I am now 39 as of January 2025 and wanting to start trying with my partner.
Due to having low AMH (5.4 pmol 2 years ago not sure what it is now), an underactive thyroid (which I am on meds for but do hear it can impact) and also I have been a heavy drinker throughout life - how long would you try naturally before defrosting your eggs and trying a transfer? I know some say 6 months....
I am unsure if there is any standard advice on this and if it's better to do it earlier? Are there any stats on whether a frozen egg or one released from your body at a later age is better?
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Eggfreezing36
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if you are over 35, the NHS advice is to seek help if you haven’t conceived within 6 months. There are so many factors that can affect conception and pregnancy but the main one is the age of the egg. So you could absolutely be successful now, lots of women are, but you younger frozen eggs would statistically/scientifically have a higher chance.
I have friends who are 39 who have the same thyroid issue and conceived naturally in their first month trying, so there is no one rule that fits all.
Personally i’d try as you are for a while and see how it goes and then go to your frozen eggs.
Thank you, OK 6 months sounds like a good option. I'll be just over 39.5 then. I just have this *feeling* it's not going to be easy with my low AMH, thyroid etc. My partner also tried with his ex and he was tested and had no real issues but it was unexplained why they didn't get pregnant. I like to think it was fate as it really wasn't a good relationship.
My key bit of advice is to do additonal male tests (motility and morphology aren’t the full picture) i only just found out about DNA fragmentation tests and microbiome tests. Hopefully they would all be fine but i feel you’d want to know he was all good before using up any of your frozen eggs. Thats just my opinion.
Yes definitely. I think he did this when he was trying with his last partner and was fine but would do so again if we were to use my frozen eggs. Thanks for advice
so, I had good AMH at 39 when my eggs were taken and created into embryos which were then frozen. Embryos have a higher chance of success than eggs but I don’t know what the answer is with low AMH. At 39 I would just go ahead with ivf if you have the money. You might be entitled on the nhs if you have low AMH but not sure. The reason I say try straight is I started at 37 and didn’t have a successful pregnancy until I was 41
Thanks, I was thinking of trying for 6 months as per other posters but there's clearly no rule. I will ask my doctor. That is sobering indeed that it took you 4 years, it's fantastic it happened but at 39 I really don't have 4 years!!
I asked my GP at 38 and said I was trying and she said she’d submit me straight away for bloods and to fertility as it might just take a while anyway. I had been trying for about 5 months which went over my 38 birthday. But you’re so close to 40 and they say go straight away at that point. It was pretty quick but then we were made to try for a year with tests being done. They finally accepted us as I turned 39 (their cut off age) as sperm was borderline and had gone up and down despite all the advice to improve it
When you say accepted, do you mean to NHS? I've got 19 eggs frozen at private clinic and would go private as can't afford to wait and the NHS takes more time right? I've got a doctors call in so let's see what they say re tests!!
Oh yes I mean to NHS. You may as well go straight to your GP if you’re going private they’ll refer you and you can choose to do ivf straight away if that’s what you want. They may want to do tests anyway for viability reasons but absolutely paying will speed it all up.
You only have to wait if you’re going via nhs. I would go to your GP straight away as they can do initial checks and get you referred. I honestly wouldn’t wait if I was going private. If your AMH is low getting naturally pregnant maybe very hard.
I'd try for 6 months, but also during this 6 months I would have both tested, just so you know you are not just wasting time.Female: full bloods, Thyroid function, vitamin levels, AMH, AFC
Male: semen analysis, full bloods, vitamin levels, urologist visit/testicle ultrasound if necessary
I say this because you are probably fine as you frozen eggs just 2 years ago, but maybe your partner has never been to an urologist and could need help to conceive and you would be wasting your time or eggs without addressing the male side.
Thanks, I will talk to my doctor about these tests! Worried about involving my partner at this stage as we are only 10 months into our relationship and he is already moving faster than ideal because I have said to him I am worried about our ages....
I would wait 3 months maximum. But can you do ivf? It’s good you have so many frozen eggs. Is that the amount of mature eggs you have frozen? Before you contemplate defrosting eggs, you need to ensure your partner has optimum fertility such as checking morphology. Sperm count is less important in ivf but morphology and dna fragmentation are crucial to check. I would also opt for IMSI instead of icsi. I had more success with IMSI.
