you had told me a year ago that I would do that I wouldn't have believed it but I find it hard to turn back now.  I found some good info about this on this site.

All you can say, is that at age around 40, whatever the stats, it may or may not work out (not terribly helpful really)!  So in the end, you can only try and see if you are one of the successful ones!

Best of luck  

Druzy xx


----------



## vicky r (Feb 6, 2006)

Hi there,
Just wanted to say that like Shamrock I will be 43 in June and have conceived with my first IVF.  was told 10% chance of it working 40% chance of miscarriage - I decided to ignore the stats cos it either works or it doesn't. What do the stats tell you really anyway - we all know its harder later but reading these boards there are stacks of very young women who are having a really tough time TTC......... my mum had me at 41 and her ma had her at 41 in 1922 and her brother at 44, 1925, so these stats about our generation doing motherhood later seem rubbish to me.
My experience of IVF was completely different to what I had expected - quite easy actually and such a relief to not be doing it on my own anymore - did acupuncture alongside which helped enormously with someone who has a lot of experience of women going through fertility treatment.  Think the diet helps too...
I've also heard good things about something called 'napro tracking' some clinic in Soho Square with a Dr Syed.... don't know much about it but have heard of success with older women and it being less invasive that IVF.... maybe worth a google?
Much love and   to you all.  It can happen,
Vicky x


----------



## vicky r (Feb 6, 2006)

P.S. And I REALLY get that I have been very very lucky first time and all
love Vicky x


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Dear Druzy, 
Here is a belated reply to your letter!
Thank-you very much for your reply and all the information that you included.
I really hope that you had a BFP on 6th April....

I now know that my fsh level is 12.8......We are likely to go ahead in June on the short protocol.....Wish me luck! 
All the best to you,
Mushi


----------



## Mushi (Mar 17, 2006)

Dear Vicky,
_*Congratulations * _  to you on your BFP! 
I feel encouraged to know that it can happen to us over 40's!!!
I was really interested to hear that you had some acupuncture treatment....
I am considering this too. If you get this message could you tell me a bit more about the acupuncture that you had?Eg How long before you began the IVF did you have some acup.and did you have it on the day before embreyo transfer
Cheers for now,
Mushi


----------



## gigi1 (Jun 13, 2005)

Hi Girls,

I hope you don't mind me joining you. I have one question to ask. We seem to be quoted stats saying that at 40 or so our chances with each IVF cycle is ... what are the source of these stats. Is it the own clinics stats? Or are these international stats based on universal standards not on the success rates of the clinics in each country?

Thanks girls
Gigi


----------



## jess p (Sep 25, 2004)

Just wanted to let you know that I was PMd by someone on FF who had an FSH of 17 the month before she got her BFP!!

She's now several months pregnant!

It can happen!
Jess x


----------



## druzy (Jan 25, 2006)

Hello everyone

just caught up with this thread sad to say got BFN on April 6 well, strange chemical pg actually but that's another story.  Just done IVF#2, official test day tomorrow but on 2nd day of pretty normal AF so looks like BFN again.

But reading all your posts cheered me up a bit and made me think well, it's just a lottery isn't it, no way of knowing, stats don't really mean much to the individual.  it's just a very expensive lottery that's the problem.

Good luck everyone (including me!)

Druzy xx


----------

