Low ovarian reserve, IVF success

[Iggilypiggily]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a bit of reassurance and a virtual hug.

Husband and I (38, 37) have been off contraception for 7 years. I’ve never been pregnant that I know of. There was a ?chemical pregnancy once but I don’t know if I have line eyes. Recently there was a sac on an unrelated ultrasound and thick lining which turned out to not be pregnancy, so I guess there is perhaps a slight chance that I have conceived a few times but not realised it.

We haven’t been trying actively for 7 years, we were leaving it up to fate really for the first few years as we were renting, tough jobs etc. We did get tested several years ago as we thought it was odd we hadn’t even had a scare and they identified low ovarian reserve with no known cause. AMH 3.3 with 5 follicles identified when I was aged 35.

I had decided IVF wasn’t for me and life went on. We were buying a house and moving and changing jobs so it went to the back of our minds for a little bit but we still were leaving it up to fate some months. I’ve been testing ovulation and I do ovulate regularly. We have been TTC now roughly a year, but again not every month (husband works away at times so we can’t always and sometimes life has got in the way).

We just got retested and thankfully my results haven’t changed much, AMH 3.1 and 4 follicles which is a little reassuring. But I am just feeling like it is never going to happen.

We are going to do IVF now but I am dreading it. I’m already feeling overwhelmed just trying to negotiate appointments with work and I strongly fear the side effects. I have ADHD so life is a bit of a struggle at the best of times, but PMS hits me hard. The doctor was also quite negative re chances, or perhaps I just see it that way. She was probably just realistic.

I have always had super light periods and a quick google search suggests that my lining is perhaps too thin for an egg to implant. My eggs are few and far between and suspected to be low quality, so doctor is already preempting several cycles for success. And top it all off I have a shortened cervix from a history of two abnormal smears which I was told back then would heighten my risk for miscarriage. My understanding is that they will typically see how it holds up because the management of this is risky in itself and then if you have had several miscarries they will consider stitching it during the pregnancy to help it hold the weight.

I can’t help but feel that the odds are massively against me and that I am going to put myself through hell for a negative outcome or for success in terms of conception but a high risk I could miscarry and it just feels a little like I’m setting myself up for failure and heartache. I’ve never been someone who is desperate to be a mother (husband feels the same), so it’s not exactly a situation of me being hopelessly depressed about the lack of children, but I can’t help but feel like starting this process will also kick start a hope and an excitement that will lead to disappointment that isn’t there already, if you get me. My other worry is that I start early menopause because of IVF thus reducing the changes of natural conception even further.

Has anyone experienced such odds stacked against them and had success? Can anyone offer advice or a virtual shoulder to lean on? It would be very much appreciated.

Hi there,

i was told I had low reserve and bad egg quality and only just scraped in to get my ivf on the nhs.

i had 2 back to back egg collections with the goal of collecting at least one good egg. And out of it all I had 2 put back and had my daughter. I actually had more embryos but none of the others worked.

i had a few natural pregnancies but they were all v early (before 6 weeks development) miscarriages.

so it’s definitely possible just try to keep some hope! Good luck 🥰

Thank you so much for your response. It is appreciated! So glad you got your daughter after all that heartache

I was told I had low reserves at age 37, we had 5 cycles of IVF with ICSI as we had male factor as well.

One cycle ended in miscarriage and our final cycle worked. She is 18 in August.

I threw everything at the final cycle, no caffeine, Zita West vitamins, acupuncture every week for three months before treatment and on the day of transfer.

I would definitely start with acupuncture, depending where you are based the lady I saw was a fertility expert in acupuncture so I can tell you her name if you PM me.

I'd give it a go if you feel you are both strong enough, it's a rollercoaster but worth the ride.

Thank you for your reply! I don’t know if I have 5 cycles in me if I am honest, I feel like I am going to just accept it if this one doesn’t show much promise and accept that perhaps being a parent isn’t meant for me. I’ve recently also learnt I have cervical stenosis so a scan that required catheter insertion was excruciating and very traumatising which makes this even more stressful as I know that is going to be repeated down the line. I also don’t think I can afford the acupuncture on top of every thing else. I am giving it all we can at the minute - no drinking, vitamins etc, eating healthy, exercising. We don’t have male factor issues (all me unfortunately) but my husband is also on the health train with me and has cut out drinking etc too. So fingers crossed! If not, I’ll be on the child free side and I think I’ve come to terms with that.

Update for everyone, we got 5 eggs of which 3 fertilised but one abnormally. Two made it to day 5 but we got a phone call enroute to transfer to say they weren’t quite ready and it doesn’t seem likely that they will be. So I’ve just accepted that and will move on. It wasn’t meant to be for us. I know you’re supposed to try several times but we always said we would only do one and I’m happy to leave it at that. It is what it is. I can’t help but feel like if we were supposed to have kids it would work and so I am accepting the child free life!