AMH 7.6 - should I be worried?

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Hello.
I'm 40, nearly 41 and considering having IVF after TTC unsuccessfully for 14 months. My recent AMH level was 7.6 which is within the normal range for someone my age (but bizarrely also seems to be in the normal range for someone aged 34-37, although at the lower end).
The info I got sent from the fertility clinic tells me I will have a reduced response to fertility drugs because of my low AMH level.

Basically my questions are:
Does AMH only really tell you how you successful you might be if you have IVF?
Does it really have any bearing on successfully conceiving naturally?
Is 7.6 very low/bad? Has anyone had lower AMH levels and still conceived naturally?
Is AMH about quantity of eggs rather than quality?

Thanks for your help! This is all very confusing!

Square, I would say your amh is absolutely fine - in fact good for your age. Amh has no bearing on success. Plenty of people get pregnant with amh levels with a 0 in front of them. In fact some clinics have stopped measuring them as it doesn't give them an indication of success. However often it may be used to decide what protocol you should be put on. I have come across quite a few people on MN who had amh levels way lower than yours and conceived naturally. It is a measure of egg reserve rather than quality.
Honestly I wouldn't pay any attention to it all. One doctor actually said to me it was a fairly new test and it may not even be that helpful so take with a pinch of salt! Best of luck.

Hi square - I would second what joy said. It was explained to me by my doctor as being 'just a number' and it doesn't necessarily mean anything. It is not indicative of whether or not you will be able to get pregnant. Egg quality is more important! Also, your level seems to be very good for your age!
I had an AMH level of 0.2, so basically had no hope of getting pregnant. We decided to try IVF anyway, and got pregnant with our dd on the 5th round. For all the rounds apart from one they collected between 6 and 9 eggs - if AMH was correct predicting the response to fertility drugs I shouldn't have had any eggs at all!
Good luck!

Thanks joy and shroom for being so encouraging. The clinic is so negative when talking about AMH and success rates - I suppose so as not to get your hopes up. It's good to hear success stories like yours, shroom. I now have to decide whether or not to take the plunge with IVF.....

If you have any questions about IVF I'm more than happy to try to help you You can PM me if you like!

Some clinics seem to be moving away from AMH testing now, as joy suggests. Mine went up over 2 years, when it is not supposed to do that! Mine was a little higher than yours, but not that much (12 at 35 and 15 at 37), and I got pregnant twice from 4 rounds of natural/mild IVF (I miscarried the first pregnancy).

Thanks eurochick, interesting that your amh went up. Makes you think the levels might be affected by other factors e.g. Illness etc. I have also wondered if a normal level for a petite person is different from a normal level for a larger person etc

thanks shroom for your kind offer - i have pm'd you!

I've just replied square

These horrible numbers put us in a box and scare the hell out of us. I was 30, just had a m/c and was told my amh of 17 was low for my age and the amount of worry that consultant gave me by saying that. 18 months later it had gone down to 3 and another fertility doctor told me my fertility was very poor. I was only 32! Cue a lot of tears and a rush to do ivf. I still got 15 eggs at EC. In Jan at age 34, they told me my amh was 12 and last month they did another test and it was 19 - higher than when I was at 30?? Seriously what a load of rubbish as it's not suppose to go up! [still no baby but I think we are a complex case for unknown reasons and unrelated to amh]. Try not to let their negativity affect you. There does have to be realism with ivf but you also have to have hope.

I agree - AMH only tells you how many eggs you have, nothing about the egg quality.
Do you know if you are ovulating, did they test your progesterone levels? That's far more important to know when ttc. I assume that your DH's swimmers have been tested?

I have very low AMH (0.14), but good progesterone levels, and falling pg is no problem - it's the staying pregnant that's the issue! I have issues with chromosomal abnormalities, most likely due to my age, so egg quality is definitely an issue for me. Your AMH levels are really good, so it might be worth exploring the other factors.

I am increasingly dubious about AMH as are many clinics.
Its not meant to change and yet it does and apparently clinics use different assays and measurements. I have also read that the new 'normal' is 5-15 pmol so the ridiculously high numbers needed for a high fertility score (above 40) and quite unachievable!

Good luck with the IVF!