Trying not to freak out - high FSH levels

[jemimafuddleduck]

Hi all

I haven't been TTC for that long - 6 cycles. Ive been on the pill for 16 years so don't know what my "normal" cycle looks like.

First month off the pill I had a 29 day cycle but since then it's been 22-23 days and very light periods (I could probably get away with one sanitary towel per day - I don't because that'd be gross!)

I have been using OPKs and have had positive results when I've used them.

I went to the doctors just to have a chat and he ordered some blood tests. I've just had a phone call to say my FSH is 17.4 and should be between 1-9. I've got a phone appointment on Friday so will find out more then.

I had the test on day 4 and was will on my period.

Of course I've googled it and am reading all sorts which is terrifying me! I know I need to just wait to see what the doctor says, but can anyone advise me on this? Does the fact that it was on CD4 (and therefore slightly late) make a difference? I usually ovulate around CD11-12.

I'd be really grateful for any input.

PS - I appreciate that 6 months TTC is a drop in the ocean compared to what some people are going through, but I was hoping by posting on this board I may find people who are extremely knowledgeable having gone through it themselves.

Hope I don't cause any offence

Hi Jemima

I'm sorry you've received this news. I remember when I found out about my high FSH levels I was beside myself.

I would advise the following:

• Get your GP to refer you to your local fertility clinic ASAP

• Your pattern of short cycles and high FSH levels indicate you MAY have low ovarian reserve. However, you need to have an Antral Follicle Count & AMH test to explore if this is accurate.

• If you have low ovarian reserve, it may be harder to get pregnant naturally and may also make undergoing IVF harder. It's not impossible to conceive, but also depends on how old you are. Your chances are higher if you are under 35.

You need the results from the other tests I mentioned though- and quickly. It doesn't matter if you've been trying for 6 cycles- this needs to be explored and addressed.

Best of luck

My friends fsh was over 20, amh bad, with that news she did ivf twice unsuccessfully, she was about to do her 3rd round but found she was pregnant naturally. So bad fsh & amh doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. She had immune issues that were being addressed and she’s convinced that help her conceive, her consultants advice was to dtd every 2 days and it worked good luck.

@HawthornBlossom

Thank you so much for your reply, much appreciated. I'm 32. We are TTC for the first time.

What happened with you if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks @goldangel

Don’t panic. I found out my fsh was 12 when i was 34. We were ttc at the time and hadn’t been trying very long. It sent me into a tailspin. my gp was useless and said it was normal. I knew better so said I wanted referring.

Fertility clinic did the amh test which confirmed the low ovarian reserve diagnosis. i was told to do ivf asap. I then got pregnant naturally but unfortunately it didn’t work out.

However - the ivf did work although my response was very poor- which shows that egg quality is more important than egg numbers.

Anyway, when the ivf baby was 9 months old i thought we’d better try again- my Expectations were rick bottom. However, 4 weeks later i was looking at a positive pregnancy test, and now have 2 boys with 16 months between them in age.

Moral of the story- it’s possible to get pregnant both naturally and through ivf with high fsh. All high fsh means is you have less eggs. However - yes you should get the amh test and follicle count first so you know what’s what.

Thanks @Chattycat78, so great to hear positive stories 😊 I'm glad everything worked out for you!

I'm confused as I thought I had been ovulating ( have had positive OPKs, been temping and have had EWCM). Is this connected? If I'm ovulating that's positive, right?

Bump - anyone?

I'm 32 and a few months ago found out I have high FSH and low AMH. However in the past 6 months I've had 3 losses and we found out there's a problem with DH sperm (DNA fragmentation). Having a low ovarian reserve does not make it harder for you to get pregnant. It also says nothing about your egg quality that's determined by age. It does mean you're likely to respond less well than someone with a higher reserve to IVF medication and you may need to get on with TTC now. I've been through all this in detail with specialists. If you're TTC now it shouldn't have an impact on your chances of getting pregnant naturally. Take vitamin D that can lower FSH.

Hi jemina, with regards to ovulation are you booked for a "day 21" progesterone blood test? That will confirm if ovulation is happening. I'd be asking at your follow up for that if not already booked. Yours won't be on day 21as it's based on an average 28day cycle so you'll need to work out when yours should be done.
Opks tell you that your body is gearing up to ovulate, not that it definitely will. Are your temps showing a good shift? I could never get to grips with them so am not an expert but that should reassure you if they are but I'd get the blood done anyway.

Thank you both.
@rainbowgrimm I have a 21 day test booked for next week - which will be cd18 for me.

The next step is to get DH tested, but hopefully it's just me who's the problem!

My dr is calling me tomorrow now so hopefully I'll have more info then.

I have EWCM and had a peak smiley on CB today so will keep going as usual and hope for the best!

There's nothing about having his FSH that means you won't be ovulating- not at 17. You'll still be ovulating and still able to conceive as normal.

Hi @jemimafuddleduck ,

I have high fsh and found out only because we asked for my blood test results after husband came back with MFI. The GP had coded it as normal incorrectly so I completely freaked out after googling!!

I did lots of research to go back to the GP - if FSH >9 you should be referred urgently to the fertility clinic. So if you've been trying 6 months you should be referred regardless of your husbands results - I.e don't let the gp say you have to wait for all results to be referred!

