Advised to use egg donation

[Biscuitsgalore18]

Hello,
I am 40 with AMH 4 (tested a year ago so may have changed). Had 2 failed IVF attempts due to poor response at stims. Clinic have advised to use donar eggs.

I really want to try again with my own eggs, but am I just being pig headed!

Hyscoy showed my fallopian tubes are blocked which they put down to previous csection. However have not had a Laparoscopy, thinking maybe this would be helpful to assess for any other damage. Have been reading that scarring around ovaries can prevent follicle production. I think laproscoies are really expensive though and they may not find anything wrong. Not sure if I am clutching at straws!

Feeling very lost. Not sure if its time to give up, or I should do more investigation into what is wrong and try again. Has anyone been in a similar situation and was there a positive outcome?

Thank you xxx

Statistically you're unlikely to conceive with your own eggs via IVF over 40, particularly given your lack of success to date. It depends on finance really I would say - if you've got enough money to try another round with your own, accepting it probably won't work, and then move on to donor eggs, why not? If finances are stretched you would increase your likelihood of success by using donor eggs. I think it's a very personal decision to be honest.

Age 40 statistically you still have a good chance of getting pregnant naturally except with the blocked tubes issue of course - an AMH of 4 is low however a clinic like Create specialises in women with much lower AMH so i would pursue that angle before egg donation to be honest.

(Albeit I personally don't agree in use of donor eggs which does affect what I would advise admittedly)

Considering donor eggs can feel like a big step, so if you feel you need another attempt with your own eggs before feeling ready to consider donor eggs, I'd say go for it if you have the resources. If the attempt is successful, great!, and if not, then at least you won't have that "what if?" in your mind.

Rather than going with the same clinic and/or protocol, would you be able to try a different approach? There are some clinics which specialise in patients with low AMH, and some which will throw everything and the kitchen sink in to a protocol... Maybe look at a few different ones and see which approach feels right to you?

Hi all,

Thank you for all the advice.
I have arranged an inital consultation with poundberry clinic in Dorchester, who link in with Lister Clinic. As they appear more willing to try new approachs for low AMH.

I just need to try ans keep an open mind until the consultation.xx

@Biscuitsgalore18 I was told the same thing (AMH 1.0 and failed IVF) but I went ahead with own egg anyway and had success in the end with natural modified ivf.

@MabelG that's incredible! Can I ask what clinic you used?

@Biscuitsgalore18 yes it was Create

[quote Biscuitsgalore18]@MabelG that's incredible! Can I ask what clinic you used?[/quote]
I was also with create and had twins using natural modified IVF x

I did mild ivf with Create, amh was 5 a year ago and I got 3 top quality embryos. We lost one in our fresh round with a chemical but my FET recently was a bfp. Definitely look into mild or natural modified ivf with your own eggs. Good luck x

I was told my AMH was undetectable, and had totally given up. However after years of trying and a failed ivf cycle I some how conceived naturally. So don’t totally give up, it can still happen xxxx

Good luck with your consultation! Try to have notes of your questions with you.

@Furmummy wow that is incredible! Can i ask how old you were? And did you do anything differently the month you conceived?

@tiggerwhocamefortea @VenusStarr i have been looking at natural/modified. Great to hear it worked for you both! I guess some bodies are just resistant to a large number of follicles been produced.

@IsabelHerna thank you, i have been writing down questions.

@Biscuitsgalore18 I’m 39, we had just accepted that month that it wouldn’t happen, and I had had Accupuncture for the first time that month to treat menapausal symptoms. I ovulated about 2 weeks late (I hadn’t been tracking, just based on scans and lmp) my AMH was undetectable, so even if exploring other routes don’t totally give up, track your ovulation and consider Accupuncture .. wishing you well xx

@Biscuitsgalore18 sorry you've had such a difficult time. Age-wise I don't think that being 40 necessarily means you can't conceive via IVF. I had my daughter when I was nearly 42. 40 isn't crazily old for IVF although your egg quality will have declined and will do so very fast from now on. I'm less interested in AMH these days and think AFC and your FSH levels are a better indicator for IVF success. But as others have said mild or natural IVF may help even if you have low AFC and high FSH.

A lot of this is also about piece of mind. If you feel you need to try again so you don't have regrets, and if you can afford it, then I would do so.

Donors is a great option though. Even though we didn't use a donor in the end, it really took the pressure off because I knew that if we chose to, we could have another baby. It wouldn't be mine genetically but we could have a baby. That made it feel like a choice rather than a situation I had no control over, if that makes sense.

Best of luck x