High FSH/ Poor Responders

[Jeni Babes]

Right back at you Annie...wanting a BFP from you....

Good luck

LOVE jen
xxx

[Dizzie]

Hiya all you brave, brave girls out there. I have been on this site before, but it was a while ago as our treatment was put back a while. We finally started our treatment and I am currently taking Puregon. I had my Day 8 blood test done today and was told that my levels are a bit low. I don't know what the levels are as I didn't think to ask, but I will find out on Friday when I go for my Day 10 scan. This has really got me down and I don't really know what the clinic are looking for. They have told me to double my dose for tonight and tomorrow night and they will see how things are on Friday. Can anyone tell me what the level should be? All I know is that egg collection will take place when at least 3 follicles are 17mm big. I've been down regulating for 40 days now (due to an ovarian cyst) and have been stimming for 8. Does the prolonged period of down regging make a difference?

I now understand why IVF is described as an 'emotional rollercoaster' as I'm on a downer right now with that news today. I would rest easier if someone could give me a simple run down on what FSH levels mean.

Take care everyone.

DIZZIE

[luby]

Hi Dizzie

Sorry to hear your having to go through all this, well first, I know every clinic work with with different FSH levels, my clinic won't ususally work with an FSH over 15, they advice to cancel the treatment and try again in a couple of months to see if the levels have gone down.

Speaking from my own experience, I have just got a BFP with FSH of 23.7, I got 8 follies and 8 eggs so it is possible to do. I only got to proceed with my treatment because I'm funding this myself, they wouldn't of done it if it was NHS (which believe me I think is poor)

I know they like FSH levels to be below 10, but as I have proven they don't always mean anything...!

Hope this helps, try find out what your levels are.

Lucy

[luby]

Hi Dizzie

sorry just read your message again and realised you stated you have low levels, sorry I don't know what this would mean, I would think it would be better to have low levels.

Lucy

[rachel1]

hey girls

i've a question for you bad responders. i only had one follicle after downregging on enantone and stimming on gonal f 150 u.i. i'll be doing a short cycle next time so no downregging but i'll stim again with gonal f although this time it'll be 225 u.i. i know it's a 50% increase on last time but i'm worried that it won't have enough effect and i'll have the same problem again. by how much were your meds upped when you responded badly?

thanks
rachel

[Dizzie]

Hi Rachel,

I didn't respond as much as they thought I would to start with, but then they doubled my dose for the last 11 days of my stimming. I was on Puregon, not Gonal F, so I'm afraid I don't know anything about the drugs you're taking. They told me that if the doubled up dose didn't work this time round then they would start me off on the doubled dose next time, so it's probably pretty standard. I had to stim for a total of 17 days but it did work in the end and we got 4 eggs on Monday. I thought the jags were never going end, but we had 2 embies put back today, so you do get there eventually.

Hang on in there and have faith in your clinic. Don't be frightened to ask them any questions and remember, they don't want you to over stimulate, so they'll watch you carefully to see how you're responding to the new dose.

Take care and good luck with your next cycle.

[rachel1]

thanks dizzie for your reply. well done on the 2 embies. all you have to do now is sit back, relax and wait for that BFP.

good luck!!

rachel

[Smita]

rachel,
I'm a poor responder too, but since I followed an entirely different regime here in india, cant help..
Can only tell you I was on a flare-up protocol- which is a short cycle.. which is what you're planning to do as well, right.. Hope that AF shows up soooooooon at your doorstep.

smita

[ally01]

I had a 9.6 on day 3 then a 15 on day 10. They said they would have liked day 10 to have been lower. I wish I understood more about the FSH level. Sometimes I just wonder if I should go straight to egg donor; in the States, it's relatively easy to gain access. The wait is about 4-6 months....when I'm down and frustrated, I go that route.

When I'm up, I think keep trying.

I meet w/an acupuncturist on Friday so I'm still hopeful to lowering it. I do yoga also but not everyday....just a couple of times a week. I'm off to the bookstore tonight and want to flip through Zita West!

Hoping that some or all of the above will help me!

[Jeni Babes]

hi ally

A day 3 count is what your level is taken from...so 9.6 is fine...This is for ovarian reserve ( i.e. how many eggs you get) but it's quality NOT quantity that counts...HONEST i wouldn't worry. In Zita Wests IVF book fertility and conception she says '

3 DAY LEVEL...............INTEPRETATION
_________________________________
less than 6-------------- Excellet
6-8------------------------Normal
8-10---- a response between Normal and SLIGHTLY REDUCED
10-12----Lower than normal= reduced response to stimming
12-17--- A marked reduction in response
More than 17- very poor or no response


She states ' to maximise your chances wait until you have a reading of (FSH) less than 10 and an E2 reading below 70... these are great conditions'

GOOD LUCK with the acu, it is sure to help...
love jen
xxxxx

[mbzz]

Hello everyone........ as some of you may know by my previous posts, Im not a very good responsder to the stim meds, therefore I don't produce many eggs. My FSH is at 9.7 and I will be tested again at the end of the month (soon) when AF arrives, if it is above the 9.7, RE will not try another cycle. This past cycle, I had 8 follicles but ONLY 3 eggs (all other follicles were empty) , 2 became embries- 8cell no fragmentation on one- the other was 8cell with 5% frag, RE said of course there was no reason one of them shouldn't have attached, so IF we are able to go through with another cycle, she will glue the embries with added hope of them attaching permanently. She suggested we may want to look into Donor eggs and all that holds. I'm very much saddened by all of this. If my FSH does come back under the 9.7 we will very much GO FOR IT one last time. I will be testing FSH end of Jan / beginning of Feb- if a go- we will be looking at a March ET. I'm keeping options open as far as trying another clinic/RE if FSH turns out higher than what it has been..... In the end when the lights are turned out and I lay my head on the pillow.... I know deep down everything in this world happens for a reason, one may never know the reasoning behind something-- but with everything there is purpose........ Good Luck to everyone!!!!!!!!! Hoping everyone's dream of babies comes true!!!

[Jeni Babes]

Mbuzz

good luck...hope FSH is lower for you.

1 question tho...what are they going to glue the embie on with???

I would be interested to find out

love jen
xxxxx

[rachel1]

hey berta

keep your spirits up because even if your fsh is over 9.7 you'll still be able to cycle no problem at other clinics. your clinic seems way too strict, maybe they're worried about their statistics??? if their limit of 9.7 was applied to all of us, a lot of us wouldn't be cycling and wouldn't be pregnant now!

and don't worry about only getting 3 eggs. the response can vary from cycle to cycle. i've read posts on here about huge variations in egg collections.
and you had 2 good embies last time, maybe it's a bit premature to start talking about donor eggs.

keep on believing, you'll get there.
rachel

[mbzz]

Thanks for words of encouragment...... I have been researching other clincs, as we are cash pay patients.....


Glueing (is it really spelled this way? lol).......... a relative new procedure where they actually glue the embryos to the uterus. I had never heard of it, and my clinic just now started using, so I'm not too sure if other clinics will implement it soon or not.. maybe up to the RE discretion?

Well.... a bombshell..... AF arrived last night and my dh, doesn't want to try this time around... stated many reasons..... so ladies.... i will keep reading and supporting you guys.... good luck !!!

[JackieG]

Berta,

Everything happens for a reason so maybe your DH is right.

Your time will come soon.

Hang in there and good luck to you.

Jackie