AMH 0.6 at 34 ... looking for a little positivity

[freya1982]

Hello,
Im 34 and have been diagnosed with POF.
My AMH is 0.6 :-( and I just had a scan which showed only 4 follicles in total.
I am still trying to learn all about IVF and really just come to terms with the whole situation.
My fiance and I have been trying for 2.5 years to conceive naturally with no luck. I have been told by a private Hospital in Bristol (I did not qualify for IVF on NHS) that I only have a 5% chance of IVF being successful using my own eggs...if they can even collect any.
Obviously I am absolutely devastated at this news and just wondered if there was anyone else out there who has had a similar experience...and maybe even a success story?
Or maybe if anyone has any recommendations of private clinics as I wasnt 100% comfortable that I liked the Hospital I visited in Bristol...or maybe it was more the outcome of the appointment that has clouded my judgement.

Thank you

Hi there I have a low AMH 0.4 we had a failed ivf in February in RFC Belfast. I was on nasel spray and then 450 dosage of bemfola. Went for my first scan an we were told the drugs had not done anything, we went bk for second scan 3days later and was told no the drugs were not stimulating and we were told there and then that it hadn't worked and to stop the drugs. We were devastated think what annoyed more was the fact we didn't get to finish the drugs, it eats at you what if those 4 injections made a difference!! Because we were programmed to a schedule they would let us finish the course of treatment.
So we had to go bk and see our doctor and he said ivf would not work again my eggs are so small and so few that the treatment did nothing to stimulate them and that our options were egg donation, Adoption or fostering. There is a 2% chance I could get pregnant myself but I can't get my head round how after one go of ivf they can say no it will never work again but there's a % I can get pregnant myself surly there's a % the ivf would work again??!
We went private for second opinion that Doctor wanted to know what the NHS Doctor had said, so I told him and what out even reading our notes that I had brought, he agreed with NHS doctor but he works with in the NHS.
I feel he didn't want to tread on his toes. I have alway attend gyne told the private doctor my history and said that it would be worth while doing a dye test and laparoscopy something that I've never got done and then I've done everything myself possible to give myself a chance of getting pregnant naturally. I'm still having regular period but did tell him the the ovulation sticks nothing was showing from we had the treatment and I was stressing I wasn't ovulating but he said bin them.
Anyway we have to go bk to our NHS doctor as he wants us to make a decision on the egg donation so I was talking to him 2wks ago and told him about what the private doctor had said about the dye test and that, and his reply to me was "why would you put yourself through that" and I told him to rule out anything else wrong and give myself a chance to get pregnant myself, his reply to that was "the state of your ovaries" I just hung up on him.
I feel totally lost as to what to do and wanted to know if anyone out there has been through the same as us. I feel like they push for egg donation as the only real option.

Has anyone not listen to there doctor and went onto try ivf themselves, as egg donation just isn't for me at this stage. The whole experience at RFC Belfast has been terrible

Would love to hear of your thoughts and experiences
Thanks

Thanks for the great deal of information you guys have shared here. It is so encouraging to hear stories and real life experiences. Suddenly problems become less and less grim. There is some hope for the future as long as we keep trying and focusing on the thing that works. Low AMH levels should not be a death sentence to the dream of having a baby!

I was told told that I had undetectable AMH (< 0.17 ng/mL) at age 33. I have since had two babies. The second one was conceived at age 38.

The thing about low AMH (and/or high FSH) is that your chances of conceiving each cycles are probably on the low side (10%). Using statistics, you can calculate that, with these probabilities, it will take about 10 cycles to get your first successful pregnancy (1/(1/10) = 10; geometric mean).

In my case, that meant 8 cycles for the first success and 11 for the second. I also did a round of IVF the second time that was a complete bust do to ZERO follicles. The point is that you are probably going to have to try a whole bunch of medicates cycles if you want it to happen.

Don't let any doctor lie to you and say that your chances fall to zero following three failed rounds. These doctors unfortunately don't understand probability and are probably just trying to get you to move on to expensive IVF.

Also, make sure that your thyroid is okay and that you don't have a progesterone/estrogen deficiency as well. I insisted on getting progesterone shots the second time around to correct a short luteal phase. These things must be fixed!

was told told that I had undetectable AMH (< 0.17 ng/mL) at age 33. I have since had two babies. The second one was conceived at age 38.

The thing about low AMH (and/or high FSH) is that your chances of conceiving for each natural cycle are probably on the low side (10%). Using statistics, you can calculate that, with these probabilities, it will take an average of about 10 medicated cycles to get your first successful pregnancy (1/(1/10) = 10; geometric mean). It could take even more!

In my case, that meant 8 medicated IUI cycles for the first success and 11 for the second. I also did a round of IVF the second time that was a complete bust do to ZERO follicles. The point is that you are probably going to have to try a whole bunch of medicated cycles if you want it to happen.

Don't let any doctor lie to you and say that your chances fall to zero following three failed medicated IUI rounds. These doctors unfortunately don't understand basic probability and are probably just trying to get you to move on to expensive IVF.

Also, make sure that your thyroid is okay and that you don't have a progesterone/estrogen deficiency as well. I insisted on getting progesterone shots the second time around to correct a short luteal phase. These things must be fixed!

By the way, I used Clomid and an IUI for my first pregnancy and Menopur and IUI for the second. IVF likely failed due to overstimulation. In retrospect, it might have worked better with much lower doses, but my insurance would not cover IVF.