Low AMH - IUI or IVF? Stimulated or unstimulated?

[Amelia1984]

Hello All,

My wife and I have just had another BFN on our 4th round of IUI with donor sperm. Unfortunately I have very low AMH 2.1 and I’ve just turned 35. Our first 3 cycles were stimulated, however each failed cycle my drug dose was increased, yet each time this happened I had a poorer response. This last cycle we did a natural cycle with a new clinic and had two good follicles that grew, amazing when know drugs were used. Possibly the timing just wasn't quite right? Yet we used ovulation sticks and I have an Ovusense also to help us monitor this.

I have read and made many changes over the past 14 months, despite generally always eating well and being a relative healthy person anyway. I haven’t had any alcohol or coffee, started using chemical free products from shower gels to make up to house cleaning products, eating more organic foods, taking high doses of CoQ10 and various other supplements as recommended by my reflexologist. And also for the past 4 months taking DHEA.

We’re about to go for our next IUI, but I’m so keen to know if there’s anyone out there who also has a low AMH and found IUI to be successful or IVF? Whether they’ve tried a natural cycle or lower dose cycles? I just want to go in the direction of what will give us more of a chance. Unfortunately will can’t try naturally being a same sex couple, so we have that one shot each time we undergo treatment.

Any advice would be much appreciated and good luck to you all.

Thank you x

[MereenPulvizjk]

Just read your post! Shows how much strong you're as a woman. Well, I know how you feel. I'd advise you to undergo IVF directly, IUI doesn't work in most cases of it! I'm also undergoing IVF this August in Kyiv. I've had other attempts of IUI in the last couple of years.

[Amelia1984 in reply to MereenPulvizjk]

Thank you for your response. It’s always good to have other people’s feedback and opinions

Yes I’m thinking IVF is most likely the way forward, but as we purchased a 3 cycle package with our new clinic (and are just one in) thinking we may try one more go, as also means I can start again this week. Which were both keen to do.

Best of luck with your journey, I hope your next is a success!

[alockie]

Have you considered having acupuncture or mesotherapy treatment to ovaries? Myself I know someone who was in the similar situation, and it worked out. Good luck x

[Amelia1984 in reply to alockie]

Thank you for your response

I had acupuncture for three years, firstly to help with stress and bad PMS, which I found amazing! But when it came to fertility treatment I didn’t really feel it was benefitting me. So I changed to a reflexology specialist in fertility and she has been brilliant !!

[alockie in reply to Amelia1984]

great idea! I have also read that mesotherapy treatment to ovaries might increase chances (even) of natural conceiving xx

[RockyRaccoon]

I have low AMH at 36 (I can't remember exactly how low) and my doc advised me to go straight to IVF. He did not think IUI was likely to succeed. We did end up with three blasts out of the only retrieval we have done so far (although FET 1 was a bust, that's probably not due to low AMH, I would think). Good luck!

[Amelia1984 in reply to RockyRaccoon]

Thank you. I've read many articles and how although success rates are generally higher with IVF as oppose to IUI, in woman with low AMH not so much (as less likely to retrieve many follicles and with the natural loss along the way etc). Its really tricky to know isn't it... one part of me thinks if I keep going at IUI (which is a more cost effective option, so more tries .. then after several goes will the likely hood of success be greater?) Or jump to IVF, but on a low drug basis. I have discovered that on stimulated cycles although they encouraged increasing the dosage of injections (due to my low AMH) I had a much worse response. I've had three stimulated IUI, by the third when my dose was increased to 150IU I lost the only follicles that grew at day 9, so the cycle had to be cancelled. I've just had my fourth attempt with a new clinic and tried a natural cycle and had two super follicles growing on par with each other .. never had that before! So no drugs was a new experience, but its gauging the timing, that maybe wasn't quite right. Who knows. With frozen sperm you only have a 24hr window for them to survive. So it tightens the process even more so.

Very best of luck to you with your next go ! And thank you again for responding to my post