Low AMH at 27 IVF

[StargazerLillyPie]

Hi everyone,

Have used mumsnet so much over the last year but this is my first post. I'm currently 27 years old and have an AMH of only 2.4. I started mild IVF last month but unfortunately BFN. About to start round 2 (have paid for 3 cycles) and am more terrified than ever it's not going to work and I am running out of time. I don't know anyone my age going through IVF so reaching out for some sisterly support during, what seems like, an incredibly bleak time of my life.

Sending lots of love and positivity to anyone going through this x

@Bobblehatwobble Hiya lovely, did you have your second scan? Have been thinking of you!

My cysts all cleared up, I definitely putting it down to the massage, thank you again. My cycle 3 starts this week - I have had so many conversations with doctors around timescales with my situation, they often say that I need to 'bank my eggs' if only they released how much just 3 cycles has cost us! Anyway, fingers crossed, you have given me so much faith.

Take care & I hope you have some good news and a lovely Christmas on the way xxx

@StargazerLillyPie Hey 👋! How funny that you post today - I had my 8 week scan this morning and baby has a nice strong heartbeat and is absolutely fine. Got little arm and leg nubs and the beginnings of a spine. We saw the umbilical cord and everything. We both cried!

Oh I’m so pleased they’ve cleared up - the massages work wonders and I’m so pleased it worked for you!!!

Do keep my updated with your next cycle, I will be thinking of you and rooting for you the whole way. You’ve got every chance of this working for you and I feel really optimistic for you. You’ve got this 💪 xxxx

@StargazerLillyPie - Hope you don't mind me jumping on this thread.

I am also 27, and just had my second FET. But this is my 3rd transfer and 2nd round of IVF. It was my last frostie so if this doesnt work we'll have to do another round. I dont have low AMH at the moment but wouldnt rule it out for me, I seem to have everything else haha.

Also read your thread and wanted to say congratulations to @Bobblehatwobble ! Absolutely amazing that you got a BFP xxxx

@Bobblehatwobble I tracked the weeks and thought your scan would be around this time. and what LOVELY news, I am so delighted for you, it must have been the most wonderful day! You have given me and i'm sure anyone who reads this with low AMH in future, such hope x I will be keeping you updated :)

@Dot457of course, welcome! Fingers crossed for you, when is the transfer? Well done for getting through what you have so far, its such a difficult journey I know that for sure. XXxx

@Dot457 hope you the above message went through to you - not sure I @ you correctly :) X

Hi @StargazerLillyPie

Bobblehatwobble here but under (a footloose related) a different name.
How are you? How did your cycle go? Xx

@RenMcCormackisafoxhey lovely, sorry for the slow reply, I was waiting for the latest news to update you on!

We moved clinics got 8 eggs out and yesterday transferred a 5 day blast and had another to freeze (never felt so lucky) so now in the 2 week wait, any advice on how to cope? It's day 1 and already struggling haha!

How are you? I have been thinking of you and hope everything is going well xxx

That is AMAZING!! I am so so pleased for you - absolutely fantastic news. You deserve it 😊 did they put you on a different protocol?

All’s well my end! I’m now almost 20 weeks with a little girl 🙂 anxiety never really goes away and I’ve had a couple of bleeds which have been a bit scary but baby is fine and starting to kick me. You just replace IVF worry with baby/pregnancy worry I think, well for me I have anyway!

Oh wow the TWW is hard - I took it off work and just spent it doing things I loved. I slept in, watched Emily in Paris (all in one day), ate really healthily (pomegranate juice, loads of beetroot and all the old IVF folklore stuff), did yoga and did Zita West post transfer meditations where I tried to visualise the embryo implanting. Sounds all a bit mad now but it really helped me to focus on the lovely things and not worry too much. Of course I was still hormonal so I remember sobbing in Asda staring at baby clothes with people looking at me 😂😂 basically be as kind to yourself as you can be. And no baths!!

I am keeping everything crossed for you and am thinking of you all the way. This is the best news, made my day x

@RenMcCormackisafox yep totally different protocol and moved clinics which has been the best thing - they are so different and I feel 100% more comfortable with the new clinic - everything ran so smoothly and it's the best result we've had! Just knowing we have another frozen is such a comfort.

Haha that sounds perfect, I am trying to stay chilled but I am obviously now looking out for symptoms, have a few twinges but that's it but I had them after my last transfer so comparing it to last time.

Aww amazing, a girl!! How wonderful!! Congratulations, you must be thrilled, 20 weeks has whizzed by! When is she due?

