My Intro

Ive been on TTC a little - but mostly lurking. I figured Im now at the point where I need to talk & vent, get advice, hugs, whatever...

DH & I started TTC in 9/09. I was 38, am now 39 (never had any children at this point). About 4 months ago started using OPK's. Atfer about 2 months of OPK's w/BFN decided that I should go see the dr. went to ob/gyn - he sent me to RE dr & Ive had all my bloodwork, as had DH, just had saline sono this week, & am scheduled for HSG procedure this Monday. After having the saline sono - RE dr sits me down to talk about bloodwork. Apparently my egg count is very low & my FSH levels are very high -which I think means that whatever eggs I am producing - they are not getting fertilized correctly or something. So given this along with the fact that I also have low follicle count, dr told me it would be VERY DIFFICULT to get preg - even w/ insemination &/or in-vitro my chances are 10-30% of me becoming pregnant. I have been in a state of massive depression since yesterday and cannot believe that is my chance percentage. I am still going to see if my tubes are clear to at least attempt fertility drugs along with insemination, but I feel so hopeless & like a big fat loser. I never thought I would not be able to have children & to stare a 10-30% chance of it ever happening is so hard for me to handle & accept.

Re: My Intro

Posted by TomLaur0808

Ive been on TTC a little - but mostly lurking. I figured Im now at the point where I need to talk & vent, get advice, hugs, whatever...

DH & I started TTC in 9/09. I was 38, am now 39 (never had any children at this point). About 4 months ago started using OPK's. Atfer about 2 months of OPK's w/BFN decided that I should go see the dr. went to ob/gyn - he sent me to RE dr & Ive had all my bloodwork, as had DH, just had saline sono this week, & am scheduled for HSG procedure this Monday. After having the saline sono - RE dr sits me down to talk about bloodwork. Apparently my egg count is very low & my FSH levels are very high -which I think means that whatever eggs I am producing - they are not getting fertilized correctly or something. So given this along with the fact that I also have low follicle count, dr told me it would be VERY DIFFICULT to get preg - even w/ insemination &/or in-vitro my chances are 10-30% of me becoming pregnant. I have been in a state of massive depression since yesterday and cannot believe that is my chance percentage. I am still going to see if my tubes are clear to at least attempt fertility drugs along with insemination, but I feel so hopeless & like a big fat loser. I never thought I would not be able to have children & to stare a 10-30% chance of it ever happening is so hard for me to handle & accept.

Re: My Intro

Sorry for the shock....I really understand how you feel. I started TTC 2 years ago, and have low quality eggs due to age. Never heard of such a thing before TTC. I am in my 40's.

You probably have high FSH. Levels over 10 make it hard for your body to respond to meds. to stimulate the ovaries.

Yes, you can succeed. I have seen the success on various boards. My only advice is start with Dr. Braverman as your doctor and go straight to IVF. I wasted 3 months with IUI and nothing worked. I do not have a baby, but I do believe in Dr. Braverman. He will do all your testing plus for autoimmune. Another suggestion. Go for a Hysterscopy (HSC). THe Hysteralsalpingagram (sp? HSG) checks your tubes. By going straight to IVF you don't need tubes, they will take eggs straight from ovaries. The HSC checks the structure of your uterus. There are many things inside uterus that can prevent an embryo from implanting/staying put. I should have had this test done at the beginning of my journey.

Best of Luck.

Re: My Intro

Hi! First Big Hugs!!!!

I'm so sorry you're in a depression b/c of what the Dr. said to you. Just know, that, those are the typical %'s for anyone in "our" age group. (I started when I was your age, I'm now 40).

Actually, the Dr.'s told me that each time, I only had a 5% chance of getting pg. To me, 5% was a chance and I never gave up!!!!! I've been through a lot, and will spare you the details. FM me if you want.

I'm now 17 weeks pg after my 2nd IVF, and one FET. So, it can happen, with even a 5% chance. I would've been thrilled w/ a 30% chance! I know... trust me I know... easier for me to say now than for you to know.