Also sometimes thyroid problems can also be helped by low carb diet and taking a lot of vitamin d. I took 3x 1000iu vitamin D tablets each day for 2 years. One after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also took pregnacare on top which contains vitamin D plus took wheatgrass shots with freshly squeezed red grapefruits to hide the taste. Ubiquinol is also important.
Thank you. Yes, I have the 19 eggs frozen at CRGH. Obviously completing IVF I believe to defrost and fertilise, that's about another 10-15k cost (3 rounds of egg freezing cost me £16k!) so I'll have to tell my partner that and suppose I am wondering when is too soon to "fold" and do that. I would be keen to know the outcome of a "fresh" 39 year old egg vs a frozen one tbh...not sure if there is info on that anywhere.
Thank you re IMSI, I am not sure what that or ICSI is, I just froze my eggs when single so didn't get to that part. Will make a note.
I've just ordered the Zita West fertility pack, and I think I will book in for some acupuncture although know that's not totally proven...
That is a good clinic. I went to CRGH Portland. I had a fresh transfer at 38 nearly 39 but my amh was 16 and fsh then was about 4.5. My husband did have poor morphology levels but I made sure we ate better (no alcohol, very little caffeine, less sugary foods, lots of vegetables and more protein). He went on supplements Rebecca Fett recommended and took lycopene tablets and ate red grapefruits. I had my son when I was 39.5 from doing ivf. I would certainly start ivf whilst you are 39. When I was 40 nearly 40.5, amh and fsh were good, so I tried for a sibling. My one cycle was better than at 38 but then when I got close to 41, fsh started to rise and egg quality was not so good.
My advice is to check fertility for both of you. Keep trying but could you do one fresh cycle with your eggs now? Then you have your frozen eggs to fall back on.
My husband’s morphology when we first started was 2% but when we had a good cycle at 40 it rose to 4%. Just a 2% increase made a difference. If your partner’s fertility is good, it might be worth doing a fresh transfer asap. There’s not a lot you can do for egg quality. But being under 41 helps.
IMSI is more expensive as they use a special telescope to get rid of any poor sperm which the naked eye cannot see with icsi. I would say both have a good diet and look at supplements from Rebecca Fett. I didn’t take Dhea.
Why would a fresh cycle at age 39 be better than using my 37 year old frozen eggs? Just curious as to which is better. Tbh unless there was no other choice I am really not keen to do any more cycles, I am not convinced there aren't health issues from all the hormones.
Going to try for 3-4 months and then I think look at defrosting my frozen eggs....will make a note on IMSI!!
Because sometimes eggs do not defrost as well as embryos. Obviously, I wouldn’t say doing lots of fresh cycles but it might be good to do one fresh cycle. Embryos freeze better. It also depends on how many children you want. You need to discuss the thawing rate with your clinic for frozen eggs. If you were to get pregnant earlier with a fresh transfer, you could then use your frozen eggs for a future sibling. That was my point. When I was 37, I was in a panic to get pregnant because of age. I was married from the age of 34 but had a lot of work stress. But at 37 we didn’t know about morphology issues. At 38, I rushed to do ivf and turned down free nhs cycle. I didn’t look back but wish I’d started earlier.
I’m an older Mum but it hasn’t been straightforward. Also 2-3 years ago, I found out I have low nk cells in endometrium which meant that when I did a frozen transfer I had a neupogen infusion and also Hcg infusion to increase chances.
It’s good you have those frozen eggs. I tried to do batch cycling at 40 for sibling. As I said, first cycle was amazing 7 day 5 blastocysts from 8 mature eggs. But then two months later, nothing fertilised. I kept trying but ended up going back to my first cycle. Also, it’s important to consider the amount of times you freeze and thaw.
It’s up to you but definitely find out what your partner’s fertility is like and yours. If everything is good, you could start ivf sooner rather than later. Time is precious.
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I don't know whether to try again quickly (42 and running out of time) or if I should get myself in a better headspace first? 
I need advise, would appreciate any feedback... 
At 41, are we mad to seek a sibling for our son through IVF with my own eggs? 