I contacted the clinic (does nhs and private) paid for a private AMH and booked a private intiial appointment to get things rolling - I was seen within 3 weeks of me finding out my FSH. By then they had the gps referral and they changed the appointment to funded by nhs.

Consultant said for us given MFI and my FSH to get on with ivf straight away. But I completely agree with other posters - your natural fertility is not effected and you are still ovulating but if you need ivf it reduces your chances of getting many eggs.

Interestingly I surprised them all and got 20 eggs! Unfortunately we didn't get any good quality blasts but this is due to quality issues as we had 14 fertilised embryos but they all died off.

We're currently attempting ivf number 2 on lots of supplements and having surgical retriveal of sperm this time to help with quality so fingers crossed.

So conclusion is natural fertility isn't effected but you should still be referred ASAP. If you end up with ivf you might get less eggs - but not necessarily! (AMH and AFC will help predict this)

P.s I'm also 32 x

FSH can fluctuate a lot so try not to panic, like others have said an AMH and antral follicle count tell you more about the bigger picture. My FSH was 9 and I tried own egg IVF but when I tried a second own egg cycle it shot up to 19 then 23 so they withdrew NHS funding so I went on to have 3 cycles with donor eggs. My AMH and AFC were really really low though so my situation was a lot worse. My FSH did end up returning to 8 after my first donor egg cycle but I carried on down the donor route as I know it was my best chance. High FSH can cause issues when having IVF as you are stimulated with FSH and if your body is kicking lots out itself then you don't respond well, it has less of an impact on natural conception, definitely get a retest and take it from there

@hoping2018 Thank you so much for your advice and good luck with ivf #2! What is MFI by the way?

I just feel so bloody stupid and naive. When we first started ttc I was thinking about babies names, how we'd tell our parents, etc etc, without any real thought other than "oh it could take a few months". So stupid.

@Lauren83 thanks for sharing your advice. Have you been successful with donor eggs?

Yes I finally had a baby boy from donor eggs earlier this year, I know it's really upsetting when you first find out something is outside the normal range, I had a meltdown when I got diagnosed with endometriosis as I had no idea I just went to the GP as was struggling to get pregnant. Do have another FSH and its worth paying for an AMH as GPs don't tend to do them, local NHS fertility departments usually do them. I work in a private fertility clinic so if you need any help with anything PM me

Sorry @jemimafuddleduck MFI is male factor infertility which is why we went straight to IVF (actually ICSI). Best of luck x

@Lauren83 that's great that you were able to conceive with a donor egg. If you don't mind me asking, did you get an anonymous egg or someone you knew? I have no idea about the process of any of this.
When you got the result of 9 FSH how long was it before you were referred and things actually got moving?

You have to be trying for 18 months in our area to be referred to fertility clinic and I'm worried that when I speak to the doctor later today they'll say that we haven't been trying long enough.

Or is it likely that they'll refer us anyway?

Thankyou, all donors were anon, 1 was an egg sharer and 2 altruistic donors. In my area it's a year to be referred for IVF but 6 months if there's known issues so I got fast tracked due to endometriosis, it's worth asking if your FSH counts as an issue and see if they will refer you. As it happened I couldn't start treatment straight away anyway due to needing surgery

What area are you in? Some GPs do tests first and others refer you to local fertility clinic, every clinic then has different wait times

@Lauren83 Thanks for your response. I'm in Bristol.

How long did it take you from the dr referring you to your first round of treatment? And then how long until your bfp?

It was 13 months but only as I needed surgery, it would have been 3-4 otherwise, I had own egg IVF twice in 2013 although the second was cancelled, IVF with donor eggs in 2014 and 2015 and then had a break then tried one last time in 2017 and it worked. I was really unlucky though with my cycles and like I said I had terrible endo and my ovaries were beyond help it wasn't just my FSH

@jemimafuddleduck

This is the article I found which says early referral if fsh >9.5. It's written by a consultant.

www.gponline.com/clinical-review-subfertility-women/obstetrics/assisted-conception/article/836742

Early referral (to me!) means 6 months but it might depend on your area. I know one CCG no longer funds any ivf. To be honest if they are delaying if it were me I'd go privately for an initial consultation.

@hoping2018 I've just read that article, that's really helpful, thank you.

@Lauren83 I'm so pleased for you that it all worked out eventually!

Hi @jemimafuddleduck. Your young age definitely works in your favour!

I wrote this article all about FSH levels (and how they interact with other hormones like AMH), which should provide some reassurance: theduff.co.uk/fsh-levels-ivf/

(I wrote the article – and the site in general – purely to be helpful and informative. I don't make money from it or anything.)

Hope it helps!
Mish

@mishmoshery I actually found your site last night and found it super helpful. Thank you so much for writing it in plain English!

I have spoken to my doctor on the phone. She has said for me to have my progesterone test (which is already planned for next Tuesday) sand she's going to refer me for a scan.

She's reassured me that we will be referred to the fertility clinic following those tests and won't be needed to wait for the mandatory 18 months.

I'm still a little unclear as to what they'll do at the scan but I'm sure I'll find out. She said I should get a letter within a couple of weeks...

Is it worth me contacting a private fertility clinic sooner rather than later or just wait for the nhs referrals?