Was just wondering if anyone has any success stories with a low amh. My ovarian reserve has evidently been effected from surgery to remove endometriomas back in December last year and has plummeted to 2.0.
Has anyone had any success with either conceiving (natural or ivf) with low amh and has anyone actually increased their supply with stimulation meds?
My fertility consultant has set a minimum of 5 mature follicles required (even though I’m not 40 so I don’t think a minimum applies) and he wants them to be above a certain size too before he will consider ivf.
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Emmyeve
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Hi Emmyeve, I have not personally experienced this (I did undergo ivf) but wanted to share successful stories of two of my close friends (aged 36). One friend was diagnosed with very low amh and endometriosis, had a laproscopy in Spe'17 (I was with her in the hospital) and went on to naturally conceive in Dec'17 and had her baby a couple of months ago. Another friend was diagnosed with very low amh of <1, had her 1st ivf cancelled a couple of months ago after down regging and 6 days of high dose stimulation as she did not respond well and the consultant advised her to consider donor eggs however she went on to conceive naturally 2wks after stopping the meds. I wish you good luck in your journey.
Hi Emmyeve. Sorry to hear that your AMH has dipped so much. However, I truly do have ladies that have been successful with very low AMH readings. I think if your FSH level is OK then they should be able to stimulate you - fingers crossed. Very occasionally natural pregnancies occur, but maybe try IVF first if that is on offer. Thinking of you. Diane
Thank you Diane. I’m utterly baffled as to where the minimum follicle thing has come from, it’s not written on the list of eligibility criteria I have from the clinic for under 40s but the consultant says he “has the power” to make his own rules. 😞
Hi Emmyeve. How cheeky! He still should abide by CCG policy. Check the eligibility criteria again and show it to him. Hopefully Your FSH is holding out, as it is that that defines whether you can be successfully stimulated or not. Diane
My FSH is fine. I literally pulled it out of my bag and showed him the criteria. He said that’s just a guideline and that he has the power to decide what treatment he offers.
I’ve contacted CCG and PALS to see what I can do. I always thought a gyny had to apply for your funding but i understand you can ask the CCG for funding yourself is that right do you know?
This sounds awful and like he's on a total power trip. Maybe someone you don't want to treat you going forward any way. PALs should look into this it is shocking what he has said to you. He has a duty of care to you and his conduct doesn't sound very nice. I had to meet all the criteria to get my funding but my consultant did all she could to help us, I thought that's what they did. What is your ccg's criteria in relation to your amh? That's where I came unstuck initially. My amh was too low and even after a second test my amh lowered even further and I was turned away because my amh was below the 5.4 required by my ccg. Check out my profile re my various amh readings and how it has risen. I hope you get some somewhere with pals and your ccg xx
Thank you so much. I have contacted Pals. Haven’t heard anything yet. Also contacted CCG. My CCH criteria has a minimum amh of 5.4 but only for women of 40-42 years old. Under 40 there is no minimum and I’ve reminded him several times I’ve just turned 37 but he says the eligibility criteria is just a guide and that they allow him to make the decisions.
Wow!! He sounds charming. That's a good criteria, if you can actually get the funding. Did he tell you what his decision was based on other than him "being able to make the decisions"? In my ccg the 5.4 applies to all no matter your age. I just don't get why they use it because when it comes down to looking at everything else, some how the amh result trumps all of the others even if they are amazing xx
I said my uterus is perfect, tubes clear, husbands sperm good etc etc it’s just the amh and he said I wouldn’t even bother trying to stimulate yours with that amh but I’m willing to give you ONE go (raised his charming finger) at the meds but you need 5 mature follicles at a certain size or else I’ll abandon treatment. He suggested I go get donor eggs privately. I asked if nhs could help me with funding for this he said no. What’s annoying is he hasnt been involved in our case. We saw one of his team members & unfortunately his English is really poor so struggles to understand me. He sees us then he walks off into the lead consultants office for literally a minute, gives him a brief Overview of situation and lead consultant comes back in and maps out my future without being involved
In my case. He said the other day so you’re 40 what?? I said no I’m 37! He’s so wrapped up in his private patients he’s not even aware of all the details of our case. He said funding is so tight so I’m guessing he’s just turning down people and he can spend more time on the paying patients!!
He didn't have to be so mean about it all! Its devaststing enough being given that information and crushing being told you will never have your own child. He could try showing some compassion xx
I know that’s what shocked me. And he’s been doing this a long time so you’d think he’d be experienced in sympathy etc. It was quite distressing. As soon as I started quoting CCG criteria etc he got really irritated and that’s when the power trip started.
Wow just read your post. That’s crazy how it went up so much. I have heard a few specialists in Australia says that test is a waste of time. Do you think you did anything differently for it to either have increased or just before it was low perhaps you were doing something that would have a neg effect? Diet, stress , cysts etc? I’m doing a fertility detox because I have endometriosis and with an inflammatory disease I need to be following an auto immune type diet. Is love to take the amh elsewhere to see if it differs. I might look to see if I can one privately x
I did nothing different other than have a cycle of ivf and had my amh tested elsewhere. Be careful getting it yreted elsewhere. Although it may go up, the nhs are unlikely to accept it as it hasn't been tested in one of their labs (So may be a waste of time with your man). Luckily my nhs consultant sought a retest (which she didn't have to do) and it had also gone up on that test, she was so supportive and I will always be grateful to her for helping us out xx
Wow, now I'm totally confused. Saw this post and it prompted me to go back and check my records. In 2016 when I was 36 I got 2.45 and I can remember my gynecologist telling me the results were great, my eggs were young and to keep trying naturally for another 6 months (we were doing infertility investigations at the time).
