# Please help does anyone understand Fsh, LH, Estrogen & AMH levels, feeling lost



## Postivevibes (Sep 4, 2018)

Hi 

So I'm posting a lot lately as I'm at the beginnings of all of this process and all we are getting from the hospital is negative, negative negative and a push towards directing me to donor eggs without every trying IVF etc and with them not doing a proper count of antracle folicals as the person scanning could not find my ovary on left side. They also weighed me incorrectly and calculated BMI incorrectly so they had to start again and low and behold they got a different BMI & weight, Needless to say we now have no faith, I've spent the last 2 weeks in tears and feel like a zombie at the thought of not being able to have a child without a donor egg, and we would at least like the option to pay at least to try IVF once. (any treatment we have we are paying for anyway as I'm 43) I just don;t know where to turn or who to go to outside NHS for second opnion etc should we go to ARGC? 

To confuse things they have also said our %'s of getting pregnant naturally are different to IVF and that feesibly we could conceive naturally. 

I've had some results back but the AMH level was taken not on day 3 of my period or day 2 or 1 in fact it was taken when I was just about to ovulate and I am not clear on whether it is o.8 or 8.00 or 1.8 so I have to wait for that to come back again. 

So my other results were Estrogen 93 begin cycle normal they said LH 6.2 normal she said and FHS or FSH 12.3 which she said is highe than it should be? 

Please can someone help because I'm feeling pretty lost in all of this and just dont' understand what any of it means other than this Dr pushing their beliefs that donor egg is the way to go without trying IVF and saying they don;t think they could stimulate for IVF, yet we could fall pregnant naturally. 

I am so confused I just don;t know where to start or where to begin, emotionally I am wraught.


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## MadameG (Jan 13, 2012)

Hi Loka, sorry things are so confusing for you at the moment  

To answer a few of your questions:

AMH can be taken at any point in your cycle, it doesn’t need to be day 1-3. It is an indicator of your egg reserve and *shouldn’t* fluctuate, although I have seen some variation over the years from ladies here. How was it actually written down? 1.8 or 0.8 would likely be quite typical for your age unfortunately and can indicate that it may be hard to stim for IVF. 

What was the antral follicle count for the one ovary they could scan? Although annoying, it’s not uncommon to not be able to access an ovary if it is tucked up hiding. Sometimes having a full/not so full/empty bladder can help.

FSH is an indicator of how hard your body is having to work to push eggs out. You can think of it like a car accelerator, the higher the number, the harder it is having to work. 12 is higher than many clinics would like but there is some variation month to month. Have you had it checked more than once. 

In regards to donor eggs, sadly us ladies do become less fertile as we age and I think the OE statistics at your age are quite low. You could have a look on the hfea website for some stats. Bear in mind that the chromosome abnormality rates also increase as we age, so this is another factor to consider. Wherever you cycle, I think it would be beneficial for you to speak to the clinic counsellor before going ahead with anything. Ultimately it is your choice whether you do an OE cycle first  

You say that you are with an nhs clinic but don’t have funding? It’s up to you where you cycle so I would have a look at other clinic’s websites and go to some open evenings until you find one that’s right for you.

I can’t see any info on how long you have been ttc together or your partners semen analysis details, that would probably be helpful for the other ladies to help you more  

Wishing you the best of luck xxxxx


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## Postivevibes (Sep 4, 2018)

Hi thanks for your reply and assistance appreciated. muchly. 

He has been checked and is fine. My friend's AMH level did change and she ended up with successful IVF but I have zero confidence in where we have been, because of our exp with them so far. I'm not even sure the folical count was right. At the beginning of the year I had a scan at a different hosp for ovary health and they found both ovaries no problem and said they were healthy....

I'm not deluded about my age etc but nothing here sits right with me at all. One of the previous womens scan results were on the machine joined to my scan results......the Dr came back in the room for them because they had "forgotten them"  torn the scan results off and kept half of the results each.....so how did they know who was whos? You see the things is there have been too many errors along the way that have made me lose trust in this hospital.It is ridiculous as even if they are right results I'm not going to have faith after a number of errors. Hence we have asked for a referral somewhere else, however it is a nightmare all of it and as time ticks on my chances become lower.

I've only had the FSH checked once. I'm also of the belief that sats are dependent on the cross section and amounts of women tested plus depends on who is compiling the reports and which companies have sponsored these stats. 

Amazingly it is a NHS clinic and amazingly you have your first bit of testing for fertility and suitability for free no matter what your age- within reason according to NHS guideline. Something that thankfully our incredible Dr informed us that even being over 42, women are entitled to some of these tests on the NHS. So this is where we are. 

What i really need is advise on good clinics in London and to fully understand what AMH I need and FSH etc and for a second look before we make a decision on what to do and a re testing of the AMH. 

Are there any clinics you would recommend?


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## MadameG (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm not based in London, but if I could have afforded it I would have gone to the Lister. My reasons for IVF were not age related though and I know some clinics are more tailored that way. Really it is a very personal choice over clinics as each person wants a different experience. If you're not happy with your current clinic, walk away.

There's a good explanation of levels here:

https://www.fertilitybristol.com/ovarian-reserve-and-fertility-potential/

And here:

http://crgw.co.uk/files/PI%2021%20AMH%20V2.doc

You can't influence AMH, FSH is generally best under 10. The follicle count can vary too. Just remember that they are all only indicators. You could have perfect levels, not respond to the drugs at all and have a poor outcome. Or the opposite could be true and you get your take home baby. It does all depend on how much money/time/emotion you are prepared to invest xxxx


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