Need advice after MF test while on HBC

[mari12]

I'm (29/F) currently on HBC (sprintec) and have been for over 10 years. I've always wanted to be a mom, but my boyfriend (27.5 y.o.) and I of 3.5 years are not in a place in our relationship yet for getting married/having kids. I imagine it'll be a good 3-4 years (if I'm lucky) until we're at the point of trying, so it's been stressing me out, especially as I see close friends have kids and/or face fertility struggles.

I did a Modern Fertility (MF) blood test in Jan 2021 because MF advertises that they can still test for some hormones (TSH and AMH) while on HBC. I've had hypothyroidism since I was ~11-12, so I already had an idea of where my TSH would be at. I got my results back and got a concerningly low AMH result of 0.32 ng/mL (reference range: 0.69-13.39 ng/mL). My TSH was normal/about mid-range at 2.24 (range 0.45-5.33 uIU/mL).

I eventually learned that taking the MF test while on HBC is only really helpful to let you know if you are in the normal ranges. But if your AMH is low, it could just be artificially low due to the HBC, so the results aren't that meaningful. So of course taking the test made me more stressed out. I spoke to my gyno about it and she wasn't particularly concerned since I'm still young and healthy.

Anyway, my friend suggested, in order to calm my nerves and try to gain some sort of control over the situation (of still being years out from having kids), to go off HBC for a few months and try testing again. At that point, I can either be assured by my AMH being in range and go back on HBC until I'm ready for kids, or I will be clued in to any issues, which I can start to deal with ahead of time.

Has anyone ever done this? Does anyone have any advice/suggestions about this?

 

[nathaniela]

@mari12 I’ve done something similar! I had my AMH tested about a year ago on birth control and it was lower than I expected. We are still WTT but I went off hormonal birth control to figure out a bit more about my cycle and am getting my AMH level done again today, so we will see! I also started taking Vitamin D, I heard that can adjust it too. So I don’t have a whole bunch of info for you yet but I commiserate and hope to have some more info soon.

 

[mari12]

@nathaniela Good to know, especially about the vitamin D! Good luck!

Did you talk to your gyno about it? And are you doing your blood work through MF again? How many months has it been that you’ve been off birth control?

 

[nathaniela]

@mari12 I’m in Canada so I just went through my family doc! My doc, like yours was not concerned and just said once we start trying to give it 6mo and if I’m not preg then to come in. So a quicker timeline compared to the normal year.
I’ve been off birth control for about 6 months, I could have gotten bloodwork done earlier but I’ve been putting it off because I’m not sure if I’m ready to know if it’s lower haha.

 

[moses199]

@mari12 I also purchased the Modern Fertility test, before I realized it was basically pointless since I am also on HBC (same one as you, sprintec). I hate taking HBC, but at the same time am petrified to stop because I’m worried I’ll get cystic acne and just started at a new job.
Ugh!

 

[lacker3]

@moses199 If it makes you feel better, going off HBC actually made my acne 100x better! I struggle with cystic acne that was made a lot worse by masks, and even as I still wear masks, it is only a problem for a week per cycle instead of constant (which it still was on HBC). My body hates progesterone apparently lmao

 

[wayofthepromise]

@mari12 I did a MF test while on a hormonal iud and had been on hbc for years. My amh was also low. I tested again with my pcp right before getting it taken out and it was a little lower in that one

I voiced my hope of hbc artificially deflating my amh and she said that it likely was not, and that even if it was, I wasn’t going to stop bc and suddenly have normal amh. It would be a negligible increase.

DH and I are going to start trying in the next year so it isn’t too too bad, but you may genuinely want to look into freezing eggs. Ivf can be less efficient if you have low ovarian reserve, so the best time for that is yesterday.