Tests and how to help friend

[Moregravyplease]

My friend has just been to a private fertility clininc in Brighton and had a lot of tests. The results have not looked very good and she was understandably upset.

She mentioned a newer non standard test that measures egg quality and is not offered everywhwere and only privately, or so the clinic said.

Apparently the results were supposed to be in the number range 11-16 but hers were only 0.7%. Does anyone know what this test is and is for? She is ringing me again at the weekend in the initial talk was so upset I tended to let her talk it out rather than clarify stuff.

She is also thinking of going to other clinics for the same kind of tests and wants to know if all her eggs are such poor quality or was it just the one. Can test results change? how can I help her, I do have two dc so I don't know what she is going through. I am just slightly concerned that she will get similar results regardless of clinic and it will be a struggle for her to pay for all this. She is going it alone without a partner so was always going for donor sperm so she is having an incredibly awful time.

Many thanks for any advice

Sounds like it was an AMH test and if so then I'm afraid 0.7 isn't a great a result. AMH (anti mullein hormone) is, I think, basically a test of fertility potential and a result of less than 1 is classed as undetectable fertility. Sorry don't know much more - you should find plenty of info on google.

Although, i've just re-read you message and if it was AMH then they'd be looking for 20+ I think, not the 11-16 you mention. Some clinics do test using different measures though. Sorry if I've confused things; if it's not AMH then I'm not sure what else it could be. (But I'm no expert!)

Very best of luck to your pal.

Ps. There are a couple of threads on AMH on the infertility board, might be worth a read.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, that does sound worse than I imagined. She is over 40 so always suspected that she would probably have some problems but hoped ivf would sort it out. It's just a shame she had a series of very unsuitable BF's.

Again thanks.

highlove my guess was also AMH. I think you are right about over 20 being ideal but maybe 11-16 was mentioned as being a good result for her age? I am 35 and mine was 12.something which put me in the "low fertility" category but my gynae said it was a fine result and he never sees women with the higher results on the scale (he is a private gynae and I would guess the only women who can afford his fees are in their 30s and the highest levels are only reached by younger women). But this is just speculation!

If you look around other boards (I think I recall that fertility friends has a number of people talking about AMH) then you could find out more.

I had a very low AMH result (2.6) and had IVF (at 40). I was lucky and it worked first time. However they did tell me that it was unlikely I would respond well to the drugs used (as it turned out they got 8 eggs IIRC and fertilized 6) and that I was just on the cut-off for IVF.

Different clinics have different rules though.

I also used the site fertilityfriends and I changed my diet to help improve my chances of the IVF working (protein helps, organic milk...) and so it would we worth persuing this. Standard doctors may not agree there's any chance of improving an AMH test or egg quality but I have read that the test is not 100% accurate anyway and that doing stuff like changing your diet and drinking wheatgrass drinks can help with egg quality. That's what I did and although I have no idea if that is what helped me I am glad I made every effort I could. You only need one good egg.

good luck to your friend.

Sorry gravy I didn't mean to sound unduly negative. If it is AMH then there is no escaping that it's not a great result. BUT as I understand it is a test of ovarian reserve, not egg quality. So it would suggest she may not have too many eggs left but if they are of decent quality then she still has a chance. As others say, it only takes one egg.

And worst case scenario there are options she could consider like donor eggs. I know that won't soften this terrible blow for her but does at least mean she has a potential fall-back to think about.

Very best of luck to her - she's lucky to have such a good friend looking out for her.