AMH Test, is it worth paying privately?

[Jonesjp]

Hi ladies, I was just wondering if anyone had paid for there AMH test privately? We have been TTC for a few years now and are on the waiting list for IVF, but have been told we won’t start until at least next May (we’ve been on the 12 month welsh IVF waiting list) so month after month we continue to try naturally in some hope as we have unexplained fertility as so far all tests have come back fine, but through all the tests/procedures I’ve had, they have never tested AMH. I may be missing something here, but I would have thought that would have been one of the first tests they did!! I’m just wondering if I’m putting myself through the upset of trying so hard each month and if my eggs are goosed I could be putting myself under all this pressure for no reason!!!! Any thoughts/experience of this would be very much appreciate x x x

[S-Joys]

Can you ask your GP for this test? I live in Belfast but I'm pretty sure this was one of the first tests the GP did before I got referred to he fertility clinic.

[A-Jay-]

I had my tests conducted by my gp. reports came completely fine they told me i have no problem.. because my husband taking specific medication so they reffered my to fertlity clinic.. after my blood test(at fertility clinic) they told me i have low ovarian reserve.. i was shocked to know as my gp didn't tell me after so many blood tests and i am 28..i still dont know if they check your amh before referring to fertlilty clinic.. you should ask your gp..

[emmab178]

Amh isn't covered by the nhs. I think someone on here said its about £150 plus a consultants fee on top. But you could ring round private hospitals to check.

How old are you? Amh measures ovarian reserve but gives no indication of quality of eggs.

Even people with low amh for their age have been successful at ivf so I think it depends if you can afford it and what you hope to gain. If that makes sense?

Even if I knew i had crappy amh (and it wasn't great!) I would still have gone for ivf so the result wouldn't have meant anything to me by getting it earlier.

We always thought our fertility problems laid with me as husband's nhs swimmer test came out ok. At the ivf clinic they tested him again and prepared the swimmers for ivf treatment (an extra step compared to the nhs test) and said actually there was a problem and we had to do icsi.

[baby2016]

Amh test will be done just before you start treatment. Our NHS clinic charged us £40. It's valid with all clinics for 12months. I needed mine doing again and instead of paying for it privately I asked my NHS clinic if I could have it done again through them, which they agreed and paid the £40. You would also need your fsh testing to get an accurate result of your reserve as they look at both amh and fsh. If you were wanting to pay private for any test then I'd suggest the sperm comet test as it could be a sperm issue. This test is not done on the NHS and does cost about £500 but it looks at the DNA fragmentation of the sperm. So the normal sperm test could come back ok but you would not know about the fragmentation which was exactly the outcome with my hubbys. All depends what other tests you've had, your age and amh/fsh results etc xx

[emmab178 in reply to baby2016]

Must have been the problem with the hubbys swimmers but they didn't go into details at the time just said icsi would fix it.

[Tara2016]

Hi there!

I am also looking into having this done as well. I have already had 1 ICSI and 1 FET and now going down overseas sperm donor route and they are asking me to have this test. I am sure I had it as part of my NHS treatment but cannot seem to find the results anywhere. I think it is worth having it done, and it is not an overly expensive test in comparison to most. However if this your first attempt, it should be included in your treatment plan as they need to know what level of drugs to prescribe based on your AMH and follicle count.

Possibly TMI but are you having to complete this during period? Cannot remember if this is a scan or blood test, seems like a lifetime ago now xx

[emmab178 in reply to Tara2016]

Amh is a blood test and can be done at any part of the cycle x

[Tara2016 in reply to emmab178]

Phew! My consultant has told me to have the test between day 2-4 of cycle and for some reason I thought it was an internal scan x

[emmab178 in reply to Tara2016]

That could be the baseline follicle scan which should fall in line with the amh results aswell. Which is an internal.

[Ash2016]

I had mine tested on NHS. GP requested it as part of initial fertility bloods which he ordered before referring us for ivf. I didn't even know what it was at that point. I'd speak to gp first before going private, might save a few pennies x

[Hidden]

I did it 6 months ago to see if I could take a break from Ivf despite being 39.

After 4 ivfs and 15_20 eggs each mine came out as if I was 45+

I fell pregnant naturally 3 times since last November 2 MC currently 12+4

Bit of a waste of time and money.

[Kyell2]

I had mine as one of those private fertility health checks. I would recommend it as it covered not only the AMH test but also an internal scan to check health of uterus and ovaries and I found it really reassuring.

