Expert: Diane Cheryl - 7/5/2010

Question
Hi Diane,

I am a 48-year-old woman, never been pregnant, in a monogamous relationship, taking BC pills for the past 10 years.  Now that I'm looking at having to pay for them every month (previously got free samples) I'm wondering what my chances are of conceiving at this point anyway.  I'd read somewhere that women tend to end fertility about 10 years before menopause-- don't know if that's true, but is there some sort of test I could take to see?  Or some way to know whether I *really* need to stay on the pill?  I like knowing exactly when to expect my period, but I'm not in a good position to spend an extra $40 per month, unfortunately.

I really don't want to use condoms, foam, or an IUD so if there's a real pregnancy risk I'll keep shelling it out, but if I didn't have to, I'd like to know about it!

I appreciate any input you may have.

Thank you very much!

p.s. I'm in good health, no problems with periods or anything else.

Answer
Hi Roberta,

Unfortunately, I don't know any way of telling if you are still fertile at your age. So I take it that you are still having regular periods.? Any signs of irregularity in cycles or menopause?

I don't know of any tests. You might want to consult your physician about this. Let me know what happens or what you decide. My private email address is CHERYL51@aol.com

Diane Cheryl