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I'm 37. I don't really want to keep trying past this next year. All told, I've been doing this for 8 years, 2.5 years before my pregnancy with my DD and now 6 years since, and I'm tired of it all. My DD will be 7 in January, and I wanted her to have a sibling close in age, but that isn't going to happen, until we adopt. It's still in our plans to adopt a 3 year old, but that is on hold until we are "done" with fertility treatments. Our province won't let us proceed with an adoption while doing fertility treatments. Too many people get pregnant and then abandon the adoption, I guess.

My DD asks almost daily for a brother or a sister, and has for the last full year. It's hard, because we've not told her about any of the pregnancies, but we have talked about adoption. She asks when we are going to pick up her sister. I can't give her an answer until I've put to bed the treatments or until one works and we have a baby. I had been sure that we were only going to do 3 medicated IUI's. I don't count the first, because it wasn't medicated at all. When that fourth one worked, I was positive our journey with TTC was finally over. It was devastating to find out it was ectopic and had to be terminated. I also never thought that I'd be one to have miscarriage issues. My DD was our first pregnancy, and the ectopic stuck too, just in the wrong spot. I went into this thinking that if DH's boys could just survive the journey we'd be home free. It's been a strike to my system to learn otherwise.

I've started now with the baby aspirin too, and I'm really hoping that lighting will strike me twice with natural conception and we won't need to wait for the next IUI. Baring that, I really hope that there is an answer for the chemicals. I've had my progesterone checked before and it always seems to be in the good range, but I didn't have it checked with either chemical, so I don't honestly know if that was an issue or not. I asked, but my primary Dr. declined to add it to the beta testing. I'm still kind of mad about that.

Anyway, here's to moving forward, getting on a good regime for health and getting our sticky beans!

Good Luck to all!

Hi Lisserb-

I am curious to know if your physician feels the clomid contributed to your ectopic pregnancies? My physician warned me as we age women are more prone to them and any women on Clomid is at a higher risk. That is the one thing I worry about.

It is one of the risks for sure. Age, plus fertility treatments definitely increase the risk, but its still a small enough risk. Now that I've had one, my risk for another increases. I had another HSG done after the ectopic, and my remaining tube is clear, so he feels its unlikely I'd have another. There really is no way to say definitively what caused mine.

Hope that helps!

Hi Lisserb-

I wish you lots of luck as you move forward.

Paradise:
Well, I found your thread! yeah!!!
Well Im becoming a bit depressed with all of you ladies and age obviously playing a huge role in the qualities of the eggs!! We are 40 not 60 I cant believe how the quality can be so bad at this age????
When I was reading online, there are tons of success stories of women older then us with healthy multiple pregancies in their 40's. For those of you who dont know me, I am a mother of 8 live births, I have had 5 micarrages. There seems to be a pattern, four live births, four miscarrages, four live births, then one miscarrage?? Im afraid that I have to face another 3 mc before a good live birth?? I am 40 will be 41 in February,so then I might as well give up on that last little bunny in the home....... Im trying to stay pos but after these post (because my hubby doesnt want all this medicines, doctors, test, jellys and such) he says if God wants it then it will be. So, I have not the oppurtunity as you ladies to improve anything. He originally wanted me pg again to have a boy(or at least try) I finally agreed but now im avoiding the discussion and fear of losing again or giving birth to a baby that comes from an old egg with problems??? I could be crazy, IDK just after these post I dont even understand the language you are speaking?? what is DEAH, or MTHFR, or MFI ??????
I really wish you all the best and hope to see alot of BFP and baby dust to all of you! I guess I just need prayers!! This month online ov calculators say my window was from 6th NOV-12th NOV, I had ewcm on days 7,8,9, the 10th was not ewcm and more dryer so assuming I ov on the 9th. we only had sex twice on the 8th and 9th so im now in the 2ww period. But I have bd on everyday of window and ended up with period so I am not getting hopes up.
Im afraid to get hopes up just for that witch to visit me!! And its getting more hard because my sister in law is now newly pg 5 wks. makes me so sad (although, I am so hapy for her) !!!!

Welcome Amoultie,

I hope you have success and a sticky baby soon. Seems like you have been very fertile over time, so hopefully it continues for you.

As for your questions, DHEA is a supplement, (a hormone our body makes naturally) purported to help support an aging body. From everything I've read, it's somewhat controversial, as to whether or not it can do more harm than good.

MFI means male factor infertility. That is my DH and I's main issue in not being able to conceive, and hence why we are doing fertility treatments.

I personally believe my egg quality is okay, but they do get "old" and the quality of them decline as we age, which can cause embryo abnormalities, which can be a cause of miscarriage. You are right that lots of women in later years have natural, easily conceived pregnancies, but there are plenty of us who need that extra medical help.

