Low amh / 3 lead follicles - need some hope!

[VenusStarr]

I'm doing my first round of IVF, this is my one and only nhs round. I have low amh (5) so was warned they weren't expecting much from me. I have had 4 naturally concieved miscarriages and am following an immune protocol but worried about my low numbers.

I've been on stims since Thursday and had my first scan today. I have 3 decent sized follicles: 2x12mm, 1x10mm plus 5 smaller ones all about 5mm. The nurse seemed happy but thinks that the smaller ones won't come to anything. Follow up is Wednesday and looking at egg collection sometime between Friday and Monday.

I'm on another thread and everyone has loads of follicles / eggs, so struggling not to compare. Due to my low numbers, we've already discussed a day 3 transfer, but I'm worried we won't even get that far.

Please share any positive stories. X

@VenusStarr well the pressure is definitely off this cycle tbh so that might make a difference!! Oooooh breathlessness is a symptom!! 🤞🏼 for you 🌈❤️x

Yes @VenusStarr it definitely is. I just walked up the 4 flights of stairs to get to the clinic and struggled breathing which normally I’d be fine with! 😂 I’m waiting for my blood test now 🤞

Oh glad they've got you in today @39andabit 🤞 will you get the results today? Got everything crossed for you!

Interesting with the breathlessness... I'm feeling shattered today today, but it's got the be progesterone. Could do with a nap! 😂

Thank you @Luan82 🤞 for Friday xx

I’m back home and the clinic called already. She said at 4wk and 2 day they like to see a hcg of over 100. Mine is 101!! I am so happy but still anxious it’s not higher... IVF turns you into a wreck!

I have a 7week scan booked for mid June, no more blood tests unless I have any symptoms. I’m going to POAS on the weekend and hopefully see a better line. We’re going out for dinner later for a tentative celebration, sadly no vino for me but for the most lovely reasons.

Hoping this becomes a lucky thread for all of you. Thanks so much for all your support! Looking forward to some more BFPs 😘

Congratulations @39andabit - that's really good news! 💜👍

@39andabit this is such lovely news ❤️🌈 they must feel confident in the number to stop monitoring the levels 🤞🏼 for the next nine months to be as smooth as possible !! Xx

Brilliant news @39andabit 🥳🥰💕 101 is perfect for where you're at (yes I've already looked up the ranges in preparation 🤓) fantastic news!! I hope you have a lovely celebration tonight xxx

@39andabit big congratulations!! That's fantastic and definitely deserves a celebration :) What a relief it must be!
I was telling my husband after ET we can do things like going out to eat that we couldn't during the treatment (and before due to restrictions!) , but I am really not up to it atm... feeling very tired probably due to too much googling and too much information going into my head :(

I'm sorry you're not feeling good @jolly86 ❤️ I hope you can take your mind off things for a while xx

Thanks @Luan82 @Scirocco and @jolly86 had a lovely evening but ate so much I have a lot of cramps, hoping this is the ‘food baby’ 😂

@jolly86 I do think the info on the internet is a bit of a rabbit hole. It’s good we can research and make informed decisions but it definitely adds to stress levels. I try and give myself a time limit e.g 30-40 mins a day of ‘googling’ and then go back to chatting to friends, browsing clothes, watching Netflix, etc... I don’t always stick to it but it helps me to cut down a bit. I feel like people who haven’t gone through infertility know almost nothing about conception and those of us who have can quote hormone levels and scientific research like we’re studying to be consultants!
The Covid curse really does make distracting yourself harder too. Take care.

@jolly86 completely understand where you are coming from and agree with @39andabit - Dr Google can be your best friend and your worst enemy!! I'm so guilty of this and though it helped me when finding natural remedies for my scar tissue it's also been just as counterproductive especially during the TWW, only yesterday I googled 'sensitive teeth and BFP' - ridiculous!!! 😂 this cycle I'm also way more relaxed, I can't control the outcome but when AF comes I'll start injections which does give me back a sense of control which I think is part of the problem for most of us! Hope you feel better 😘 xx

Hi everyone! @VenusStarr @39andabit @Luan82 yes this is a very bad habit and once you start researching it never ends!!! Also I feel very stupid about the whole year of lockdown how we paid attention to eating well, taking vitamins, no alcohol (not that I like it normally but husband also wasn't drinking at all), exercise (which I am glad as we did) but in the end to see all these efforts didn't really help - at least in my husband's case he had the worst semen results during our cycle! In case of me I cannot say it helped but I don't have a reference point. So I came to conclude that we should take a more relaxed approach for our next cycle and spend our money on IVF itself as opposed to expensive supplements.

Hi @jolly86 I think it's easy to think you're not doing enough and I know I've been swayed by certain old wives tales or supplements to try. But I think going easy on yourself and doing things in moderation is probably the best approach.
How are you feeling?

