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Avatar universal

is it just a dream to think of pregnancy at 43?

Hi All,
This is my very first post on any site, so please excuse me if I make any ettiquette and spelling errors! Anyway, here is my story. I turned 43 at the end of May. I finally met and married the man of my dreams last year and we have been TTC since with eighteen months. I've been on 50mg clomid and 10,000mg pregnol since february. No joy. I have been ovulating and there are two good folicles every monthly u/s. My dr has decided to put us forward for IUI in aug/september. I wonder is this a good strategy or should I go directly to seeking IVF? At times I get quite down about it all and really do wonder am I kidding my self trying to get pregnant and bear a child at this age?
19 Responses
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1017834 tn?1443014123
Hi, I am 42 and went through ivf 3x miscarried first time and other two didn't take.I went for a tubal reversal after 6 mths of ttc dr put me on 50mg of clomid so after 3 mths of clomid I got pregnant but miscarried we started trying again after 2 mths we're preggo again I pray this time is it.
Dr tell us what our percentage rate is getting pregnant at our age but no one knows that but the man above so what ever you desire he will bless you to and to all the other ladies whatever your situation may be don't give up.

Baby Dust To All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
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1281900 tn?1320336402
How much coq10 and omega 3
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1281900 tn?1320336402
Great thank you
HOw are you feeling?
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1222208 tn?1307696161
I stopped the vitex while I took clomid but I kept up with a multi, coq10, omega 3 and baby aspirin.
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1281900 tn?1320336402
Did you take vitex and omega 3 and COQ10 while you were taking Clomid?

I am currently taking.
Baby Asprin
Prenatal including DHEA
4,000 mg of Vitamin D
plus eating sweet pototoes

Am I missing anything.
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Avatar universal
I'm 43.  I have been trying for 6 years.  I have used fertility treatments, every natural remedy, timing, position.  It is apparently only a dream for this 43 year old.
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1006003 tn?1256227415
Cool! Thanks for posting!
~Wendy
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1143259 tn?1282963865
Hello 40 and over.  I hope that i serve as a sign of hope by sharing my news.  I am 43 years old and will be 44 in December.  I am now 37 weeks pregnant so although it may be difficult it is certainly possible.  Our little one is due to arrive sometime around August 9. I did not expect much last summer when we began ttc because i had heard so much about the difficulty and unlikeliness of conceiving at 43 naturally.  In December we received the Christmas present/surprise of a lifetime (positive pregnancy stick). We were 6 weeks pregnant!!! Now we are days away from meeting our little boy.
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1222208 tn?1307696161
Yes 50mg of clomid - I used OPKs too and had an ultrasound to check follicles.
I took baby aspirin, multivitamins and vitex and omega 3 and COQ10.
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1021834 tn?1379292300
Congrats on your BFP!  So good to see.  Good luck with your blood work.

piababy:  Not quite 43 but close; I got pregnant without any help after ttc for 2 months.  Don't give up; it can happen.  I was bbt charting; using opk's, preseed, baby aspirin, and prenatal vitamins.  I think the bbt charting helped alot.  SSBD!
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1281900 tn?1320336402
How much clomid did you take? The doctor gave me 50mg for the next 5 days.
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1222208 tn?1307696161
I am 44 - TTC for 5 months, just got our bfp after first round of clomid!!!!!!!!
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Avatar universal
Hi All,
It is just so good to know that there are so many ladies out there in the same predicament as myself. There have been times since DH and I set out on the TTC road, when I have felt as if I were some sort of oddity. In general life, I am an outgoing and open person, but for some reason I have found it very difficult to discuss TTC with even close family and friends. None of them would be insensititve I'm sure, the reason is that deep within myself I feel a little ashamed of my 'failure' to concieve. I know its not rational, but it is there all the same. Perhaps this feeling comes from an idea that people would think that I was selfish in not moving sooner to have children or that I am selfish to want a child as a relatively old age. My rational mind  and DH reassure me that I was not in a postion to have children before now, because my life did not unfold in that way.  In addition my DH is wonderful man, but he is a very private person, as is his right, but he does not wish to have our efforts common knowedge among our friends. Thats his right and I respect this. However the upshot is that I have found TTC+40 a lonely place to be. I know that this forum tends to be more factual than emotional, but I am currently waiting on my AF and perhaps maybe some of you might be able to identify with my musings and take heart that you are not alone in the infertility maze.
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1272624 tn?1395434357
I felt like I read my own story by reading yours! I have 7 frozen and go for FET July 21. I pray but in reality I can't get one woman to tell me she got pg with her own eggs...a lot know someone.  Good luck to you!
Melanie
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1361569 tn?1434830341
I have to agree with plumber43 and flood2163.  You may want to jump right into IVF.  

