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devastated - AMH levels, can anyone help?

Hi ladies
I mainly post on LTTTC so hello to those of you on this board i haven't spoken to yet. As some of you will know DH and I have been TTC for almost 3 years now and we're due to start IVF/ICSI in autumn this year.

This week we had some horrible news and I have spent most of the weekend in tears. We had our appointment to meet the nurses during the week, this is where they fully explained the drugs/injections etc and they also gave me some blood results back for a test which reads something called your AMH levels. AMH is an indicator of egg reserve. I wasn't too worried about getting these results initially as so far the 'problem' has been identified as DH's swimmers/motility and morphology and all my scans/HSG/bloods had come back fine.

The doctor came into the room and said , "I'm sorry, I have some bad news". I felt sik with fear. SHe explained that my AMH levels are '3' and apparently for IVF to have optimum chance the 'normal' AMH they look for is '5'. I asked what this all meant in terms of our treatment, because up til now we had been told we had a 52% chance of IVF success due to me being under 30yrs. She said it meant our chance of success was now about 15-20%. I was almost sick right there in her office and have been crying my heart out since.

Please please ladies if you have any info/stories of hope re low AMH levels and successful IVF, I would be so grateful if you shared them. I just feel so sad. I know 15-20% is still a chance, but to go from 50 to 15 is a real shock. Apparently AMH is a hormone that grows the folllicles which also determines how many eggs I woulkd produce when under stimms...so the low level means they reckon I won't produce multiple eggs for a good 'collection'. They have said some people do still produce maybe 3 or 4 egss, but they would ideally want a lot more than that??

I am so scared. Any advice so much appreciated. Sorry it is long. xxxx
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Replies

  • Hi Mrs Bambino,

    You poor thing, what horrible news to hear. I've heard about a womans egg reserve before but didn't know how they detected it.

    We've got our initial consultation with a fertility clinic coming up at the end of the month. I will ask them directly if they do this type of test and if they believe it's a relevant factor for IVF/ICSI and if they have statistics for positive outcomes. I guess until you try a cycle of IVF no one knows how your body will respond to it....

    Biggest hugs,

    xxxx
  • Thanks MrsPootle - that's very kind. Yes, I guess in some ways it is better to know I have low AMH as i think it means they can adjust the drugs accordingly to give me the best chance of responding. I am going to do a bit more research into it as well...thanks for replying. And good luck with your first appointment. xx
  • hi hon, i dont wanna read and run.

    i dont have any experiencewith this but was intriqued to hear about it, i think i need to go and find out about it for our ivf next yr xx thnk u for bringing to light, i wish you all the luck in the world, xxx
  • Hi MrsBambino

    I'm in a similar boat. TTC for 3+ years, I'm 31, husband's results were fine so infertility was unexplained. Then I had AMH test on NHS and the results came back in a letter saying my AMH is below 4. I was shocked and absolutely devastated - cried for days, constantly googling "low AMH" etc. It was a very painful time.

    Anyway, we went private straight away and have since been told by 2 consultants and a fertility nurse that the 2 most important factors for conceiving are both egg reserve and age (i.e. under 35). So at least we have that on our side. They also said egg quality is as important as quantity. They recommended ivf/icsi split and I'm starting my injections next week - they've put me on the highest dose. The clinic have told me that staying positive is one of the most important aspects of the IVF journey and I've read and heard a lot of amazing stories over the last few months. Even 20% is 1 in 5 women. Who's to say that that 1 woman won't be you? You have as much chance as the others. That's the way I look at it now.

    Good luck and fingers crossed for you xxx

  • Just to make u feel better aswell im 27 my amh was only 8.4. I had icsi treatment and they got 5 eggs all 5 fertilised and 3 turned into blastocysts.



    Ithilwenn has a lower amh then me but had a really amazing response to drugs. Every one is different. Please do not give up hope cos ur time will come. Its an emotioanl roller coaster but together we ll all get there xx
  • Starting stimms tomorrow and got a call tosayi from we at the clinic who told me AMH results were 7 image I'm so so sad and keep getting so teary he said that at my age of 23 he would have expected it to be higher image please someone help image does this mean I'm not gonna have many eggs collected? The dr said he doesn't feel it's going to impact this cycle but maybe he was just saying that because I was in shock - can anyone help? Please help image

  • Hi ladies, it's sad how common this seems to be. I'm 33 and have low ovarian reserve (only5 follicles at scan) I was put on a 'poor responder' drug protocol for ivf which is basically the highest dose at a cost of 1800. They retrieved 7 eggs which they were happy with but I was utterly disappointed (ladies in cubicles either side had 14&21 retrieved!!!!!)

    All 7 fertilised to start with then development slowed down and 3 were viable, they didn't want to risk going to blastocyst. 1 was transferred and 2 frozen. Unfortunately it didn't work, and they can't give me an explanation why. I'm just hoping desperately its not an egg quality aswell as quantity issue.