When did you get the spotting? I know I will be worrying so much if its positive so trying to be brave at this early stage, it's tough though, especially after everything we've been through, this is our 4th go! xxx

Placemarking because I read the thread and now I'm invested. Good luck @StargazerLillyPie!

And congratulations @RenMcCormackisafox!

@StargazerLillyPie
I’m so pleased you’ve got a frostie - that is like winning the lottery with our AMHs so it’s just amazing. Plus, sometimes a frozen transfer can be more successful with fresh for women who have less success with fresh transfers if (and that’s a big IF) that time comes.
How’s the TWW going? When is your official test day? You going to test early or wait?

She’s due in June but I reckon she’ll come end of May and be early. I’m having a c-section so I have to see when they schedule it in.

I had bleeding at 13,15 and 17 weeks - I’ve got a polyp which popped up in my second trimester (never had one before) which they think is the cause but it seems to have disappeared/gone down now and I’ve had no more problems since (fingers, toes, ears crossed). You have a massive rush of hormones in the second trimester so it may have been that. She also tends to headbutt my cervix in most scans so who knows what she’s up to in there!!

Do keep me updated - I think of you often xxx

Hi everyone, a little update from me. We got our first ever BFP which was THE most amazing day of my life. However miscarried a week later :( still feels like the cruelest thing to ever happen.

We do still have another 4BB frozen and a 4CC frozen and a 7cell day 3 with our previous clinic. Having the dilemma of deciding if we should do a transfer next month or keep them frozen and have another fresh cycle given the AMH issue? Although at 27 I would hope 1 of the frozen embryos would work, age doesn't seem to have done me any favours so far.

@RenMcCormackisafox oh no, that must have been really worrying for you - glad they could recognise what had caused it and its all sorted now. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by, she will be here safe and sound before you know it! xxx

@Yokey thanks for the nice message Yokey, I hope you are well x

@StargazerLillyPie I'm so sorry to hear this, it's so unfair. Such a tough decision what to do next, let us know what you decide.

I'm literally about to start my first IVF cycle, just waiting for my period to start (and it's 9 days late, have taken a million tests and all BFNs, maybe it's stress?!). What kind of protocol were you on? I'm doing a Natural modified, the consultant is hoping for 2-3 eggs.

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well. @Dbop100 how did your cycle go? I’ve been on a number of short protocols, including the flare which I wouldn’t recommend.

@RenMcCormackisafox you must be due with your little girl any day now?

I wanted to share an update that I’m currently 9 weeks pregnant with cycle 4, transfer 3! Very happy but also terrified - we’ve had 2 scans already and all looks good but after going through this it’s hard to believe things could work out xxxx

@StargazerLillyPie congratulations that's great news! Keeping everything crossed for you that this works out 💕

So we did a cycle of IVF meds but only got 1 follicle so instead of an egg retrieval we did an IUI. That didn't work. Then we tried IVF again and this time got 3 follicles, 2 eggs retrieved, 1 made it to day 5 and was good quality, we did a fresh transfer but sadly it didn't take... so we're taking a break and doing some more tests to try and rule out any implantation issues (thyroid, Alice and Emma). I feel like I'm not able to get more than 1 good quality egg per month so is IVF the best option for me? Not sure I'll do any more but I guess it depends what the test results say. Am thinking about donor eggs a bit more now too... a lot to think about!x

@Dbop100 sending big hugs to you it is not easy. going through cycles is mentally and physically challenging in every way.

Did you try IUI before starting ivf? It’s actually really good news you had an embryo make it to day 5 good quality, when you think about it, when people try naturally it takes an average 6 months to work so as hard as it is there is still hope.

After my last cycle I felt ready to start considering donor and we had a few counselling sessions for it, we decided to do 1 last cycle (if this one hadn’t worked) whilst actively pursuing donor at the same time. It helped me to put a limit on how long I could go on trying with my own eggs and getting the same result. No one can tell you when you’re ready to try something new but it helped me to see some light. Thinking of you xxx

@StargazerLillyPie thank you for your kind words. Yes you're right it's good to know we can make a day 5 embryo, and actually we did get pregnant naturally exactly a year ago, although that ended a week later. These things are holding me back from donor because you wonder 'what if'. But also we're so tired of all this as it's almost 2 years now and we don't have enough money to keep doing IVF indefinitely. We did 3 IUIs and before that 4 months of Clomid. Part of me is wondering if there is something else at play other than just the low AMH, hence the additional tests, I'm also hoping to be tested for endometriosis on the NHS...