I had the levels taken again this year and got 2.69 (I wasn't doing anything to make it improve, I'm guessing the raise is probably down to difference in the lab). Our IVF doctor (different doctor that the previous one) never even brought it up as an issue to be concerned about, except to say the levels were closer to those of a 35-year-old woman rather than someone pushing 39.
Did first IVF in Sept, collected 9 mature eggs, 8 fertilized and we got 5 frozen blasts, 2 of which we have transferred and I'm counting down the days to test as we speak.
I don't live in the UK and we're having to pay for everything privately and while that's (very) difficult I'm appreciating now that we don't have hoops to jump through!!
I hope you can get through the red tape and get a step closer to your dream. I know more than one person who has struggled with endometriosis and gone on to have a successful pregnancy so keep going xxx
9 mature? That’s great! Yeh our amh figures are low so I’m not sure how we are getting conflicting info there really. Mine was much higher before my surgery. I just wish I’d thought to do egg collection before surgery. Were you using stimulation meds to get 9 mature or natural ivf? X
Yeah, I don't know why she said that because from eveything else I've read it is most definitely NOT a great result for a 36-year-old trying to conceive. On the other hand, as experience has shown, it didn't stop us collecting a good clutch of eggs - just hoping some of them are viable.
I'm not sure about all the different protocols but I didn't do down regulating, just made the decision to go ahead, waited for my next period and on day 2 of the cycle started injections. I guess that's what I've seen people on here refer to as the short protocol. 10 days of injections morning and evening.
Actually had over 20 follicles by day 10 ultrasound, and most pretty big ones. It was very, very uncomfortable!! Ovaries seemed to go into overdrive after day 6 of injections, I was surprised when they only collected 12 eggs (only 9 mature). I don't know if they were empty follicles or if some had already ovulated.
One of the drugs was Menopur, definitely. The other names I don't remember and I quite happily threw away empty boxes and the schedule when the injections finished!!
Anyway, I'm wishing you all the luck in the world and a big dollop of patience to get through the bureaucracy!!
Sounds like I would be having the same thing as they said so many days of gonalf or something like that which stimulates the ovaries. Gosh I hope I have the same result, I only need 5 and I can go ahead so fingers crossed. So did yours work? Did you do yours ten days ago?
Yeah mine was low to especially for my age my fertility doctor said and my husband had factors too but after icsi and a fet we now have a 7month old xx
My AMH was 4.7 just before I turned 30. I had 9 eggs collected, 4 made it to blastocyst. I now have an almost 5 month old daughter and 3 in the freezer. It CAN happen. Wishing you lots of luck. xx
Hi! I just wanted to say not to worry too much about your AMH. Mine was 31, just had it done again and it’s now 26 something. Although that’s high, I’ve had 4 embryos fail to implant. I met a lady today with an AMH of 2 who got pregnant from ivf first time x
I have honestly taken such a dislike to your consultant from all your posts. I really would investigate changing- I don’t see why he gets to decide this stuff. Surely the Ccg has rules he has to follow!
Thanks. I have a private consultation with an NHS consultant (who does both nhs and private) and I’m going to give him all of our tests results etc etc and first ask him what he would be doing with us if we were his nhs patients (without telling him what we have been told) and then I’m gona ask (beg 😩) if he would see us on the nhs. I’m wondering if can already see what we have been told though the nhs patient records system.
I had to do this for my endometriosis to see a BSGE surgeon quicker sadly. It’s annoying that I’m having to pay for something that I believe I am entitled to. In the meantime I have Emailed both PALS and CCG to find out what exactly we are entitled to. This is really mentally exhausting and that’s before I even get to the bloomin ivf stage!!
Hi EmmyEve. So sorry you're having this experience. I had something not dissimilar with my first consultant. I was 41 at the time and even before seeing my test results, based on the fact that my dh vapes (and I suspect, my age) he was building up to saying no to nhs funding. Then he told dh that with his motility level there would be problems - although probably not if he was married to a 22yo! Only then did he look at my results and say I didn't meet criteria. Turned out that he wasn't even looking at the most recent results for either of us. Sadly, when he did, the levels were still too low to get funding - but he had no issue sending us through for the private treatment he offered... He was looking for every reason to decline us, and it sounds like your chap is of the same ilk. If he thought you were 40, I'm suspecting age related bias plays a part. I certainly felt that from mine. Some of them have no compassion. I'm glad you're investigating elsewhere. Ours made us feel like we had to decide there and then due to my age. We've since moved to a different clinic after wasting time and money. Still trying, but feeling better about new clinic. Best of luck to you, and well done for standing up for yourself. Xxx
Awww thank you. Yeah he is definitely all about the money and his private patients. This is the problem now with all these consultants doing private work in their nhs clinics, the nhs patients are being neglected imo. I’ve only just turned 37 so I don’t think the amh minimum applies to me. I’m trying to check with CCG and pals at the min. X
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