The FSH and AMH Thread

[rabbitonthemoon]

I've known I have elevated fsh for almost two years now with two tests, one in November 2011 (9.5) and one this March 2013 (10.2).

I am going to find out my AMH and follicle count next month (oh how excited I am about that ) and trawl MN for other people in a similar boat but don't tend to find many. I have started this thread and will maintain it over the remainder of my ongoing fertility quest to ensure there is a thread where the OP comes back to say what happened next.

I am 36 and have been ttc for two and a half long years with borderline morphology thrown into the mix although on paper we are still technically unexplained as I'm just under the official threshold of high fsh and DH is over the threshold on some SA for morph.

I will be embarking on ivf this autumn and fingers crossed there will be enough going on in there to get some eggs. I will document and am interested to hear from other people about:

fsh and amh results.
Follicle count
Ivf response and suggested protocol.

I'm aware this will be a slow burner of a thread but hope other peeps will be able to share some of their experiences too.

[Shroomboom]

Hi rabbit, sorry to hear about your fertility struggles, it's so tough isn't it. Just wanted to give you a bit of hope - I am 37 and have extremely low AMH (0.2). At the last test my FSH was 11.1. I went through four cycles of IVF - the first two were long protocol with downregging. The first one produced 8 eggs of which 6 fertilised. Had a CP but no frozen transfer worked. Can't really remember what happened with the second cycle, sorry, but had another CP.
The 'third' cycle was cancelled due to lack of response after downregging and stims. Then we had another third cycle as such on a short protocol with no downregging and got 7 eggs. Still didn't work.
The fourth cycle was at a different hospital who tried ICSI rather than just IVF, and they did a day 5 transfer. This was also on an short or antagonist protocol. The fresh transfer didn't work, but the month after that I had a biopsy which basically resets your insides, and they gave me prednisolone for 5 days around transfer. We only had one frozen embryo despite having retrieved 8 eggs, but I am currently 13 weeks pregnant so somewhere a miracle happened!

What I really want to say is good luck, and don't be put off trying something different if what you have tried doesn't work. I was terrified about going to a different hospital as I'd got to know the workings of the first one, but we are SO glad we did!

BTW the medication which worked the best for me was Menopur. I also used progesterone pessaries and took a tablet called Progynova with my fourth cycle transfers. Who knows what worked, but something did!

Good luck

[rabbitonthemoon]

Shroom, thank you so much for this. I'm so so glad that you are pregnant after such an incredible roller coaster. Do you mind me asking how long that all took? And was it an endometrial scratch?

[Shroomboom]

Thanks rabbit
I think it must've taken about 18 months although that is a guess. We've been trying for over five years so I think I gave up counting!
Yes, think it was the same sort of thing as a scratch, but they did take a biopsy to see what was going on inside. A friend of mine also fell pg after having one of these!

[yorkiebilb]

Hi rabbit thanks for kind comments on the other thread - such a good idea to set up a thread specifically for high fsh/low amh. I'm struggling to find others going through it too on mn and fertility friends just seems like a bit of a maze for me!

I only just found out about my fsh level of 12 last Monday so spent this week in shock/devestated/crying. We had our first wedding anniversary yesterday and I feel bad because I wasn't exactly a joy to be around. We've been ttc since September last year, had a mmc at 8 weeks (prob due to my dodgy eggs) and have had no luck since. i was having initial tests done when my high fsh came back. They want to retest me in a couple of months time but I'm not quite sure what difference that's going to make other than to potentially get a higher fsh result and rule out any hope of getting any kind of fertility treatment on the NHS.

I have been reading a lot about changes to diet and lifestyle and potential impact on reducing fsh levels but it all quite confusing. I've been seeing a acupuncturist for the past couple of months and the only real difference I've seen is an increase in my luteal phase (from 11 days to 12/13).

Have you made any changes to your diet/supplements or done anything to try and improve your fsh/amh levels?

[rabbitonthemoon]

Shroom I would like me an endometrial scratch but have no idea how to get one. You wouldn't have heard me say that three years ago!

Yorkie yay you made it over here. You know that isn't long for ttc and you got pregnant - I think that's promising indeed. Hopefully you can be the story on here where fsh mattered not a jot. But for now, you have an outlet and we can keep each other company.

Sadly I threw myself into EVERYTHING alternative in the first 18 months of ttc as I'm rather obsessive. I've done ALL supplements and have tailored it to co enzyme q10, fish oil, vit d and b. I ditched everything else. The only thing I haven't tried is dhea which I'm out off by the hair loss/acne/facial hair situation which seems a bit of a blow given I'm already miserable! They couldn't have imagined more self esteem lowering symptoms! But if the amh truly is shitty I will ask the cons what he thinks. For now ill enjoy smooth skin on my face, not head.

I have acu, do yoga anyway and eat like a Puritan. I did wheatgrass and gave up wheat and carbs but I got to the point where I was pooing every half an hour and was too thin so things are more balanced now. I do drink a bit of wine as month after month of none felt too punitive but ill give up once it all kicks in. I don't drink caffeine and haven't had a coffee since ttc maybe without all of this my fsh would be 1000.

So that's where I am having thrashed alternative meds to death. But if you still have avenues to try, I would. It may just be the tiny tweak you need. I'm yet to try reflexology but bizarrely find myself rationing it so I've something left to try!

[rabbitonthemoon]

Oh and I has the week in crisis reaction. My first test was done on day 5 so my first cons said that was why. My heart literally dropped into my boots when I got the day three one back and it was higher. Also, knowing it jumps around doesn't help me as I fret I've seen only good results and on another month it might be higher. Tis a rubbish thing.

[rabbitonthemoon]

One last thing as I read back - I'm sorry for your mc. I should have said that.

[yorkiebilb]

Sounds like you've gone at it full throttle which is what I'm intending on doing as well. Hopefully it will feel like I'm doing something to help myself whilst waiting for appointments that seem so far away.

I know exactly what you mean about fretting about fsh levels on months that you haven't been tested. I'm dreading my next set of blood tests in case actually 12 was my lower figure and in fact it is much higher.

Thanks for your suggestions on healthy lifestyle/supplements. The only things I've been taking are preconception vits, evening primrose oil and flaxseed oil. My diet could be alot better so I've started trying to sort that out. I ver rarely drink these days and have completely stopped caffeine as well. I've been on and off with yoga but I'm trying to get back into it.

It's all consuming. I've only been ttc since September and it upsets me so much about how much it has taken over my life and made my relationships with friends who are either pg or given birth recently more strained. It's such a lonely thing isn't it hence why places like those are so good to talk to people dealing with the same thing.

How are you feeling about ivf in Autumn? Your fsh levels are very borderline though and haven't changed significantly in 2 yrs which could be a positive thing when it comes to ivf.