# Low AMH - advice needed



## BecsW (Jun 14, 2009)

Hello lovely ladies,

I was wondering whether any of you might have a low AMH level and be able to share your experiences with me?
Yesterday we went to our clinic for a follow up appointment following a failed IVF. The Dr that we spoke with strongly believes that the failed Tx was a result of me only having a small supply of eggs left. I had blood for an AMH test taken yesterday and we will get the results in 2-4 weeks but I'd like to know more about other people's experiences so that we can make an informed decision when we get the AMH result. 

The Dr stated that she thought that the tests would reveal a low AMH level and that would mean that we should choose between 'mild IVF' and 'antagonistic IVF' - have any of you had these regimes? The nurse we spoke to was more pessimistic she said that although I am only 38 we should consider ourselves to have a likely success rate of someone who was over 40 - i.e. my ovaries seem older than my chronological age. She thought that we should seriously consider whether or not to pursue further Tx and even suggested that we consider using donated eggs (this is not a route that we would pursue, our preferred option is that DW -who is younger than me - have the Tx with a different donor - our current donor is DWs brother). 

Thanks for reading this and we would really appreciate any advice or experiences that you would be willing to share,

Becs


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## Candy76 (Feb 19, 2011)

Becs, this must have been a shock to get this news!   I suppose its better you know now than so many cycles later.

DW has a very low AMH. Despite her being 2 years younger than me, they told us at the consultation last year my chances were still higher. DW was desperate to have her own child. We therefor went ahead quickly with a cycle and DW's eggs as it seemed a race against time. DW got testosterone, maximum drugs and had 4 mature eggs, which was more than they had expected. All of the eggs fertilised, which again was against the odds. We were told, they were all doing well, but then also that we had basically no risk at all to get twins, which made me think the embryos can't have been that good afterall. When we lost the child, DW felt that it was unfair on both of us to keep on going with that low of a chance of success - and with that high of a chance of upset. I think if we had not gotten pregnant at all, we might have had another round with DW's eggs.

Having said all this, there are a lot of other experiences where people go ahead with a low AMH and are successful eventually. I think it depends how far you are willing to push things. If you want a full sibling for J and are prepared to spend £££ and emotional effort then you would not be the first to go down this route.

As always, its really about what makes most sense to you two.
Looks like you have quite some thinking to do. Luckily, there are a few bank holidays coming up...


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## welshginge (Jul 12, 2009)

I'd say wait til the test results come back because the clinic may be wrong! They seem to be offering donated eggs awfully quick.

I have 1 ovary so understandably my AMH is lower. I ended up with 8 eggs I think, 7 were mature, 5 fertilised, 2 put back, none for the freezer etc What I'm trying to say it can & does work with lower AMH & taking extra protein when stimming can increase egg quality. Just some food for thought. Hope your results are good! xxx


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## Lisa139 (Sep 11, 2011)

Hi Becs

Sorry to hear about your failed IVF attempt.  I will be starting IVF treatment in September.  At the moment, I don't know what protocol they will put me on.  I think I will find that out at our next appointment which is in July.  Sorry I can't help you with that.  I'm kind of surprised that they didn't do an AMH test before you had IVF.  I'm by no means an expert on this but I was told that they use the AMH test among other tests to give them an indication of what protocol to put you on.

My AMH test came back at 7.37 which is low but I was told that's what they would expect for someone of my age (3.  My total antral follicle count was 11 and they seemed quite pleased with that.  I was told that there was a lot that they could do with me but that I'm more likely to be poor responder because of my AMH results.  Have to say, we felt a bit confused after that appointment because we're told my AMH is low but that my antral follicle count was good.  No matter how much the doctor tried he still couldn't explain it to us. 

You can have a low AMH and still get pregnant.  If it's low it just means it's harder for us and will most likely take us longer to get pregnant but by no means impossible.

I don't know if this is an option or if you would be up for it but when you get your results back would you consider getting a second opinion.  It might be worth having another doctor looking over things.

Best of luck!


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## deemo (Oct 13, 2009)

I had a low AMH and therefore was put on the short protocol. This means that you don't have to down regulate (which most women find quite uncomfortable - apparently it's like going through the menopause) and you just start taking hormones and growing follicles straightaway. So the actual treatment was probably easier than a long protocol.


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## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

I have an AMH of 0.7 and looked into natural and mild - Create is a clinic that specialises it this- however don't forget ARGC is the most successful ivf clinic in uk, and have older women who have failed elsewhere, and they don't even test women's  amh they use  fsh and previous ivf cycle response as the baseline. So pleasedont dispare but make sure your clinic can tailor make a cycle for you. Good luck


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## BecsW (Jun 14, 2009)

Thank you so much everyone, lots of food for thought for us, we keep changing from deciding to stay as a family of 3, to trying again with me, to trying with DW (but a new donor). We are pretty sure we will change clinic though, we are unimpressed with ours  .

Thank you for your replies, your support means so much xx


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## Starz (Aug 24, 2008)

Hi Becs, 

I know you're in the south west - i have to say we would highly recommend Bristol (Bristol Centre For Reproductive Medicine) at Southmead if you're thinking about a new clinic. 
Message me if you want any more info about them x


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## lauramax23 (Jan 26, 2012)

I had an amh of 4 and on a short protocol managed to have 20 eggs retrieved and after one failed transfer I have just had a BFP   My partner is 5 years older than me and her amh was 14.


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## Estcherry (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi Becs, 

I had an AMH test done before my first cycle of IUI; the doctor remarked that the results were low and were half of what they would expect to see in someone of my age (31).  Similarly when they did a folicle count I only had 9 which was also very low for my age.

I discussed with the doctor what this meant for treatment and he said the following:

1. AMH test is not conclusive and there is not a great deal of understanding in the medical profession about how to use the scores, or how accurate the scores actually are.

2. A lower AMH in when having IUI is does not point to negative outcomes as it is quality of egg rather than number, he did say that this would change if the treatment was IVF as number of eggs is important in each cycle.

It took me a few weeks to get the doctor to sit and explain this to me as I was pretty upset when they first said the results were very low.  I would suggest you make time when the results come back to ask your doctor for evidence and reasons for suggesting egg donation first before you make a decision.

Good luck, 

E


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## Candy76 (Feb 19, 2011)

Becs, I am curious about your AMH level result - although its none of my business and I don't know what benefit the knowledge would have for me.  
DW also got the speech of 'you will need donor eggs' by the nurse who was the barer of bad news. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was the same nurse. I find this completely irresponsible throwing those things at you unprepared and unqualified. Plus if they know you are in a f/f relationship.
Anyway, hope the result was a bit better than expected.


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## rachandsuzann (Jan 3, 2009)

Sorry to butt in and have a bit of a rant! I hate the expression "low ovarian reserve" its so bloody degrading When we had our first iui in '07 I was told this at 29, buy loads of sperm they said as you will never get pregnant first time with iui and you will have to either have several stimulated cycles or go to ivf. Well, wasn't the case - was it? The second time we decided to try for a second in 2011 they tested my AMH and it was really low from memory it was 4 (I can check later) I was determined to go natural iui again and okay I wasn't so lucky. Now when we tried this year I agreed to introduce Gonal F (75 dose) I also had acupuncture (did this help? the chinese man reckoned it would!) and here we are again nearly 8 weeks pregnant so don't let them get you down with their insulative expression! I appreciate that you have had a few attempts at iui but do not give up hope as it can be done as it can be done as you well know x All the best keep us posted x


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