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low AMH = low quality?

hi ladies. honestly I don't know what I would do without this forum!

I've had 3 chemical miscarriages, so I've asked for the reoccurring miscarriages test. the nurse was so dismissive about it, which really upset me. My AMH is really low, I'm 33, so I thought my egg quality would be ok, though I understand my numbers are low. She said there was no point in testing, as it would definitely be poor egg quality cos of my AMH 😣. Has anyone any knowledge of this? I have read, it starts with an egg. I'm on all the recommended supplements, no caffeine, high protein diet. I exercise and have a good BMI. I have had issues with over active thyroid and covid. I understood from the book that you can improve your egg quality and some evidence over quantity 2. I'm so confused. I start my next ivf round in March, with letrozole only, as i respond so well to clomid (again confusing)if anyone has any thoughts on this, please share.

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katymcg

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Hi, I’m sorry for your losses. my understanding is low AMH does not mean poor quality eggs. AMH is a test for egg reserve but isn’t entirely accurate and can fluctuate. Lots of people with low AMH have success with IVF. It sounds like you’re doing great to get yourself prepared so keep doing what you’re doing. There’s an app called mindful IVF which I would recommend if you like meditation or fancy giving it a try.

Maybe contact your clinic and speak to someone else? I don’t think the nurse you spoke to is correct in what they said to you. Also ask again for the test. All the best ❤️ X

thank you so much for your reply. I will defiantly do that and look into that app. I'm defiantly going to call back, sometimes it's so hard to advocate for yourself. thanks alot xx

Hey hun I suffer with low AMH too and I am 30. Unfortunately it is true I have done a lot of research into this and spoke to multiple consultants before we undertook our ivf. As follicle and egg numbers decrease there is a decrease in quality also from what I have been told.

On a positive note however me and my partner both took all the supplements from it starts with the egg for approx 5 months prior to our ICSI and we are now nearly 16 weeks pregnant with twins on our first round! So don't necessarily look at the negatives. We only got 4 eggs, 2 of them fertilised and they both were of a high quality and are cuddled up perfect in my belly!

Good luck to you, and do not put too much pressure on yourself xx

Hi!

thanks for your reply, that it very helpful.

A massive congratulations to you both!

and that is so amazing with 4 eggs, wow!

I know I won't have loads of eggs (I never do), 8 last time.

But to know you had good quality after the supplements is so reassuring. I've found the book really helpful.

Good luck to you with your babies xx

Aww see you got double me, I found out my right ovary doesn't work well too during my scans so was only left with one lol! Felt like it couldn't get any worse at that point and it was a definite failure. It honestly only takes 1 and I 100% believe it was the supplements that worked for us! Not sure what your AMH levels are but mine are 2 so very low.

I put my partner on all the supplements for the men that theu suggest too as his sperm motility was 6% so very low. When he gave his sample on the day of egg collection his levels were 40% above normal so honestly think it was the supplements I would swear by them now even if it was a pain in the butt to take them all everyday lol felt like a chemist. I also added dha from zita West and bought some probiotic gut health gummies as my consultant advised there is a link with gut health and fertility xx

wow, that is amazing! you have no idea how much better you have made me feel!I've read so many good things about the book and its supplement recommendations. yes absolutely, I've never taken so many tablets a day!! but it it works!

wow the sperm count it amazing also. I've got my husband on them 2. thanks so much for sharing xx

Hi Jjleo can you tell me what supplements and make both you and your husband took please thank you xx

Hi, would you mind to tel me which brand did you choose for the gut health gummies? I was drinking kefir but I could by not drinking it lolAlso what other supplement?

Thanks

Soni

Hi, I am so sorry for your losses... 😔I dont really know much about the connection between the 2 so I wont be too much help in that but as you mentioned improving egg quality I just wanted to share that in my last cycle of IVF they told me to take Metformin for egg quality and I had my very first BFP unfortunately ended with missed miscarriage but I never got this far before...I have been told that after 3 miscarriages you can have a reoccuring miscariage test... so I dont understand why she said there is no point testing...

