Complications during Pregnancy Forum - Can I Conceive at 41? I Have 10 Follicles Left...

Pregnancy Forum > Complications during Pregnancy Forum > Can I Conceive at 41? I Have 10 Follicles Left...

What happens during labor? What do contractions feel like? And how do I know that labor has begun? Read on to learn about birthing basics....

Q: Can I Conceive at 41? I Have 10 Follicles Left...

asked by: DoctorQuestion on March 29th, 2006

I have a daughter (17 years old) from a previous marriage. My new husband (who is 8 years younger than I) have been trying to conceive. We have been together 8 years but just started 'trying' to get pregnant a year ago (when I was still 39). After 6 months of not conceiving, I was put on 50.mg of Clomid for three months and conceived in the third month of Dec. 05. I had a miscarraige in my eighth week (but baby was the size of a 6 1/2 week) By the way, my husband has excellent sperm count, I have never had endometriosis or any cysts, surgery's nor tubal blockages....nothing. I just found out I have 10 follicles (from ultra sound) and my FSH level is 18 (which I've been reading on the internet thats not good. My doctor says that for my age (I'll be 41 next month) that is normal, but everything I have read seems to indicate that with those levels I am doomed. What about the number of follicles I have? All of these forums discuss "you should have X number of follicles", but I can't seem to find out what that number is, and for my age is 10 a good number or bad number or does is matter at all?

Replies(1)

Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD

replied on April 11th, 2006

Pregnancy after Forty Answer A753

The number of follicles in both ovaries is limited. About 300 follicles are expelled during a woman's entire reproductive life (from puberty to climax). It seems that you have 2 main problems while trying to conceive and to keep the pregnancy. The first problem is that your age has rediced the number of available follicles. We can’t tell how many follicles you have left but we can stimulate those that are left to ovulate by using an ovulation inductor (Clomid). Sometimes one is enough! The second problem is the quality of the follicles that remain. Aging increases the vulnerability of the egg-cells to genetic defects (mutations). This increases the risk for miscarriages or delivery of malformed babies. Your miscarriage was probably caused by this reason.

DISCLAIMER: "Ask a Doctor" questions are answered by certified physicians and other medical professionals who volunteer their time on eHealth Forum. For more information about experts participating in the "Ask a Doctor" Network, please visit our medical experts page. You may also visit our Complications during Pregnancy , for moderated patient to patient support and information.

The information provided on eHealth Forum is designed to improve, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his/her own physician. Personal consultation(s) with a qualified medical professional is the proper means for diagnosing any medical condition.

This question has been answered by the doctor. This topic is now open for public discussion, however no comments below this point will be answered by a doctor.

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc