Too late to start naturally?

[Anonymous]

DH finally decided we should try for #2. Conceived DD without any trouble at 37, but that was 5 years ago. I am close 43 now! We're going to start trying for #2 this summer, but I am really afraid that it may be too late.

[Anonymous]

who knows, everyone is different. i too had no problem at 37 but now at 41 i'm having a lot of trouble and am on to IVF number 2. Maybe get your day 3 bloodwork done to see what your ovarian reserve is? that's not and end all be all but it may help see where you are. i have good ovarian reserve at 41 but i'm still having trouble so i think, for us, at this point it's more about poor egg quality. but again, you may have no trouble at all -- it's so hard to know. good luck!

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend that you read (if you have not already) Toni Weschler's book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and charting. I use her software - but there are other software packages out there that do the same thing.

This may be a low cost start for you.

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I would make an appointment with your doctor for testing.

Everyone's different, lots of women have babies naturally in their 40's, and I hope you'll find out that you are blessed with the hormone levels of a 25-yr old. But realistically, at 43, there is a good chance that your ovaries are slowing down. As a PP said, it's impossible to know without testing, so I don't think anyone on this board can answer the question of whether it's too late to start trying.

I have read that 35 is not the "magic number" but rather 37 is the age after which fertility drops dramatically. I'm starting to think that's true (at least for me).

I've been unable to get pregnant at age 38. And I considered myself very fertile! I have 3 children, all conceived easily in my early thirties - one on the first month TTC, the second a surprise after one night of tossing caution to the wind, and the third on the 2nd cycle of TTC. And I "know what I'm doing" - I have charted BBT for years & I know my body & my cycles. But like you, my last pg was 5 yrs ago, and I can tell that my hormones are changing as I age.

Personally, I'm at the point now where I need to know if it's just going to take a while longer or if we're spinning our wheels and have little chance of success without medical intervention. So I have scheduled some testing.

I guess it depends on your attitude toward TTC and how badly you want another child. If you just want to try and see what happens but you are content with one child, that is very different from desperately wanting another and feeling heartbroken each month that you don't succeed. Even if you don't think you're willing to do much in terms of treatment, you may just want the information that you can get from the testing (which again, hopefully will show that all is well, and that will put your mind at ease).

Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other posters, it's important to be tested right away. I'm almost near identical to you, I conceived naturally (after 8 months of trying) 5 years ago and now I've been thru two failed IVF's. Even IVF chances are slim with our age, but I'm considering a third perhaps one last effort to add to our family. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I'd also look into DHEA - it is probably the only non-medical remedy that actually works in helping some women conceive.