My Fertility Specialist November-January 2016 | Page 18

Trying to Conceive When over Forty
When it didn’t look likely that Rachel* and Nick* (names changed) would
get pregnant with Rachel’s own eggs, they looked to using a donor. Rachel
tells their story of IUI, ICSI, miscarriage and immune tests.

I

found myself in my late thirties and
single. Fortunately at 38 I met the
love of my life, but talking about
babies on the first date is a big no-no,
especially when he’s only 27!
Eventually we did have the ‘Would we
like children?’ talk and we thought his
young, keen, excited sperm would
make up for my older, cynical eggs.
Marriage and no
honeymoon baby, we
found ourselves at our
GPs who referred us to
a fertility specialist.
So began our six
year battle, our
roller-coaster
journey, this new
life that consisted
of every day things
with a thick coating of
infertility - emotions and
stresses that went up and
down more than the stock
market. But worst of all, the
frustration, hopes being built up one
minute then dashed the next, and the
disappointment every month.
I started to record my Basal Body
Temperature (BBT) because I thought
that was a good place to start. At our
appointment, the Consultant didn’t
even look at it and instead reeled off
a list of tests: sperm test for Nick, and

One thing we were
getting used to
was the fact that
when you enter the
world of assisted
reproduction,
absolutely nothing is
romantic or private!
18

My Fertility Specialist / Nov-Jan, 2016

for me hormone tests and a scan of my
uterus. All the results were normal; yay
that there wasn’t anything serious, but
then why couldn’t I get pregnant? I was
now 41 but my lifestyle didn’t indicate
fertility problems. So where did we go
from here? To a fertility clinic.
We chose a fertility clinic in London that
was better known for treating the
‘older woman’ – thanks for this
terminology! Nothing can
prepare you for a fertility
clinic waiting room:
women of all ages; lots
of women; different
ethnicities, constant
to-ing and fro-ing,
no laughter and a
feeling of desperation
hanging in the air.
We were told we had
Unexplained Infertility.
We decided it made
sense to do Intrauterine
Insemination (IUI). Also it was
cheaper. And so began the drugs to
stimulate my ovaries, the indignity of
the scans and the build up of hope as
the big day grew nearer.
After Nick did the deed, the Doctor,
with the catheter of keen, excited
sperm delivered them back into their
rightful place. One thing we were
getting used to was the fact that
when you enter the world of assisted
reproduction, absolutely nothing is
romantic or private!
The next hurdle, or should that be
mountain, to cross was the Two Week
Wait. It’s commonly referred to as
the TWW because two weeks after
insemination or embryo transfer, (if
doing In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF)), you do
a pregnancy test. And this is something
you dread but desperately want to do at
the same time! The day before Test Day I
my period started. We were gutted and
a little surprised if I’m honest.

Back at the clinic for our next
appointment