43 using own eggs...any success stories?

[londonrc]

I am 43 and about to go through my first round of ivf...feeling very nervous as we have been told are chances are less than 5%. I just wondered if there were any success stories out there of using your own eggs at this age to give me some positive vibes for the ongoing month?

[Blondyboo]

Just want to wish you all the best I was told 5% after our first cycle failed only getting 1 egg out of me . We are now going donor that gives us 80%. BUT i have heard stories where bad responders and low egg reserve people it has worked! it only takes 1 as they say. If we had the money we might have tried again with my eggs but we figured we just want to be parents one way or another and this gives us the best chance. I wish you all the best xx

[katya38 in reply to Blondyboo]

I agree good luck with your next cycle blondybooxx

[72cloud9]

I'm 44 and had a failed attempt in April.there were no eggs upon collection. Despite the clinics reservations we are keen to try once more with own eggs to put it to bed as often u hear about success stories at this sort of age!

We have been advised donor route & are both really struggling with that so are not sure whether we would go that route or call it a day if it doesn't work for us this time.wish we could get our heads round it tho!

Have u had your levels checked etc? I think uv always got to try at least once with your own eggs & u could b one of those success stories! Xxx

[Orla9298]

I'm only 32 but because of my low AMH and high FSH I have been told it's less than 1% chance... But still going to try anyway as couldn't put it to bed if I didn't!!! If it doesn't work my sister hopes to be a donor to me, and if she isn't allowed, I think we would be open to an anonymous donor - you do all of the growing and nurturing so it's your baby!

So give it your best shot and try and relax as much as you can throughout it all, until it's zero chance it's worth a try and might work so fingers crossed for you!!xx

[londonrc in reply to Orla9298]

Hi Orla9298, i wish you well whichever route works for you. I think nutrition (eating organic and the right things) and low stress, yoga and mindfulness and acupuncture can all help. I'm throwing everything at it at the moment so fingers crossed.xx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi londonrc. Just wanted to wish you well with all of this. Speaking to hundreds of ladies going through IVF, I am hearing of more and more success stories with ladies who are over 42 using their own eggs. Not too many successes, as it it all down to getting a few decent eggs out at egg collection, but it's still happening with those who have decent hormone levels. Here's to you achieving that, and of course for success. Diane

[londonrc in reply to DianeArnold]

Thank you DianeArnold for your positive words. Yes I think believing it can happen is half the battle but relaxing too. Sometimes we think about things too much and I feel if this round of if doesn't work I need to just move on and have more fun as often then it happens for people!

Thanks again.

[fertmag]

Hi Londonrc - this journey is so difficult and making decisions is one of the hardest things as there are so many variables. As Diane has said, there are many women who have success at your age with IVF and naturally and I know a fertility coach, reflexologist and emotional coach who had her first child at 43 naturally. There is nothing wrong with going down the donor egg route at all; it is for some and not for others, only that couple know if and when it is right for them. Feel free to message me if you want to know more about the coach I mentioned above. Good luck on your journey. xx

[londonrc in reply to fertmag]

Hi fertmag, thanks for your reply. Yes I would be very interested in the fertility coach, I feel I am already throwing as much at this as I can and can fit in my day at the moment. I would like to do more yoga but I'm doing mindfulness, good nutrition and acupuncture, but any top tips always good to know and take on board. Many thanks

[fertmag in reply to londonrc]

Hi Londonrc - I know what you mean. You just want to know you have done all you can and from you other comments, it sounds like you're doing lots of the right things. If you Google MamaBe that should get you in touch with Katharine. I cant remember if she tells her own story but she has written for the magazine a number of times as well as for the next issue, tell her I recommended her. All the best xx

[SharlyWarly]

Hi londonrc

I am younger (39 - woah what a spring chicken!). If you haven't already you might look into taking DHEA and Ubiquinol to improve egg quality - after all it does only take one good one. On my first round I had one mature egg that fertilised and on the 2nd they got 8 mature eggs (2 fertilised).

Best of luck to you xx

[katya38 in reply to SharlyWarly]

Hi can I ask how you think you went from 1 to 8? What did you do differently? I got 1 in my first icsi cycle we have now decided to go down donor route as feel with only 1 egg it's pointless x

[SharlyWarly in reply to katya38]

Hi Katya

You must do what you feel is best - I know how you feel, when my clinic said there was only one fertilised egg I thought, what is the point, I do that by myself every month without going through all this craziness and expense!!!! I was gutted, and then I cried quite a lot.

