Dear Professor Winston,
Not sure if you can point me in the right direction but I just feel a bit lost. We’ve been trying to get pregnant for almost 4 years. I’m 39, turning 40 in January so worried about my age. The blood tests say my fertility is still ok but hasn’t really been explained to me very well. I had my 1 free round of IVF last year (short treatment). Showed I had lots of good sized eggs but only 2 harvested, 1 fertilised but failed. I didn’t react well to the drugs – put on weight and cried all the time. Didn’t have a good experience at all so reluctant to go through that again but don’t know if that’s my only choice? The consultant said she didn’t know why it didn’t work as we’re fit and healthy. Other than that she offered no advice. I just don’t know what to do now. We’ve been trying again naturally, the doctor says just to carry on but worried I’m getting too old. Should I have the test to see how many eggs I have left? Or is there anything else I can do? I just don’t know who to trust or what to do and what is worth paying for as we simply can’t afford to have lots of IVF cycles privately. I was told I have fibroids but shouldn’t prevent me from getting pregnant but my periods are getting heavier and I get bad cramping. Is this worth investigating too?
Kind regards
I.
Dear I.,
This is an impossible question to answer because I have no idea about what the cause of your problem is thought to be, nor what tests you’ve had, nor the results. Nor indeed how long you’ve been trying. You say you’ve got fibroids but without the results of whatever tests you’ve had I cannot give a coherent or useful opinion.
I am very sorry, but I get so many questions like this and I spend a great deal of time trying to answer these enquiries and so often I despair and ask myself am I not wasting my time. Essentially, like so many other people who are very worried about their fertility problem but who seem to expect a magic answer from me, I cannot help you if you do not help me. My apologies for answering in this way.
My best wishes,
Robert Winston