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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

High fsh level ivf

13 replies

Starli · 18/02/2023 13:28

Hi All. I’ve been ttc for 10 years now. Over the years I went to the docs and everything was said to be fine, just unexplained infertility. I’m 39 and now have been to the nhs to start ivf however my fsh levels are now at 17 and they will not offer me IVF. I am devastated. Can’t stop crying. Did I leave it to late? Is this the end of the road for me? Does anyone have any tips, eg any alternatives such as acupuncture, things that may help me conceive?

OP posts:
SPR40 · 19/02/2023 00:58

Hi, I am sorry to hear your news I absolutely understand as I had a similar experience with NHS after waiting 15 years to get my tests done. At 38 my FSH was 48.3, what noone told me is FSH ca change month to month and can also be suppressed with medication. Naturally at its lowest it was 12.

Each CCG has its own rules as to what makes us eligible for IVF. You can Google it by asking IVF eligibility and then your council name and the rules should come up. It is helpful to understand, as my CCG initially declined me treatment but randomly changed their mind 2 weeks later. I later understood its because their criteria was to meet 1 of 3 criteria AMH, AFC or FSH I just scraped the AFC.

I didn't end up staying with NHS after an awful experience in my first cycle, I was fortunate enough to be able to use all our savings to go private. It wasn't easy privately either but it isn't impossible. Privately I learnt about eostrogen priming which suppressed FSH pre cycle and lowest it was 1.

Wishing you well xxxx

Starli · 19/02/2023 09:07

Thank you so much for your response. Really appreciate it. I think the criteria for my nhs eligibility is 2 out of 3. FSH and AMH, I have not met these two of the requirements. If you don’t mind can I ask which clinic you used for the private treatment and if it was successful?

Wishing you all all the best too. Xxx

OP posts:
SPR40 · 19/02/2023 10:30

Hi 👋 please ask any question that will be helpful, happy for you to PM me too xxx

I went with CRGH due to my age 39 when I started with them and their results for our age bracket. We saw 3 clinics before making our final decision, had our tests with them and an initial consultation to see what their approach would be. One of them 100% didn't want me to go with them as my chances were low and they kept trying to get me to use donor eggs even though I wanted to try with my own first. The 2nd wanted me to do ICSI even though there were no male factor fertility concerns and CRGH were very honest and said these are the chances it will be tough and there are no guarantees.

I will be 41 in April. I have done about 10 freeze all cycles with CRGH over 15 months 3 cycles got to egg collection, some didn't start due to FSH too high, some were abandoned due to poor response to meds (low folicile count to start) and some planned break months. I got 4 embryos in the freezer which was our personal target before we started transferring. We did mild stim with oestrogen suppression, the first 2 cycles we got 1 embryo per cycle and then after a planned break month and Christmas my body was like 'nope not tricking me anymore!' We did about 7 months of cycles and nothing. So we took another break, went on holiday and switched off from IVF for a while and when we got back we decided to change a protocol to a more aggressive approach as I thoughts were the mild isn't working anymore So what the hey. We got 2 embryos from that last cycle. We had a note on our file saying proceed if only 1 folicle which they said not many people do but my AFC is so low I was willing to take the risk if they could just get the 1. Eggs collected by cycle were, 3, 2 and 2 and embryos 1, 1, 2.

We transferred 1 embryo in December, our first one that was created and are currently 13 weeks pregnant.

Other people on the forums talk about Create as they do a 3 cycle multi cycle package which is approx £12-£13k. Ours cost us about £7k a cycle incl meds. If it was abandoned it wa sjust cost of any meds used approx £1k depending on when abandoned and a £750 cancellation fee.

Someone else also mentioned that Care offer something called duo-stim, that I would 100% look into if I had to stim again. It does 2 egg collections per cycle, so any little folicles that hadn't grown enough by egg collection get boosted and collected in the 2nd collection 2 weeks later. The person who discussed this is also 12 weeks pregnant with twins and also in our age group.

The initial consultations do cost about £600 if you have the tests with them but there is also just an option of a consultation if you already have your results. If you then decide to go with them they will probably get you to rerun the tests.

Just to give all the info I wish I had known before I started a few people have been abroad to ahve their treatment as even with travel costs it worked out more cost effective.

I hope this is helpful but anything else that may be useful please let me know. X

Starli · 19/02/2023 11:50

This information is so helpful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Xx

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augustbabypending · 21/02/2023 11:44

Hey. I was refused NHS IVF too. Im 31, my AMH was 0.589pmol in 2021, FSH was always >20 and AFC was 1 maybe 2 and was told I was going into premature menopause. However I managed to get pregnant naturally. I tried 'healing my gut', lots of yoga, dairy and gluten free diet, sex every other day all through my cycle. I did one round of IVF in Sep where my ovaries didn't respond at all and I thought that was the end. My partner found a supplement called NMN which I started in Oct and conceived in November! I think everything I tried did help, but im convinced it was the NMN that got me pregnant. Hope that helps xxx

LeeCee · 21/02/2023 11:49

augustbabypending · 21/02/2023 11:44

Hey. I was refused NHS IVF too. Im 31, my AMH was 0.589pmol in 2021, FSH was always >20 and AFC was 1 maybe 2 and was told I was going into premature menopause. However I managed to get pregnant naturally. I tried 'healing my gut', lots of yoga, dairy and gluten free diet, sex every other day all through my cycle. I did one round of IVF in Sep where my ovaries didn't respond at all and I thought that was the end. My partner found a supplement called NMN which I started in Oct and conceived in November! I think everything I tried did help, but im convinced it was the NMN that got me pregnant. Hope that helps xxx

Hey really interested in this supplement can you tell me more? I'm in a similar FSH situation to OP and meeting a fertility clinic next week

augustbabypending · 21/02/2023 11:56

@LeeCee

It's called Nicotinamide mononucleotide

Meant to be an anti ageing supplement that has given periods back to some post menopausal women. My partner found it on Reddit and there are a couple of videos about it on YouTube. I took 724mg daily xx

Starli · 21/02/2023 15:46

@augustbabypending Thank you so so much for sharing your experience and providing details on what helped you. Means a lot.

this is really useful information I will definitely look into that supplement

i stared taking coq-10 yesterday as read it helps with the quality of the egg.

wishing you a healthy and safe pregnancy xx

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SPR40 · 21/02/2023 16:06

@augustbabypending that is amazing! Congratulations and thanks for sharing 😊

augustbabypending · 21/02/2023 16:35

@Starli @SPR40 thanks very much both. I really hope it helps! I also tried CoQ10 and DHEA but didn't have much luck on them xx

Starli · 21/02/2023 21:20

@augustbabypending
Can I ask where you purchased Nicotinamide mononucleotide from? And also DHEA ? I asked in Holland and Barrett’s but they didn’t sell them. Thank you! X

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augustbabypending · 22/02/2023 05:48

Starli · 21/02/2023 21:20

@augustbabypending
Can I ask where you purchased Nicotinamide mononucleotide from? And also DHEA ? I asked in Holland and Barrett’s but they didn’t sell them. Thank you! X

My DHEA was from Biovea.com
NMN from British-supplements.net xx

Starli · 22/02/2023 09:25

@augustbabypending thank you ♥️

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