I do believe that the Ubiquinol (100mg 3 x daily, take with some (good) fat) and the DHEA (25mg 3 x daily) made the difference on the 2nd attempt. We are waiting to test right now but the difference in the number of eggs was quite great between the 1st and 2nd attempt.

I also used a hot water bottle after each Gonal-f injection and took in a bit more protein, though not for very long as I kept forgetting!

At the end of the day though, you could be 25 and get 15 embryos and none of them stick or 30-40ish with a low supply and that one little survivor sticks - if the quality is good that is more important than the numbers.

xx

[londonrc]

Hi SharlyWarly, thanks for your email. I have been taking ubiquinol for the last 3 months but not the Dhea. It wasn't recommended by my clinic and as I'm taking lots of other supplements and increased protein I didn't want to take anything they didn't recommend. What was your outcome ? Did you take DHEA on second round?

[SharlyWarly in reply to londonrc]

Sorry londonrc, I have only just seen your reply.

My clinic would neither recommend or advise against Ubiquinol or DHEA, so I decided to take them both. I also used a hot water bottle every day after taking Gonal-f but I've also seen advice against this - there is so much advice I just went with what I thought seemed like common sense. I found a book called 'It starts with the egg' by Rebecca Fett a useful read.

On our recent 2nd attempt they implanted both embryos on the 3rd day and we are currently waiting to test so not sure if I am pregnant yet.

Did your clinic advise not to take DHEA because it would interfere with anything else you're taking or were they just not convinced of it's effectiveness?

[londonrc]

Hi Sharlywarly,

My clinic just didn't mention DHEA at all only ubiquinol (400mg / day ) and I hadn't really heard of it until I too read that book. I feel you need to take both for a while so if I end up going for a second round maybe it's something I'll consider. I wish you all the best and all the luck in the world. When is your test? X

[Marmo]

Hi, I'm 43 yo now. DX - unexplained infertility. With this matter 3.5 years ago we found ourselves in Greek clinic performing ivf with own eggs and achieved success. I have my sweet daughter. The situation changed completely when we decided we wanted more children. Just in 3 years my egg turned out to be extremely bad for the procedure, less than 5% chance was given to us. So we moved straightly to egg donation. Through eviternity.org we found the one in Ukraine offering attractive programs for reasonable prices. Got our BFP after the 1st att..

[londonrc]

Dear Marmo, thank you for your reply and many congratulations on your second BFP! I feel need to go through at least one IvF cycle before I can consider donor eggs..I'm not totally sure that option is for me, but who knows how I will feel in a few months time. I wish you all the best and thank you for your post. X

[Patty74]

Hi I'm 42

I used my own eggs for ivf got 5 mature eggs all fertilized 3 made it to day 5 we transferred 2 none to freeze but sadly not taken.

August will be round 2 keeping my hopes up as just enrolled in a care package x2 attempts fresh cycles.

It's not easy decision to make I will be 43 in September!!

Good luck xxx

[Mamaofstevie]

I don’t know if there is anything in it, but my first cycle I had max stim for a set 9 days (not individualised treatment) and clinic treated me like I was just a number (very well known London clinic). I did get 18 fol, 8 eggs collected, 4 fertilised and 1 embryo, none frozen. Result BFP and daughter now 3 (clinic got a result but I had no Frosties) Second round very light stim with minimal meds (I was so sceptical thinking they never had my best interest at heart and they were saving money on my meds) but they were so caring and stimulated me for 18 days, making sure that all my follicles were developing to their max capacity. I had 4 follicles from the beginning, 4 eggs retrieved, all 4 fertilised, 1 fresh transferred (BFP resulted in blighted ovum) 3 frozen. 1.5 months later FET and BFP currently 8 weeks. I highly recommend the gentle stim for a longer time, my body recovered so well and no side effects from stim and collection. I really felt that the clinic was working only for what I had on offer, to make sure each follicle produced an egg. Over stim and high meds actually decrease the maturity and quality of the eggs as they are forced to mature quicker. Try a clinic like Create Fertility or ABCIVF. They use very gentle stim cycles but focus only on quality not quantity, they don’t care how long it takes to get that egg to the size it’s supposed to be before harvesting.

