# sad result from ort ultrasound -very low afc



## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

hello all,

i'm new and just starting out at a fertility clinic.

Today, I had my ultrasound as part of my ORT and had some very sad news. The doctor only found 3 follicles, 2 in one and 1 in the other ovary.

I am feeling so terribly low and old.......

I also had blood taken for AMH, FSH and estradiol and will have the results next week.

Up until today, I was so positive because everything was possible, but now I am afraid that the blood tests will come back with more bad news...



can someone tell me if i am reading too much into my low afc?

I have had my fsh tested before in aug '12 and it was 6.9 which is ok, but i know that at my age this is not a good indicator.

has anyone had low afc and gone on to do ivf with good results? do the drugs increase the number of follicles?

there is so much i don't understand.

can anyone give me some advice?

i feel like i'm falling at the first hurdle.....

y x


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## babynumber (Apr 6, 2009)

Hi there


I can't answer your question I'm afraid but I just wanted to say that your FSH sounds good.  Mine has been 15 mostly, and from what I know anything over 15 is difficult to stimulate. (I'm not ovulating on my own, and even with Clomid sometimes I'm still not.)


That fact that you do have some follicles is also good.  I also think that yes, if you are having IVF fertility drugs this would definitely improve.


I've only ever used clomid and it didn't work for me unfortunately.  Have you tried Clomid - it might just give you a boost on the cycles you are not doing IVF. It's cheap and It does work for some people. You can take it for up to a year and you could get it from your GP.


It is so very hard not to get disheartened with infertility, you are not alone in how you feel.


Good luck - don't give up yet, you are just at the start of your journey and if you are having IVF thing are definitely possible xx


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

Dear babynumber,

thank you so much for your reply. it has made me feel a bit better.  

i have heard of clomid but do not really understand what it does. i assumed it was taken for ivf only. i will ask my consultant about it.

i have done a little more research on the net and now realise that low afc does not mean the end of hope.

i found an article that i assumed was going to be about the doom of low afc, but it was more about how afc will determine the protocol for ivf.

and i have read on the forum that others will very low afc have gone on to have a baby. it only takes one good egg.

after a good cry i decided that i was being a wimp in letting myself get upset about something i do not fully understand and that i have to be very brave if i want to make this happen for my dp and i.

i am so glad i have found this forum. it gives me courage to read about what other women are going through and how everyone is helping each other.

i see from your profile that you have got your fsh really down!!!!! how have you managed it?

yx


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## babynumber (Apr 6, 2009)

I haven't got a clue!!!  To be honest I wouldnt be surprised if its a blip and it will go right back up again next time.  I've had it done about 3 times in the past 3 or 4 years, its always been 15.  Once it came back at 80 something!  But they re-tested it the next week and it was 15 again so thankfully that one was an error in the lab.

I'm hoping it has gone down this time, as my result suggests, but it still hasn't made a difference because my progesterone test this month again said I did not ovulate.  I just don't understand WHY we don't ovulate.  It must be running out of eggs or the quality of the eggs??

I eat junk food, I drink tea and coffee, but I dont smoke and I don't drink.  I don't bother with cutting out chocolate, etc because the way I see it is, lots of people do eat 'normally' and don't cut out tea.cofee, etc and fall pregnant no problem, so I can't see that these things are worth cutting out to still have the underlying problem as being 'unexplained' anyway.  That's just me.

x


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## babynumber (Apr 6, 2009)

p.s  I didn't feel brave enough to try DHEA or melatonin.  I did try Q10 and vitamins on and off for a few months, but gave up again because I still was not ovulating and had no success on the clomid either.


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

I have read that clomid can raise your fsh level?! Has your doctor mentioned this at all?

Also have read that luteal phas defects can cause low progesterone levels.

I don't think it's the progesterone that triggers ovulation but lh & fsh. Progesterone is what is produced after the follicle releases the egg and it turns into a corpus luteum. Progesterone is needed for implantation.

So who knows you might be ovulating but the eggs aren't sticking. You might have luteal phase defect? 

Can you be referred to an endocrinologist? They could help you figure out what's going wrong.

I don't know much but I don't think it's just because your old!! (And you are NOT old btw!!!)

Yx


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

it all depends how you respond to the drugs 
both my cycles i hardly had any follicles, i think four and a tiny one on my first cycle and the second time they couldn't really see my left ovary but there was only one follicle on my right. Both times i got fertilised eggs. So good luck that you respond well to tx.


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

Hello goldbunny,

Wow that's great that you had successful fertilised eggs.

That gives me hope. I will get the results from my blood tests tomorrow, amh, fsh & e3.

I'm hoping the results will tell me more.

The more I read about other women's experiences on this forum, the more I realise how unpredictable it all is.

Some ladies have maybe not the best test results but get pregnant. And other ladies s that seem to have it all going for them don't.

It's all pretty crazy.

Yx


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## reb363 (Mar 1, 2009)

Can only read this a little on my phone so hope my reply makes sense but I've never had more than 4 follicles - usually fewer - and I have a lovely son now. It did take longer to get there but my doctor just said we'll work with what we've got. Actually your FSH sounds good to me!  Don't worry. You only need 1!! Xxxx


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## cazbo (Jun 9, 2011)

Hi yoyo
I know how you feel I have only one ovary and at my AFC before i started treatment I only had 2 follicles visible.  However I did a protocol which included merional and letrozole and in the end I ended up with 3 eggs, one was very good quality and at the moment Im in the two week wait due to test on Monday.  I know it can be hard not to get disheartened but it can still work.  My clinic have told me stories of women having low AFC having one egg collected which has resulted in a pregnancy and there are also stories of women with lots of eggs with few being fertilised.  What Ive learnt is that everyone is an individual and you never know how things will turn out.  Good luck.


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

hello reb363 & cazbo,

wow you both really give me hope!

And I need it especially now as i have the results from my blood tests

AMH 1.16 pmol/L,
E2 358 pmol/L
FSH 6.8 IU/L

My dh & I have our 2nd appt with consultant next tuesday and i am wondering what he will say.

reb363, you have otd next week? i am new to this site and sill getting the hang of the acronyms, etc, is this test after 2ww? if so i wish you all the best!!!!

cazbo, and i also wish you all the best too for your test monday!!!!

i hope you both have BFP!

good luck ladies!!!

let us know your news!

big hugs!!

yx


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## reb363 (Mar 1, 2009)

Will do, thanks.  Your amh and FSH both look great.  Mine way lower and higher so feeling really     for you.  keep in touch xxx


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## yaya (Aug 17, 2010)

I had an AFC of four, two on each side. I only produced three follies but managed to get lucky on my first IVF cycle at age 40 and now have a wonderful 19-month old son. My FSH was 11 point something so your results look really good to me. Best of luck x


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

hello yaya,  

thanks so much for your reply! i am so happy for you that you now have a beautiful baby boy. but also so sad that you had to let one go.... it must have been such a hard decision.  

after my u/s and blood test results, i have been looking on the net obsessively. trying to find more information that will help me understand what is happening to my body and what the results mean.   i have been making myself crazy.

everything i have been reading points to all doom and gloom, making me feel soo old. it has been getting me really down....

so i can not tell you how much it means to me that all of you have replied and given me courage and hope. your real stories mean more to me than all the websites written by doctors and scientists.

big big hugs to you all!!!

my dh & i have our second consultation on Tuesday, 19/02. so we will see what the dr says....

still praying for you reb363 & cazbo! I hope you have good news to share after Monday!  

yx


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