I would agree w/ a PP in going for another opinion, and go see Dr. Braverman. I had switched RE's after a year of trying w/ that RE telling me there was nothing wrong except my age! Boy, was he WRONG! I wasted a year of my life and my "egg life" w/ that Dr.

Keep your chin up... all hope is not gone.

Re: My Intro

I agree with the Dr.Braverman recs!! He is an AMAZING doctor!! I think with what that dr told you, you absolutely owe it to yourself to get a second opinion. In the meantime, don't give up hope!!

Re: My Intro

Welcome! I'm so sorry you are going through this. It sounds like you are on the right path and I pray that it works out for you. The ladies on here have lots of experiences and good advice they can share with you. Definitely use them for help. Good luck to you.

Re: My Intro

Hi..
I'm so sorry that you are going through this infertility journey. I am in similiar boat as you but I am ahead of you by 2 cycles of IVF. I was diagnosed in January 2010 with high FSH (highest at 14), low follicle counts and low responder to stim drugs.
My golden advice to you is this: Please find a RE that is very VERY friendly to high FSH. I'm in the process of doing my last cycle with my current RE but if this is a failure again, I'm moving on to another RE. After my first failed IVF cycle, my RE has already brought up doing donor egg speech. My husband is absolutely against it so my RE agreed to run my second and now third cycle. I just want to say - hang in there and do as much research as you can about high FSH, ask as many questions as you can (you can FM me if you prefer) and most important, ask the RE is he has huge amount of exp working with high FSH patients.
Good luck! I wish you all the best

Re: My Intro

Welcome, I hope your stay here is short

You've come to a great place for support and advice, with amazingly STRONG women.

I understand your shock, i too was taken off guard to find out I would have IF problems, i took my fertility for granted and now at 34, i have 4 IUIs, 1 IVF and 3 years of IF under my belt and i am STILL shocked that this is my life.

Find a Re that you are comfortable with and take it day by day. I have seen women here, who were given VERY low single digit 5% statistics at becoming a mother, and they BEAT them, you can too.

Re: My Intro

I've been diagnosed with high FSH as well (the highest at 12.3). I was also told that it will take me some time to get pregnant, and I'm still fighting at 2 years.... My DH also has borderline sperm count, morphology and fragmentation issues which of course adds to everything... I've had 3 failed IUIs so far and I'm currently on my first (and hopefully last) IVF cycle. If there's one thing that I regret is having wasted my time with IUI... I wish I would have been smarter about it and have jumped into IVF from the start since I had been told already that IVF would have been the best option for us. I had issues with not being able to conceive naturally and was too afraid to jump into something so involved...But thank God I finally snapped out of it and here I am now, giving it my best shot. If I were you I would move on to a different RE that is FSH friendly. I'm seeing Dr Braverman and I absolutely love him He's told me that he's had success with women that had their FSH in their 40s! He's very confident in his work and he will listen to you in terms of how aggressive you want to be. If I were in your shoes right now, I would make an appointment with him and talk about your most aggressive options....don't waste your time. His number: (516)584-8710 his address: 800 Woodbury Road, Woodbury. He also has hours in the city (American Fertility), but I'm not sure how often Some of the ladies on this board visit the AF location for monitoring I think
Good Luck to you!!!

Message edited 8/30/2010 11:00:55 AM.

Re: My Intro

wishing you the very best of luck!! Never give up hope

Re: My Intro

Thanks for all the advice - believe it or not, my FSH level is 19 - yep..19 and that's why my RE has given me such bleak chances at conception via any methods. I am going to do some research & I am also going to give Dr. Braverman a call - maybe I can see him in the city - would be a little less to travel for me being upstate & all. I just had my HSG procedure today (OMG did it hurt!) and at least thankfully my tubes are clear. So now I need to do some homework on high FSH & see what I can do. I am also going to look into finding an acupuncturist (which was recommended by RE to try) & possibly look into prenatal massage. It is just a real emotional spiral that I am trying to keep my head above water with

Re: My Intro