Low AMH, 1st attempt IVF. Feeling lost!!

[Kitty14]

Hi, I am 31 years old and have an AMH of 2 and FSH 18. We have a male factor also. We are just about to embark on our 1st cycle of IVF but have been told our chances of success are around 5% or less due to my poor ovarian reserve. Last antral follicle count was 6. We have also been advised that unless we have a surprising response then this is likely to be our only advisable attempt at IVF. We are going to be put onto the flare protocol.

I am just looking for anyone who is in a similar situation for some advice etc! I know this emotional roller coaster is going to continue for some time but have no idea what else to expect! Ta x

[Mellie_1233]

Hi Kitty, your subject line caught my eye. I have low AMH, too. I just wanted to wish you the best. It is so unfair for someone so young to have to deal with a low reserve problem. Actually, there is lots of unfairness in the fertility world it seems but I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone.

All the best,

Mellie

[Kitty14]

Hi mellie, thank you very much for your support! It is nice to know that there are people out there full of support!

You are totally right, it all does seem soo unfair! My husband is very positive and thinks we have been put through all this for a reason, I however, do not have the same optimism!

Congratulations on your too little ones, did u receive fertility treatment with them?

Thanks again for your nice message!

Kit x

[sable]

Hi, I am 31 years old and have an AMH of 2 and FSH 18. We have a male factor also. We are just about to embark on our 1st cycle of IVF but have been told our chances of success are around 5% or less due to my poor ovarian reserve. Last antral follicle count was 6. We have also been advised that unless we have a surprising response then this is likely to be our only advisable attempt at IVF. We are going to be put onto the flare protocol.

I am just looking for anyone who is in a similar situation for some advice etc! I know this emotional roller coaster is going to continue for some time but have no idea what else to expect! Ta x

Hi Kitty14,
What kind of advice are you looking for? I would suggest reading the book Inconceivable by Julia Indichova (someone suggested that to me on the forum here) I am in a similar or worse situation as you but reading this book helped me in many ways.I would suggest not rushing into IVF and try to explore other options first as suggested in the book.
best of luck and stay positive, miracles do happen ... i'm waiting for one also

[Mellie_1233]

Hi Kitty, yes we had treatments. I went to CCRM in Colorado to the famous Dr. Schoolcraft. We were very fortunate.

I remember when the nurse called to tell me my AMH results. 0.6 -- I was really shaken by that. I was 36 at that point. My highest FSH was 11.4 and I had 9-11 follicles but a poor response to stims.

Anyway, we were very successful with IVF (thank you God). I believe having a top notch lab is critical when you have reserve issues.

All the best to you! Lots of baby dust!

(No matter what happens, one day this will all be over. No matter how you create your family you have options and someday this will be a memory. Hope that doesn't sound too corny. I think when I was a patient it was hard to imagine that.)

[Kitty14]

Thanks to you all for your replies!

That is a good question, I don't know exactly what type of advice i'm looking for. I find myself searching the Internet on a frequent basis but I think, if I'm honest, i'm looking for someone to tell me that this will all work out in the end and will be ok!

I have actually read Inconceivable and agree that it is a fantastic book. It inspired me at the early stages and have since been doing Chinese medicine, acupuncture and taking herbs on a daily basis for over a year now. In fact we both have been doing this! I feel, however, that recently my belief is much more questionable! Maybe I need to read it again!! I guess we all have these times of less optimism!!

Thanks again for the support, I really appreciate it!! My prayers are with you all also xx

[sable]

Kitty14

I think you do have all the answers except the most important one"what is the outcome going to be" and sadly no one has the answer to that.We all wish we knew.I think your chances are still high. AMH of 2 is good.My nurse at CCRM told me anything above 1.5 is OK.Very few people are successful on the first try.You might want to look at plans that offer 3 or more cycles with FET.
When do you start? I hope everything works out for you.Try and be positive

[Kitty14]

Thanks sable!

We start in 3 weeks time, ready and raring to go!!

I know there are two different scales of AMH measurement pmol/L or ng/ml. My measurement is in pmol/l and 2 unfortunately is very low! I think it is a UK measurement!! You know what it's like, they just try to make these things even more complicated than they already are!

I think all we can do is give it a go and take it from there!

Thanks again for your support, i'll be sure to keep things updated!

Kx

[lou71]

Kitty---

You may have low ovarian reserve but the good news is, that quality is related to age, not FSH or AMH numbers. You are young (under 35 is young) and any eggs you get are likely to be high in quality. I agree an AMH of 2 is good.... did you perhaps mean 0.2? My AMH has been 0.9-1.0 and FSH is 6.6. But I am 38 years old. The good news is, it really does only take ONE. Antral follicle count can change too. I've had anywhere from 15-22. That's a 46% difference! On the cycle where my AFC was 17, I retrieved 6 eggs, 5 mature, 4 fert, 2 transferred and 1 frozen, both fresh and FET were BFN. My next cycle I had an AFC of 18 and retrieved 7 eggs. Only 4 were mature, 3 fertilized and all three transferred. I did get pregnant with 1 but miscarried at 12 weeks and had a d&c.... devastating. 3 months later, my AFC was 22 and I retrieved 10 eggs! 7 were mature and 6 fertilized. I ended up with 4 great blasts and I was on top of the world with PMA. Two transferred and two frozen. Both fresh and FET were BFN (which I took very hard) probably due to a uterus problem which I had surgery to correct in December. Went on to do one last cycle. AFC was only 15, my lowest yet. Retrieved only 3 eggs when I was hoping for 5-6 (I had 4-5 more follicles that were a bit too small to be retrieved). 2 were mature and only 1 fertilized. I am now pregnant with that one and all is looking well so far. We did use ICSI as our main issue is male factor. I do ovulate regularly. My point is, as long as you have something to transfer, you have a chance. I also think if your first shot doesn't work, try at least once more. Your RE will learn a lot how you respond and can tweak your protocol. I do best on an antagonist protocol. We found that out the hard way. There are a lot of ladies on the pregnancy board who only had 1 or 2 embies to transfer who are expecting. Go for it!

