Just a quick note to say, thank you, friends. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comments, emails, phone calls, text messages. I will respond soon.
I have class today but am compromising: although I didn’t go to my morning class, I will try to make it to my evening class. I’m quite proud of myself for finishing my homework last night (read a chapter, re-create a document, take a test — on which I got 100%) and it’s because I feel so loved and supported right now.
Tomorrow, DH and I have a lunchtime appointment with Dr. A to discuss what our options are. If any of you have diminished ovarian reserve, are going or have gone through ART, or have low AMH and high FSH, I would welcome your input on the following:
- Any book recommendations — esp. ones that helped you quickly understand what the options are.
- I am currently reading The Infertility Cure
- I have my eye on Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility
- Questions I should ask Dr. A tomorrow — I am already planning on asking the following:
- How was I able to get pregnant at least once if my egg quality and quantity is diminished?
- What are my chances of a successful IVF vs. IUI?
- What is his success rate for women with diminished ovarian reserve?
- How much time do we have to weigh up our options?
- Is it true that the first round of IVF is often unsuccessful due to trying to get the balance of hormones just right?
- Could my data possibly be skewed due to a suspected chemical pregnancy last cycle?
- Is there anything that can be done to improve my egg quality and/or quantity?
- If so, how long does that take?
- Should I change my diet?
- What caused my low AMH? Is it related to endometriosis?
- Would it be helpful to get a copy of my medical records for my operative laparoscopy for endometriosis?
- Your thoughts on how to choose an infertility clinic
- All my miscarriage treatment has been at UCSD, should I get a second opinion?
- Is it important to like or have a rapport with your IF doctor?
If you have any thoughts or hard-earned wisdom, please share it <3
Thanks x
Hey lovely Lauren, if you (or anyone else reading this ) has questions about the use of DHEA to assist fertility, and especially in the treatment of DOR, please email them to me as I am collaborating with the Center for Human Reproduction in New York to collate those questions from my friends on social media and put them to the CHR’s fertility experts to answer. The finished Q&A will be published as a post on my blog ivffervescent.wordpress.com.au in coming weeks. Email ivffervescent@gmail.com, or find me on twitter @ivffervescent .
WONDERFUL! Tell me/us more, I will Tweet the shit out of this fantastic opportunity! How’d you swing that, girl?!
I am in the midst of writing a blog post about it which will explain it all. I was interacting with CHR on twitter and I proposed this idea to them and they agreed! Exciting. Yes I’d love your help getting the word out so we can get some good questions together. I’m sure there will be a lot of questions as CHR is very high profile, especially in their use of DHEA…
I think it is absolutely the most important thing to have a rapport with any doctor. If you don’t like them then you probably won’t trust them. I have left multiple doctor’s who I didn’t like because I think it is way more important for my doctor to admit if they have to look something up and get back to me than to just give me a bullshit answer.
Agreed, Egg! Don’t fake it…
If you haven’t seen it already, check out this post:
http://infertilechemist.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/a-rousing-game-of-guess-dr-schoolcrafts-answer/#comments
Knalani just had a phone consultation with CCRM, and many of your questions that you will be posing to your doc are answered in her post.
As for having a rapport with your FS- I would say that it is pretty important. You’ll be making some pretty big decisions together, and you want there to be some give and take. I’m not a fan of doctors (in any specialty) who think there is only one way to approach a problem. I loved my FS because he basically did what I wanted him to do. He understood that I was educated, a healthcare professional myself, and understood the risks and benefits of everything we ever tried. But some people hate him for many of the same reasons- to them, he just seemed a bit scattered, and disorganized. Which he was… but I worked that to my advantage. I guess what I’m saying is that what works for one person may not be what works for another. You have to find someone to work with that you feel good about.
I hadn’t seen that post! Thanks for the link — I had only just discovered the Infertile Chemist when you posted this comment. I also think your point is good, what works for one person might not work for someone else. Must remember to trust my gut… thank you xx
I think I’ve mentioned my experience on Twitter but I’ll recap here. Some docs think low AMH correlates to both low quantity and low quality. For some women that seems to be true. For others, like me, it was not. And mine fluctuated. IVF is a grand experiment that will potentially give you answers. It can be an expensive way to learn and yes, sometimes, the protocol isn’t quite right the first time. But sometimes it is. What I liked most about my first RE was that she said she was willing to try anything I wanted (within reason/safety) even if she recommended against it thinking it was unlikely to work. As long as she felt I understood the odds she was willing. That was key for me.
Really loved this comment, Fox. It’s been a wild ride these past 2 months and I’m only getting around to responding now. But I wanted to let you know that this information really stayed with me. Thank you for sharing it. xx
I’m so glad you have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow, Lauren. I really hope you will leave your doctor’s office feeling like you have a plan. Your questions look great to me. One thing I am still a little fuzzy on when it comes to the AMH levels is whether or not that number actually indicates anything about egg quality. From what I’ve read, it only suggests how many eggs you have left, not how healthy they are. So that might be something worth asking about. To my thinking, it’s an important distinction because simply having fewer eggs would only mean the clock is ticking a little faster, whereas having lower quality eggs would obviously have bigger implications.
I do think it’s important to have a good relationship with your RE. You don’t have to be best friends, but there are some real jerks out there, and you don’t want to get stuck with one of those. To me, the main thing is feeling like your RE is your advocate and will make you feel like you are getting the best possible care. One thing I asked my RE point blank when we were discussing my surgery was “What would you recommend I do if I were your sister?” She told me that the she always gives her patients the treatment and advice she would give to herself or a family member. I knew when she said that that she was telling me the truth, and it was really important to me to know that she wasn’t just viewing me as a statistic or a chart.
I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow! Hoping that it brings you encouragement.
Thanks for your perspective, Annie. I’m so glad you really like and trust your RE! It’s so important. And, yeah, as far as I understand it, AMH correlates to egg quantity, not quantity. The hope is — ugh, recent genetic shit aside — that though my eggs may be few and far between in y 40-year-old ovaries, their quality corresponds to the 35-year-old self. Much love xx
I think it is always important to get a second opinion. Drs are only human and one way see something or know something another does not. It is important to trust your RE at least and better if you like him or her. Sending good thoughts into the universe for you, friend.
Thanks, Firefly. We have our second consult this Thursday, eek! I appreciate your good thoughts. xx
I have no wisdom but am here for you, walking the path. Bounce any ideas off me you want. Vent your frustrations to me. I think it is good that you have an appointment, that you and your husband together can discuss things with Dr. A. You may already have your answer going forward for how you want to continue based on how he’s made you feel to this point, but at least he can see you tomorrow. Context is crucial I think for results like this. I’ll be thinking about you and sending strength.
Always so grateful to have you alongside me, comrade xo
I can’t help with the low AMH or high FSH issue.
But, I will comment on the rapport. I think it needs to be important. I had a horrific experience during my ectopic because of my then RE’s bedside manner. I had always had issue with how he answered my questions without answering them, and just how terrible his bedside manner was, but I have lasting issues since my ectopic that I 100% contribute to the way he treated me during that time. I empowered myself and switched RE’s and feel a million times better.
Thanks, Angela, I appreciate your perspective.