Hi ladies,
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks. We've had quite the journey; we started TTC seven years ago when I was 34. There were no issues with me, just the male factor. Dr's said you're young, keep trying, and it will happen. Then COVID happened, and I really didn't want to start treatment then.
So now, I'm 41, and it's our last shot. In January 2024, we went to a clinic and ran the tests. It came back with the same malefactor, if not worse, and my AMH was low at 2.8 Pmol/ml. The scan showed follicles and a healthy uterus, but only three that he could see as my fourth ovary was hiding, and he basically told us. Don't bother, adopt or donor eggs. Oh, and I'm months away from menopause. An extremely negative consultation that left us slightly numb as we were told we had less than a 5% chance at conception.
Never one to give up, I approached Create in February 2024 for a second opinion because I wanted fewer drugs and not to overdose my body on hormones. I had my baseline scan, and they found seven follicles on the left ovary and two on the right; she struggled to gain access again so that it could have been a third follicle, but she wasn't sure. But I definitely felt more positive, and this morning, we had our planning consultation.
So, the main thing to come out of the consultation is that my BMI needs to come down from 35 to 32, ideally 30, but he understands that it may take too long, so he has given me until May to lose it. I knew this was likely. He's also suggested my husband does a sperm freeze in case it's bad on the day. He also admitted that if we'd come to him five years ago, he would likely have told us to go away and keep trying so we'd still be here. He also implied that if I lost weight, we'd likely conceived naturally, but my BMI was under 30 when we started this journey, so I highly doubt it at this point. My husband's sperm is just a mixture of chaos.
We received the treatment plan, and after, I peeled myself from the ceiling at the cost. We did say a quote for a single cycle, but he then said I'd suggest the three cycles, so he quoted for that. I didn't feel it was very tailored to us; it just felt extremely generic. I was surprised he offered mild IVF; given my low AMH, I was expecting modified, but perhaps my follicle count showed more positive outcomes.
I guess my first question is, has anyone just done a one-cycle collection and gone for it? Also, has anyone else frozen their sperm for later? I know there are some pretty similar views on communication, which is always a worry. We're based out of the Southampton branch and Wimbledon. Anyone else?