Wishing you success with coming ivf cycle... ❤

hi! thank you so much for sharing, I'm so sorry for your loss. this journey is not an easy one. But it just takes one good egg. thank you, I will go back to them. wishing you luck on your journey xx

Thank you!

Low AMH means low quantity not quality. I have 2 healthy babies conceived naturally with extremely low AMH at 39 and 42. IVF didn't work for me, as I never responded to stims. I didn't change my diet, had tons of coffee and never took supplements. I do eat organic and try to be healthy in general. I have thyroid issues as well (Hashimoto's) so keeping my TSH below 1 was key to successful pregnancy. I also had 2 chemicals and 1 blighted ovum. Chemicals are pretty common in general, so I wouldn't necessarily say it's game over. Make sure your thyroid meds are on point (endocrinologist knows best regarding dosage) and try multiple IUIs or embryo banking with natural or mild stim IVF if conventional IVF doesn't work. Good luck!

thank you so much for this. I've asked them to check my thyroid again. I just get back, last Feb it was ok. But they won't listen when I say my symptoms have started again. you give me hope thank you x

Yeah definitely get the thyroid on correct dose. If you are in the UK, they seem to be ignoring thyroid a lot, so you may have to seek an endocrinologist outside of the fertility clinic.

thank you very much. I am uk, I've seen a endocrinologist once. they said they will monitor and then they haven't really

My AMH is on the lower end for someone of my age (it was around 9) at the age of 30 and I was told I wouldn’t get many eggs but the quality should be good so that’s new news to me that egg reserve = lower quality eggs. I’ve done two collections, the first I got 7 eggs and all fertilised and the second I got 8 eggs and all fertilised. I’m now 31 weeks pregnant with twins following my fourth transfer. I didn’t ever believe my egg quality was an issue due to my fertilisation rates but I have always struggled with my thyroid which I’ve had treated for years. Before my fourth transfer, I also had my immune system screened and treated due to elevated NK cells and elevated TG antibodies. I think that is what helped these embabies stay with me.

You’ve done the right thing to ask for further testing. You can also ask for Karyotype screening - me and my husband did that following our third transfer (all was clear) and any other tests that you can. I always found with each new round of treatment, I wanted to try something different or explore a new test if it didn’t work just so I felt like I was moving forwards.

Best of luck to you xxx

Wow thank you for sharing, massive congratulations to you. it gives me some hope! thats what I want to know my NK cells result, I think they do this with the miscarriage screen. yes I know what you mean, you want to try something different and move on.

thanks for your advice xx

Hi, I am almost 35 now and a mother of a 2 year old. May we got lucky or may be I stopped thinking about getting pregnant and reduced stress. I was around 32 or 33 when I found out that my AMH is 0.03 as good as NIL. Some docs clearly told me that I will need to go in for IVF snd that too had a very low success rate keeping in mind my AMH. I took all the pills prescribed and started doing yoga. Oh I have Hypothyroidism too and I'm overweight. Anyhow I took folic acid and vit D supplements. A really good doctor told me to give myself 1 year without thinking too much about getting pregnant. She told me not to stress over it and just take these supplements and have fun with your partner. She said with little stress on your mind miracles tend to happen. Keeping in mind my age She said even with this low AMH there was still a possibility of me conceiving naturally. So I did what She told me to do. I traveled, ate well and took the supplements. Infact there came a point when me and my husband decided we won't go in for any treatments and if nothing happens we'll adopt a child. So we weren't really stressing on getting pregnant . And then when we were least trying I conceived NATURALLY.

Miraculously I even had a normal delivery. I was prepared for a C section but nope had a normal one.

So my advise would be..stop tracking your cycle. Take the supplements as prescribed. Give yourself a break from treatments, scans and most importantly stress. If nothing works out for you in a year then yeah go ahead with IVF and all but take a break from these treatments. Just take basic supplements like folic acid and Vit D and whate er your doc prescribes.

Trust me I can imagine what you must be going through. I've been there. The best you can do is take less stress about it. You'll be fine. Stress plays a major major role in everything.

Hope I could help.

