Can a low AMH level ever rise up?

[AwaitngBabyDust]

Hello everyone!

I have been wondering if anyone with a low AMH level ever experienced it fluctuate and rise back to a normal level....

I have asked the nurses at the reproductive center as well as done some of my own reading, the consensus is AMH usually does not fluctuate.

2 yrs ago, my baseline amh was normal. however after retesting 2 weeks after last iui, it was low. curious to see if anyone with a low amh level ever change back to normal?

any comments would be appreciated. thank you in advance!

[indie1976]

hi ABD,

i have been researching this as well (just found out last week that i have a very low amh). i've found a lot of amh/egg quality talk on the baby center boards and there seems to be quite a few women who had their amh levels rise upon retesting (though none of the rises seem to be hugely significant - but they do go up). there are also lots and lots of encouraging stories there about women who have gotten pregnant with very low amh (and some with high fsh and low amh). 

hope that helps!

[deborahbgkelly]

I got pregnant with both high FSH and low AMH, but it was through IVF. 

[AwaitngBabyDust]

Thank you so much for your replies :) This def gives me more hope and positive energy that soon the baby dust will arrive!

In the interim, I have read about royal jelly, co q-10 and dhea use. With the approval of my acupuncturist and RE, I have started the 1st two. I know other women have used dhea, however, my RE does not approve the use of it. 

This along with the use of powdered herbs, I 'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

out of curiosity, Indie or Deborah, have u tried any natural supplements or treatments?

i do find some irony in that going through infertility treatment with the use of hormones, that in itself can also cause your amh levels to decrease....(i've gone thru 5 now...)

thanks again for your thoughts 

[SKJ2011]

Sorry you are dealing with this. Have you check out the book Inconceivable by Julia Indichova? She was in a similar spot and used TCM and nutrition to successfully conceive and have a baby.

Sounds like you are on top of it.

Good luck to you

[deborahbgkelly]

Awaiting- We supplemented with acupuncture and I did use DHEA but not OTC. It was a specific dosage compounded through a special pharmacy and had to be stopped before retrieval I believe. My RE also had me use viagra suppositories, vitamin E, and baby aspirin. That actually had to do with blood-flow to the uterus, but in case that comes up, you will know about the options.

[indie1976]

i am taking coq10 (800 mg) per my RE and have added 75mg of micronized dhea on my own (haven't talked about it with RE). i was nervous about adding dhea since i've heard it can mess up hormones... but i've read so many promising things about it and so many REs do recommend it that i figured i would give it a shot. i've been on it for a week and a half and so far no negative side effects that i can tell. i'm also taking vitamin d, milk thistle (to help liver flush hormones), and am adding l-carnitine for endo related cykotines. i'm trying to figure out how to incorporate wheatgrass into the mix since everything i read says it is best fresh and not frozen or in pill form... but juicers are so expensive. my dh is currently growing a tray of wheatgrass and i am actually considering chewing it for the juice... we'll see how long that lasts :)

[deborahbgkelly]

indie- Make sure you talk to your RE about the DHEA so you can be sure you have the right dosage. I think improper dosing is probably what messes with people's hormones. I know mine had to be adjusted because it was working a little too well. Also, thanks for the tip on L-Carnitine.for Endo-related cytokines. Could those be causing mid-cycle spotting? I didn't really get an explanation on my unusual spotting, nor a solution.

[indie1976]

i'm not sure about the relationship between l-carnitine and spotting but here is one study about l-carnitine that i found interesting for fertility: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/reproductiveresearchcenter/docs/agradoc348.pdf

i called my RE's office about dhea and the nurse called back to say they are "very careful with supplements" and basically said not to take dhea but did not have an explanation as to why. this is an ongoing frustration i have with the world of infertility treatment. so many varying opinions and not enough of an explanation as to "why" from my RE. yet he is supposed to be one of the best in my area for endo and ivf. but i'm lucky to spend a few minutes with him when i see him and most info i get is through the nurses and not very detailed. they also failed to tell me my amh was low until 5 months after my blood test. initially they told me everything came back within normal range. so i'm really struggling with who/what to believe right now when it comes to how to get pregnant and stay pregnant!

i do know my dheas level is on the very low side of normal (72). i have an email out to CHR to see if they regularly recommend dhea to endo patients with low amh. i will post back to this thread when i get a response.

sorry for the rant. just trying to process everything :/

[AwaitngBabyDust]

Hi everyone and thanks again for your valuable input. 

Indie, I am so glad you followed Deborah's advice and contacted your doctor's office re the dhea. Every practitioner can have their own opinion based on the data they have read, seen and personally worked on and yes there are 2 sides to this coin as well. For me, my doc says she isn't convinced enough by the research out there to approve the use of it for her patients. She believes the risks outweigh the benefits. For me, I do trust my RE and so I follow her advice given to me. (I really wanted to give the dhea a try though!) I think I got to the point of feeling desperate to wanting to try anything bc I wanted and still do, want to change my fate, (this unexplained infertility). But with that said, I am really glad I am following the discussed plan of action by my RE (even if it means not taking dhea). I wouldnt feel comfortable going against the advice of my doc.

I am sorry to hear about the incorrect information given to you. that must be quite upsetting. (i know u dont want to hear this) but things like this do happen and sometimes the wrong information is given unfortunately. and of course we never want it to be us in that situation. (like undergoing infertility treatment isnt hard enough!) going forward, i would encourage you to keep staying positive and hang in there. i dont know how long you have been seeing this doctor, but if over time you are not happy with the care you are receiving and continue to feel you cant trust the care, then maybe consider seeing someone else. in my first iui over a yr ago, i had issues as well. now i just go forward w the most positive energy i can muster and follow the mutually discussed plan. 

going thru all of this is hard...infertility, ttc, ttc and staying pregnant...you can rant all you want!

[indie1976]

just found this study on vitamin d deficency and its effect on amh levels: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22508713

fascinating.

[SKJ2011]

I'm still waiting on my AMH level, but my FSH is 6 and my E2 75, so RE thinks my AMH will be b/t 0.6 and 1.

through lots of internet research, I've decided to take:

200 mg CoQ10 2 x per day (rec'd by RE)
25 mg DHEA 3 x per day (OK'ed by RE. He said it wouldn't hurt, not sure if it'd help. I'm thinking of asking to have my blood tested with my CD3 labs)

Need to check these with RE:
Melatonin - 3mg at bedtime
Myo-Inositol - 2 grams 2 x a day (http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09513590.2011.564687)
L-arginine 1000 mg 2 x a day http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/7/1690.short
Royal Jelly - no research on this. recommended by my acupuncturist

I'm also taking:
Omega 3s
vitamin D
prenatal
100 mg B-6

[skeemama]

Interesting!