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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
I am 35 and been TTC for 6 months. I had blood work done by my OB on CD 3. My FSH was not good. 13.6. My AMH was not tested yet, but I'm expecting the worst. My prolactin, LH, and thyroid tests were all normal.
My OB sent me to an RE, who I saw today, and had an ultrasound done on my ovaries...not good either. She said she was expecting to see 8-10 eggs based on my FSH level but only saw 6. I'm currently on CD 23. Tons of blood was taken and I will be getting my tubes checked soon.
I told her I wanted to try meds first because I don't feel like I need to have a child immediately....im OK with moving slowly and trying meds before moving on to IUI or IVF. She's putting me on Letrozole once my next cycle starts...she was concerned that Clomid would trigger my migraines. If that doesn't work we will try injections.
Of course after I left her office I had a million questions, but couldn't think when I was talking to her....I was so upset bc she only saw six eggs. Why did I not ask questions?? Can anyone tell me exactly what that means? Am I not ovulating even though I'm getting my period every month? Or am I ovulatiing and my body is just not producing a lot of eggs and they are crappy quality?
I assure you my body certainly gears up to ovulate...but I guess it doesn't mean I definitely ovulated. Positive OPK test every month, crazy sex drive and cervical muscus gushes out of me at times (sorry). And once I have ovulated...or shall I say allegedly ovulated, my nipples hurt like crazy...I can barely touch them for several days.
I read that with high FSH, chances are you wont respond to meds....I guess it's worth a shot....but I'm just SO confused and cannot believe I did not address these concerns this morning. I wrote everything down for the next time I talk to her.
Anyway, any words of wisdom or positivity would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.m
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Posted 5/19/16 5:25 PM  |
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jess237
LIF Toddler
Member since 4/10 418 total posts
Name:
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Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
It's all very confusing when you start. Can you call or email your doctor with your questions now that you've had time to think? My words of wisdom for you is considering you're already 35, don't wait. It's only going to get harder with age especially if you already have egg issues. I'm a single mom, easily conceived my son at 33 with IUI and started at 38 trying for my second. 4 failed IUIs and 1 failed IVF (and now 39) I'm very doubtful I'll have a second now. And it's all because of age. There are quite a few of us that are having age related issues. Don't wait!
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| Posted 5/19/16 6:03 PM |
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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Thanks. My insurance covers nada, so I'm not feeling too good about this. Especially when the success rate for IVF is like 30%. I can't imagine spending over 20K and having a failed IVF.
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| Posted 5/19/16 6:24 PM |
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Peainapod
Peanuts are here!
Member since 1/09 13591 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Posted by jess237
It's all very confusing when you start. Can you call or email your doctor with your questions now that you've had time to think? My words of wisdom for you is considering you're already 35, don't wait. It's only going to get harder with age especially if you already have egg issues. I'm a single mom, easily conceived my son at 33 with IUI and started at 38 trying for my second. 4 failed IUIs and 1 failed IVF (and now 39) I'm very doubtful I'll have a second now. And it's all because of age. There are quite a few of us that are having age related issues. Don't wait!
Im in the same advanced maternal age boat at 37. My AMH was a 3, and my FSH was very low, like a 6.7 and I was 36 when they tested me last year. Dr's thought I would be a shoe in case for typical IVF protocol. My ovaries are young and i have a lot of eggs. but the eggs in there are sh*t apparently.
two cycles and they both were clusterF**ks.
If you are mid cycle then maybe they are seeing the follicles developing for ovulation. She cant see how many eggs are in your ovaries..although they can probably tell if there is a lot or not a lot.
6-8 follicles for a cycle I dont think is terrible at all.
but in any case, I would honestly get a jump on whatever you want to do. Maybe do medicated IUIs. My son is a clomid / IUI baby first try. (But I was also 30)
Aetna, my insurance carrier, would not approve IVF for women with FSH levels over a 19 b/c if its already that high, odds are you will not be a good responder to more of the same stimulating hormone.
I think Femara does the same thing as Clomid and usually has less side effects.
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| Posted 5/19/16 8:34 PM |
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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
I was actually looking at Aetna earlier and saw that they cover IVF. I believe you have to wait a year to be enrolled before started any treatments though....so I would have to wait for open season, so it would really be 2 years before I could get anything started. My FSH was 13. I guess I'll see what the blood work says I had done today. I'm sure it's not good. Sounds like I have super crappy eggs too! But your numbers are good....3 for AMH and 6.7....those #s are well within the normal range I thought?
I am at the end of my cycle...she said she saw about 6 eggs in there...did she mean follicles? She said 8-10 would have made her feel better. 15-20 is the norm apparently. Fabulous!!!
