Aa
40 with FSH 18
Anyone get pregnant with these stats? Please help. Desperate.
I'm very rarely on these forums anymore, though I do periodically pop in, but I wanted to say that at its highest, my FSH was over 60 and I got pregnant twice (at 43). Both ended in early miscarriage but the point is that it does happen with high FSH. I'm now 44 and still trying, though I'm also considering adoption, egg donor or going childless.
My advice for any woman with high FSH who wants to conceive would be to skip the western doctors and instead invest in the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor, so you know exactly when you're ovulating, have sex at the right time, do acupuncture/herbs with a good fertility acupuncturist, try fertility yoga, bring down stress levels, get enough sleep, eat right, take wheatgrass juice, maca root, a good prenatal multivitamin, fish oil supplements, and b-complex and visualize a baby in your arms. Also, yes, read Randine Lewis' book The Infertility Cure--it's EXCELLENT! All that might sound too new-agey to some, but BOTH times I got pregnant was AFTER I stopped going to the western doctors and listening to all their negativity. According to them, the fact that I got pregnant once was nothing short than a miracle. The second time absolutely astounded them. And yet I'm CERTAIN that they're still telling all the other women who fit my profile that there's only a 1% chance. If there were REALLY only a 1% chance, I don't believe that I would've gotten pregnant TWICE. And I can't tell you how many opportunities we MISSED b/c we just didn't believe that it could happen for us (thanks, doctors)! Who knows what might've happened had we not listened to them and instead really took advantage of every opportunity? Also, I believe that the clomid and other drugs further negatively impacted my chances. BUT this is just me and my opinion. You've obviously got to do what's right/best for you.
Best of luck!
Breezy
My advice for any woman with high FSH who wants to conceive would be to skip the western doctors and instead invest in the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor, so you know exactly when you're ovulating, have sex at the right time, do acupuncture/herbs with a good fertility acupuncturist, try fertility yoga, bring down stress levels, get enough sleep, eat right, take wheatgrass juice, maca root, a good prenatal multivitamin, fish oil supplements, and b-complex and visualize a baby in your arms. Also, yes, read Randine Lewis' book The Infertility Cure--it's EXCELLENT! All that might sound too new-agey to some, but BOTH times I got pregnant was AFTER I stopped going to the western doctors and listening to all their negativity. According to them, the fact that I got pregnant once was nothing short than a miracle. The second time absolutely astounded them. And yet I'm CERTAIN that they're still telling all the other women who fit my profile that there's only a 1% chance. If there were REALLY only a 1% chance, I don't believe that I would've gotten pregnant TWICE. And I can't tell you how many opportunities we MISSED b/c we just didn't believe that it could happen for us (thanks, doctors)! Who knows what might've happened had we not listened to them and instead really took advantage of every opportunity? Also, I believe that the clomid and other drugs further negatively impacted my chances. BUT this is just me and my opinion. You've obviously got to do what's right/best for you.
Best of luck!
Breezy
When I had my FSH tested at 41 it was at 13. I didn't get pregnant until 2 years later at 43, so I'm sure it was much higher than 18. I did need femara, gonal-f and acupuncture and did have 2 m/c's along the way, but now am 16 weeks pregnant with a healthy little boy.
FSH is JUST a number, its only used as somewhat of a guideline and it can fluctuate every month....don't key into that number, it doesn't always mean anything. If you are ovulating and having regular cycles, chances are that you are producing eggs. It just becomes a waiting game to get a good egg on a good cycle. There is no way to create more eggs in your body. Even if your FSH number lowers...it doesn't mean you have created more eggs unfortunately. We are born with what we are born with....spend your money in other directions, perhaps acupuncture or fertility meds to bring up more eggs each cycle to increase your chances. Now with that being said.....when you use fertility meds to bring up more eggs, keep in mind, you are emptying the bucket sooner, but at our age it comes down to risk vs. reward. I had a great RE that put me on the minimum dose that would make me bring up only 2 -3 each cycle so we wouldn't over stimulate my ovaries. It took some time and patience (about a year), but it did work in the end.
Good luck to you, there are many women with much higher FSH numbers than you getting pregnant, its just a number, just like age...it can and does happen everyday.
FSH is JUST a number, its only used as somewhat of a guideline and it can fluctuate every month....don't key into that number, it doesn't always mean anything. If you are ovulating and having regular cycles, chances are that you are producing eggs. It just becomes a waiting game to get a good egg on a good cycle. There is no way to create more eggs in your body. Even if your FSH number lowers...it doesn't mean you have created more eggs unfortunately. We are born with what we are born with....spend your money in other directions, perhaps acupuncture or fertility meds to bring up more eggs each cycle to increase your chances. Now with that being said.....when you use fertility meds to bring up more eggs, keep in mind, you are emptying the bucket sooner, but at our age it comes down to risk vs. reward. I had a great RE that put me on the minimum dose that would make me bring up only 2 -3 each cycle so we wouldn't over stimulate my ovaries. It took some time and patience (about a year), but it did work in the end.
Good luck to you, there are many women with much higher FSH numbers than you getting pregnant, its just a number, just like age...it can and does happen everyday.
A couple of supplements I've heard of to help lower FSH are maca root and wheatgrass. I've also heard amazing things about acupuncture. (I was doing it but ran out of money.) :-( Also, plenty of women get pregnant at high FSH levels. All it means is you wouldn't respond as well to stimulation. (My FSH is WAY higher than yours and I am still hopeful!) :)
I've been doing alot of reflecting and soul searching recently to try to understand why my ovaries are not working and I am only 42. I've lived the bulk of my life under significant amounts of stress. Then I was reading yesterday about studies on animals under stress show that ovulation stops and the FSH goes way up. So if I am really honest with myself, I am still stressing a ton. Even if it wouldn't seem like a particularly stressful thing to someone else, quite simply, my natural state of being is stressed.
So I am going to try an experiment for a few months where I do everything I can to minimize my stress levels. I am going to try meditation, yoga, walking every day, and just refusing to let stress affect me adversely as it always has. This may or may not bring my FSH down to 7, but I'm sure it will improve drastically.
Also, you might want to read one or both of the following excellent books: "Inconceivable" by Julia Indichova (who conceived at age 42 with an FSH of 42), and "The Infertility Cure" by Randine Lewis, MD. There is plenty of hope! Don't despair! I know that the party line from RE's is all about negativity, but that's only because they don't know how to treat high FSH. There's no magic pill for it. But you can get your body healthy and back into balance (hormonally) and your FSH will come down. Best of luck to you! Please keep us posted!
I've been doing alot of reflecting and soul searching recently to try to understand why my ovaries are not working and I am only 42. I've lived the bulk of my life under significant amounts of stress. Then I was reading yesterday about studies on animals under stress show that ovulation stops and the FSH goes way up. So if I am really honest with myself, I am still stressing a ton. Even if it wouldn't seem like a particularly stressful thing to someone else, quite simply, my natural state of being is stressed.
So I am going to try an experiment for a few months where I do everything I can to minimize my stress levels. I am going to try meditation, yoga, walking every day, and just refusing to let stress affect me adversely as it always has. This may or may not bring my FSH down to 7, but I'm sure it will improve drastically.
Also, you might want to read one or both of the following excellent books: "Inconceivable" by Julia Indichova (who conceived at age 42 with an FSH of 42), and "The Infertility Cure" by Randine Lewis, MD. There is plenty of hope! Don't despair! I know that the party line from RE's is all about negativity, but that's only because they don't know how to treat high FSH. There's no magic pill for it. But you can get your body healthy and back into balance (hormonally) and your FSH will come down. Best of luck to you! Please keep us posted!
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