How are you @Luan82 @39andabit?
I'm 5dp5dt and woke up really happy and content today. I'm so surprised that I'm not tempted to test, at all. I'm liking this hope bubble, fully aware that it could be burst on Monday, but I'm glad I'm not worrying and stressing myself out. Xx

@jolly86 - my god if I added up how much money I'd spent in the past two years on acupuncture, Chinese medicine, supplements, private tests, pregnancy tests and ovulation tests .... well I'm not even gonna consider it!! 😭😭😭😭
@VenusStarr that's great that your not stressing about it, I'm pretty much the same this cycle - though I've not really had any symptoms so I'm just waiting for AF to arrive Saturday then the injections start!! Need to get my head around which to take first as well 🥴 My temp is still quite high but dropped slightly the past two nights which is usually indicative that the evil witch is approaching !! 🧙‍♀️

@VenusStarr @Luan82 I think there is conflicting evidence. We always come across people on forums who claim these helped but many doctors say you cannot change, it is just your how your body is. It is impossible to know if for those who write is just coincidence. In our case, it is really strange as initially husband's values improved, so we thought the supplements worked and then it got much worse. It might just be that values are changing over time but we attribute it to the supplements. In my case no history of early menapause in my family and no fertility problems I will never understand why I have such low amh just bad luck I suppose. Oh and I never smoked and no surgery etc.. I ve spent so much on ubiquinol too more than anything :(

@jolly86 isn't it expensive though !! It's like an extra slap in the face for us low amh-ers - let's charge an extortionate amount for the only supplement that's meant to specifically help egg quality .... oh yeah - cheers!!! I think holland and Barrett had them on sale last week so I bought two lots ready for next month !! Xx

@Luan82 I always paid for the doctor's best brand and ordered on foreign websites (iherb.com currently, think it comes from europe it's cheapest) and it is still very very expensive!! Especially given the amount suggested for us is very high (400 mg?!) I stopped since starting my cycle and not taking it currently. I cannot promise I won't fall into the same trap if my cycle ends negatively.

@jolly86 yup!! I haven't tried the pure form only the CoQ10 form, but the ones I got were 200mg which helps!! I've no idea if it's helped my egg reserve or quality though, guess will have to wait and see... x

@Luan82 yes who knows if i didn't take them so religiously maybe I'd get even less eggs?! best not to regret.

I get my ubiquinol from amazon, the 200mg is £21 for 30. I upped it to 400mg when I started this cycle and stopped at egg collection. I've been on 200mg pretty much for 2 years. It's really hard to know what's for the best. I don't think low amh = bad quality eggs though. It hadn't for me. I'm unsure if the ubiquinol helped, but I felt better about taking it @jolly86 @Luan82

I'm glad you're not stressing about your cycle @Luan82 xx

Hi everyone! Had a busy day at work and am knackered from yesterday’s rollercoaster of emotions. Hope you all managed 10mins of sun at least.

I completely agree re the supplements, I was spending about £50 a month on them. No idea if it made a difference either but you’re just desperate to find a solution. And it’s such an overwhelming amount of info, should you have folate not folic acid, ubiquinol not q10, should you eat dairy or not... it drives you crazy! I eat pretty healthy but over exercise was an issue for me so now I’m scared to do much at all.

@VenusStarr glad you’re staying chilled. I think it’ll be ok as you know you have the test Monday and that’s only a few days now. Although I found the last few the hardest, like you I was just relieved to have got to transfer so quite happy for a few days.

@Luan82 how was the acupuncture? I think I’d have tried that but the Covid restrictions put me off? Glad you’re feeling ok, the last month before IVF I was just happy to be starting something that might actually work. The injections themselves I found ok but the mixing stressed me out as I was scared of getting it wrong and wasting a £300 bottle of menopur!

@Luan82 I cracked up at your confession on googling 'sensitive teeth and BFP', I’ve mainly been googling ‘faint line at 4wk2days’. It just drives you nuts doesn’t it?!

Have you tested again today @39andabit or are you trusting the blood test? Glad you managed to get some sun today, I'm just in the garden with a ginger tea ☀
The closer it's getting to test day, I'm feeling OK with the wait. Just going to try and make the most of it 🙂 xx

@VenusStarr sounds lovely! I ordered some more First Response Tests which came today. I am going to test tomorrow morning and compare with Mondays test, I will feel so much better if there’s a darker line. My partner thinks I’m losing the plot but I think after yesterday’s really faint line and being so close to the border of when the clinic would see it as an issue I’m desperate for some reassurance! I can then test again Monday and if it all looks good I’ll try and step away from the tests until the scan!!

You’re doing so well, just a few more days and hopefully the exciting news. Do you find out the result the same day? Mine only took a couple of hours.

I totally get the need for reassurance ❤️ @39andabit I've already thought that if I get good news on Monday, I'll test just to see the lines. But your hcg was a good level 🙏

I'll get the results the same day, when I had my progesterone they called early afternoon. I don't know if I'm being overly optimistic, but I'm just trying to visualise getting good news 💕

I think you have every reason to be optimistic it’s gone well and you deserve it, so stay in the positive zone!

That’s good that you won’t have to wait too long. It’s amazing to get a positive pregnancy test, the number of negative ones I’ve done ‘just to rule it out’ since my periods went AWOL is very sad!