I have posted this in the endometriosis group, but thought I may get advice on the infertility side here too.
I have been undergoing tests since October 16 after chronic stomach pain and bloating worsening at certain times of the month. I was diagnosed with endometriosis a couple of months ago and I am currently recovering from a laparoscopy and dye, hysteroscopy, drainage of a fimbrial cyst and removal of stage 3 endometriosis lesions.
After waking up from anaesthetic, my gynaecologist came to talk to myself and my partner about his findings. My AMH is only 7.7 (which I have been told is seriously low at only 22 years old), my left tube is not working as it should as it indicated no 'fill and spill', the endometriosis has scarred everywhere excluding the bowel, liver and gall bladder, my ovaries are small with fatty deposits and my womb is showing adenomyosis.
He left me with two choices, freeze my eggs as soon as possible which is £6000 and the chances of the eggs being fertilised after the freezing and thawing process is quite low, or have my mirena coil removed and begin to let 'nature take its course' with the option of IVF at 23.
Myself and my partner have been together over 3 years, we have well paying jobs, a house together and are as strong as could be and was looking at beginning to try at 25-26. I'm 23 in 3 months and my partner is 24, so the slight bring forward is no issue. I have a number of medical conditions, Ehlers Danlos type 3 at the highest end of the beighton scale, postural orthostatic tachycardia and vasovagal syncope, so we have dealt with a lot over the past few years.
However, the fear which is running though is currently is so upsetting. I'm unsure how likely I am to fall pregnant alone (without IVF), my chances of miscarriage are apparently high, will I ever fall pregnant with an AHM of 7.7 and what do we do next?
Any advice is much appreciated and honest stories are welcomed. Thank you in advance.
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sophieviolet94
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I'm a 38 year old who had an amh of 5, 2 years ago and have just conceived naturally after 3 failed ivf attempts. Am sure my amh must be much lower at the point i conceived. If I can fall pregnant at my age with a lower amh, I would say you have a good chance if you start trying soon. Low amh means you have a few less eggs about, but you will still have good eggs some months and I would say your chances are good. If you do end up with route of ivf, you will just need a higher dose of drugs to get some eggs, but usually people with amh above 2 do respond ok, and my consultant said age was still the most important factor in success, which you have in your favour. It's hard that you have been forced into this decision before time, but it is good you know while your amh is still at an ok level and hopefully nature will give you that positive pregnancy test. Good luck xxx
Thank you Anna, although my AMH is low, it seems there is still chance! Fingers crossed I get that positive result alone, but if not there are still options.
I've got endo, I'm 38 with one ovary and my amh tested at 7 and when repeated was 8.88.
Went straight to ivf.
Hadn't heard conclusive proof that endo increased chance of miscarriage or decreased fertility although with all the damage it does there must be a link somewhere.
My main concern was they correlate ivf success to age and after 35 the % rate drops. Again they don't conclusively say what that's down to and my consultant said in his opinion it was egg quality.
Thawing of embryos has a 80% success rate. What's the rate on just thawing eggs?
If fear has gripped you (and fear gripped me at 37 after having my ovary removed and was told ivf was the only option) I'd bring the plans forward because unfortunately we do have a clock that's ticking that stops for no one.
On the plus side ivf cuts out all other factors. I got 5 eggs on my first ivf try (go solo ovary!) 3 made it to blast stage, one high quality returned and one medium quality frozen, will be 12 weeks tomorrow x
Ps in all ivf testing even though nhs tests said hubbys swimmers were ok the clinic said they weren't great and we needed icsi. So conceiving naturally would have had very low odds for us.
Did you try at all alone without IVF or go straight in for it due to age? I have read that although my AMH is low, my eggs are likely to be good due to being 22. The miscarriage theory is due to the scarring as mine is quite bad, my endo is stage 3 and I have fibroid which have caused mt uterus to appear 'bulky' (they have a lovely way with words). But my doctor has said, everyone is different so this may not be the case for me and i'm also waiting my follow up with the fertility doctor, so this may not be the case (fingers crossed).
I was told that the success rate of freezing eggs is only 1-5% (seems pretty low for the high price tag of £6,000?) Your comment of 'I'd bring the plans forward because unfortunately we do have a clock that's ticking that stops for no one' is ringing in mine and my partners head, and has assured us that we are doing the right thing, so thank you so much. Our families have both said the same thing and have been very supportive, but its lovely to know others agree, I was scared that people may brush me off and class it silly due to us being 23 and 24.
So happy to hear your news also and I have told my partner to get his swimmers tested too so we know all the info.
I don't have endo but I seem to remember that the chance of a successful pregnancy was higher for frozen embryos than fresh for under 34s. I remember thinking it was odd. We didn't have any embryos to freeze so it is just a recollection with no further research. So if you're paying for egg collection it may be worth paying a bit more for the whole kit and caboodle and getting some embryos frozen just in case.
I am surprised at the £6k figure just for egg collection too, seems high.
Hats off to you taking this so seriously so young, is a big thing to face and often easier to put it off. But starting now means time is on your side if intervention is required.
My one piece of advice would be have things to enjoy outside of trying for a baby - holidays, meals out, day trips, lovely walks. Whatever it is that makes you both happy. I also gave myself a cut off point as to when we'd stop trying so we didn't look back and realise we'd spent our whole lives trying and in pain, rather than finding a way to deal with not having children and moving on - very much easier said than done!
I hope you don't need either of those pieces of advice and your journey is a good one.
Well we hadn't been doing anything to stop getting pregnant for 5 yrs and then they found the endo mass and were (incorrectly!) telling me that a hysterectomy was the only way to go that sent me in a huge panic. At the lap to remove the one ovary the dr said the other was stuck to the US ligaments and in his opinion ivf was needed straightaway.
Wow that's a hefty price tag indeed aswell as a low success rate. I think it's age that gives you the quality and just the amh level that gives you the quantity.
The fertility appointment looks at other options like clinic for those that aren't ovulating etc but they will be able to investigate and offer the best option for you.
at least you've found all this early enough to be able to do something.
There another group on here "fertility network uk" that is very active if you have fertility questions.
I can't help you with advise on the fertility front as it's not something I've ever had to deal with. However I'm 25 and just had a baby, I got pregnant at 24 (for us it wasn't intentional) but I can say for the most part people won't think you are silly at all. Everyone around me was thrilled, even when I was still feeling quite conflicted about the whole thing, and despite my partner being 34 we'd never actually officially lived together! I was basically living with him but I still technically had my own place too. Sometimes it's beeb really stressful but like I say, I don't think being young should be seen as a bad thing, if you feel ready don't let people put you off because you're young.
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