12dpo feeling down waiting to do donor ivf later in the year

[Mmmpudding]

Hello

12 dpo for me today and in my gut I know I cannot be that lucky to fall pregnant naturally after many failed months. I had a failed ivf in mid Feb 2020 and in March and April, AF arrived bang on time on CD14. However last month it came on CD11/12 after I started taking Vitex and Maca root pills. Now I have added DHEA to the mix. I hope all these supplements will somehow help me conceive. At the same time I am also worried that I am taking too many different things.

I am planning to go abroad for donor ivf in August if all the travel restrictions are lifted by then. August seems ages away and there is a good chance that things won’t get back to normal by then and all will have to be postponed for another few months. I am 42 now and time is not on my side even with donor eggs. For those who have gone through donor ivf, how many embryo transfers did you do until your BFP? Is it very naive of me to hope that it will be successful first time around?

I am not sure what I am trying to achieve by posting this but I guess I just want to hear from people who are going through the same thing. I don’t have any symptoms, no sore breasts no implantation bleeding no cramping no sickness. A friend of mine told me she is pregnancy a few weeks ago and since then she has been bombarding me with messages about every detail of her pregnancy. Perhaps I’m selfish and jealousy has got the better of me, I really do not wish to hear from her anymore. I am happy for her, just that I cannot deal with the daily “pregnancy dramas”. End of vent 🥺

[Dogpark]

Hi Mmmmpudding,

I don't have experience with donor eggs but I produced 3 normal embryos in one cycle at age 43 - as many normal embryos as I produced in 6 cycles at age 42 so, I don't think your chances really drop between age 42 and age 43 even with your own eggs! Donor eggs should buy you a lot more time, so be patient and keep going.

[Mmmpudding in reply to Dogpark]

Thanks for your message. Being patient isn’t my forte I must say 😆

[Bettyjoy in reply to Dogpark]

Hi there,

your story sounds very interesting- what did you do differently with your cycle at age 43? I am 44 - we managed to create about four embryos last year, they were PGSed but only

one was genetically healthy and now waiting to transfer that after completing a number of biopsies...

[Dogpark in reply to Bettyjoy]

Hi Bettyjoy - I would say the main differences with the previous 6 rounds were:

-much lower levels of stress (I had just resigned from my job)

-took 25mg DHEA/day for 6 weeks instead of 50mg or 75mg/day (I adjusted the DHEA medication to my own testosterone levels)

-stopped steroids in the middle of stimulation due to Covid

-started stimulation on day 2 of my cycle Vs day 3

-Took tons of supplements otherwise, same as for my previous cycles.

I also think cycles are random and the more cycles you do, the more you have the chance to get a good result with one.

[Bettyjoy in reply to Dogpark]

Thank you so so much for sharing this- this is super useful! I have now been recommended to take steroids because of high NK cells level in uterus, but cannot go ahead with transfer because of Covid... Did your clinic test your testosterone level?

[Dogpark in reply to Bettyjoy]

No clinics in the UK are not super interested in supplements, I worked with an IVF nutritionist in London in parallel of working with the clinic. The clinic just told me to take 75mg DHEA per day and didn't seem to want to further talk about supplements with me. Yet supplements and diet made a massive difference for me.

[Baypony]

I got pregnany with DE first time at age 40. Only one embryo transferred (out of the 3 we got). I only had 6mg progynova and 600mg utrogestan daily. Baby is now 5 months old. Good luck to you x

[Mmmpudding in reply to Baypony]

Hi Baypony That’s so encouraging. Hope you are enjoying motherhood. They always say it takes only one embryo! 💪🏻💪🏻 Xx

[Sullygrrrl]

I got pg first try with donor eggs at age 41.5. Now have a healthy 3 month old. Best of luck. Your chances go waaay up with a donor.

[Mmmpudding in reply to Sullygrrrl]

It is so good to hear first time success stories. Fingers crossed. Many congratulations on your baby. How precious xx