AMH of 3.5 (36 y/o)

[Pep1952]

Hi all,
I got a call from my fertility clinic at Guy’s today, unfortunately my AMH is 3.5 and will not qualify for NHS IVF funding. This all came as a shock because my cycles are regular like clockwork and I ovulate every month. My FSH is normal (forgot to ask the exact number) so I will be scheduled for an ultrasound to count the follicles and also check my tubes. I am obviously devastated and was crying all morning. I am 36 y/o and was told that i can still conceive naturally (DH’s sperm results all good), but that my chances for successful IVF is diminished significantly compared to others who have AMH within normal range. We are scheduled to speak to the dr but I would appreciate advice from women who were on the same boat please. We can afford to do IVF privately but it won’t be comfortable if that makes sense. We only have just enough in savings. We’re not sure if we should keep trying for the rest of the year and re-assess in January but worried it’ll all be too late but then. Equally, also worried we will be spending monies on IVF when my chances aren’t great to begin with. Just confused right now tbh!

hey @Pep1952 , that’s so exciting to be getting started on ivf. It feels so good to get going. That’s exactly what I thought about my first round too, I just wanted to finally know what was happening in my body. It looks like we’ll be gearing up for another round too. We found out at our 7 week scan that the baby had stopped growing around 6 weeks. I had a gestational sac and yolk sac, but no sign of a wee growing embryo (and at that state there should be a flickering heartbeat). It’s been a difficult week, and we have a confirmation scan tomorrow, and I will probably opt to medically manage so I can move on. It seems it’s a missed MC as my body seems unaware of the loss.

i have bad moments, but am really just wanting to move on and get trying again. Was crazy to conceive spontaneously right after failed ivf. I’ve never been pregnant in three years of trying, so there’s hope in that at least. Very best of luck with your treatment this month, let me know if you wanna talk anything through.

@Nosejug I am so sorry to hear you had a miscarriage. It must have been heartbreaking. But as you said you now know your body has the capacity to conceive. At our consultation w the dr he did mention to us that he’s not very concerned with my AMH because DH and I are both healthy and I’ve just turned 36 y/o. He did say what concerns him a little bit was that we never had a hint of pregnancy after unprotected intercourse for 2 years (although we weren’t actively ttc during the first yr).

Take it easy on yourself. It’s so hard but we keep going. After 3 failed letrozole cycles, I was feeling so down and getting consumed by negativity. So i had to take a time out, saw my friends, focused on mindfulness and just tried living healthy as much as possible.

We keep going and we will have our much wanted and loved babies soon xx

Well a message of hope, I was in a group of women somewhere on here that three of us had become pregnant right after a failed ivf..! And all with a long history of trying. Was a cool gang while it lasted. You’re right about looking after yourself. I do hate that I’m about to turn 39 (dec). I now have way more hope though that I have a chance of becoming pregnant. I can’t help but think it’s thanks to the ivf. If you feel like updating I’ll be cheering on your progress, but equally, absolutely no worries if you’ve a million threads and it gets repetitive. Will be cheering you either way!x

Last year my amh was 3 I was just 30 so I was totally devastated at this too, went straight into ivf got 7 eggs only 4 mature, zero fertilization. They said do icsi next time, I think people who have low amh icsi should ALWAYS be used!! So please keep that in mind when you start your ivf,
2nd round I stayed on pergoveris 375 I had 5 eggs collected only 2 mature 2 fertilized with icsi, none made it to day 5, clinic wanted to go higher on meds for 3rd round, I got some opinions off other clinics who said I should be on low stims for my amh as high stims can push your body to make more eggs that simply aren't there so it may worsening your egg quality.
Currently in cycle number 3 with a clinic in Greece just had a ovarian prp & hysteroscopy and will be starting on low dose meriofert in a few weeks, Fertility is tricky

@Clocloxx thanks for sharing your story. I'd be very interested to hear about your protocol in Greece and see how you get on. I'm in a similar situation. 36. AMH was 4 pmol when tested about 18 months ago. Done 3 rounds of ICSI on max stims (450IU) and got 3 average quality blasts (across the 1st and 2nd cycles). This round I've done a lot more prep and I've been put on lower stims alongside steroids x

Hello all, i have done 6 days of Menopur so far and have a few follicles growing at a good size which I am very grateful for. Nurse said she reckons i’ll be ready for trigger in 2 days but will know when I go back for another scan on Weds. Also have a couple of stragglers at 7mm today, nurse said they may still catch up. Anyone got any experience of small follicles catching up and ramping up their growth at the last few days?? Sounds too good to be true? Lol
@Nosejug how are you have you started new cycle yet? Xx

Hi lovely ladies! I’m so proud of you all cracking on despite enormous challenges. Are you being triggered for IVF? Or ovulation induction? I read back but I can only see that you were exploring ivf and refused funding. With ovulation induction you probably don’t want them to catch up. It’s great you have some front runners! 😊

@Eiradu1 i should have specified! I’m on my first IVF cycle now which we have privately funded! Excited and nervous at the same time xxx

Ah I see! Well, don’t be upset if they don’t catch up as the eggs that have had their time to mature are our friends, and the other little ones if they catch up at nice to haves. I had a slower growing follicle catch up to adequate size in a few days but it wasn’t a teeny. Others woke up too. If it was sensible to slow maturation of the larger ones to allow the others to catch up they would have discussed that so know that you have winners already shining!
What dose of menopuer are you on?