I just turned 44 in May.  I never had a problem getting pregnant in my 20's (eldest son at 26 and youngest son at 28).  My periods were occurring every 27 days like clockwork.  I even conceived naturally last March (at 42) and miscarried two months later in May, on Mother's Day :-(  ,at the age of 43.  I tried EVERYTHING to get pregnant all last year, 4 rounds of Clomid, 2 rounds of IUI, 1 IVF cycle with my own eggs, (I produced 18 eggs, they were fertilized via ICSI and assisted hatching was performed.  11 fertilized, 6 made it to blast, 3 were transferred--the remaining 3 were not viable enough to freeze.)  My doctor told me that out of all of his patients, if any 43-44 year old could have conceived with her own eggs, it would have been me since I never had fertility problems before I hit my forties, and since I did conceive naturally just one year earlier.  

Needless to say, he had a heart to heart with me regarding the use of a donor.  Once you hit 44 a women's chances of conceiving with her own eggs drops quite a bit (wish that I would have met my DH in my 30's)!

The numbers that the doctor showed me were enough to convince me not to waste any more time trying to defeat Mother Nature.  From the ages of 43-44 our chances of getting pregnant drops from 10% to 5%--keep in mind, this is our percent chance of getting PREGNANT, not our percent chance of delivering a baby.  In our 40's we have a high risk of miscarriage not to mention the higher risk of delivering a child with disabilities.

My husband and I selected a 26 year old donor.  Her eggs (36) were collected on June 16th, they were fertilized via ICSI and assisted hatching was used, 23 developed into embryos, 14 of the embryos were frozen right away and 9 were left to develop.  Of the 9, two were transferred to me on June 19th.  I did a HPT on June 17th and it was negative,  I had blood work done on June 30th and learned that I was pregnant (hCG 72), and on July 2nd my hCG was 172.  I go back on July 19th for my first ultrasound to find out if I have one or two babies.

Since you are still 43, try IVF as many times as you can but go into it knowing that you may need to consider using a donor.  At first I was not crazy about the idea of not having my own biological child but knowing that this child (children?) is my husband's makes up for any selfish feelings that I may have had.  The though of making my husband a daddy and the blessing of having been given the opportunity to have another child to love has erased any trepidation that I had when I was first considering a donor.

You may want to look at this graph showing pregnancy rates based on a woman's age:

http://www.tubal-reversal.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ivf-2006-donor-egg.jpg

Good luck!  Keep us informed with what you decide...
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1272624 tn?1395434357
Hi, I did my first ivf with my own eggs in may, I was 43 and just turned 44, I made 20 follicles and in the end had 10 embies, we transferred 3 and froze 7 I did not get PG but we are going for FET July 21... I have 3 children, had my tubes tied 14 years ago and I'm not in perimenopause.  I pray this works for me this time...DH has no children and would like one of his own.

I just want to let you know that a lot of famous older woman deny donor eggs, but at our age we have to be realistic and know that it only takes one but it might take a while, ivf isnt easy but we have each other to lean on, most ppl don't know how we feel!
  I believe if your willing to go through this than why not try your own eggs first, but make sure that your ready for this journey!
All the best to you and SSBD To All Of Us  
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1352166 tn?1280695681
hi there  ,  check your  zinc level  at the  vitamin  store  its possible at our  age our  zinc is low.  and  that is one of the factors of  getting pregnant. eat  sweet potatoes  baked  are  yummiest  and will help with progestrone  levels  up.  i be doing alot of  research in this  and  i just m/c  and  turns out were pregnant  again in hopes this one  stays.  im 41  nearing  42,  dont give up ..
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Avatar universal
Hi- I am also new to the forum, similar story to yours. I am almost 42, got married in 09 and had been trying for over a year. It really is a personal choice and you have to consider your own needs and go with your instincts.If you read this forum there are women who are having babies at 43 and older.

I went right for IVF. I feel blessed that I am given the chance to have a baby and for me, IVF offered the most aggressive treatment with the best probabilities to get pregnant. I do not have any known fertility issues, my numbers, levels are all great, so are hubby's.I was hesitant to do IUI first due to my age and delaying it even more, and my Doc. agreed. (By age 44 it is harder to get pregnant via IVF unless you use donor eggs, so the window gets a bit smaller).  

I just finished IVF 1 and though it did not result in pregnancy, I responded well to it and we are doing round 2 end of the month. I think you really need to speak to your doctor and express your concerns. I am sure he has your best interest at heart, but your gut will tell you what to pursue, and I think you need to go for it and keep trying to have a baby no matter what the process.
Good luck!
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1222208 tn?1307696161
Hi, it sounds like you are doing all the right things. There are lots of women having babies at 43. Don't give up.
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