Low AMH & Early Menopause?

[Abs75]

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself and see if there is anyone in the same situation. I guess I'm looking for advice and hope ;) rather long so please bare with me!

I am 36,DH 40. We have been together for 11 years. DH has 3 children from previous marriage, had vasectomy. Had a reversal in 2006 results were okish but lots of antibodies present. Over the years his results have gotten better. Between 2006 and now we kind of hoped nature would take it's course,but unfortunately didn't and we decided it was time to seek help.

Chose our clinic,obviously needed to go private not entitled to anything in NHS. We were really happy with the clinic and the outcome at the initial consultation. We decided I'd loose a few pounds and we would start in the new year. The first time I'd ever felt that we could have a great chance through IVF & ICSI. Consultant was positive and explained all we needed to do re: up and coming tests. I asked if I could do the Amh there and then so come the new year we would be all ready to start our journey.

AMH results arrived back in early September and our whole world had been torn apart,1 pmol. The consultant was absolutely gob smacked too. We discussed it in length and did a lot of research.

During the past 3 months,I have had no periods. I have never ever missed a period in 25 years!! have been suffering terribly with hot flushes,headaches,increased appetite, irritability and extremely anxious. I have just got my blood results back and yes it has been confirmed I am peri menopausal. To say I am devastated is an understatement! To find out about the low AMH and then to more or less go straight into starting the menopause has been an extra double blow. I am finding things so very tough at the moment and feel very alone. Is there any MN'ers in the same situation with low AMH and then beginning the menopause.

Thank you for reading if you got this far xx

Hi Abs75.

Although I'm a bit older than you, I've had similar results to you. I'm 45 though, so it's kind of expected.

Despite these results I had two miscarriages last year, so was able to get pregnant (incidentally, my DH had a vas reversal in 2007, we had a baby in 2008).

What I have found since this awful diagnosis ( AMH below 1, low estrogen, high FSh (11) ) is that I have continued to ovulate. I know this because despite having very light/non-existant periods, I still have an LH surge ( I know this from using OPK's) and I take my temperature every morning and still have a "normal" cycle with low temperatures before ovulation and a temperature rise after ovulation. I'm hoping that I am still producing eggs and might be lucky enough to catch one. I'm having the blood tests redone soon to see how things look. I'm also going to discuss treatment for low estrogen when I see my doctor in January.

Have you been taking your temperature? Is it possible that you might still be ovulating?

I did some research about low AMH and although it is supposed to tell us about how many eggs are left it actually doesn't tell us about the quality of the eggs. Also it is a relatively new thing, and there's not enough research to confirm that it really does indicate an inability to fall pregnant.

Peri-menopausal, and even menopausal women do get pregnant. But if you are able to have IVF, there's still a great chance for you, and if you are open to donor eggs, there is an excellent chance for you to get pregnant.

I would love to do donor eggs, but my DH isn't on board, so I'm hoping for a miracle.

Don't despair just yet, there are still options for you.

I got pregnant with an AMH of 0.7 and FSH of 17. I was pregnant (didn't know it) when the consultant was busy damning me to childlessness. I have a beautiful DS. I did a lot of alternative healthy stuff. It can happen - keep the faith and be open to all possibilities. Good luck

gobblygook, congratulations! It is heartwarming to hear good stories.

Would you mind sharing the alternative healthy stuff you did. You never know, there might just be something that can help us have our dream baby too!

Hello - I did acupuncture every week for 5 weeks with someone who specialised in fertility - I was planning to then do it every two weeks/month once they'd examined my cycle properly; I took Pukka Supergreen tablets and extra wheatgrass (can't remember make) drank cranberry leaf tea (but only until I found out I was pregnant (can bring on contractions I think in late stages), stopped drinking and went down to one coffee a day; and planned to do traditional Chinese herbs with the axunpuncturist but never had to. Hope that helps and your dreams come true in 2012 - ps I've got several friends who successfully did egg donation so don't rule it out

Sorry for a very quick post but I have v low AMH, tried many things but Pharmaceutical grade DHEA seemed to help - did IVF and gobsmacked that it worked first time

You can buy it on Amazon US. Have a look at the Fertility Friends boards. Is a big thing in USA (warning - have me palpitations, took it for 2 months only)

No idea if it really helped but had my first natural period and ovulation in a year just before IVF

Hi Abs sorry about your news but dont give up hope...

My AMH was 0.07, so i was recommended to go donor route. Which i did. By a miracle the clinic found me a super-duper donor very quickly and within four months i was pregnant! i'm about 7ish weeks now. Clinics can do magic (its expensive but it is magic).

Good luck with your journey, and let me know if you want any advice re egg donation. xxx

Hi abs, sorry to hear of your situation so far. I was diagnosed with POF at the age of 17 so slightly different. I've ended up going down the egg donation(ed) route from my sister and gave birth last summer to my dd age 28 on our first attempt.

Have a think about what u want and what will be realistic. Will your life be unfulfilled without children? Or can u picture a life of fun and laughter without them? OH and I were always realistic that if it didn't happen for us, it wouldn't be the end of the world. If it was meant to be it would happen. Unfortunately, that attitude is very rare in the world of infertility and the yearning for a child can be overwhelming and emotionally challenging.

For some people the thought of ED is not an option, either logistically or ethically. it was hard for me at first to accept that i couldn't reproduce with my eggs but I went through a sense of grief i think and came round to the idea of ED from my sister. Now, having had dd, it's not even an issue, she's our dd and we love her to bits. If someone had told me 10 years ago i would be with child and happy, I'd have laughed, but here I am, nursing my 5 month old and still feel lucky

As much as I'm a mn fan, there is good support via fertility friends; lots of people in same/similar positions on the pof/early menopause thread:
www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=112.0

Hope my story is positive and my words not too harsh. It's tough journey if you plan to go through it and i wish you all the best with your journey x