85 replies to this topic

[Jay23]

I'm new here, I just found out my FSH is 12.2. and my AMH is 0.4
I am a patient of Dr Mctavish's at Heartland, I haven't seen him since my results came in. I called and they gave them to me over the phone. I've done my research and I realize things aren't good, I was devistated.
I made a consultation with Dr. Hudson at VFC, I've heard amazing things about him.
Do I have any hope with my low levels. Has anyone with similar levels had success? I'm in need of a positive storey.

[ollie2013]

Hi Jay23,

 

I am so sorry for what you are going through. Do you mind me asking how old you are? I too suffer from diminished ovarian reserve and my last amh test which was in july was 1.4

 

There are many ladies on here who have had success with low amh levels..please do not give up hope. There are many ways to get pregnant even if you have challenges with your eggs.

 

If you ever want to send me a private message, feel free!!

[Google76]

Hi Jay,

I've got a very low AMH too. When VFC requested the test in the summer it came back in the region of 0.16. I had one cancelled cycle due to low response (probably from too much suppression IMHO). I took DHEA for three months before trying again. My response wasn't great but Dr H was willing to push forward and see how it panned out. Four eggs retrieved, three fertilised, two put back on day two and I'm currently 14 weeks 3 days with twins!

I firmly believed that if it was ever going to work for us it would be with the VFC team. I just never ever expected it to be on my first complete cycle!

Good good luck!

[CdnHockeyGal]

Hi Jay23 - I'm a Winnipegger with DOR myself...0.5 as of September. As you can see from my auto signature we just got a great surprise. DOR honestly stinks but if you find an RE with expertise in the area you have a fighting chance. Dr Hudson is an excellent choice.

[Jay23]

Thank you so much for the reply ladies, I just turned 30 years old, my levels are significantly low for my age. I just hope the quality of my little eggs are good. I started taking Coq10 and Maca. I'm trying to change my diet to more greens so I can giving my eggs the best chance for good quality that I can.

I have a phone consult book with Dr. Hudson at VFC in Jan, and we are so excited to hear what he has to say. I have heard nothing but amazing thing about him and his Team. I'm a little nervous cause we will be traveling from Winnipeg to see him, I cross my fingers that it'll be worth it.

Google76 your storey gives me so much hope, thank you so much for sharing it with me. I always say I would love to have twins. We've been through so much heartache and I've always dreamed out 2 munchkins, it would be a dream to be pregnant once and never have to worry about infertility again.

Ollie2013your AMH is low but not terrible, I know a gal with the same AMH and she's pregnant with twins. It can happen for you:)

Thank again
J

[Jay23]

CdnHockeyGal that's amazing to hear!! So your cycle you got pregnant was that IUI?

I'm not writing Heartland off cause I really haven't had a terrible experience but I've just heard amazing things about VFC. Who do you see?

[CdnHockeyGal]

In Wpg our AMH is measured by the American scale because they send it down to Mayo to be processed. A lot of the other girls have their measurements in Cdn levels...so our AMH levels would actually have to be converted to Cdn or vice versa for someone who has their AMH done in Canada.

I actually use the clinic in Fargo, North Dakota. I've never been to VFC but I have many friends who have used the clinic. VFC has an outstanding reputation. There are those from Winnipeg who have flown out for the entire duration of their treatment and others who have only flown out for retrieval and transfer. The clinic will be able to walk you through all that though.

It was an IUI...it was supposed to be IVF but I didn't respond well so we did an IUI convert. We have a long, long, long way to go but it's still pretty neat.

Best of luck in your journey!

[SunshineTTC]

Yes I was going to say, be careful because there are 2 different units of measurement for AMH, ng/mL (normal range 1-10) and pmol/L (normal range 7-70).  Mine is 1.6 pmol/L, which is extremely low.  Some provinces in Canada (including BC?) don't test AMH and send it to the US which reports ng/L.  Mine was tested in Ottawa and Regina.

 

I echo the above confident feeling that if Dr H at VFC couldn't get me pregnant then no one could, which isn't the feeling I had at my previous 2 clinics.  Truly a special place.

[CdnHockeyGal]

I just saw your sig Sunshine! Congrats!!!