I am sorry to say that I have tried not thinking about it and not stressing but hey still not pregnant. Some people do actually have infertility issues and even with treatment will still not get pregnant. 🙁 Also would love to go on holiday right about now and give myself a break after many years of trying and tests and treatment.

thank you so much for your reply and massive congratulations!mine is 1, so you really do give me hope. they've told me there's no reason to not get pregnant naturally. But we've been trying a long time.

Stress definitely does not help, so definitely understand where your coming from.

thank you xx

What is the actual number? Some people think 15 is low. Others think 2 is low. It may be lower than normal but still doable.

Hi! I have and had low egg count but when I went for I’ve when I was 32 (I’m 37 now) my doctor recommended I take DHEA for 3 months before I start any treatment. This is meant to improve egg quality and I strongly believe this is what happened to mine. I only managed to fertilise 3 grade a/b eggs, of which 2 have given me a beautiful 4 year old daughter and a 8 month old son. I have always said on this forum that DHEA I believe helped me no end. I got mine from BIOVEA and took 3 tablets a day. Maybe mention to your doctor although they don’t sound particularly helpful. Good luck and sending you loads of hugs xx

wow thank you so much for this! I have been on DHEA for about 5 months. I think it does definitely help. your story gives m hope thank you xx

No! I was told the same thing at 29 as I have a low AMH of 2.9 - I had 4 eggs collected on my first round but after two fresh transfers failed to even implant they said it would be due to the egg quality. I insisted on further tests & even had another egg collection & all of my embryos tested - all of my embryos came back as normal & I actually had high NK cells causing implantation failure. First round of ivf with steroids/intralipids to treat this I’m now 18 weeks pregnant. I also have an overactive thyroid and think getting my TSH below 1 helped. Good luck!! Xxx

wow congratulations!! thanks so much for sharing. this is what I really want tested. I seem to be able to get pregnant despite low amh but they don't stick for long. im sure it's my thyroid, as clomid worked with me, which blocks your oestrogen receptors in the pituitary gland. I'm going to pursue that thank u ! xxx

This has give me hope my AMH was only 2.5 and only got 3 eggs all fertilised but only 2 survived, one fresh failed 1 frozen failed. My bloods showed abnormal Antinuclear antibodies which I'd need steroids for.I'm having a break from things as I found it very stressful and made my anxiety worse.

My consultant won't entertain my next treatment with the steroids unless I've had the covid vaccine which I have not and don't want. So at the minute I am stuck

Sorry gor your loses that must be heart breaking. My AMH was ok but looks like I have poor egg quality started ttc when I was 35. We thought it was mainly to do with poor morphology of my partners sperm but it looks like after 2 Rounds it's also my eggs. They do fertilise but don't develop although I had one Glad to last round. I am also confused about how to improve egg quality. My consultant has told me there is nothing I can do!! I also have the book too. Apparently there isn't enough evidence for doctors to recommend these supplements etc. But also heard success stories and no harm in trying. Altho DHEA I heard you should have testosterone tests. I don't want them to have a negative effect. I am sure maintaining a balanced healthy life style is a good idea in general but ok to have the occasional treat 💜 Good to be kind to yourself and try not give yourself a hard time.

hi! thank you so much for your reply. I know its so frustrating. you read one thing and get told another. my clinic said I had to take 3 months of DHEA before the first round and I'm stil on it. Had no tests, but I have read that. I'm taking the supplements in the book and just keeping everything crossed. big good luck to you 2 xx

Hi, everything I've read has said AMH is about your egg reserve not egg quality..and in my case it was true I had an AMH of 3.9 only collected 3eggs on egg collection but the quality was really good on all 3...I now have a 7 month old daughter and 2 good quality embryos in the freezer! I also took vitamin d and ubiquinol to help egg quality...just in case as you won't know what your egg quality is like until after egg collection and they monitor their development, best of luck!

wow! congratulations!! this is great to read. I read so much that its a numbers game and u need some many because of stats if fertilisation. I'm taking those vitamins as well. your success story gives me hope xx

Hi there,

Well my experience is completely different. I have an extremely low AMH, I tested once 2,5 years ago and again recently. Because each time I did IVF!

