Fertility Specialist??

[mama2fivekids]

Ok girls...What would you do? I decided to go ahead with the consultation with the fertility specialist. Anyone have any ideas or advice? The 1 month of Clomid was a failure :( . Not sure what to expect at 44 from a specialist. Are my wasting my time and money even going there? Anyone have success stories  :). What do they usually start with?

[Hoping2BAMom]

I started seeing a fertility specialist (RE) at 38.  My DH and I had gotten pregnant once on our own when I was 36, but I miscarried at 7 weeks and we had not been able to get pregnant again after trying another 6 months.  The RE ran the blood test for fsh and amh levels, which came back normal.  Then they did a semen analysis on my husband to check his sperm count and the morphology and motility of the sperm, which came back normal.  They sent me for an hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test, which is used to check the uterus (for polyups or other abnormalities) and fallopian tubes (for blockages).  My uterus looked great, but my left tube was partially blocked.  So the RE said that was contributing to our difficulty getting pregnant again.  

Our RE felt that IVF was the best option for us, but we were required by our insurance company to do one IUI cycle, which did not work.  We then did two fresh IVF cycles and neither one was successful, but we had one embryo left that we froze from our second IVF cycle.  We transfered it in October (right after I turned 39) and I am now 7 months pregnant with our son who is due in July!!

I don't think you wasting your time AT ALL!!  The friend that recommended our RE to us went through 3 IVF cycles with him and she got pregnant from the 3rd cycle with twins using her own eggs.  She was 44 when she delievered her twins!!  

I think its important to know that it usually takes more than one cycle of IVF for it to work especially when you're over 35/36.  If your ovarian reserve test results are good, I would try at least one cycle using your own eggs and just see what happens vs going straight to a donor.

Hope this helps and gives you some positive stories!! Good luck and lots of prayers for you.

[mysty2001]

I suggest donor embryos
It will save a lot of money and you will be saving a baby's life!
It will change your life forever for the better!

[stacey10]

I'm 45 and went to see one, we didnt bother with the FSH test just did the amh test which tells you how your overian reserve is going, this can be done at anytime in your cycle, FSH changes during your cycle, amh levels dont, as adgal has said there are many options open to you, but you may find your specialist tells you your only option is donor eggs, if you dont like that option straight away, dont be afraid to go else where for a different opinion, there are also natural ways to boost your fertility with suppliments, vitex can lower your FSH levels if you find that they are high, if you decide to go the ivf route, acupuncture is advised as it has been shown to increase success rates, my re is putting me on a 3 month course of dhea as he thinks that this is the best option for me, I'm also taking maca, royal jelly, bee pollen, vital greens, chia seeds, vit c, coconut oil, coq10, fish oil, evening primrose and a pre=conception vitamin, all of the above are for general health, egg health and endocrine health which nourishes your uterus etc, a good web site if your interested to help suppliment and nourish your fertility is www.natural-fertility-info.  com  (spaced so it doesnt get xxx out)  good luck :)

[adgal]

I'm 43 and I see a fertility specialist.  Typically they will start with some easy testing.  When we are in our 40's, one of the things they will look at first is usually whats called a fsh.  It's a blood test (if memory serves me they take it on cycle day 3) to test our ovarian reserve levels.  It really can help determine what our next course of action should be.  They will also perform other tests depending on the situation to help you decide what the best thing is for you.  In my case, the best choice would be IVF with donor eggs.  That is the direction I am looking in right now (also exploring adoption).

At 44 you are not wasting your time or money if you are open to different things.  There are options available to you, it just really depends on how far you are willing to go and what you think is right for you.  Whatever you decide, I wish you success!