[CindyWeze]

Hey, there! This is fantastic news. I'm really glad you're going for it. I hope it happens for you, honey. Best of luck to you! The best way to approach it is by taking it optimistically. You can do this, girl. Keep us posted on how it goes.

[Prayingforafamily]

I am 40 with low amh. My first scan I had just 1 follicle and I was heartbroken. The next two months I cleaned up my diet, low sugar, no alcohol or caffeine. I took co enzyme and dhea along side baby aspirin.. my next scan showed 9 follicles so they agreed to do a round with my own eggs. During stims I continued with the above, had loads of water, protein and put my legs up against the wall 10 minutes each night along side hot water bottle before bed on my stomach. They got 10 eggs at collection, 8 mature, 5 fertilised, I ended having 3 top quality embryos at day 5 and they were really surprised with the result. We froze one and had 2 implanted. Unfortunately it was a bfn but this was due to lining issues which I am working on before having a fet. Hope this gives u hope x

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

Hey praying for a family,

I know the above post was couple of years ago. But I am where you were. I am almost 40 and 2 failed ivf cycles due to bad egg quality. Please can you tell me when your AMH was at 40?

Thanks

[Prayingforafamily in reply to Bramble2014]

Hi lovely. My AMH at the time was 6 which although was low it was in the low/normal range for 40. I did go on to have a second egg collection and had 12 retrieved. They did say that amh is more an indication of egg reserve rather than quality though. Good luck x

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

Hey, thank you for the reply!

May I ask how many made it to day 5?

I have started DHEA prescription and hoping in few months we will do another round of ivf.

[Prayingforafamily in reply to Bramble2014]

Yeah 3 made it to day 5, all good quality xxx

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

That’s amazing!! Unfortunately my egg quality are really bad 😔. Hopefully the supplements might do something

[Prayingforafamily in reply to Bramble2014]

What were your last 2 round like as far as numbers? X

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

First round was last August, 8 retrieved, 7 mature, 5 fertilised and none made it to day 5. This round last week, I was on strong protocol got many follicles but they weren’t growing well. So we ended up with 5 eggs, but only 2 were mature, one fertilised and 1 barley made it through day 2

[Prayingforafamily in reply to Bramble2014]

Awww sorry about that.. each cycle can be so different. DHEA improved my second cycle 🤞

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

Can I ask about your experiences with ivf? How many eggs for both cycles

[Prayingforafamily in reply to Bramble2014]

First round I had 10 eggs retrieved, 8 mature, 5 fertilised and 3 made it to day 5, did a double transfer that wasn’t successful and did another egg collection due to age and amh 6 months later.. that one I had 12 eggs retrieved, 10 mature, 8 fertilised, 3 made it to day 5 but were higher grades. Unfortunately none gave me my baby but I had lots of complications with my lining and implantation issues x There are lots of success stories on here, so keep the faith xx Good luck with your next cycle 🤞

[Bramble2014 in reply to Prayingforafamily]

I am so sorry to hear that. 💔Thank you so much. It’s been nice chatting knowing others are where I am. Xx

[AnaBean in reply to Prayingforafamily]

This is great difference from one to 9 folliclesI'm taking pqq 20mg, vit D 2000ui, CoQ10 3*200mg, vit E 400ui,(no great difference between scans) but no DHEA, as my doctor said I have normal Levels of DHEAS.

Did you take DHEA 3*25mg, as you had low DHEAS??

[Snowy76]

I turned 42 during our last round (third one) using my own eggs. Got 4 eggs, 2 fertilised and both put back in. Now 27+5 with one!!! The nurses kept telling us "it just takes one!"

[McrLass]

Good luck, I’m in exactly the same situation, started stims this week. Sending hugs x

[AliceMoonpie]

A friend of mine just got pregnant with her own eggs and ivf at 44... Didn't work for me though at a few months younger. I feel really old and past it now I've just turned 44.

[EBeee]

How did you all get on?

[CazzyM]

Hello! I just wanted to say all the best, I’m 40 and I am now 12 weeks pregnant with my first child after ivf with my own eggs. By some miracle it worked first go. I had pgta done because I think when you get older you’re more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities. I was private as couldn’t have nhs but I’m not sure if nhs do pgta.

Anyway keep going and stay cautiously optimistic! Best of luck xxx