[Kitty14]

Thanks Lou!

Sounds like you have been through a tough time, delighted to hear your good news tho! I pray that it all works out, sounds like you deserve it!

Thanks for your advice. I do feel that because I'm still young that hopefully this stands in our favour, I guess we just need to wait and see what happens, worst case scenario, hopefully someone will offer us another chance to keep trying. I wrote an earlier post about AMH levels, it's definitely very confusing!

Thanks again, will be thinking of you.

Kx

[lou71]

Ah.... I see... the units are different in the UK with what is measured here. Makes sense now. Good luck!

[snu215437]

Hi Kitty,

I am 27 years old and it sounds like I am in a very similar situation to yours. My RE just informed me my amh level is 0.46 and he counted 6 antral follicles. Not sure what my FSH is and not exactly sure what that means/how it plays in to our situation. My RE suggested we try IVF and it sounded like our chances of pregnancy were more in the 40% range, so I wonder why you would only have a 5% chance given that your amh level was higher than mine. Are you still going through with your IVF process? If so, let me know where you're at and if you've found out any more info. Best of luck to you.

[karenvancouverisland]

hi kitty, we are similar, i did my first ivf at age 35 and it was cancelled due to poor response as i'd only made 1 follicle. ugh. not good.

2nd IVF, age 35- strongest protocal they have (450 ui gonal F daily- no suppression).. i only made 2 follies- they recommended cancelling and going to donor eggs. this was my DOR diagnosis too.. my DH also has poor morphology- 1 test was 4%, another was 1% normal forms.. also not good.

the clinic said to us "it's not worth proceeding with your eggs, unless your rich and just want to do it in order to feel better"

well we did not cancel this 2nd atttempt (although we have to pay for everything).. and i got PG. it was a miracle. heartbeat on u/s at 7 wks, measured good... m/c at 12 wks.

despite how heartbreaking this was, it gave us and the fertility clinic faith in my eggs... so onto 3rd IVF.age 36... and i took DHEA for 7 wks first (steroid in preliminary studies found to help women with diminished ovarian reserve), and i made 10 follies, 9 eggs, 5 fertilized, 4 embryos, and 1 beautiful son!

did an FET with the rest of them last year, chemical.. then omigod, i got NATURALLY pregnant.. too weird for words. now i'm 17 wks pg.

so don't give up. i've never had my AMH tested (they don't fund it in canada), but my FSH is 11.2 on day 10 (they won't do ivf if it's over 12), and my antral counts have been 8 or 7 each time.

everyone is different, but i based my decisions on "can i live with myself if i don't try again/ try harder".. and i just never could.. and for the record, we are so not wealthy.. but the debt was more bearable then looking in the mirror and not liking myself for giving up..

much luck to you!

[babysoft10]

Hi Karen.....if you don't mind me asking what dosage of DHEA were you on for the 7 weeks?

I too have high FSH, mine a lot higher than most. I'm 33 and have had this issue now for 10 yrs. I'm going through IUI now just completed yesterday but is like to move on to IVF but can't because I only make between 1-2 follicles with meds.

[karenvancouverisland]

i took 75mg total of DHEA a daily, 50mg in the morning and 25 at night.. or you can do it 3x a day.. any open-minded RE should prescribe this for you (some are against it citing not enough research)

it is recommended to take it for at least 3months prior to ivf stims, and as long as 4 months.. this is the best way for it to impact the 'follicular recruitment cycle'.... if you go to the NY center for human reproduction website- they have tons of info.. they are also in partnership with a toronto clinic in doing dhea trials.

there was some higher-level research done on women who take testosterone before ivf stims, and they did better than not on testosterone... dhea is an androgen, which converts to testosterone in our systems.

i was on dhea when i got naturally pregnant thhis time too, but only for 3 weeks, so it's hard to attribute this miracle to dhea, but i guess you never know?

so are you saying your clinic isn't willing to do ivf because of your low follie production? if so, you can go on dhea, and get another antral count- see if there's any improvements and then maybe they'll cycle you.. i've also never done a 'flare' and instead did a 'no suppression, antagonist -only cycle'... it seems to be the new trend over 'flare'.. or there's the estrogen priming protocal- which is another option for us low responders.

i truly wish you the best of luck and welcome any more questions you have.. when i was in your shoes i met a woman named stephanie on these boards, she had taken dhea and was pg with twins.. she had a harsh IF history and bleak prognosis- her story gave me so much hope to continue trying and i love nothing more than to pass it on.