IVF at 39?

Hollowvic · August 2014

I'm usually on the TTTC board even though I'm 38 (turn 39 in Sept.). We have been diagnosed with MFI. We did our first IUI on Monday and the numbers were awful (1.7 mil post wash). I'm waiting out the 2ww but don't have high hopes for this month (it would be a miracle if it worked). DH goes to the Urologist on Monday to see if we can figure out what is going on. His first SA back in late May wasn't great but wasn't nearly as bad as when I went in for the IUI on Monday. That being said we are considering IVF. By the time I do IVF I will be 39 years old. It seems even at 39 my chances aren't that great. I'm wondering if anybody has had success IVF at 39? We are paying OOP so I don't know how we will afford it, just wondering if it is even worth my time and stress at my age. Aside from mild Hypothyroidism that is under control & AMA everything with me is fine. Any insight on my situation would be helpful as I'm just at a total loss right now.

Kitty Holland · August 2014

In all honesty, at 39 I'd skip the IUIs or do at most 3 if required by insurance. You should speak with an RE about moving to IVF sooner than later. There are things that may come up in the IVF process that slow it down and you are playing against the clock.

Having said that, I am turning 39 in a fews weeks and am currently pregnant via IVF, so it is possible.

Good luck to you!

lib1974 · August 2014

I started with Iui when I was 38, tried 7 times didn't work and just did ivf and I am 7 wks along and 40 years old. You should ask the fertility doc if money weren't an issue what is his suggestion. I bet they will say move into ivf. Hope this helps, but bottom line trust your instincts!

Hollowvic · August 2014

@hikerlady our insurance doesn't cover any infertility. We're going to wait and see what the Urologist says but I personally feel IUIs are a waste of time and money in our situation, I know they can work but at my age I don't want to waste ant time. Not interested in donor sperm, I waited until I was 37 to marry the right person, I want to have his biological child. Even though I don't see a thing wrong with donor sperm, don't get me wrong. You're so very lucky it worked for you.

topaz7777 · August 2014

My doctor wouldn't IUI under 5mil post wash.

OutdoorGirl10 · August 2014

@Hollowvic‌ ...sorry you have to go through this, I think insurance in this area stinks in general. FX that this IUI works, but it's good to plan if it doesn't. I think going to a urologist is a good idea to make sure there's no other issues. Have you had an HSG and HSN? If not you may want to get those done before trying IVF. I'd go talk to an RE and get started with IVF. It can take 2-3 months from your first visit to the actual transfer date because of the tests and timing the meds with the right point of your cycle. And you're right, there's no guarantee that just because you go the IVF route, that it will actually work. That said, we were OOP too and went to the RE just before I turned 40 and it did work. When you go, if they don't mention it ask them if they might have donated meds available to help reduce the cost- a lot of places do.(people that have leftover meds will donate them to others that are OOP). Also, your insurance may cover some of the meds as long as they have other non fertility uses- eg my Zofran was covered. It is possible so hang in there. And you may want to check out the Infertility board for more ideas and suggestions if you haven't already. Good luck!

peeppeeppeep · August 2014

Hi there!

I'm a lurker but I just wanted to wish you luck with your decisions and share my experience in case it helps at all. I had a surprise BFP last month, but it was a shock. I had a diagnosis of unexplained fertility and we tried for over five years. Infertility and lack of insurance coverage is deeply unfair. My insurance didn't cover anything either. I'm 37 now but when I was 36 we did three unsuccessful medicated iuis (first with oral meds, then a last one with injectables). We thought we would do IVF but after many long discussions realized that if we scraped the money together for three attempts and still weren't successful, we wouldn't have money left over to adopt. I'm a graduate student but won't likely have much money coming in for a few years, and my husband is new in his career. I also didn't think I could handle the triple threat: having to drastically reduce our lifestyle financially, the emotional stress, and the physical stress of IVF. It was really hard because like you, I really want a biological child with my person, but in the end we decided to save up for adoption instead. But I definitely understand that deep desire to have a biological baby with your partner and if our financial circumstances had been different, I would have dealt with everything else. We got very lucky.

If you are confident you will do IVF if IUI doesn't work out, I agree that it may be better to skip to IVF quickly if you can. It's not just the money, but the stress. Just my two cents.

And if I could do anything differently, I would have tried to find an RE who didn't make me feel like I needed a walker every time he pulled out his statistics on AMA. Sheesh. Find an RE you love.

Wishing you all the best. You deserve to have a baby with your someone.

Mrs.McIrish · August 2014

You will never know until you try. I never imagined we'd do 8 rounds of IVF and didn't think we'd use donor eggs. But sometimes you make choices you didn't think you would when there is no alternative. I wouldn't bother with IUIs with MFI. If your labs are good, there's a good chance IVF would work -- but maybe not the first time. It's a learning curve with the first cycle unfortunately as there are a lot of different protocols and some work better for than others for different people..

Hollowvic · August 2014

@polly and michael‌ thank you and I got a good chuckle out of your RE making you feel like you need a walker, I needed a laugh today. Congrats on your BFP, hope your luck comes my way also. @Mrs.McIrish ask me next month how I feel, at first I said no way would I do IVF, now I'm seriously considering it, when push comes to shove I think I'll do everything I can to have a child, I just have to come to terms with it.

nawlinsgrl · August 2014

It doesn't sound like your age is the problem here. I had two successful IVF cycles, one at 38 and one at 39. Our issue was a blocked tube. I also have medically-controlled hypothyroidism, so that wasn't an issue. Just make sure to stay on top of it if you get pregnant, because you will need a higher dose immediately. I was surprised how quickly my levels shot up.

Anyway, my point is, there is no reason IVF shouldn't work at your age with no other issues than MFI, which they can address with ICSI if needed. Good luck to you!

Hollowvic · August 2014

@nawlinsgrl I don't think it's my age either at this point, I actually have a feeling IV would be successful, with ICSI. I'm just so scared of the whole process, mainly the needles.

nawlinsgrl · August 2014

I understand. It all feels a bit overwhelming starting out, especially the first couple days of giving yourself shots, but it gets easier a few days in and you'll feel like a pro before you're done. I remember how different it was the first time when I had no idea what to expect, compared to the 2nd time, when I felt like a "regular" around the clinic, and was totally at home there with everything. If you have a great RE and staff, it'll be a smooth process. It's a fairly simple process overall, consisting of BCPs, stims, and monitoring ultrasounds (and of course retrieval and transfer).

The needles for the stims shots really don't hurt, I found it more of a psychological issue than a true pain issue starting out. The PIO shots do hurt more (of course, you can take the suppositories instead, alleviating this issue entirely), but if you're taking those for more than a week or so, you power through it, because your pregnant!

csjsmom · August 2014

I was told that I would need ivf with icsi because the number of sperm moving the correct way was too low for regular ivf. I'm 41 and didn't seem to have any factors myself other than my age. We were set to start the process but I got a bfp surprisingly. So I think ivf with icsi is probably most likely to give you the best results. Don't give up!

Mrs.McIrish · August 2014

The anticipation of the injections is worse than the actual injections . You become a pro rather quickly. I am on lovenox and am still injecting myself daily (and will for the whole pregnancy). It's truly no big deal after you get used to it.

IVF at 39?

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