MTHFR (which always brings to my mind a swear-word, hahaha!) is a gene in our bodies which creates an enzyme to helps to convert amino acids into forms our body can use to make other proteins, in fertility specifically folic acid into a folate our body can absorb. If there is an issue with that gene, then the folic acid does not get properly absorbed and there are issues that can arise from that, and it can be a cause of infertility and miscarriage.

There are also clotting disorders that can prevent an embryo from properly attaching to the uterine lining, or that can cause our body to stop the embryo from growing properly by affecting blood supply. I'm going to get tested to see if that is a cause of my chemical pregnancies of late, and paradise has had it confirmed that she has some issues with that. A blood thinner throughout the pregnacy is able to help support a healthy, growing embryo.

Now you probably know more than you need to, but information is key to a lot of us struggling to get or stay pregnant. I wish you luck that you don't have to worry about any of these things.

Lisserb,
Thanks for the repy and all the new information!
I really pray you'll get you honeybun soon!
My first two mc are without any reason (unknown) third one was from a virus they say (when I was living in Holland) called a CMV viruse, you can only contract it once and never again but they said it was better I mc because either the baby is born severly mental and handicapped or dies at birth. The fourth one also not known, I delivered the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and held them in my one hand, saw their bones, face, teeth, testicles everything (was very hard) the fifth one was at 8 weeks and natural miscarrage was considered blighted ovum all signs of pg but nothing ever showed up in the sac?? Not even a yolk??
I hope also I can have just one more little pooh bear before my own kids start getting married and having kids!! My oldest is 22 then 21,17,15,10,9,7 and 5.
Well, very nice to meet you and hope to journey with you and get you know you all beter!

Hi Amoultie, Glad you found us here.
I know what you mean about thinking that your miscarriages are making a pattern. I actually thought the same thing with mine but if that's the case, my pattern is really weird. Here's how mine went: (these are all miscarriages I have had in my life) Miscarriage, baby, baby, miscarriage, baby, miscarriage, baby, chemical, miscarriage, miscarriage. So, what kind of a pattern is this? What am I due for next if this is the case? I really think that it's just coincidence though. I just really hope that the next one will be a baby again. I don't know how much more I can keep taking. I just feel like I am really running out of time. I know I read about other women in their later 40's still able to carry but you just never know how much time we really have left. It varies from woman to woman. I am going by the age my mother was when she started going through menopause and I think it was about age 45 or so. So, by that, I hope to have another 5 years left. My husband is older too so that is also a little scary. He is 55. I know that men keep making sperm most of their lives but he's not thrilled about having one more later in his life like this but he also knows how desperate I am to have one more too so he is trying. I am thankful for that much! I really do think that the problem lies with me and my eggs though so I am trying to eat healthier before I start trying again. I am currently waiting for my first period since the miscarriage and I am thinking it will be anytime because the cramping has been back for a few days now. I feel pmsy too. I just can't wait to start using my ovulation tests again just to see if I will indeed ovulate. I would like to start trying again as soon as possible but I also think I need to give my body a couple of periods too just to make sure everything is back to normal. Once I get a positive on a pregnancy test again, I am to call my doctor so they can take the appropriate measurements on what I will need. I have contacted a hematologist to get a second opinion on those blood tests that were elevated and would also like to redo them one more time just to see if they can change or not. I would like more information on what those tests actually mean and such. I am very nervous that it might take me a long time to even get pregnant any more, or even more nervous that I will lose again. It's all so scary and frustrating. I never would have thought that getting and staying pregnant would be so hard for me. But, at least I have an idea of what keeps causing them and can hopefully remedy that in the future. Good luck on your 2 ww Amoultie. Hope you will have good news soon. How are you doing Lisserb? Have you had your next cycle yet? Looks like we are both on hold till around January or so. Hoping it goes by quick but one thing about it, we won't be so stressed through Thanksgiving and Christmas anyway. Keep in touch guys!

Hey Lisserb, Amoultie, other ladies here, how's everyone doing? As for me, I am still waiting for my first period to start. By the way I felt last week I really thought I was gonna start then, but still nothing. Pregnancy test's are still giving me a very very light line so I guess the hcg still isn't out of my system yet. Don't think I will have a period until it's all out. More news from Doctor the other day. He called to tell me that another test came in and that it was positive. It's the MTHFR one. He said that I will need to have extra folate along with the heparin shots and progesterone if I get pregnant again. This just keeps getting better and better. This has all just got me so darn nervous now. I don't know what to do or what to think anymore. I'm starting to feel like it's just not meant for it to be with me any longer. I really can't see myself ever carrying to term again with all of these problems they have found and that I will have to be on shots and such. I've read about women having these same problems and took the shots and still miscarried anyway. I just feel like it's all useless anymore and that I should just forget it and be happy with that I have 4 already. This is all so very hard on me lately. So, how is everyone else doing? Hope better than me!

I'm waiting on my AF. I'm technically late. Had a few days of spotting on and off, but nothing consistent. BFN's so far.

I saw about a supplement for mthfr. I'll look it up for you. I am waiting on my testing. Can't do it till AF shows up. I'm never late.