Low ovarian reserve confirmed today - devastated

[Foxy84]

I had AMH test results back today and it was

[Amara123]

Have a look at this;

www.sims.ie/blog-media/is-the-amh-test-reliable.7625.html

Basically amh isn't the be all and end all of fertility.

[Foxy84]

Thank you @Amara123 I will have a read through that - thanks for replying :)

[juneybean]

So sorry to hear this I was 32 when I got my "diminished ovarian reserve" diagnosis.

Have you actually commenced trying to conceive? Are you a hetero couple?

[RedPandaFluff]

@Foxy84 I'm so sorry to read about your diagnosis. I had exactly the same thing - extremely low AMH and no follicles. At first I was devastated and it took me a long time to get my head round it. There was definitely a grieving process to work through - the loss of possibility of having any children of my own.

In time I accepted it and moved on to having IVF with donor eggs. I'm at peace with that now, and I don't care if the baby is genetically mine or not; if I'm successful and I get pregnant, I know I'll love the baby more than life itself. The feeling of loss has gone and it doesn't seem important any more.

[Foxy84]

Thank you @juneybean and @redpandafluff and I’m sorry to hear you went through the same thing.

@juneybean Yes hetero couple and we have started TTC but only for a couple of months, we will carry on trying whilst we get our heads around what the next step might be...

@redpandafluff did you try regular IVF at all first or move straight to donor eggs? I have read that some clinics can offer IVF for low ovarian reserve but I’ve also read that it has a low chance of success - there is a lot of information online and sometimes conflicting, I’m struggling to process it all...

[juneybean]

I definitely think it's worth trying, you only need the one egg!

[Foxy84]

Thanks @juneybean we definitely will do :)

[RedPandaFluff]

@Foxy84 there is likely to be a very low chance of success with your own eggs but everyone is different, maybe your clinic would be willing to try (mine said there was no point as the chance of success would be less than 1%).

It also depends on how you feel over the next few weeks and months, and financial considerations - take some time to absorb and process it all; maybe go to a couple of counselling sessions.

Personally, I just want to have a baby, so I chose the route that would give me the best chance of success.

[Foxy84]

Thank you @redpandafluff and that makes sense to me, I think that’s a good way of looking at it. But obviously need to think about everything and talk it through with my husband and look into it a lot more. I think you are right about counselling too, I will look into that. Thank you so much for replying to me and I really hope things go well for you :)

[RedPandaFluff]

Thank you, @Foxy84 - and stick around, there are (sadly) lots of us on the Infertility boards supporting each other and sharing experiences along the way. Good luck!

[doodlyfiddly]

I'm sorry to hear you're so upset. I know exactly how you feel, but it's not the end of all your hopes.

I was 37 when I received my AMH result, which was 0.07. My DH also had sperm issues, so we knew we would need ICSI too.

We were very lucky to be able to hit IVF really hard and, when I was 39, I had my DD who is now 7. We were also considering donor eggs as our next option but had a stroke of luck with my 4th IVF, using my eggs. I'm not going to lie, follicle and egg production was extremely poor, but it just meant there were a lot fewer to try with.

I know it feels like the end of the world, but it needn't be. I know how lucky we were, but others are lucky too.

If you want any info, feel free to message me x

[Foxy84]

Thank you @doodlyfiddly I will do :)

[Wildestflower]

I was told- aged 34- that I had low ovarian reserve and would need ivf. I since had two DC without fertility treatment. You only need one egg. Good luck!

[Andcake]

Same diagnosis aged 37... I gave myself a time limit before trying donor eggs. But managed to have ds naturally.

I took dhea, gave up booze, ate better, lots of yoga, lots of vitamins ( high doses of b6) I had 2 mc ( natural conception ) then my ds who stuck around. I focused on egg health.

I saved my money for donor eggs if necessary as read own egg Ivf had the same chance as timed intercourse.

Give yourself a few months trying naturally and don't give up just yet.

Unfortunately I never conceived again so ds is an only child ( not what I ever planned) but I have nearly made my peace with that

It might feel like the end of the world ( god I remember the day I heard it was awful) but hopefully you will be lucky.

[Foxy84]

Thank you @wildestflower and @andcake for sharing, hearing your success stories is making me feel a bit more positive - thanks so much for replying to me :)

[squirrelnutkins1]

Yep only takes one egg... still waiting but I believe it.

I don't know that AMH is that accurate. I had a very low result years ago and then my recent result was in the normal range!!! I have no idea how that's even possible.

Chin up as best as you can.

As someone said, sadly there are a lot of us on these boards 💔

[Wildestflower]

You're welcome. I also had miscarriages, between the healthy DC. Fertility isn't brilliantly understood, so do get some support, it's understandable to feel sad, but don't give up hope, if that makes sense. Low reserve isn't no eggs.

[Foxy84]

Thank you @squirrelnutkins1 and wish you lots of luck with everything.

Thanks again @wildestflower for your kind words :)

[Ilikeviognier]

Same as Wildflower.

My amh was 2.8 age 34- told I needed ivf to conceive.

Since then I’ve been pregnant 3 times- once with Ivf which worked first time, and 2 natural pregnancies- one of which didn’t work out- but the other one resulted in Ds2 after 1 month of trying so I now have 2 boys with 16 months between them.

Amh isn’t the bee all and end all- I like you was devastated, but what I didn’t realise was that egg quality counts the most in getting pregnant- not the number of eggs you have left.

[jemimafuddleduck]

I also have low ovarian reserve. It's totally shit and I remember clearly the day we found out - it's so hard to process. But in a weird way I was quite glad to know WHAT was wrong, if that makes sense?
We didn't qualify for own egg IVF so decided to go straight to donor egg IVF, which unfortunately didn't work. We are on the waiting list for more eggs and will be going again as soon as we can.

[TheGlitterFairy]

Sorry to hear of this. I also have a low reserve - AMH was 0.9 about 18 months ago. We’ve had 3 cycles so far. 1st yielded 4 eggs and we transferred 1 embryo at 3 days - sadly this didn’t take.
2nd round (Jan 2018) - 5 eggs - froze 3 embryos but then sadly they didn’t survive the thaw so nothing to transfer.
3rd round (Sept 2018) different protocol again and nothing collected.
We decided to go for a 4th and final round with my eggs before looking to donor eggs as just want to be sure we’ve done all we can with me first before moving onto a different option.
Will be starting our 4th round in a couple of weeks.
Hopefully you can talk through the various options with your DH and clinic and find a way forward. Feel free to PM me if you’d like any more info. X

[Buffy101]

Hey @TheGlitterFairy good luck for your 4th round of IVF. I haven't started IVF yet, how long do you have to wait between rounds?

Hey @Foxy84 I'm just waiting for my official results back as it looks like I have poor reserves too. Definitely take a bit of time to process it and think if you want to have a go at using donor eggs and IVF or going down adoption route? Infertility sucks!

[Foxy84]

Thank you @ilikeviognier we will definitely keep trying at least whilst we get our heads around other options.

@jemimafuddleduck @theglitterfairy sorry to hear you are going through this too, wish you both lots of luck. Thanks very much @theglitterfairy for the offer as I expect I will have lots of questions once we start to look into IVF etc...

@buffy101 sorry to hear you’re in a similar situation, yes you’re right it really does suck! :(

[Lauren83]

I'm so sorry you have found yourself in this position, I know how devastating it is, mine was 2.2 when first tested 6 years ago and I was convinced I would never be a mum and I tried own eggs twice then a few donor egg cycles which gave me a little one a year ago, I did then randomly conceive naturally last year something which I never expected to happen. Stay positive