Trying to conceive

[Hope_fully]

Hello. I have a fertility question. My partner and I met later in life and we have been trying to conceive for about three years. I have been told I'm menopausal but as long as I'm menstruating there's a possibility of pregnancy. Is that true? What can we do outside of IVF and other expensive treatments to increase our chances of conception? BTW I'm almost 46 and have irregular cycles.

[specialmom]

Hello. Well, never say never. I think there are some barriers to natural pregnancy for you. Sadly, we only have so many eggs and they get less and less as we get older. And the quality unfortunately can deplete. It takes the average couple a year to get pregnant. The only issue is waiting for it to naturally happen could cost you any chance. But I understand. Some women in their mid to late forties will use an egg donor. Expensive though, as you know.  

So, one thing to do is to get yourself a cheap, digital thermometer and start recording your temp before you even get out of bed every morning. Chart it. This was the most valuable thing to me. Because our body does predictable things if we are fertile. Your temp will be steady and then raise about a degree. It does this if you've ovulated. It will not do this if you haven't. Once it is up it stays up until your cycle is about to start when it starts to dip back down to the original temp. Then your period will start. You will ALWAYS get a period after the raising of that temperature 10 to 16 days max. So, this is valuable info. If you bleed and your temperature never raised, you did not actually ovulate and you are just shedding. If your temp stays raised and you don't get a period, you are pregnant.

Having irregular cycles makes getting pregnant more challenging. The trick with the temperature may actually show you that you DO have a cycle but it is just longer than usual. Or that you are just shedding and not actually ovulating.

To get pregnant, if you were regular, you'd start on day 10 after the first day of your period and have sex every other day until two days after the temperature raises. That could be a long time if you have long cycles. (it's work, man).

I'd start seeing if you really want this if you can put together the money to consult with a fertility doctor. That really is going to be your best route. How old is your partner? Their age factors in as well.

[Hope_fully]

Thank you for this valuable information. I've heard about monitoring your temperature and ovulation cycles but this is the best description I've encountered. My partner is 42. Thank you again.

[specialmom]

No problem. It really helped me. I used a cheap thermometer and a note pad. And got so much important info about the process. Let me know how it goes.