JenNJ wrote:I am 37 and had an FSH of 19 a few months ago and after months of searching for a RE that is high FSH friendly, we went to do an IVF cycle last month. I had cysts on my overies so I was put on BCP for 1 month. I had spotting the whole time. My last pill was Saturday and the spotting continued. So, Monday I called my RE's office because I did not know if it was a period or still spotting. They wanted me to come in today. I still never had a "normal" period. They tell me I am ready to start my IVF and should take my meds starting tomorrow night.
I get a call from the RE's office a few hours later - my fsh is 33!
They want me to wait until next month and see if it comes down, but if we want they will try stimming me now and "give it the old college try" as they said.
I don't know what to do. Can FSH jump that extreme in just a few months?
Did my not normal period or not knowing if it was a period have anything to do with it?
What would my chances of it dropping much be?
Should I try waiting a month or give it a shot now or just go straight to DE?
Sorry for the long post but any advice would be great.
I try not to tell people what they should do as a course of medical treatment. I try to just post information.
FSH can jump like that. For example, it may have been suppressed by elevated estradiol before (you mentioned cysts). If/when the estradiol is brought down (by addressing cysts), FSH would be expected to rise. That is known. In other words, it's possible your 33 is more representative than your 19 reading. Maybe. If the estradiol was much above 50 when they measured it, then the FSH can be suppressed.
Another theory, not yet proved to my knowledge, is that FSH can fluctuate depending on how many early follicles there are. Perhaps in a month where FSH is lower, you might be able to recruit more follicles. Maybe.
It would also make sense that, regardless of the number of antral follicles, they would be more sensitive to FSH in a month where FSH was lower, and less sensitive when FSH was higher. In other words, even if the number of follicles is the same, it should be easier to recruit them in a month where FSH was lower. After all, we recruit them with FSH. In other words, to get your FSH appreciably above your baseline of 33, you'd need a ton of FSH meds. To get your FSH significantly above a baseline of 19, it would not take as much. It would still be a lot though, because 19 is already pretty high, as you know.
It's an unfortunate truth that those who must spend the most $$$ to stim have the lowest chance of a resulting pregnancy.
I like that your clinic lets you decide how to proceed. It's your money, your life, and your potential children. You might see if your clinic can give you a realistic estimate of your chances and costs (including meds) given your FSH levels, and also the costs and success rates for donor cycles. Donor cycles are very expensive and generally not covered on insurance.
Sorry I rambled. I hope this helps.
Avoid IVF and surrogacy in Ukraine. Ukrainian centers pay shills to post here under numerous sock accounts pretending to be patients in Ukraine. Centers using such deceptive advertising cannot be trusted and should be avoided.
