My wife and I had our initial consultation today which prepares us for our NHS funded round of IVF. We approached it with both a level of excitement yet some trepidation.
My wife's blood test results showed that her FSH was good but her AMH was below what it should be for someone her age. This will require a higher dosage of medication. It has hit her quite hard as all the way through so far we have both believed it was me who has had the issue, so to get the news that I am now fine was somewhat hollow. Has anyone else had a lower than expected AMH? What can my wife expect with a higher dose of medication? I want to be able to support her as much as I can so any feedback will be warmly welcomed.
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Dvd14
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Hi there. Do you know what the level was? And how old is she?
Mine was 4.7 which I was told was low for my age (I was 33) but it then increased to 10.7 between appointments without me doing anything! It's not the most accurate measurement anyway so your wife really shouldn't worry.
To be honest unless it's very low it's not likely to be enough reason to prevent conception. Mine was low but would have been fine 10 years ago when we started trying.
I had the highest dose of drugs, and ended up with 6 eggs. All fertilised and our first ivf ended up with our wonderful little daughter so a lower than average AMH doesn't mean it won't work!
Also forgot to say, even with the highest dose of medication I can honestly say it was all so easy and I had no problems at all. Apart from one lot of tablets (utrogestan) made me so dizzy and spaced out, so they reduced the dose and I was then fine.
I was scared sh*tless about having IVF for so long and there was no need to be. Though I know other people don't necessarily have it so easy.
Hi Dvd14, it's very understandable ur wife is upset. When i was told i had low AMH and needed IVF i was pretty devastated. I was put on a higher does of medication for this reason too! The consultant reassured me by explaining plenty of women will have low AMH and will have fallen pregnant naturally and have no idea. He said it just means they will adjust the meds (as u have said) and start ivf sooner rather than later (and u r ready to start so that's great). On another plus note the consultant has explained to me (as will everyone on here) that its about quality of eggs and not quantity and at age 34 she is in a good position! But for now just give her lots of love and comfort her as she probably just needs a bit of time to be upset about it before finding her strength again to smash IVF 💞
Hi, my AMH levels were found to be very low for my age. I can completely empathise with how your wife is feeling. I was pretty devestated. I felt angry also, like my body had failed me.
I had the highest dose of Gonal F / Menopur in all four cycles in order to try to stimulate my follicles. Unfortunately though I still achieved a poor response.
In terms of side effects I don’t think I experienced anything particularly adverse.
Financially it made a huge difference. Our prescription always cost a fortune. That’s something you might want to plan for in advance if self funding .
Many thanks for the support. An ivf fund... Especially for the drugs is something we are looking into saving towards if need be. It is most reassuring that the side effects were not too adverse. I wish you both all the best for the journey ahead.
Hi, I can’t give you much advise but I am still having the same feeling your wife are going through. I also knew my husband had fertility issues but in the end the problems were mine. What I can say is my husband has been totally amazing throughout and I couldn’t do it without him. Be there for each other and be strong for one another and you can get through this xx
Many thanks for the support and advice. Yes... I'm going with the positive mental attitude all the way and your message has further inspired me. I wish you both all the best for the journey ahead.
my experience with nhs was very devastating as they told us AMH was so low (0.2) at 34 that I couldn't fit in their funding protocols as my chances were very little. They told me I could only try naturally or look for an egg donor. We were in shock. We went there thinking they would have proposed a therapy or ivf or I don't know what. Instead, after all the taxes we pay every year (we never used nhs for anything serious) when we needed them, they slammed the door with a pat on the back.
We decided to go to a private clinic, AMH tests resulted in a higher level but not that high (0.7). We first tried the strong long protocol (Gonal F) but I didn't react. They told me that with low amh it's possible that ovaries 'refuse' to respond as their low production nature can't really react to a very strong stimulation. we therefore tried a short protocol (Menopur) and I managed to produce 2 eggs only. Unfortunately fertilization didn't work...
Now 3 months have passed and we decided to try again.
Higher or low dose of meds didn't really make a difference for me. it's just a pain to go through more than one injection at night, you might gain some weight, feel swollen and pretty moody but not more than this, according to my experience.
What I can recommend you with sincere empathy is to let her feel loved everyday, let her feel beautiful, a strong, wonderful woman, reassure her that together you guys will try everything in your power to let it work and that if it won't work, you'll explore alternative solutions whenever you will feel ready, because there are. But you'll always be together in this fight. When we women receive such this news, all our securities wrecks in a second and it's very hard to wrap them back again. It took me years to build the strenght and confidence I gained while growing up and then the infertility issue hit and smashed all those pillars that I thought wouldn't break anymore throughout all my life. Sorry I'm not British mother tongue, but I hope you got what I mean! Let her feel loved and beautiful as my husband is doing with me, I don't know how I could have coped with this burden without his constant love.
And you are suffering too, don't be afraid to share your thoughts with her but also find a good friend to speak about this, don't feel embarassed or ashamed, speaking up can only be beneficial. Family and friends' support is so important in this moment.
Hi Dvd14. I've been explained that having a low AMH means that I would need a higher dose of the stimulating hormone treatment. It doesn't mean that there is any problem with the eggs, but the body is slower to produce the follicles with eggs and the development of the eggs to reach maturity is slower too. On my last IVF cycle, they increased my dose from 250 Gonal F, which I was on until I had my first folllicle scan, to 450 because I only had 2 follicles big enough to be considered and they were not sure if any of them would have any eggs ( you only find out when you go for egg collection). I had two eggs which fertilised but unfortunately I miscarried 2 weeks after the transfer. This is what our battle is. I should mention, that we are in the same situation as you. My husband is A* from the IVF point of view (and not only😊). After 2 IVF cycles which ended up in miscarriage, our doctor is thinking of changing the type of cycle I will have. Just be there for your wife and try to document yourself so understand what she goes through and maybe you can ask questions on the matter when you see the nurses. I should also mention that our first treatment was on NHS and was told that if my AMH at that point would have been too low we would have had to pay the extra charge for the higher dose. I hope this helps. Wishing you both all the strenth you need for this
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