@Nosejug absolutely!! I’m on 300iu menopur. It’s the dose I was started on, I was told we may adjust depending on how I get on but the dr seemed happy with my response so it hasn’t been changed. Hormone levels are all as expected too so jusy trying to relax and not worry (easier said than done!). It’s my first cycle and I know it’s unlikely to be successful on first go but keeping hopeful. Xx

Sorry I meant to tag you @Eiradu1 in my post above!

300iu will wake them up! It’s great they are closely monitoring you on that dose and you are a good responder. You have room to think positively. I know many who have succeeded first time with ivf, and it can take some goes to get the right maturation rate and also for health markers improve (no doubt you’ve changed lifestyle in some way in the just 90 days to benefit what you are doing).
I did ovulation induction with undetectable eggs using menopuer. We were told zero chance. Got pregnant right away. I had no oestrogen production either. Stay positive xxx

Hey @Pep1952 excitinf that you’re right in the middle of it! Hope you’re feeling good. A long way off booking ivf unfortunately, I’m still waiting to miscarry. It’s finally started but slow still. I’ve a vac surgery booked next Wednesday if things don’t move. Then I think I have to wait a whole cycle before being allowed to book again. Plus my pregnancy tests will need to read negative which can take some time I hear. The postive news is that I hear (much like after a failed ivf) that you’re way more fertile after miscarriage, so I’m chomping at the bit to have a go!! Glad that I seem to be handling the loss well.

I definitely had some slow runners, some caught up, and then some somehow disappeared?! I think it was more about inconsistent measuring. Every single one of those scans I felt so flighty that I didn’t take much in. Next time I’ll write everything down. Best best of luck for the next few days ♥️

I’m so sorry for your loss. I can feel your strength and so pleased you are finding your peace. I lost our baby in July and my experience of the next stages were the other way around to yours. I went straight for D&C so I could get into a new cycle asap and it failed, I had two rounds of meds and they didn’t work either but your body just seems to do what it needs to once it gets the memo. I was 5 weeks from D&C to go through the above and get a negative test/period so it may seem like it’s dragging but you’ll get there sooner than it feels.

@Pep1952 please do keep us updated.

I'm on my two week wait, 8dpo but my chances are very tiny. Onwards we march!

Just sat and read this whole thread - what an absolute bunch of warriors you all are!

I'm just at the start of my journey. DP has extremely low sperm count and my AFC was 3. Waiting for my AMH test results and first consultant appointment next week. Been TTC for 2yrs, 36yr old

Baby dust to us all x

@Eiradu1 my goodness, I'm sorry you went through that... it sounds like it was a particularly rough journey. But you're already in the two week wait? From the date of your message I'm assuming it's nearing time to test, fingers crossed for you.

@Pep1952 I'm thinking of you in your journey, I hope you're doing ok.

@ivfjourneyandme have you had your amh results? I've never actually had an afc, only they told me which were growing during egg collection (I can't even remember what they said! Will try next time to write everything down)

I had my vac surgery booked for yesterday morning, but on Tuesday was bleeding heavily right after leaving the hospital to sign consents. Had to drive home with contractions and bleeding, then DP drove me right back in! Stayed overnight on the ward as they were worried about the amount, and about an hour before surgery was due my body did what it needed and saved me from needing it. Scan confirmed all gone but a couple of clots which I think are now gone. An intense experience but not necessarily a negative one. I mean the news of the pregnancy failing was the most terrible moment, but being shown my body was capable of such things that so many women seem to experience without trying was really quite affirming.

Have the consultant tomorrow, very nervous about receiving the news. Hope you’re recovering well x

My AMH was 0.7 and we were told donor eggs was our only option.

That was in 2020, I had my DD in 2019 at 34 years old.

We tried for a year then gave up, feeling blessed we had our girl

I'm 39 now and 16 weeks pregnant, so please don't loose hope x

Thanks for sharing this 🙏

Saw the consultant, AMH is 1.9 so starting IVF in few months. Absolutely petrified.

One thing that I have found interesting is that after the first AMH reading at the beginning of the process, they don't measure it again 😳🤯 I didn't expect this! I have just had my first cycle which failed but have one frozen to transfer in my next cycle and no one has spoken about AMH since 🤔

It changes very minimally. It usually correlates with your follicle count so before stims it’s a good indicator as to how many eggs ivf would yield. I got pregnant with 0.16ng/l first time but with that number correlating to follicle number, ivf wasn’t a hopeful option as I’d only get 1- 2 eggs. Thankfully ovulation induction worked.

@ivfjourneyandme did they do your AFC and it was around 4?

@Nosejug thank you my friend. My cycle failed but unusually as progesterone fell through the floor. It seems to have just been a natural thing that can happen over the course of multiple cycles, not every cycle is a good one and hormones don’t do what they usually do. I’m usually a high achiever when it comes to progesterone so it was a shame! I’m due for triggering again on Friday but my follicle has been a super responder and grown a bit too quickly, but we will give it a shot. You never know! 🙏🏼 how are you? Xx

What I love in this group is opportunity! There are options to explore and a way to get there. You guys have age on your side too which I believe is the main driver for success ✨

AFC was 3, AHM 1.9

so they are using pmol units then. 3, maybe 4 with drugs 😉
I had an extra follicle pop up today so sometimes the drugs just wake things up 😊
how old are? xx

36, will be 37 in February. Hoping to start next cycle 🤞🏻