New to infertility - low ovarian reserve - advice needed

[Tryingtobeamumma]

Hi, I’m looking for advice…

I’m 32 and Newlife confirmed I have a low ovarian reserve (2 and 3). AMH 4.18 and FSH 14.1. And my partner had no sperm. I was in shock so didn’t ask any questions and the Dr didn’t offer any advice other than there’s no point in trying anymore…

My partner is seeing a Urologist and I’ve booked a consultation with Lister. I’m just wondering if anyone can recommend where we start with treatment? IVF seems to be the main one but is there nothing else/ cheaper to explore first? I also have a BMI of 39 and am trying to get it down but am worried about how much time is left for my eggs. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I feel clueless. Google tells me different things. Dr Robert Winston seems to have a negative view on everything. I’m just stuck on where to get advice from. I feel completely in the dark and a bit alone to be honest. Thank you x

Hi @Tryingtobeamumma I'm so sorry to hear about both of your results. I know how upsetting it is find out you have low AMH. I was told I had an AMH of 2.1 when I was 33, it was a total shock and really upsetting. It sounds like you're both on the right track, I would wait to find out more about your partners situation before you start any treatment. You never know there might be a reason such as infection or varicose vein that could be 'fixed' to improve things. But sperm usually takes 3 months to improve so I would say no point in you starting IUI/IVF until that's sorted, in the meantime you could do all the tests you might not have done yet, take supplements that sort of thing. If you were working with perfect super sperm you could try IUI before you go to IVF. In theory they say we can get pregnant even with low AMH 🤷‍♀️. So who knows? We did a round of IVF in April that didn't work out, afterwards we found out there were previously known sperm issues of high DNA fragmentation and I really regretted doing the IVF before we checked that. Good luck with everything!x

@Dbop100 thank you so much for your advice. When the doctor told me about my low reserve I thought I’d have no time before they were all gone but it seems like we have enough time to investigate my partner first and then look at the best treatment. I do feel like IVF is the main treatment talked about so I’ll make sure I get all the tests done before we think of that. It’s just crazy we all have to go through this. Sorry to hear your IVF was unsuccessful. I’ve got everything crossed for the future for you x

Sorry to hear about your situation OP.
I just wanted to say, BMI wise, I've been speaking to some clinics abroad and they're cheaper and care less about BMI. One just tested my blood glucose and so on and said I was fine (BMI 29). The NHS probably won't treat you if your BMI is over 30. When I looked into it, the impact to improve my fertility for me of loosing a few kgs was less than the delay loosing that weight would cause (I'm 35 but don't have a low reserve). It's a bit crap how the NHS are with that!

@Tryingtobeamumma sorry to hear this but @Dbop100 has given some excellent advice. Regarding Robert Winston, please don't get too downhearted by him. I'm sure he means well but I'm not overly convinced he's up to date with all his knowledge. Just remember he doesn't like to offer hope and you won't go far wrong

@Tryingtobeamumma yes I think you certainly have enough time to figure out what's going on with the sperm. They say age is the main factor to determine quality of eggs and you have it on your side. True we're likely to produce less eggs with IVF (I only got 2 but 1 made it to day 5 blast, it just sadly didn't take) but it's quality over quantity. We've taken a few months off for my husband to work on improving his sperm, we get the new test results for that next week so fingers crossed we'll have some improvement and then maybe we'll do another round who knows?x

@Tryingtobeamumma
Hi! I don't have the same problem as you but I am older than you are (35) and my husband has low morphology (1%). We are preparing for our 2nd ICSI round. So I started to look into the ways to improve our chances. I can recommend you two books:
It starts with the egg Rebecca Fett and Fueling Male Fertility Lauren Manaker

Rebecca Fett was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve in her late 20s but thanks to her working knowledge in biology, she went through all the publications and research in the fertility field and summarized the latest developments in the area in her book. She also got a lot of eggs and embryos in her first IVF round. I would definitely look into that book.

I am also using the supplements she recommended (Except DHEA and melatonin because they are still disputable in IVF world)
Since you are also very young and got a similar diagnosis, I would definitely look into that book.

The 2nd book about male infertility is short but very helpful. Basically explains men with various fertility problems, what to eat and what to avoid. Also sums up the supplements they should take for certain problems.

WWhat did you mean by "there is no point in trying"? You cannot opt for ICSI? I mean if you grow 5 mature eggs, the only need 5 viable sperms to fertilize...

I appreciate realist doctors but some are really negative and brutal 😡 As if infertility is not hard enough...

Sending you hugs 💕