High FSH levels

may2806

Hi, I'm fairly new to this board. It has been a rollercoaster two weeks since my first RE appointment. They discovered I was actually pregnant (surprise to me because I was charting and had no evidence of this - still don't quite believe it) but my levels were dropping so it wouldn't last. Sure enough, I began bleeding this weekend. So, I went in for my Day 3 bloodwork yesterday and apparently my FSH levels were through the roof. I'm only 32 but it seems that my ovaries are not functioning properly. Now my doc doesn't want me to start Clomid as we had planned; I have to meet with him to 'discuss my options.' I'm thinking this means my options for treatment are very limited. Plus I have to wait until next Tuesday for the appointment, so basically a week of freaking out before I find out for sure.

Does anyone have any experience with high FSH levels?  From my charts I was ovulating sometimes but not every cycle, and my luteal phase is generally pretty short.  

Dr.Loretta

i'm sorry you're dealing with this.

how high is high?

nicolita14w

Hi there,

 First of all, I am very sorry for your pregnancy loss. It must be devastating to have this happen and at the same time be getting confusing info from your RE. 

There are several women on this board and also on SAIF who have high FSH. Do you know how high your levels are? Mine were as high as 12, which is over the normal threshold but not super high. Many women with FSH's higher than mine are now pg-- there is one girl on SAIF whose FSH was 29 and she is now 30 weeks pregnant-- and got pregnant without treatment.

 I would think that the fact that you did pregnant is a good sign for your future possibilites of getting pregnant, but high FSH is a confusing diagnosis. With some FSH levels, RE's will suggest moving straight to IVF.  Unfortunately, some clinics won't treat patients once their FSH is over a certain level. If your RE tells you your only option is donor eggs, you should seek another opinion (or preferably, other opinions). There are a lot of women who have gotten that speech and who still got pg.

 
There is another chat board for women with high FSH that I found to be very helpful. Here is the address:

https://www.network54.com/Forum/209394/
 

 And FSH is only part of the equation. Another important test to get is an antral follicle count, a count of the "resting" follicles on your ovaries. This gives another indicator of your ovarian reserve.

 Age is also a factor, and in your case your age is in your favor.

 Also, there is a weekly "high FSH check-in" on this board. I used to run it but now it is run by another nestie, but I'm not sure what day it's on. Keep an eye out for it.
 

 I hope this info helps somewhat. Feel free to page me over on SAIF if you have more questions. Again, my FSH was not super high but I did also have a low antral follicle count, very short cycles and a pretty poor response to fertility drugs. I got pg on our third IUI cycle with injectable drugs.
 

Good luck-- I hope to see you over on SAIF soon.  

 

Delta_diva

Well, the first thing is to determine exactly what the level is. Does it have anything to do with your recent pregnancy? Some doctors are pretty conservative and believe that FSH over 10 is "high FSH". Other's have more wiggle room. Since you're young, you should ask about your antral follicle count as well. If its high, then you may be in good shape.  Your high FSH mainly indicates that you may be a poor responder to fertility drugs and you may need higher dosages.  My FSH was 19.8 last year when I was 31. My doctor told me that I have diminished ovarian reserve and that my best chance was to do an IVF cycle. She was also not very optimistic about the IVF cycle working. She put me on a pretty aggressive IVF medication schedule and I got pregnant. When you go online, you can read lots of gloom and doom about high FSH. The message to take away is, there are many, many success stories about women with high FSH. You should try to be as aggressive with your treatment as you can, ask many questions, and remember that you still have your age working in your favor.  Good Luck and let me know if you have any questions.

may2806

Thank you guys for your support and your responses. My FSH was 42 (yikes, right?). I have no idea if it was affected by the pregnancy or what... The doctor had already told me (this was during my initial consult, before we found out about the pregnancy) that based on my ultrasound I didn't appear to have as many follicles as I should. So I knew this could be a problem.

Thanks for your encouragement as well. I was preparing myself for the donor eggs speech and happy to know that there may be other options - I have to think that more should be looked at than one blood test in determing the course of action. I'm already looked into finding another doc(s) who might specialize in this condition, or at least give me another opinion(s).
 

arb212

I'm so sorry.  I know what a devastating diagosis it is.  I'm 28 and stopped having periods on my own in Jan. and they checked my FSH and it was 88!!! I'm waiting 6 months without treatment to see what happens to my FSH, so in that time I've done LOTS of research!  There have been lots of miracles of gals with high FSH, so don't give up hope!!  On my blog I have lots of good high FSH websites listed on the right hand column.  Also, I run the High FSH check-in and it's on Thursays, so plesae join us if you want.  ((HUGS)) Feel free to email me at arb2 at hotmail dot com if you ever want to talk.