offer your thoughts on my situation please..

**sydbubba** · 10-11-2011 17:40

i've previously had an appt at a fertility specialist (sept), however my 1st visit was actually just for a pap/gyno exam and not even fertility related. but i took suggested a test i never heard of (anti mullerian hormone) that showed a low result of ovarian reserve and today went back to discuss. a while ago when i got the result i researched a bit and had a little freak out, but then calmed down and thought maybe it wasn't so bad and relaxed a bit.

today i ended up going back to discuss the result and was going in with a positive outlook and not thinking the worst.. just thinking we should probably get seriously thinking about getting going and if we wait too long in future then we'd have to worry (we were thinking of ttc around july-nov, so i thought probably would be safe but not to wait any longer)

so we discussed my result (7.7 amh, i'm 32) and everything came crashing down in minutes! it was so much more serious than i thought. i am going back in one month to retake the test and told to bring my husband to discuss things we talked about. but no other tests were mentioned, however the dr did mention thinking about freezing my eggs and ivf! (because dr suggested we start trying asap, but it is complicated as i have an illness and am on meds which i cannot be on whilst preg and need to lose a bit of weight + just don't know if i am ready to start asap with how emotional i am lately! ) i was crying and am so soworried! when i got the result origionally i was worried after researching and then relaxed a bit before this appt. now after today i am a wreck! aparrently it could go from 7.7 to 1 in one month! and now i'm worrying why i'm waiting the month to get back there.. shouldn't i be going back and freezing my eggs asap???

i have to see my specialist in a couple weeks to talk about this.. because i'm not sure i could safely get pregnant now or in a few months (because of the meds and my weight -- the meds are very dangerous in pregnancy and not sure if i could start to be weaned off now and how long they take to get out of the system. plus the less i weigh at pregnancy the better, especially since i would nto be able to be on my meds, right now i'm about 78k and was hoping to be around 65-70 when i got pregnant). and i'm not even sure i could take ivf drugs (as i cannot take birth control ever again in life). my husband and mil keep saying be positive and whatever is meant to be will be, but i am struggling not to break down. i don't know how i can function at work tomorrow! then i'm thinking of work (i have a really stressful demanding job) and should i tell my boss or coworkers or?? my mind just won't stop...

ps i posted this in the wrong area yesterday. i went to work today and only broke down once thankfully. but i feel overwhelmed and would just be grateful if anyone could weigh in on this.

i know everyone is different in their bodies and such, but is it usual for the results to go down within a month or so? does it seem likely we will have to do ivf to get pregnant? i'm having trouble even understanding amh and things. if we freeze our eggs.. does that mean you need to do treatments to get pregnant? also, i just don't understand that the dr said it could go down in one month.. then why is he just having me go back to retest in one month?? shouldn't i be going back asap to freeze eggs? its all so complicated and confusing and overwhelming!

**jessesgirl** · 10-11-2011 18:10

Oh I know how you feel, but pls don't let it get you down! I found the more I knew about amh the better I understood.

I had mine tested in August this year and it came back at 10.9.. So def not the best for a 27 yr old! I was a mess- but my fs assured me that he had helped many ladies that have levels lower than one pregnant so I thought if he wasn't worried neither should I..

It is very confronting and take as much time as you need to digest it..

Thinking of you!

X

**Chew the Mintie** · 10-11-2011 18:24

What do you think about getting a second opinion? I feel that for someone who just went in for a pap smear, you are being recommended a lot of expensive treatments etc... So far as your weight goes, I wouldn't worry, but certainly the meds need to be considered.

**jfblady72** · 10-11-2011 19:17

yes i agree, firstly another opinion always is a good idea. also i dont think your weight is that high. also amh is pretty new, its give an indication is egg quantity but not really quality..some women have a higher level but cant seem to get pg and vice versa. to give a comparison...my amh was 4.0 at 36yo...i have endometriosis...on average i would get around 4 eggs doing ivf (the average is about 9)...i had a baby in 2010...my amh was lower when i started TTC again but again pg now....if i hadda known my amh was lowish when i was your age i would have started TTC back then but hey i got lucky it worked out. your amh can drop sometimes quite a bit but ive never heard of it dropping that far like your FS...but hey im not a doctor. i guess it depends on your medical situation and even how many kids you want..sure the amh is lowish for your age but its not disasturous....when i started ivf i was told omg you are old ( i was 34)...

...definately speak to another FS would be my first suggestion and dont panic about needing to TTC right this second...like i wouldnt leave it for 2 years etc either IMO. good luck.

**Wise Enough** · 10-11-2011 20:30

My eldest sister was on IVF and responding poorly to the drugs, not getting any eggs. They tested her AMH and she was about 4, she was 35. They tried the max dose but her ovaries were "tired".

So I got checked and my result was 11 (I was 31). My middle sister was 7 (she was 33). If you graphed it it was almost a straight line.

I was pretty upset as I knew what my future looked like. Im single so it was either hope Mr right came along in the next 3 years or go it alone. I chose to go it alone and now have THE most beautiful baby girl and couldn't be happier.

