HELP. High FSH, worried sick

[Chaser19]

I received blood results today which show my FSH level is 25.3 (taken on day 2 of cycle). The doctor simply said that they would have to be retaken next month to check, but could indicate the start of menopause! All googling I have done since indicates this is the case and that 25.3 is very high. I have just turned 34 and was not expecting this news. Have been trying to conceive since a MMC in Nov. I literally cannot function today and can’t stop worrying. Does anyone have any usual information about FSH levels? Any advice or info will be much appreciated

[physicskate]

Fsh is follicle stimulating hormone. The more hormone there is, the more your ovaries need to be 'signalled' to grow a follicle. It means you would be unlikely to respond well to ivf drugs if your fsh is high.

Anything above 10ish is considered high (some would consider lower than this to be 'high').

Are you recently off birth control? This can mean your body is finding it difficult to gear up that follicle...

But it's not great news...

I'm very sorry.

[Chaser19]

No, I haven’t been on birth control for a couple of years. Nothing hormonal at all since my MMC in Nov last year.

I’ve had regular 28 day cycles all my life, but last two cycles have randomly been short (21/22 days) and these, typically, coincided with me starting to investigate my fertility via gp. Have used opk’s and have gotten positive results for ovulation, so just hoping that the fsh level will miraculously lower next month. The waiting part is what is going to be tough!
Thank you for your response x

[Freewanderer]

I know how awful it is to receive bad results. It’s not all over, although I know no one knows what the future holds. You are young at least.
I was 37 when my fsh was measured at 18. Very low amh. Think the specialist saw only 4 follicles on my ovaries (total!). But I was still getting regular periods. They didn’t give up on me and surprisingly ivf worked the first time. I know that’s clearly not a universal outcome but it did still work. I will never forget the moment I received my fsh level over the phone. I was in despair and that’s not being overly dramatic.
Anyway.. to the present day. 2 years after that fsh level, I’m pregnant naturally. God knows how high it is now. Maybe I was ridiculously lucky but I don’t personally believe that numbers can be everything. You were pregnant last year. It’s not impossible again if you still have periods.
Anyway, after seeing your post, I wanted to say I know exactly the what the despair feels like but you really don’t know yet how it will all pan out. Take care of yourself xx

[Chaser19]

Thank you freewanderer. My OH has not known what to say to me all day, I have literally been under a cloud. I’m glad that everything worked out OK for you in the end.
I am incredibly lucky to already have a beautiful 2.5yo daughter, but I’m so desperate to give her a sibling (even more so after the heartache of miscarriage). Trying to scrape together some positivity.... x

[RollingRedHills]

Hi OP I received a high result after being investigated for repeated miscarriage. I was advised that although it shows I may have a low egg supply, as I was attempting to conceive at the time it didn't matter too much because I was still ovulating and the key here is that a high FSH level does not make it harder to conceive, it just means you may not have as long as someone with a lower result.

My specialist then advised we needed one good quality egg and I went onto a load of supplements- Coq10, omega 3 and vitamin d. It did work for me, I had a successful pregnancy within 6 months. Good luck.

[sheshootssheimplores]

OP what’s in your favour hugely is your age. You can get pregnant. Youve just got to keep trying and I’m absolutely sure you will be successful.

[farfallarocks]

Just
Chipping in to
Say numbers aren’t everything. I got pregnant naturally with an Amh of leas than one after repeated miscarriages and a disastrous ivf round ( 2 eggs on max stims and clomid!) I read ‘It all starts with the egg’ which I found helpful and 4 months later got pregnant with ds who is almost 4. That number is high but don’t lose all
Hope

[Tolleshunt]

Have you been stressed lately? Stress can cause a high FSH, it is not necessarily always exclusively an indicator of ovarian reserve. The good news is that de-stressing can bring FSH down considerably.

[Mac425]

@Chaser19

I know this is an old thread but I has low amh and have just been told myfsh is 25 and I'm only 34. My periods have been irregular for the last year and had two miscarriages last year. Just wondering if you had any success or advice?

[Chaser19]

Sorry to hear you have experienced this.

The good news from me would be that, the very next month, I did get pregnant. He is now almost 3. So my result actually did not mean I was perimenopausal.

I have had regular (although shorter) cycles since having him. I haven't had any further investigations into that FSH result, as I have not needed to.

Could be coincidental, but my FSH result prompted me to book in for some acupuncture... I had this once and I really believe it helped me to ovulate and resulted in pregnancy.

Also, get your thyroid checked. Needs to be around 2-2.5 TSH as an ideal level.

Good luck!

[Mac425]

@Chaser19
Thank you for getting back to me...much appreciated. I'm glad it worked out well in the end, very encouraging. I've been doing reflexology for the last year but maybe should try something else.

[SPR40]

Hiya my first FSH was 48.3...yup! NHS gave me all the talk about peri menopause and I cried and cried and cried. What noone told me is FSH changes monthly. We went private and next FSH was 12 during tests. When we were ready to stim we used oestrogen priming to suppress FSH and we got 1 and 2 FSH for our first 2 cycles and got 1 embryo (low AFM and AMH). Was doing a freeze all and aiming for 4 embryos. We then had a year of rough cycles and decided to wait until we naturally got an acceptable FSH to try and different protocol. The first month was 21 so didn't start the 2nd month was 11, we got 2 embryos from that cycle

We transferred our first ever embryo in December and I am now 11 weeks pregnant.

It's the one thing I look out for on forums is FSH because I thought it would be impossible based on how te NHS delivered the news. It is tough, it is emotional but it is NOT impossible xxxx

[Mac425]

@SPR40 thank you for your positive story. I hope all goes well with the pregnancy. I think I'll see if fish could be done again next month.