    I'm now waiting for af then will have another antral follicle count scan, if it has worsened we are going to do a full cycle again, if not we will transfer the frozen embryo(s)



    The only word of advice I can give is try not to dwell on every result they give you as things change daily through the ivf process and its such an emotional roller coaster. The clinics are always very positive as I suppose they see the end result being positive even if it takes numerous attemps.



    Xx
  • Hi Ladies,

    Anyone with a low amh level,dont worry mine was 4 and we did icis and it worked first time.Its how good the eggs are not the large numbers they get.

    Stay positive

    xxxxx

  • Hi ladies,

    Do not give up hope.  I am 40 and had high FSH (12+) and low AMH (undetectable!  so much worse than most I am seeign here).  DH and I had basically figured having a baby was not in the cards for us but were still goign to try.  The first consult suggested IVF which was probably a sensical choice given my above noted challenges. I went for a 2nd opinion anyhow and this doc told me that because of my specific challenges, I probably wouldnt produce very many eggs whether I went the IVF or IUI route, so he suggested he could do IUI 5x before my insurance owudl run out while 1 try of IVF woudl cost me $10k out of pocket likely even after my insurance. he gave us a 5-10% chance with the IUI route,  So........we moved forward with IUI and guess what, got pregnant on the very first try! I am 15 wks now. I know, we are extremely lucky but it does happen, even for people in much more challengign circumstances so don;t giv eup hope.  Honestly, we weren;t stressed about it at all (and I knwo that is easier said than done esp. since I was already at terms with being ok if we wernet able to conceive), but I really think it can;t hurt your chances to be relaxed about it.

    Good luck, ladies!

     

  • Congratulation Abryant. Hope you have a H&H 9 Months...well slightly less now.x

  • My AMH just came back at 1.2.....I'm 40 and mulling over my options. I'd be happy to use donated eggs but haven't had a chance to discuss anything with DH yet, he'll be home in a few hours. I'm currently dieting to get the BMI down a recommended 4 points and I was feeling pretty motivated and positive. Until today I thought our fertility issue was DH sperm count/morphology/motility, but it seems we both have issues reducing our chances of Parenthood.

    I will not cry.....

  • I'm 32, my AMH is 2.8, tested positive for lupus anticoagulant and husband sperm motility is low. Recently had laparoscopy for tubal blockage. Anyone in similar situation? No kids so far.

  • Just learned my AMH is .09. I'm at work. I cannot think. I want to go home. I'm reading all your posts about 2.8 and 1.2 AMH and I do anything to be in your shoes right now. This is all I've ever wanted and it seems so cruel to me that people who forget their babies are in the back seat are given such a gift while I, who would never forget about a child in my care, cannot have a baby. I feel sick and just want to go home. Good luck to all of you.

  • Hi venice,

     

    Really sorry to hear you're going this. We strongly recommend you seek expert help from someone like the Samaritans on 08457 909090 as they are much more qualified to help you right now, than anybody else here.

     

    We will also drop you an email with the Samaritans details on it, in case you don't come back to this thread.

    In line with the Samaritans recommendations, we are going to delete your post.
    We really hope you find the help you need at this time, and wish you the best.

  • What great news! i just got my amh. 

  • I know this is an older feed but I just found out that my amh is .15. Repeat point one five. I'm not even close to even having low odds of being able to freeze my eggs. I'm 36 today. It's my birthday I found out yesterday. My husband left me. All I ever wanted was to be a mother. Guess not. All the odds and statistics show it as very low odds under .5 if you are under 35 im not even close to that and I'm over 35! I'm so beyond devastated. I know there are other "options" but finding out that you have little to no eggs to fish for to freeze when it's already a crap shoot if you have a ton of eggs is a kind of devastation that is beyond words. I'm sorry to anyone in the same situation. I have not stopped crying and have no idea how to reconcile this news. 

  • Hi I've just come back to this page after being absent for some time and though I know you posted a month ago I wanted to reply anyway. 

    My amh while low isn't as low as yours however I will tell you something I was told when mine came in at 2.5. I was 29 years old and felt like he carpet had been pulled from under my feet. 

    The amh levels are by no means a absolute end. They are a guideline to your egg Storage an indication of whats "left" as it were. It's still considered new information and isnt even used everywhere yet But remember you start with Millions so could still have a couple thousand in there.

    What im saying is despite mine being low I am now a mummy to a beautiful little boy because science intervened and while your journey will be difficult it is not over just yet. 

    Goodluck for for the future I really hope you find happiness no matter what happens 

    Leanne 

  • Hi justmarried2012, are you an old Baby Expert member? Pretty sure I remember your name from a while back, and wanted to welcome you back to MadeForMums!

  • Hi yes I'm from BE. There was a big group of us which went down to five firm friends in the end. We text etc now and use a group on another forum on occasion to have group chats but we all still come on here and try to spread a bit of baby dust :-) when we can.

    i quit my job so have a little more time on my hands these days lol 

    I'm really sad to see these distressing posts. I know how they all feel but I believe the ladies on here gave me hope when I was so very low. Hopefully I've done the same for some x

  • That's so lovely to hear you made firm friends! It's also wonderful you're here to share good news and positive experiences. We're so glad you're back!

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