low egg reserve

[dimiC]

Hi lovely people ,

I had my first face to face appointment yesterday. I had a scan and eveything is great . Doctor did mention I have a low egg reserve . I have 5 follicles on one side and 2 on the other … been told this is normal I am 39. I am so confused with this … I take it there is one egg in each follicle ? So if there are 7 I am only going to ovulate 7 more times in my life time ? What about periods ? Sorry for the silly questions everything is just a little overwhelming at the mo xxx

[Habibi87]

Hi DimiC, every month a number of follicles around our ovaries begin to grow a little to produce an egg. During a regular cycle normally only one follicle is ‘recruited’ and continuous to grow until it eventually bursts and releases an egg. During an IVF cycle the aim is to get as many follicles that are visible during that cycle (next month you’ll have new ones) to grow and to arrive at the stage where they can produce mature eggs. This is achieved via the IVF medications. The number of follicles that you’ll see can vary each month, but in general the follicles numbers tend to decrease with age. Let me know if you have more questions xx

[dimiC in reply to Habibi87]

wow so the number of follicles changes every month? So I don’t actually just have 7 eggs left ? That’s just currently how many follicles I have this month? Thank u so much this is very helpful Xx

[Habibi87 in reply to dimiC]

Exactly x

[Skittles11]

Habibi is completely right...follicle count may change a little each month as different follicles are recruited. The number of follicles at baseline does not tend to change dramatically between cycles but there can certainly be some differences between months. It's such a shame the clinic didn't explain this to you and you were left with the impression that you would ovulate 7 more times, you did the right thing checking and I hope this helps put your mind at rest x

[Tir-26]

During a natural cycle you normally only produce one follicle and it continues to grow until it eventually bursts and releases an egg. During an IVF cycle the aim is to get as many follicles in that monthly cycle, they stimulate you to produce more than one. Not all follicles have mature eggs.

It’s overwhelming but you’ve got us all on this forum for support and nothing is silly! It’s really important to ask your clinic Dr and never leave an appointment with an unanswered thought or question.

😘

[jjbean900]

Hi there! These tests can be so confusing at first. As part of fertility work up, most doctors will evaluate your AFC (antral follicle count) and AMH. Together, these two give an idea regarding your ovarian reserve. Here is a great article which explains this in more detail: mamasconnected.com/post/amh...

I have found the Manas Connected website to be helpful in guiding me through this complex process and alleviating my concerns. There are a lot of articles on other fertility issues.

Best of luck to you!