Looking for extremely low AMH success stories

BootsOrHearts

My AMH a year ago was 0.28, so it's probably close to undetectable levels now (planning on asking for a re-test this week). My RE is still suggesting IVF with my own eggs, even though everything I've read online says that IVF success rates for women with AMH levels in this range are extremely low and most REs would advise using donor eggs.

Just wondering if anyone with extremely low AMH levels has had success with IVF and their own eggs?

We don't have any issue at all with using donor eggs, so we are going to bring that up again in discussions with our RE this week.

Thanks in advance - here's a lolcat 'cuz that's how I roll.

mrsjami

Meeee! Mine was .19 and now expecting twins. AMH is not end all be all. Need to also look at AFC mine was 7 and FSH mine was 12 I think at day 10. Also need to make sure RE will work with you. Mine was willing to go to transfer as long as I had 4 follies. I ended up with 6 on the antagonist protocol. Max dose 600iu of Follistim. Everyone is different, in my case we wanted to be aggressive since time was not on my side. GL!

sekura

Everyone is different, and every attempt is different, but from what I've seen it will be very unlikely that you'll get success stories with AMH that low.  Mine was .67, and we did try one IVF cycle with my own eggs, but it was quite unsuccessful.  I'm glad we moved on to DE as quickly as we did, because my chances with my own eggs were really quite low.

What sort of success probability are they quoting you with your own eggs?  I was quoted about a 25% likelihood of success for one round of IVF with my own eggs.  After that round, though (when they found the egg quality issues), my chances dropped to about 5-10%.

 

BootsOrHearts

mrsjami:

Meeee! Mine was .19 and now expecting twins. AMH is not end all be all. Need to also look at AFC mine was 7 and FSH mine was 12 I think at day 10. Also need to make sure RE will work with you. Mine was willing to go to transfer as long as I had 4 follies. I ended up with 6 on the antagonist protocol. Max dose 600iu of Follistim. Everyone is different, in my case we wanted to be aggressive since time was not on my side. GL!

Wow that's great! I'm guessing you transferred two and they both stuck? I will have to ask about AFC and FSH, I don't think she's tested either of those. The plan they've given me is an estrogen priming protocol.

BootsOrHearts

sekura:

Everyone is different, and every attempt is different, but from what I've seen it will be very unlikely that you'll get success stories with AMH that low.  Mine was .67, and we did try one IVF cycle with my own eggs, but it was quite unsuccessful.  I'm glad we moved on to DE as quickly as we did, because my chances with my own eggs were really quite low.

What sort of success probability are they quoting you with your own eggs?  I was quoted about a 25% likelihood of success for one round of IVF with my own eggs.  After that round, though (when they found the egg quality issues), my chances dropped to about 5-10%.

 

She hasn't given me stats based on AMH levels, just IVF success rates for the various age ranges, which I don't think particularly helpful. I do plan to ask her this week for success rates for very low AMH levels. The success rates I've seen online for other clinics (when they show it by AMH levels) are 8-15%, so not very good.

This is why I'm confused about why she is pushing IVF with my own eggs, we've brought up DEs a few times and she's just said 'we're not there yet' but in my mind, I don't want to put myself through the emotional and physical turmoil (not to mention financial) of IVF only to go through multiple cycles that are unsuccessful and end up at DE eggs anyway. I can't think of any reason why she's push it for me. On the one hand it's more money for the clinic, but on the other hand, it will hurt their published success rates.

So yeah more discussions to be had. We're going to bring up donor eggs one more time and if we get brushed off again, we'll probably go to another clinic. :-(

k8teeinTX

I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant from my 4th IVF with my own eggs. As you can see from my siggy, my first AMH was .19 and went up to .27 when we retested about six months later. We got 10 eggs on our successful cycle using a MDLF protocol. Initially I was pregnant with twins, but we lost Baby B at 8 weeks. Incidentally, IVF 2 was also successful, but the pregnancy ended for other reasons. Donor eggs are always an option, but it's not impossible to get pg with your own eggs just because you have low AMH. Good luck with whatever you decide!

jb2rn

see siggy - my labs were pretty bad, I was 34 when they were tested. I think I just got lucky, I got the donor egg talk at my first RE appt.

I think as others said, AFC can be more predicitve, as well as age.

best of luck to you.

MandaS08

I'm currently pregnant with twins and my AMH was b/t .29 and .42 during my last IVF cycle.  We only retrieved 6 eggs, 5 mature, but that was all I needed.  My AFC is low, but my FSH is normal, I'm 31.

I think you have to look at your AMH as part of the picture, not everything.

Killer Tomato

Like PPs have said, you can't just look at AMH alone, check google, and know your odds of success. You have to look at the whole picture. AMH is a relatively new test, and some REs put more stock in it that others. If your AFC and FSH are in good range, a low AMH may not mean as much as if all your other stats are also ominous. 

I think your RE sounds like she is wanting the best for you, and I would not assume her reasons for suggesting a protocol have anything to do with the clinics stats or making more money. A RE that was interested in getting better stats would have strict cutoffs and would not be willing to work with people below those cutoffs. I am also pretty sure that DE cycles are significantly more expensive (possibly almost double the cost, I have read?,) and would probably make the clinic more money, so I would assume your RE is suggesting what she feels is in your best interest, like a good doctor should. I would let her know what you are thinking and ask for clarification as to why she feels it is too soon for DE. Also, if she thinks you have a good/reasonable shot with your own eggs, are you comfortable going straight to DE without attempting with your own, or is this a decision you will always look back upon and regret? (I am sure you know that DEs do not always equal success, as well.) Personally, I would want to try at least once with my own eggs, but that is me.

I also would not assume that your AMH has dropped to near nothing by this point. Mine started out around .5, and later tested in at .96. (I attribute this to being deficient in vitamin D and starting supplementation. There are studies that show a correlation between the two, though my RE was not convinced. Either way, it nearly doubled.) My FSH and AFC were also decent. Not great, but decent. 

A few last thoughts on statistics:

-The SART statistics you can see are two years old. A lot can change for a clinic/lab in two years. 

-Statistics can be pretty easily manipulated/misread/misinterpreted. Rarely do statistics show the whole picture.

-Statistics are only valid and useful in predicting outcome over a large sample size. Yes, it can be a useful decision making tool if you are given a 5% chance of success vs 45%, but remember--it is just a guess at your odds. You will never know your actual, personal odds, so while you should absolutely factor statistics and percentages into your decisions, don't base your decisions on them.

Wishing you luck in both your decision and your future cycle.  

 

Gregermis

No advice, but I wanted to wish you good luck!! and send some ((hugs))

BootsOrHearts

Gregermis:

No advice, but I wanted to wish you good luck!! and send some ((hugs))

Thanks lady! We miss you on TTCAL ;-)

IBackBevo

My AMH was 0.5, my FSH was 13, and I am a Fragile X premutation carrier (the reason I have DOR). I got pregnant on my first round of Clomid/IUI which incidentally the RE told me was a waste of time--he said go straight to IVF. I now have a healthy baby boy.

maritorri

I had an amh of .16 and fsh of 24. Doc put me on dhea. Got naturally pregnant. Son is 10 months old and we are about to try again.