Both times I got 5 eggs collected (which is low I was also 33 and now 35) both times 4 of which fertilized. And both times 2 made it to day 5 💪

So the quality can not have been too bad I have one baby boy he is 16 months old and I am currently 9 weeks pregnant.

Before my last round of IVF my doctor basically told me to give up. Do one more round but after that I need to accept the situation. (My frozen embryo transfer was not successful)

So we did one more round and here we are expecting another baby and one in the freezer 👍🏽

You just never know! Good luck 🤞🤞

thank you so much. that's incredible that you had those results. your eggs must of been great quality to be that successful. really gives me hope thank you xx

FYI my AMH was 0,7 … I’ve heard that this number often comes out wrong. When ppl have tested again it was much higher. So try not to focus on this.

You won’t be getting 15 eggs out like others your age, but you just need one good quality one 🤞🤞🤞

mine was bellow 1, that gives me so much hope, thank you so much. it really is one you need xx

I don't want to scare you. I will be 38 years old in March. I did 1 cycle in September 2021, the clinic already concluded that I have a very low ovarian reserve due to my AMH level being 1.5 only. During my stimulation, on my first scan the nurse confirmed me having 6 follicles, on my second scan, she said making a mistake, there is only 4 which was between 14 to 21mm. I was keeping very positive but on day of collection, they collected only 2 and non of them make it to the ICSI stage. I was devastated and I had a call from the consultant a week after. Her advise was to double my dose, using Gonalf from day 1 but the results might be the same. She focussed on egg donor. Which me and my husband are now considering from a clinic outside UK.

Hey Katy,

Sorry about your losses. My clinic said amh is about quantity not quality. So you won't get lots of eggs but low amh doesn't mean those eggs won't be good!

On my second round I only got 3 eggs, 2 fertilised and 1 made it to day 3. I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant from that transfer.

Also get the book 'it starts with the egg'. I took most the supplements from there and believe it helped!

Best of luck 🙏🏻❤ x

wow congratulations to you 👏. that gives me hope 🙏. its hard reading others posts about 20 eggs etc, when you know that's impossible for you. that's really great to hear. I just want a few good eggs xx

As lots of others have said, AMH is definitely not about your quality of your eggs, just the quantity. Your age is the biggest factor in the quality of your eggs and that is on your side ❤️

I was the same age as you when I started IVF, also have a low AMH. Our first few cycles failed but that was due to the protocol we were on (long) seemed to impact our embryo quality. We changed clinics and they put me on a short protocol and we got three PGS normal embryos from our first round. The first is my 15 month old daughter, the second I am 25 weeks pregnant with and the third is still in the freezer.

Wishing you all the best of luck for your cycle xx

huge congratulations to you! it gives me so much hope reading your story. it shows a few good quality ones is all your need. I do feel like not all clinics understand what to do with low amh xx

Hi I never understood how I had such a low amh. I responded poorly to ivf & did the amh test a month after the cycle…. However 4 years later I was told to get donor eggs…. & no further support would be supplied…That month I conceived my baby boy with my own eggs 3 years after having a low amh of 3.8… I did have thin lining, so maybe look into this too but I took progesterone pessaries while on letrozole to help it.. also had folicule tracking. Feel free to read my profile hope it helps x

thank you so much for sharing your story. And a huge congratulations to you! This is where we have gotten 2 really. I did do the progesterone with the clomid. but trying letrozole in March 🤞. thank you x

I was told I would not carry a baby with how thin my lining was the month I conceived it was 7.8 pre ovulation & 5.6 after I took raspberry leaf tea as soon as I found out -day 18 & that month I conceived. Are you doing letrozole on its own with follicle tracking…. Try raspberry leaf tea this was the one month I did & I conceived, I’d tried every supplement under the sun & still took them but added this in… I never believed I would get there but my miracle held on 💙. Believe in yourself too, I did manifestation the month I conceived I really tried to change my mindset, as everything was against me…. & I believe this helped telling myself I will get pregnant - writing it down & telling yourself it…. Believing it. After so much negativity & years of heartache I really tried to believe it in the moment. I got told there was no chance at all the month my baby was conceived & refered for donor eggs….. a week later I could of burst when I finally got to make the call to the clinic & say I’m pregnant…..