[SunshineTTC]

Thanks CdnHockeyGal, congrats to you too, almost the exact same time!!  Still such a long road ahead, only one small step with still such high age-related risk too... but as your sig says, I too was so happy to finally find out it's possible.  And now...  no wine for either of us low-AMHers lol!  So back to the original question, expectations vs. reality need to be managed, but yes there's definitely hope

[wannakid]

Hi There, 

 

I highly recommend you check out the Poor Responders in the AREA 51 area of this website.  You need a password to get in so pm me for the password.  In there is an ongoing thread of people with DOR (which I started many years ago).

 

I was diagnosed with DOR many years ago.  Despite my grim numbers (my lowest AMH was 0.2 - US value), I am now pregnant with my second child.  It took many retrievals to get to this point, and doctors with expertise in the right protocol to put me on (my first moron of an RE put me on a protocol that involved me being on the BCP and Lupron for 6 weeks, despite a very low AMH and one prior high FSH value.  That obviously resulted in me being over-surpressed).  Anyway, half the battle is finding the right protocol.  There are definitely REs who know what they are doing with this. I have heard great things about Dr. H in Victoria and, in fact, other graduates of the Poor Responders forum used him.

 

Best of luck and pm me if you have any questions.

 

WK

[Faith&Hope]

Jay23 - I'm so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. It is definitely devastating to be told you have DOR, especially when it is not as expected (i.e. at a younger age).

 

As others have mentioned, yes - there is a difference between the US units (ng/ml) and Canadian units (pmol/L) when measuring AMH. To go from US to Canadian, multiply by 7.14 (so if your AMH is 0.4 ng/mL, this would be 2.9 pmol/L).

 

I was diagnosed with DOR at age 32. To make things even harder, my husband has severe MFI so IVF-ICSI was our only option, and given my DOR, as expected, my response to ovarian stimulation medications was not great. However, I am a firm believer that it is all about quality and not quantity, and being your age, even with a lower egg reserve, the ones you have are still likely to be of good quality still.

 

So, it is still possible to be successful even with DOR. Some women even can still conceive spontaneously, while others can via IUI, and then obviously also via IVF. However, if you do pursue IUI or IVF it may take several cycles to find the medication stimulation protocol that works best for you. For women with DOR, there is a risk of being oversuppressed with some medications (BCP and Lupron, as WK mentioned above), so the choice of protocol is very important, but there is no "one best" protocol for every women with DOR. Some of the ones that seem to be more successful around here include estrogen-priming protocols or low stimulation dose protocols. It may be overwhelming, but everyone here is so supportive so feel free to ask any questions!

 

It was recommended that I take CoQ10 also (previously my RE had prescribed a prescription fertility supplement for women with prior IVF failures, but now he said the main benefit in it was the CoQ10, so can just take the CoQ10 on its own). When you meet with your RE (whichever clinic you end up going with), also ask about the pros and cons of DHEA (it is very controversial in the DOR world - some clinics use it and others don't....mine didn't 3 years ago but now does).

 

However, I would be wary of taking Maca - I don't believe there are any proper scientific studies examining its use in DOR but do know it can have an adverse effect on thyroid function (despite the many websites purporting its benefit).

 

Good luck!

[silverdollar]

I am a former graduate of the Poor Responders Group too. I had severe DOR at age 32. I can't remember my exact numbers but they were quite dismal. Dr. H at VFC persisted with IVF for us with only 2 eggs to work with and I became pregnant with my daughter. Then just a few months after she was born my son was conceived the old fashioned way. The younger you are, the more likely you will have success in finding that golden egg!

Congrats on your second child Wannakid!

[Jay23]

I am so happy I found this website I honestly felt like I had no hope before I read through this form. The more I read the better things I hear about Dr. Hudson in Victoria. He actually sent me a personal email this morning saying thank you for filling out my forms and getting them to him. I was impressed, on a Sunday to boot.

I am now questioning taking Maca, I was taking it at night and was having terrible sleeps. I'm thinking that's why. I'm going to see my chinese medicine doctor tomorrow, I'll see what she says.

[north]

Just wanted to pop in and say a big congrats to Sunshine TTC and CdnHockeyGal! Awesome news you guys. That's gotta feel good after all your hard work!

north

[CdnHockeyGal]

Thanks North!    It's a big victory.  Betas unfortunately are not promising but it's nice to know we can which for some time was a matter of great concern.  Taking it day by day.  Good luck with cycle!!!  Fingers crossed for you!!!