Rather than feeling sad about this you should feel happy as you got a warning. I too got a warning, but my eldest sister wasn't so lucky and needed and egg donor which middle sister was able to provide (amh of 7 is still good, it just means don't waste time).

Freezing eggs is a complete waste of money. My friend is an embryologist at an ivf clinic and said the success rate was so low it's not worth it.

Your weight really isn't an issue, I weigh considerably more than that and it wasn't an issue. I'm not sure about your medication but you should talk to your specialist about it.

It's very doubtful your amh will drop much in a month, your doc is probably just checking that if something wad affecting your reading it's cleared out of your system.

You have to make a choice. How important are kids to you? There will be a million reasons why you should wait, but it's a very risky game to play. I would have liked to wait for the right guy but I knew having kids was important to me so I couldn't take that chance. As it is I will be lucky to get a second, I will have to start trying for the second one soon.

Hope I havent been too brutal, I'm not trying to stress you out more. I'm just saying mows your time to make a choice. Or start sucking up to any female relatives for their eggs

**Frostysmum** · 11-11-2011 07:57

You've been given some wise advice here. AMH pretty much mean how much eggs you have left, it doesn't tell us how good they are. The quality of the eggs depends on your age, and some women's egg quality deteriorates faster than some others, same with the egg numbers. Some women have AMH worse than yours in their 20's, but the quality is still better than a 40 yo woman with high AMH and plenty of "bad" eggs. I just turned 40, AMH was 18 one and a half years ago, and I've had 11 rounds of IVF to get a baby, and I get retrieval of average 10 eggs per cycle which is apparently good for my age, but the quantity is not there, I only get one or two transferrable ones at the end of each cycle.

In terms of what drugs you're taking to treat your other illness, if it's not suitable for when you're pregnant, then it's not suitable for doing a cycle for egg freezing. You need to speak to your specialist who's treating your other condition and ask if there're any alternative drugs for you to take while trying to conceive. There're many other ladies who's got pregnant being overweight, it's not a major roadblock. Obviously it'll take a bit of time maybe months maybe even a year to sort out and stabilise your other illness and medication, but the bottom line is as soon as those issues are sorted out, don't wait any longer if you really do want children. Egg freezing doesn't yield very good results at the moment, embryos freeze much better than eggs.

**Anyanka** · 11-11-2011 08:27

Dont know much about AMH but would like to encourage a second opinion. And also freezing eggs without sperm isn't a good option when you thaw them you have a higher attrician rate than, freezing embies is much better.

May I ask what meds are you on and what your condition may be? Is the weight going to make it a medical problem for you to have a pregnancy?? Or is it that you just want to loose a bit before pregnancy for your own peace of mind??

You can Personal Message me if you want you don't have to put it up on the boards for all to see if you don't want to.

try not to stress. You may have to do IVF but there have been reports that women with low AMH can still get pregnant naturally. But that if it takes more than 6 months to concieve to consider IVF.

HUGS HUGS HUGS
Anyanka

Anyanka

**sydbubba** · 11-11-2011 17:10

thanks so much for all your replies girls! i should really clear some things up.
firstly, the weight issue.. i know my weight doesn't sound bad in terms of getting pregnant, but it is not the fact i just want to loose it to be healthier or thinking i will have better chances of falling pregnant.. it is in relation to my illness. i have an illness where losing weight can often improve the condition significantly and gaining can cause damage. since i know when i get pregnant i will gain weight, loosing weight will even things out a bit and put me at the weight i am now. but adding more weight to my size now could cause problems. then without being able to be on my meds (as it is dangerous in pregnancy) it won't help with my symptoms or aid in preventing vision loss (one of the main things i am trying to avoid with my illness) in pregnancy w/women off the meds and gaining weight, i have read about some people having really bad reactions and loosing a lot of vision (even blindness) or having to terminate the pregnancy or having to quit work or just have terrible side effects. so i wanted to get my body ready by loosing weight and getting off meds to give myself the best enviornment for the baby to ensure that the baby will be healthy.. and also i will be healthy. hopefully i have explained it well!

i feel a lot better after this post though. i may have good quality eggs and conceive naturally. i just hope 6-8 months isn't too late! well, i really need to speak to my specialist for my illness first and formost and go from there. i wonder why it was only mentioned to start trying asap or freeze eggs.. the specialist didn't mention freezing embryos or anything else. he was really lovely, but i would feel weird asking for another opinion at the same clinic? i live in sydney eastern suburbs.. any recommendations?

oh also, should clarify i had an appt to discuss the amh tests, so it wasn't during the pap smear visit, it was afterwards specifically for a fertility appt for that reason of the testing.

and what does it mean when the specialist and others are saying don't waste time.. how much time are we talking? we were going to start trying july-nov 2012 is that too late??

for those asking how many children we want...just one. we'd be so blessed and happy with just one healthy baby

and yes.. as stressful and concerning and overwhelming as this is.. it is really lucky to have this test and have this info now, rather than waiting to try in 6-8 months and all the time after that that it would take us in trying.. to find out then later down the road, who knows the state of my reserves/quality then!

makes me think of one more question.. is there a test to see the quality of your eggs??

thanks so much everyone!