I hope everyone in blogland is doing well! It's my busy season at work and I've not had time the last month or so to keep up with what's going on. I'm going through withdrawals! But this is just a super-quick update from our world.
Given that said busy season is in full swing, I woke up a few days ago and realized that if we were going to give this another shot in May we'd best get cracking - since it's already April.. and I'm heading out of town next week for work for the rest of April.. and we still have to apply for visas, I have to start on birth control (today!!), we've not ironed out any kind of travel plan... and all that jazz.
So we're madly trying to get visa applications done, and get dates figured out, figure out flights and accommodation which we can't book until we get our visas... etc. And, in the midst of this I've received my results for the AMH (anti-mullerian hormone) test. Which, I am annoyed to report, cost me a whopping $225 USD to have done. Chuh! And... results are not heartening. :( 0.87 ng/mL, which Dr. S says is measured using an old protocol (my $225 clearly didn't buy "the best"!).. but she said it's likely accurate. This report says a result greater than 1.06 would mean improved odds for higher antral follicle count and live birth.
So... ovarian reserve is on the downswing and given that we only collected 2 eggs last time, chances are good we'd be facing similar results this time. Plus, because we only had 2 eggs last time, Dr S implanted on day 2 instead of taking to blastocyst, since typically embryos are lost during that process. So.. while at day 2 our embryos were considered Grade 1, we don't know if they were genetically normal or not.
Now what!??? Do we try my eggs again or is it just a waste of time?? And then what??? I feel like my head is going to blow up, between this and work... haha. No shortage of excitement...
A very personal decision......
ReplyDeleteThis site was recommended to me, you have probably already scoured it but just in case - http://www.advancedfertility.com/antralfollicles.htm
Of course you only need 1 egg to implant but we all know it is not just about implantation it is then about that egg staying put.
We tried self cycling with 2 surrogates and 2 weeks later - 2 negatives, our next try was with an egg donor and we now have 2 positives.
Best of luck with this decision and best wishes for your next round what ever form it may take !
That's a hard choice. If your eggs don't work could you leave some of your husband's swimmers on ice and then do donor eggs? If they can't make it to the blastocyst stage, would you have be able to opt for donor eggs instead - maybe just postpone the cycle??? Is that possible?
ReplyDeleteHang in there.....it's tough being caught between a rock and a hard place...i know...i see you right beside me...my amh sux...i've had it checked twice...havent had the nerve to check again...going to self cycle again...not sure of dates maybe june i guess or latter part of may if i get my ducks in a row...self cycle until you are ready to go the donor route...or do both simultaneously...you will know what to do when the time is right....there are no guarantees in life...that's for sure...but, giving up is not an option, right? You can always take time to breathe, you know...besides, don't sweat the amh...you knew it would be about that with only 2 eggs last time....it is my understanding it dictates quantity; not quality....it only takes one good egg, you know....take care...
ReplyDeleteThat is hard decision,no doubt about it...do what feels right for you.The option of donor egg is always there,so you can try now,later or use both yours and an egg donor!!It will increase the odds of success!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you are on route to a new journey and I look forward to reading more about it!!
kathy
It is so hard to know what to do! You are speaking to me...as I am going for my AMH tomorrow...fortunately it is on $55.00 in Ontario. What ever decisions you make, you need to feel good about them, so try to pace yourself.
ReplyDeleteI would consider doing both donor and selfcycle if you can afford to and if you feel comfortable having a baby that is not bio related to you. It's a tough decision only you can make. Best wishes with your decision and next cycle :)
ReplyDeleteLucylu
I also have low AMH and high FSH, which seems a combination that makes IVF doctors tell you to look for an egg donor. In my blog I wrote about this topic (you'll find it easily, there are only 2 entries so far..)
ReplyDeleteI have had already 7 IVF's and once did a genetic test, a new one, where they test if there are 23 chormosome pairs, ie, if the egg is euploid. and from 7eggs 3 were euploid. Which is not bad at all, considering that I will turn 40 this year and have all these "wrong values".
That would corroborate what they say, that AMH and FSH values tell you about quantity not quality. I insisted on self cycling. Dr. Shivani also recommended me to take DHEA. I was scared as well - but after a lot of googling and doubting - I decided to give it a chance - and max. take it two month. (I was going to India 6 weeks after starting to take it). I also ate "gelee royale" and pollen and wheat grass..and tried to be really healthy.... All of that could at leat not do any harm. So when I got to India in the end of February, my FSH level was actually fine. I didn't measure the AMH again, but maybe it had come up, who knows. Dr. S. gave me 450 from the start, a rather high dose. And I didn't produce much more eggs than usually (usually they can collect 7 or 8) 10 eggs. Of which all fertilized and 8 were grade A quality on day two. 4 were transfered to our two surro moms and both got pregnant....
So at least so far our case can give self-cyclers with low AMH some hope.
Yesterday we got the report of the 6 week scan of M. and there were TWO heartbeats. L. will have her scan tomorrow... Of course we are still nervous - it's almost too good to be true - and we have to get through the dangerous first trimester etc etc etc...
Anyway - I made a really looong comment. Ah and still forgot to tell you about the DHEA. I only noticed that it increased my libido after a few days - it serioulsy did. Was quite funny. But then it got back to normal. Otherwise I didn't notice anything. Only when I stopped taking it - after the egg collection. Because even if we would have had a BFN, I would have taken a break off it. Well, when I stopped taking it, I felt a loss of libido and actually quite depressed. I don't know how much of it was the DHEA, or the two week wait and the jet lag and the after effect of all the other hormones - but it was rather strong for about a week and then went away.
But as far as our stimulation cycle goes - perhaps the DHEA DID help in some way. you can not no for sure - but we've never managed to get pregnant before....and the only new factors were DHEA and different uteri...
ok, the best of luck to you!!!!!!!! Jasmin