I also took progesterone to 16 weeks as pre miscarried morning & night to keep my levels up x

oh great thank you for that, I'll definitely try it. last month I did follickr tracking with clomid and progesterone suppositories. just didn't hang on, my linning and everything was fine. in March were doing letrozole with ICSI. thanks so much ill really try to do that. its so hard with all the negativity all the time. such big congratulations to you. its wonderful to here xx

Silly question I know, but did they check your lining after ovulation? They never did this in my previous Clomid cycles Only prior to ovulation. As I started the pessaries sooner, once they checked that my lining Had thinned to try help the lining & keep the egg there. I know how hard it is with all the negativity, but I remember reading and looking at YouTube about believing what you’re writing and believing what you’re saying to manifest this out. I’ve never done this before, as to be honest after all the negativity I really started to struggle to believe it. But for that 15 minutes a day I really manifested it, and tried to believe it as much as I could to change my mindset to hopefully help. I took raspberry leaf tea, at the start of the cycle and after ovulation to help. Along with all the other vitamins which it sounds like your already taking so fingers crossed these little changes may work for you too 🤞🏻

no never! I will ask them that, as it makes alot of sense. thank you, I will defiantly try that as well. I think visualising helps you stay positive as well. xx

Fingers crossed for you, I personally felt I was being pushed into Donor eggs & my clinic was not supporting my lining issues in keeping the egg there. Defiantly push for letrozole with folicule tracking & pessaries as soon as your scan confirms ovulation has taken place start the pessaries to help. I too responded poorly to ivf. Not sure if it was too much for my body so I was reluctant to pay again for ivf as felt like it was a business transaction not a hospital supporting me. I’ve read a lot about lighter approach lower stims like letrozole helps us low amh worriers…. As it’s not quantity by quality we need. Yes I know it can sound strange but put everything in to believing in it, & do everything to keep them negative thoughts at bay. Clomid has a side effect of thinning lining, so if they haven’t checked after ovulation for you maybe that could have effected things. Hopefully Letrozole is alot better for you as this is softer on the lining and is not known for having the effects Clomid has.

thank you. yes completely agree. I went in again today and had the tests done. she did agree to do the tests I wanted. But she kept saying about egg donation. I said doesn't it matter that I've had success with clomid and I'm producing eggs still on my scans. she just said I need to be realistic 🙄. I get they have to manage your expectations. but I don't understand saying that before I get all my test results back. I don't feel like u get alot of guidance with low amh xx

I had a word with my clinic when I went in for my first baby scan to say that you should never make people feel the way they do. At the end of the day your still producing eggs & while that’s the case there is still every chase to use your own eggs & they completely agreed with me. when I went in I said 6 weeks prior when doing my folicule tracking you made me feel like there was no hope, cancelled all further treatment & told me to book a consultation for £400, yet a week later I found out I was pregnant from that same cycle, which was disgusting, they apologised & said while you have ovaries & producing eggs there is every chance & I should never have been told there was no hope. I had to say something as I didn’t want any other ladies being told the same as I feel it’s really not fair when it really can happen.

Yes I may have proved them wrong when my lining went from 7.8 to 5.6 after ovulation however my little boy held on…. Miracles do happen. Just keep pushing 😊

Like I say I didn’t react well to full protocol ivf, that why I pushed for a lighter approach with folicule tracking with Clomid and letrozole as I read with low amh this can lead to success. Due to pre miscarriage the progesterone I believed helped so I have everything crossed for you for letrozole 🤞🏻 x

so good for you!! they need to understand the effect it can have. I unfortunately haven't had a good experience with the NHS and thought private was the answer, but after one round they want us to go donor egg. Which might gave to happen. but like you said, we want to exhaust that option while I still have eggs. Miracles do happen! good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, thanks so much, everything crossed xx

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