IVF women over 40s, what worked for you as in protocol and Meds Bemfola or Menapur, anything that made a difference?????

[Yazlinda]

After many years of trying, failed IVFs never experiencing a BFP. I have had some time out, recovery and soul searching. Unsure to give up or try again. We have just paid off our credit card from our last treatment. We are hoping to try again in a few months but I would love to know what protocol and medication other women used that worked for them. Any feed back and advice would be greatly appreciated. XXXX

[smiles13]

Hi Yazlinda,

I didn’t want to read and run but, I’m more than happy to share my story. I’m 40 and 37 weeks pregnant yesterday, after 3 previously failed rounds of IVF (2 fresh and 2 frozen) with added complications of endo and sperm motility issues.

We were extremely lucky as this was going to be our last round but, I gave my body and mind a rest for 6 months before embarking on our 4th frozen IVF round again. I also had a hysteroscopy 2 wks prior which identified I had a polyp in my womb all that time and during ivf cycles that was likely acting as a contraceptive (hindsight is an amazing thing hey?). We had it removed and a week later got back on the IVF bus.

I believe the removal of the polyp in my situation, resulted in us getting pregnant on our 4th/ final round of ivf.

We used menopur in our fresh and did the long down reg protocol because of my other health issues.

Happy to answer any questions you may have as, it’s been a long journey but, if I can help than I will try or, at the very least tell you my experience to-date and what worked vs. What didn’t?

Good luck

X

[Muffingirl in reply to smiles13]

Hi I’m 46 and 12 weeks pregnant, finally. Also a very long road with lots of complications. Again happy to share. But my success came from donor eggs, icsi and PRP (blood plasma treatment) in Greece. They don’t do the PRP in the U.K and I believe it made all the difference. Also much cheaper than U.K. happy to share if you want to PM me as too complicated to go into in this small space.

[Yazlinda in reply to Muffingirl]

Hi, that's wonderful to hear...congrats! It gives me hope. We have considered DE but in Spain. But want to give own eggs one last try. All the best. 😊Xxx

[Yazlinda in reply to smiles13]

Thank you for sharing. Congratulations 🥰 amazing to hear a successful story. What prompted you to have hysteroscopy? Did you use Menopur in all your cycles? Xxx

[smiles13 in reply to Yazlinda]

Hi Yazlinda,

Apologises for the delay in responding. My GP referred me for the hysterology as part of a further investigation into my periods and they felt it could be quite revealing and it was. The poly acted like coil and therefore would of prevented any pregnancy progressing. This may not be the case for everyone as, each person is unique but, it made all the difference for me.

For both of my fresh cycles, I was on Menopur.

Hope that helps

Corinne

[Hidden]

I have had 4 rounds with one bfp which sadly I lost I am 43. My bfp round they changed me from long to short protocol - they normally put women of my age on long but the difference between the two was incredible. I have been on maximum dose menopur (450) on every round. Good luck xx

[Yazlinda in reply to Hidden]

Sorry for the loss of your BFP.

Curious why some women are on menopur and others on Gonal. Wishing you all the best. Xxxx

[Hidden]

Morning

I just turned 40 in Dec last year and started on the short protocol end of Feb and I’m currently 11weeks pregnant. This was our first IVF and we did IVF +PICSI.

I have an AMH of 6.1 and was put on 450ml Gonal twice a day for my medication which I think is the max.

They managed to get 7 eggs out, 6 fertilised, 4 made to day 5, 2 implanted and unfortunately the other 2 were not mature enough on day 6 to freeze.

We have just one successful embryo which implanted. The 2 embryos were a 5BB and 1BC.

Good luck with your journey ❤️

[Yazlinda in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for sharing 🥰. Congratulations! Wishing you all the best on the rest of your journey. 😊 Xxx

[articsnowfox]

Hi there, I had babies through IVF at the age of 41 and 43 - with the first round i didn't do anything special for my age as my AMH was really good and my eggs were great quality. However, when trying for no. 2, it was clear my egg quality had declined a lot, even though my AMH was still pretty good. The things I did that I think made a difference in my successful round were 3 months of micronized DHEA (75 mg/day) before egg retrieval and also collecting the eggs when the lead follicle was between 16-18mm (usually they are collected when the lead follicle is bigger). These protocol additions I found on the website of the Center for Human Reproduction (NY, USA) which specialises in older women - they have a lot of useful information, including information about why early retrieval and DHEA leads to better outcomes. If the last cycle hadn't of been successful i would have tried for a final time with the above but also with human growth hormone taken for a period before egg retrieval as this also seems to be associated with good outcomes (although it is quite pricey). I was also on a low dose of Gonal-F which might have helped (but this low dose was possible because my AMH and FSH were relatively good - I don't know if this would apply to every patient).

[Yazlinda in reply to articsnowfox]

Thank you for sharing, information on the lead follicle is very informative. I have low AMH and a poor responder. Xx