Do you mind me asking what kind of protocols you were on? I did natural modified both times. Did we ever switch protocols or clinics and found you had a better response?x

@Dbop100 I hear you. The what if is cruel. One thing I would say is that my previous clinic offered a 3 package cycle for natural ivf as that was needed to hit their stats. I think if it were me I’d do a throw everything at another cycle and see what happens. There’s also nothing stopping you trying a short protocol and seeing what happens. What I’ve learnt is that there is sometime no answer and that is the most frustrating thing. Here’s a breakdown of what I did:
Cycle 1 - mild 250 bemfola - 5 eggs none made it past day 3 but DHs sperm was not in a good place nor was his lifestyle
Cycle 2 - flare protocol - 12 eggs, only 1 froze all poor quality day 3
Cycle 3 - flare protocol - 9 eggs.1 fertilised not good enough to freeze

Did all the above back to back had 2 months off and changed clinics
Cycle 4 - went back to short protocol 300 - we also did AOA - 8 eggs, 3 blasts, 1 miscarriage 5 weeks and 1 now 9 weeks pregnant.

One thing @RenMcCormackisafox said to me was that no matter how I get there I will be a mum. I kept that with me and it gave me comfort in the dark days xxx

Thanks for sharing @StargazerLillyPie that's all really interesting. Maybe I'll consider another round depending what all the test results show up. Although I have a total AFC of 5 so I just don't know if I'm ever gonna get enough eggs to justify going through it all. Yes I've told myself this about somehow becoming a mother before before, I wish we knew how it all ended as we were going through it, sometimes it's easier to believe it's going to work out than at other times - But I guess feeling a little down the cycle after failed IVF is to be expected. Ah well! it's our wedding anniversary this week so we can try and take our minds off it with wine and cake x

@dbop100 if you have any questions or want anymore info just let me know, happy to help in anyway I can. My original AFC was 6 I think I got more eggs because we did cycles back to back but apart from the first cycle never got more than 50% fertilisation which I can only assume was because my ovaries were tired.

I hope you both have a lovely anniversary. Will be thinking of you whatever you decide to do next, wishing you lots of luck and future happiness x

Have just read this thread through. Hope you don’t mind me bumping it up. I have this afternoon been given a poor AMH result of 4.4p/mol. We have been having issues TTC but this is still a shell shock as the gynaecologist suspected endometriosis was our issue. Hospital are repeating the test but I’m not hopeful for a better result, only 20 days after the first test. Apparently my result is too low to qualify for nhs treatment.

Wishing you all the best of luck and would love to hear your updates through this awful journey none of us wanted to be on.

@StargazerLillyPie

I have only just managed to find this thread again after being locked out of my old @RenMcCormackisafox account, starting a new account recently and not being able to find you/this thread!!!

I am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage - that must have been a dark time for you, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to respond at the time.
I won’t lie I am welling up with joy that you are now 9 weeks (or more now?!). I was told by a sonographer who did my harmony test that if you see a heartbeat etc at 10 weeks the likelihood of everything being ok past then is very high!!

My due date is this week and baby girl is making me very uncomfortable. We’ve had a few scares recently so I’m really looking forward to having her in my arms. Pregnancy after loss and infertility never gets any easier! I sometimes wish I could be like other women who conceive easily/don’t know loss and just trust that everything will be ok. I’m sure she will be worth it all when she’s here.

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to read your updates - just wonderful. Xxx

@CausingChaos2 Hope you are ok? It is such difficult news to receive but there is still so much hope even with this result, we are proof of that! Have you had your AFC (antral follicle count) and FSH tested?

@MrsM2021 Ah so good to hear from you & thank you so much for your support :) wow due date already, 9 months have flown by, wishing you a smooth birth any day now! I am 12+1weeks, I've had 4 scans already and been to the top consultants to check on things and everything is going well, I just can't believe it is actually happening! After 4 collections and a miscarriage it's tough to shift my mindset to being positive but I just feel so incredibly lucky every second. I am 100% with you there, I don't think I will ever relax until the baby is in my arms, how have you managed? xxX

@StargazerLillyPie Sorry for my late reply, I had to step away from the internet as was just obsessively researching and making myself ill. My second AMH blood test actually came back slightly better at 6.9 but still very low for my age (30). The consultant has postponed my lap + dye and wants to see me in clinic first to discuss the AMH result.

I’ve had an ultrasound and the report said ‘normal follicular pattern’ but no numbers given. My FSH was 5.4 which I think is normal.

I’m so pleased things have worked out for you. I’m sure everything will be fine with your pregnancy but completely understand it must be hard to turn off the anxiety that comes with fertility issues. Once you reach 12 weeks the odds are massively in your favour so I hope you’re able to enjoy the special time ahead. Sending you best wishes and thank you for your message x