Low amh, DHEA and a hidden ovary!!!!

[Babybana16]

Hi all

This is my first time posting. I'm 36 and looking to start the ivf multi cycle at Care Fertility in Birmingham. I've had my amh test done which is below average for my age at 5.7. My AFC showed 9 follicles 3 in my left ovary which were small and 6 on my right which were decent size but my consultant is worried that even if I create decent eggs in this ovary she might not be able to get to them as my ovary is HIDING behind my uterus! As if ivf isn't stressful enough that my ovaries decide to play hide and seek! Has anybody else had experience of this? What can be done to boost my chances as I don't want to end up with a cancelled cycle (which is what my consultant has said is a possibility in order to manage expectations :( ☹).

I'm looking to start DHEA to boost my egg quality but i would love to know if anybody else has had successful cycles despite a hidden ovary.

@jolly86 oh bless you, this is my first too- I was 36 when I started but due to ectopic etc and delays with covid I'm now 38 😟 my AFC was 7 last time but that was in November last year so god knows what it is currently, the whole covid situ has really negatively affected my treatment and my consultant called on Friday to apologise for the errors they have made with my treatment - I agree with you entirely that surgery can be counterproductive, the good news is that because I elected to pay privately for a HyCoSy and the dye flowed freely through the tubes she has taken me off the list for surgery and they now think my infertility is due to other issues - she has finally pushed the date to start IVF next month, which is a massive relief. She is still reiterating that though my AMH is low it is not an absolute guarantee that I will enter menopause early or that my eggs are not good quality, just that there are less follicles growing each month x

@Luan82 that's good that you don't need surgery anymore. Unless absolutely necessary we have to avoid any surgery involving ovaries I was told. Yes, I was also shocked about my low ovarian reserve but when i went abroad to see some gynecologists they all told me that low amh isn't the cause for infertility, indeed I did get pregnant naturally in september just to miscarry at 5.5 weeks. But since then nothing again and now i am going ahead with ivf, one try here at the NHS if it doesn't work I am going abroad. I am conscious that we may have to try several times due to the less follicles at each cycle. Are you then classed as unexplained finally? I am also scared of this diagnosis as I find it difficult to imagine why it doesn't happen naturally but it will with IVF, without understanding the reason.

@jolly86 absolutely, the lack of answers of understanding of a diagnosis is really hard, seems I can get pregnant and the embryo did grow but they couldn't find the sac so PUL (pregnancy of unknown location) presumed ectopic, which is why I went ahead with the HyCoSy, so the general opinion is that the blockages have now disappeared either with the medication they gave me for the ectopic or the castor oil massage therapy I did afterwards, that's really interesting that they advised the low amh hasn't been the reason for infertility, I always wondered if diminished reserve meant that you the chances of releasing a viable egg each month is lower? I'd like to see more consultants put time into understanding the reasoning behind an infertility diagnosis but most I guess just don't know?

@jolly86 - one time in the nhs for us too, I was told they would probably want to put me on the highest stim cycle ? Most chance of getting as many eggs as possible at collection, should the first cycle fail then I'm planning to go ahead with a multi cycle treatment as they claim that the multi cycles don't mean just two goes, the embryos are frozen and they implant all embryos till you have none left before moving onto next cycle. I'm going for my first acupuncture session next week and currently talking CoQ10 which may help with egg quality though some also say it's a load of rubbish!!

@Luan82 yes I agree part of me always thinks there is link with low amh and being unable to conceive naturally as i see so many women who have low amh doing ivf, also so many who miscarry.. But the doctors say you have same chance as long as you ovulate each month as there has been a research that showed this. I think also rather than understanding the exact reason it is better option to go ahead with IVF as the reason can only be resolved by IVF anyways..and only after multiple IVF failures they would do more intensive tests. My scare is what if the underlying reason is something like say preventing fertilisation and an embryo from forming or developing... This is my biggest fear. Sorry to be so negative but that is how I feel atm :(

@jolly86 oh I completely agree and that's exactly how I feel too! I have such a fear that it's something simple like I'm not ovulating every month, my lining is too thin or I have an uninhabitable womb environment and that's why I'm failing each month !! It's so hard it really is.... all I would say is that rest assured that IVF takes out a lot of these risk factors, collecting more eggs in one means they will monitor the growth and quality of the embryo the lab and only the strongest is selected, they monitor your lining before implantation too so you've got to put your faith in the medical system - though it is so tough then you are told the chances of success first time are so low 😔