Last updated: July 28, 2007
You can write to me at my email address.
My husband and I started trying seriously to conceive when he and I were both 35 – in 2001. With no inkling that we would have any issues, we tried for a year before we considered consulting a doctor. Then I had a few tests run which were all fine and we kept trying. I started using a fertility monitor. Still, we had no luck. After two years, we consulted a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). We had some more tests run on both my husband and me and all the results were fine. Over the next six months I had three failed IUI’s with injectibles – each with a very poor response – just one follicle. I was on the standard dose of Gonal-F - 300IU's. If my FSH was tested during this timeframe, it was always low. I had slightly elevated E2 levels on day 3 (around 100) which - although I didn't realize it - were pointing to DOR. After three failed IUI’s and a hysteroscopy to remove a small polyp, my RE ran a “clomid challenge” test - another method of detecting DOR. I flunked this test with flying colors with a day 10 FSH of 45 (it should be less than 10). My RE gave us the bad news – there was virtually no chance of conceiving with my own eggs – we needed to consider either egg donation or adoption.
After having a chance to digest this horrible news, we decided that as a first step we needed to get a second opinion. So I went to another RE in another city, ran another clomid challenge test and flunked again. Same news from this doctor – 1% chance of conception even with IVF and we needed to consider egg donation or adoption. While in this city, I found out that many RE’s were supporting the concept of acupuncture for patients with infertility. So while in this city, I did several acupuncture sessions and I read Randine Lewis’ book “The Infertility Cure” and started on several of the supplements that she recommends.
So then we decided we needed to bring in the best of the best … I went to see a third RE who is seen as an expert in the field (this clinic also has a very large egg donation program) and my day 3 FSH was 19.9 which was over this clinic’s cutoff for IVF which is 15. About three weeks later we had a phone conference with this doctor – he delivered the same bad news that we knew was coming – 1% chance of conception and we needed to consider egg donation or adoption. So we set the wheels in motion and set up a meeting with the coordinator for the egg donation program.
Little did we know, however, that in between the time that my FSH was measured by this third clinic and the time that we spoke to the third doctor, I had conceived naturally. My husband and I were in shock when my period was late and the home pregnancy test was positive. I went to see my first RE (because he was near my home) and he confirmed the pregnancy but he told us that the risk of miscarriage was very high. I also spoke to the other two RE’s and they were no more optimistic than the first. So for three months we were on pins and needles waiting to hear the worst, but all was well. The whole pregnancy went very smoothly and I delivered a healthy baby boy in 2005.
We loved being parents so much we decided to try to achieve another miracle and began trying to conceive again when our baby boy was six months old – as soon as my cycle returned. I was older now - 40 years old - and since 15 months had passed my FSH would probably be even higher. I started doing weekly acupuncture right away and we tried on our own for about six months without success. Then I went to see an RE (a new RE) and had my FSH tested. My day 3 FSH was 35. Of course he wouldn’t accept me for an IVF (their cutoff was also 15) but he did agree to continue testing me to see if my FSH went down. So I then started herbs and supplements in addition to the acupuncture. Over the next three months my FSH went down each month. By the third month – when I was ready to start an IVF cycle with a new RE (if you’re counting, that’s RE#5) that I had found that specializes in high FSH (Dr. Zhang of New Hope Fertility), ironically my FSH was 8. I should add that it is my feeling that the acupuncture, herbs and supplements contributed to bringing the FSH down, but because the FSH was only tested in a few cycles, what i perceived as a "reduction" could have just been normal fluctuation.
My first IVF – a low stim cycle – was a bust in spite of my low day 3 fsh. I was on clomid and 150 of menopur (I did not, by the way, do an estrogen priming protocol for that cycle). I went to retrieval with only one follicle but the egg found to be bad. The retrieval was on day 11 of my cycle which could have contributed to the poor egg quality. For the second IVF cycle, I did 14 days of birth-control pills (the “estrogen priming” protocol) in an attempt to keep the FSH down. Unfortunately it didn’t help to keep the FSH down – my day 3 FSH was 17. So my RE started me on every-other-day Clomid – I took it on days 3 and 5, but my FSH rising too high so on day 7 we stopped all the meds. I had two follicles that were growing but shortly before the trigger one of the follicles stopped growing. When my own LH started to surge, I used the Lupron nasal spray ("Synarel") to trigger and we did a retrieval on day 14 of one follicle. The egg fertilized successfully and grew to a 4-cell, grade “A” embryo with only 5% fragmentation and we did a day 2 transfer. I then started estrace and progesterone supplementation. By some miracle, this cycle that looked as though it was “failed” from the start resulted in a pregnancy! I'm due to deliver in October, 2007.
Some unsolicited advice: If you have high fsh, don't give up on your own eggs until you feel it's time to give up. Don't let your RE dictate when to give up. Do TCM including acupuncture, herbs and supplements in combination with conventional therapy (discontinue herbs if you're doing a stim cycle). Pursue low stim or natural cycle if you're a certified poor responder as I am. I hope my story can give you some hope and I wish you all the best on your journey to parenthood.
Last updated: July 28, 2007
You can write to me at my email address.