Ours also included a sperm analysis (which proved to be the problem) and then follow up appointment to discuss the findings so all in all not that bad a deal for £300. At least it would give you some initial answers while you wait for the NHS x

[Hidden]

Our GP did all my blood tests apart from AMH and 3 semen analysis. I was also sent for an internal ultrasound. He told us the first semen analysis shown a problem but never explained what. When we got to see a fertility specialist he went through all the results and was shocked the GP had told us that and said the semen analysis was perfectly normal. The fertility clinic tested all my bloods again and this time done an AMH as part of that. They also did another semen analysis. Everything is normal so we have unexplained infertility. We haven’t been charged for anything as it comes under the NHS. Our clinic have been fantastic from the start. It may depend which CCG you come under to what gets paid as different CCG’s give different funding. I think if I had known anything about AMH I would of wanted it sooner. If yours is low it may put you up the waiting list? Wishing you the best of luck with everything. Xx

[hannahi]

I had my AMH done by the Fertility clinic, covered by the NHS, but they may not do it until quite close to any treatment you have, as it helps them to know what doses of drugs to use. If you want a general idea of your egg reserve sooner rather than later then could be worth getting it done sooner...like the others have said though I'd speak to your GP before forking out for it privately xx

[Jonesjp]

Thanks ladies for all your advice, I think I’ll speak to the GP see what she says. I had been reading about the sperm comet test, didn’t realised it cost that much, but hey what is cheap in regards to infertility!!! I have had my FSH done and scan of ovaries which came back ok, I assumed AMH told you egg quality as well, but if that’s not the case it may not be worth getting. Just clutching at straws I think and feeling so disappointed month after month. Such a strange journey this, some days i just seem to except it and get on with it and others days all you want in answers. Thanks ladies x x x

[Hidden]

I had mine done completely free of charge on the NHS but only my fertility clinic could authorise it, not my doctor. However, our clinic pushed us straight to ivf without any further tests (apart from the usual bloods) or investigations and refused to investigate my tubes or anything - their reason, low AMH & male factor and I wouldn't get pregnant naturally - got pregnant naturally 3 years later, it was ectopic. I'm convinced I have partially blocked tubes but will never know unless I pay for the investigations privately. Try not to be in a rush to start IVF as it may mean you won't be entitled to further investigations afterward. I hope you get your first appointment soon though to put your mind at rest. I know what you mean about trying then finding out it was completely pointless! Sorry for the slightly unhappy message!! Wishing you lots of luck with your journey xxx

[louisear]

reading these replies it seems there are so many variations, costs and advice you are given depending on where you live. I explained to the consultant that I had exactly the same thoughts as yourself yesterday. Amh level check will be the 3rd lot of blood tests as part of investigation after our faild cycle but each time I've had to push for it/suggest it like I'm tying to tell them their job. We were told the cost is £66. Hope you get some answers xx

[Anipea]

Have they tested your FSH levels? If they are high, its an indication that you may have low AMH which is how I found out. AMH test was paid for by the NHS. I went straight on to IVF xx

[C_L_A_I_R_E in reply to Anipea]

I just wanted to note this is not always true. My fsh was taken by nhs and it was higher (fluctuated between 9 and 12 over 3 months of blood tests) which meant I didn't qualify for nhs funding. So we went to private. Private like to do the Amh coz they feel it's more accurate and my amh was good for my age!!!so I found the nhs very frustrating!

Although like someone else said . Amh is just an indication of number of eggs not quality. You learn a lot from your first round of ivf about egg quality etc.

[Anipea in reply to C_L_A_I_R_E]

Mine also fluctuated between 9 and 12. I was referred to a clinic which was part private and part NHS funded. It was here I got the NHS funding for the AMH test xx

[C_L_A_I_R_E in reply to Anipea]

You were very lucky. Nhs funding is so frustrating! But I can't fault my clinic. I ❤️ em even if my bank balance doesn't 😂

[Pookymama]

I would absolutely go to a fertility clinic to get AMH and fsh tests done.

I had what i was told was a full range of blood tests with my GP and again in secondary care with obs and gyny at hospital which all came back "normal".

I therefore felt I had the time to wait for IVF in Wales too as I was continually told I was young, it was only a blocked tube issue and I had time.

I was therefore really shocked and upset to find when these same blood tests were repeated at the ivf clinic that I had a low ovarian reserve.

If I'd had this information earlier I would have saved a few years of further egg deterioration and done something about it.

I've also since found through laperoscopy thst the "blocked tube" I was diagnosed with at secondary care a few years ago is in fact not blocked so my issue seems to hsve been all about the eggs.

I was 30 at the start of this journey, I'm now nearly 35 amd still childless.

I don't want to sound like a Debbie downer, just feel it's important to urge people to get straight to the fertility clinic where they can interpret results correctly which might save a lot of heartache.

Massive luck and love to you hun. Xxx

[Kyell2]

Ironically I have just read an interesting article on the BBC news saying that studies have shown these AMH tests have little value in predicting fertility success.

So scrap my comment this morning, I want my money back 😂

[ClarabGlasgow]

Lol must check that out! But I would say yes get it done - it cost me £50 and it’s the first test result Ive that gave some insight into what might be wrong xx

[Rubinaa]

My fertility clinic did the AMH tests as thisnkdnone of the initial tests they need to do in order to establish medication and possible cause of not conceiving naturally.

They may need to do multiple AMH tests hence I suggest you check with ur fertility nurse / consultant.