[Jay23]

Ladies, I'm curious, while I'm waiting for my consults to start IVF, is there any benefit in me taking letrozole? I'm worried about it just depleting my ovarian reserve more. Ive taken 3 cycles in a row now. (2 earlier in the summer as well) I did have a ultrasound last cycle that showed 2 follicles on my left ovary measuring at 15mm and 1 on my right measuring at 14mm on CD 9 (ovulated on CD 14) endometrium 4.5 .
I appreciate your thoughts
J

[SunshineTTC]

Jay23 -- Why don't you send Dr H an email asking about the Maca and Letrozole?  I say this because I was already asking many Qs in the months before my consult (actually even before I asked for a consult), Dr H is truly fantastic in his willingness to try to help out.

 

North - Thanks, it's one day at a time with huge age-related risk, but so far so good.  Fx for you this cycle at SIRM, I am rooting for you!

[north]

Thanks North!    It's a big victory.  Betas unfortunately are not promising but it's nice to know we can which for some time was a matter of great concern.  Taking it day by day.  Good luck with cycle!!!  Fingers crossed for you!!!

CdnHockeyGal ~ ah crap. So sorry to hear that. But yes, you did get pregnant so that's a great sign. Take care and sending you my best.

And thanks for the good wishes.

north

[north]

North - Thanks, it's one day at a time with huge age-related risk, but so far so good.  Fx for you this cycle at SIRM, I am rooting for you!

 

SunshineTTC - yup, one day at a time....one day at time. I getcha. Got my fingers and toes crossed for you. And thanks for the FX from you too!

[Curlygirl77]

Congrats to all DOR ladies out there who had success with their pregnancies!

 

I was also diagnosed with DOR, at the age of 35.  We managed to get pregnant 3 times in the first year that we tried though despite this (2 chemical pregnancies, and one amazing little boy).  I was hard core about the CoQ10, who knows if it helped??  

 

I also saw something on the internet recently about how it's not actually AMH levels that are most predictive of IVF success with DOR, but moreso age.  So I think at 30 your odds are still good if you have a clinic that is really committed to helping you.  And don't give up on natural conception either. 

 

Good luck and don't give up hope :-)

[Jay23]

Has any with DOR's monthly cycles changed overtime?

My cycles switched to 27 day from 25, I don't seem to have any cervical mucas anymore and I'm not sure that I'm ovulating? Or if I am its very early in my cycle. Urghh this is so frustrating. I feel like it just getting worse and worse while I wait for my consult at VFC. Also anyone get night sweats? When I read about menopause I have all the signs, I'm nervous this is all changing as soon as I want to start ivf

Strangly enough this all seeemed to change as soon as I was diagnosised with OR.

[CdnHockeyGal]

Jay23 - would you consider acupuncture?  I see Dr. Rebecca Sprintz on Corydon and I have been to other highly recommended practioners on this site and 4th generation TCMs from China...for me...Rebecca is hands down the best.  She got my cycles to normal lengths (too short previously) and got me ovulating at a normal time...I had been ovulating around CD20 of a 25 day cycle...it's CD11 and I just texted my DH with strict instructions to come home early tonight...LOL  She stopped spotting I had between cycles.  The only overheating at night for me happens when I'm close to ovulating.  She even got my DH up to a normal count!

 

http://www.winnipegacu.com/

 

I'm seeing her partner Clare today since Rebecca is in Florida this week.  You can actually feel the chi and it's nearly instantly dramatically better results.  Complete miracle worker.

[Jay23]

CdnHockeyGal- thanks I'm actually seeing Dr. Chernish on Pembina. I've just recently got back into it. He was able to help me with night sweats and acne so I should just continue to give it more of a chance. I hadn't gone since the summer and just started again before Xmas. I did go see Rebecca for a second opinion and I liked her but continued with Dr. Chernish.

I tend to get night sweats before my period shows up, that's usually how I know I'm not pregnant every month.

That's great that she got your husbands count up. My hubby isn't sold on acupuncture...he just doesn't understand the effects.
J

[JJMacSheffie]

i find this quite interesting, i have posted elsewhere but am 33 and this week was told by dr h that since my amh was low (normal fsh, lh, and day 21 prog, elevated estradiol on day 3) my only hope was de and that there was no point in going ahead with ivf on my own. i am quite frustrated with the rush to de, especially reading that he has so willing to try with others. i am thinking i will ask for another consult and request more info on why the hesitation. thanks for these posts all, it definitely helps to hear about others who have had success!