OAR labs - super discouraged

susykat77

My doc had me do blood-work on Day 3 of this cycle - it is an ovarian assessment report - OAR. I guess it is used if you are thinking of having eggs retrieved but he said it also gives a pretty good idea of your general ovarian health. It has the standard labs and then it gives you a score based on those results and your age by running it through some algorithm. The scoring is on a scale of 1-20 with 20 being excellent.  I got a ......3. WTF. Anybody else familiar with this type of test? I am attaching the report and it has my lab results as well as info on the scoring and what-not. I feel like the lab numbers don't look that bad but I don't know... I have so many questions, like should I just skip right over to IVF? Ugh. I am felling so discouraged and like my body is betraying me as a woman.

UGH! I can't even attach the report!! I upload it an nothing happens.

susykat77

Ok, here is the report.  

Thank you @clgsquared for the support.

MySallyGirl

I don't really know anything about it but I just wanted to say I hope you get answers soon!

rspalding001

Have you discussed the number with your doctor yet? Maybe he can add some insight? Im sorry it wasnt what you were hoping to see. Wait until you talk to the doctor before you get too bummed out. You never know what additional info he has the report isnt telling you.

tlc35

Lurking/siggy warning


I looked at your report and the most relevant numbers I think, are your FSH of 9.88 and AMH of 0.11.  The FSH is a bit on the high side but not too bad but the AMH is pretty low.  There are ladies on TB who have gotten pregnant with low AMH but it means your egg reserve isn't great.  I would definitely get to a RE ASAP.  They will likely do an ultrasound to see how many follicles your ovaries have which will be another piece of the picture. Once he/she does all the testing and the sperm analysis for your partner they will decide whether to start with TI/IUI or straight to IVF.

I'm sorry the news sucks.  Sending hugs.

Nikolie93

I'm not familiar with this testing but wanted to say I hope you get answers soon *hug*

susykat77

Thanks ladies!!

URMySunshine77

I agree with @tlc35's advice. Good luck to you and keep us posted. 

Davie813

I also agree with @tlc35, but wanted to add that if they do suggest moving to IVF, it's not then end of the world.  I'm in the middle of my first cycle, and it's honestly not that bad.

Also, obviously, learn as much as you can and be as aggressive as you need to, but don't get too discouraged about the AMH.  As I understand it, FSH measures egg quality (how quickly your ovaries respond to stimulation from the pituitary), and AMH (a hormone put out by immature eggs) measures egg quantity.  So even if you don't have huge reserves, the eggs you have might be of perfectly good quality.  And it only takes one!

Hang in there!

omnivorette

I'm so sorry that it wasn't what you wanted to hear, but you're doing the right thing by getting more info. Sending you a big hug. 

I don't know if you're like me, but I love hearing real success stories so I'll share that I have a friend who had way lower AMH than that and she got pregnant after 35 rather fast with RE help. (She's pregnant with her second one now.) 

Best of luck, and sending you good luck!

peregrinefalconx

susykat77  Ha! I'm a 3 too! Don't be too discouraged. It took me a couple of weeks and telling everybody I could think of until I calmed down about it. My numbers were similar to yours. For the month of Nov, I had 2, yes 2 whole follicles!! Normal is 10-20.

GOOD NEWS: I hope your doc told you that the jury is not out on AMH levels. They have gone back and forth over the years. Plenty of people get pregnant with low AMH. The OAR test has more to do with egg retrieval for IVF more than anything else. If you are DOR, which you are, then it can be more difficult to retrieve eggs. It does not mean that you can't get pregnant.

My first RE just said the reasons for my miscarriages were poor egg quality, consistent with the DOR issue. New RE doesn't think that has anything to do with it. That blew my mind. I am just getting a couple of other tests done, to help support his idea that my prob is hormonal. I was going to do IVF in January, but am now waiting to TTC until I get the next test results back. I will likely move to IVF if this new RE's regimen doesn't work.

A good story I know. 10 years ago, a friend my age now, had DOR (at 30). She couldn't get P either. So they did IVF. She only got 4 eggs (low IVF success rate with 4), 2 fertilized, and she gone one beautiful embryo that is her DD. I have a hope! Start taking CoQ10...all REs seem to agree that is helpful.

And yes, get to an RE, especially if you have been having trouble TTC. I'm assuming you have had some issues, or have been to one, if you have had this test. Listen to your gut--if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. I think of having the "golden ticket" aka Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in me. I just need to find it. Your body is great. You are all woman

susykat77

@peregrinefalconx

Finally someone else that has had this same test done! I am so sorry you are a 3 too and for your miscarriages. I like the sounds of your new RE! My OB is the one that ordered the test but he didn't do a very good job explaining the results. I have a call into an RE BUT the closest one is 4 hrs away and I have to drive over a mountain pass to get there! After posting this, I have realized just what you said about the jury being out on the AMH levels. My OB definitely did not tell me this. Hopefully when I hear from the RE they can explain things a bit more. Thank you for your kind words and I love hearing success stories! They really do give me hope! 

I am going to keep eating chocolate! (So I can find the golden ticket!!) :-)

peregrinefalconx

susykat77   Yes, both of my docs, even the one who thought my Ms were bc of an egg issue, told me that AMH levels have been considered to have great importance and little importance over the years. It is only in the last year or more that it has swung back to that number being important. In the absence of your doc, and having to make a drive through a mountain pass, that report is what their best guess, based on your numbers, of what you might get if you did an egg retrieval for IVF. I got that report bc I had asked to retest my CD3 numbers and was surprised to get that whole thing.

If you go under TTCAL page, there is a "read this first" at the very top of the page (which I never did until recently). There is an innocuous link to a bunch of success stories for DOR ladies. I couldn't ever figure out a pattern or what to do (the magic formula I stress out about when I am feeling anxious and desperate) but those are ladies who shared their success stories.

So yes, not awesome news but not a death sentence. Each situation is unique, of course. I hope you get to an RE--but not really just for this really. For the full baton. Keep the faith!