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| Posted 5/19/16 9:27 PM |
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babydreams21
LIF Adult
Member since 12/12 3656 total posts
Name:
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Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Its a lot when you first start out. Write down all of your questions and ask your RE. I had to have them all written out or I would forget. Your FSH isn't super high. Many ladies have had higher and been successful. You can test that number again. Some months mine was 7-10 and then one month it jumped to 12. If I was in your place I would do any and all tests necessary and then start with IUI. Good luck!
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| Posted 5/19/16 10:02 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Posted by KKhugs23
I was actually looking at Aetna earlier and saw that they cover IVF. I believe you have to wait a year to be enrolled before started any treatments though....so I would have to wait for open season, so it would really be 2 years before I could get anything started. My FSH was 13. I guess I'll see what the blood work says I had done today. I'm sure it's not good. Sounds like I have super crappy eggs too! But your numbers are good....3 for AMH and 6.7....those #s are well within the normal range I thought?
I am at the end of my cycle...she said she saw about 6 eggs in there...did she mean follicles? She said 8-10 would have made her feel better. 15-20 is the norm apparently. Fabulous!!!
Any insurance carrier will provide fertility coverage it is just a matter of if your employer elects to add that coverage or if you are buying coverage yourself want to add it to your plan based on the cost.
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| Posted 5/20/16 8:58 AM |
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Peainapod
Peanuts are here!
Member since 1/09 13591 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Posted by KKhugs23
I was actually looking at Aetna earlier and saw that they cover IVF. I believe you have to wait a year to be enrolled before started any treatments though....so I would have to wait for open season, so it would really be 2 years before I could get anything started. My FSH was 13. I guess I'll see what the blood work says I had done today. I'm sure it's not good. Sounds like I have super crappy eggs too! But your numbers are good....3 for AMH and 6.7....those #s are well within the normal range I thought?
I am at the end of my cycle...she said she saw about 6 eggs in there...did she mean follicles? She said 8-10 would have made her feel better. 15-20 is the norm apparently. Fabulous!!!
yes, my #'s were totally within normal range for a 36 yr old. My dr. said they were "very pretty." LOL. SO I think I blew his mind when he actually went in for retrieval and saw they were not so good quality. You can have good #s, regular cycles, but there is no indicator or real test to test for egg quality.
and even during my stim phase the most follicles I had was like 13. I just wasnt a good responder even though all signs pointed to thinking I would be.
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| Posted 5/20/16 9:18 AM |
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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Unfortunately federal plans work differently. I cannot buy additional coverage for infertility. I already called....they don't cover crap beyond the diagnosis of infertility. The won't even cover oral meds.
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| Posted 5/20/16 9:35 AM |
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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Oh, geez. Good to know. I feel better knowing the worst possible scenario to everything....hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised and something will work for me.
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| Posted 5/20/16 9:58 AM |
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lilmamma
LIF Zygote
Member since 1/15 33 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
I had a very similar situation to you - my initial bloodwork showed my FSH at a 15 and the sono showed a similar issue with my ovaries. How it was explained to me is that I was ovulating, but the eggs I was dropping were probably not the best quality b/c my ovaries were working overtime. I was told by the RE that IVF was my only option and that I would need to be on the highest dosage of stims - and even then, I may not produce any eggs of quality. I was devastated. I decided to get a second opinion from a different RE and I'm so glad I did - he did not see IVF as my only option and recommended clomid/IUI to start and see how I would respond. I conceived on my first cycle and I'm currently 8 weeks - so far everything looks good. Hang in there - its a lot to take in at once but try to stay positive - there are lots of us with high FSH who were successful. Good luck!
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| Posted 5/20/16 10:47 AM |
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KKhugs23
LIF Infant
Member since 5/16 64 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Thank you SO much. That is just what I needed to hear. I really liked the doctor...she was VERY optimistic and never said anything negative at all. She said she will go at the pace I want to go and she thought trying oral meds first was a good idea, so I like that she didn't jump right into suggesting IVF. Hopefully everything is OK with my tubes so it will be one less thing for me to worry about. Thanks again!
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| Posted 5/20/16 12:44 PM |
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lilmamma
LIF Zygote
Member since 1/15 33 total posts
Name:
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Re: Confused about blood work and ovary ultrasound
Posted by KKhugs23
Thank you SO much. That is just what I needed to hear. I really liked the doctor...she was VERY optimistic and never said anything negative at all. She said she will go at the pace I want to go and she thought trying oral meds first was a good idea, so I like that she didn't jump right into suggesting IVF. Hopefully everything is OK with my tubes so it will be one less thing for me to worry about. Thanks again!
You are welcome! I also have heard that you have a better chance at conceiving after the HSG, since it clears the tubes of any gunk. In my case, it was true. Hopefully the same for you! Good luck!
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| Posted 5/20/16 3:04 PM |
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