Low AMH - 6.5pmol/L - Looking for thoughts/advice/a hug

[laurie11]

Hello!

Looking for some other thoughts/opinions.

My husband and I have been trying on our own for 15 months now to conceive, and last month we had our first appointment with a fertility specialist (we are in Perth, Australia).

After a cycle of tracking with bloods, and ultrasounds, which confirmed ovulation and hormone levels are good.

Ultrasound in the next cycle revealed I had a low antral follicle count in one ovary (it was 3 or 4 from memory), and then HyCoSy confirmed my tubes are clear.

Visiting the Dr. today to get all our results, and see how to proceed…

My AMH is considered very low (that of a 38 year old, I am 28!) at 6.5pmol/L and that together with my low follicle count, and slightly high FSH at the start of my cycle that was tracked, it looks like I have low ovarian reserve.

The Dr has said, that if we keep trying on our own, through a medicated/timed cycle, or IUI our conception rate would likely only be 10%...

IVF would be 45%.

What would you guys do?

I can’t figure out what to do… What I want to do… I feel a bit stunned.

Thanks for reading

 

[lisamac]

@laurie11 Hi from Perth too!

I’m sorry to hear you didn’t receive great news. I have low AMH too, though My dr did say that low count doesn’t mean low quality, so it might not impact on my fertility now but that I shouldn’t wait too long in between babies if I wanted to have multiple kids.

It’s obviously such a personal question but if I was faced with those odds and I’d been trying for 15 months I would very seriously consider ivf, if I could afford it (it is partially covered by Medicare I think?). I have friends who have gone basically straight into ivf after being told that their chances of natural conception are very low.

Good luck with the decision making

 

[laurie11]

@lisamac Yeah same, not low quality, just low numbers (in theory).

And yeah, the time issue is the thing I think that has freaked me out the most. Like I've always said I think I only want one child, but now that I'm faced with this, and the recommendation of not waiting, I feel a bit frazzled, and like the option to change my mind has been taken away from me

It's the cost that's quite concerning, yes it is partially covered by medicare which is amazing, but is still a big chunk of money either way... My poor husband is struggling with this the most I think...

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[meg88]

@laurie11 Big hug! That sounds like a lot to process. IVF is something that I’m moving closer towards and the more time I’ve had to think about it, the easier it has gotten to consider. One thing I like the idea of is having a lot of the work (tracking, timing, etc) taken out of our hands and just following instructions and letting someone else take care of a lot of the work. I’m not sure what the process of trying has been like for you, but this might be a positive aspect for you too? I think it’s a very personal decision though and you should give yourself a bit of time to mull it all over. Sorry that you have to go through this, it sucks.

 

[laurie11]

@meg88 Yeah I think I would probably benefit from that also. Just seems like such a big deal...

Thanks for your kind words, and taking the time x

 

[melanieclair]

@laurie11 Perth here as well
I don’t have any advice for you but virtual hug!

 

[laurie11]

@melanieclair Thanks, really appreciate it x

 

[johnnyray]

@laurie11 Hey! I have low ovarian reserve, too. You might find more info over at r/Infertility, as lots of us there have ovarian problems and have tried IUI and IVF.

I've never seen anyone say "I should have waited longer to try IVF" -- in fact, many people say the opposite. That said, there is a lot to consider, most especially cost. You should know that studies show that for most people, skipping right to IVF does save money in the long run.

You may also want to think about how many children you want. If it's more than one, you're probably better off doing IVF and banking extra embryos for future children.

Sorry you're dealing with this! It's scary, especially at first.

ETA: 45% odds with IVF is really good!

 

[laurie11]

@johnnyray Thanks for responding.

I'll head over and make a post, and see what others have to say

Scary is the right word And thanks again for taking the time