AMH

I called the RE to ask about my elevated FSH levels and to see if we should proceed with additional testing. Once I realized that my FHS was elevated, I started to do some research. It seems that the elevated FSH indicates that my body has to work a little harder each cycle to produce and mature my eggs. To summarize how FSH works, it is created in the pituitary gland and signals the ovaries to mature an egg. When the ovaries aren't maturing the egg well enough, the brain realizes this and tells the pituitary gland to produce more FSH. So, the higher your FSH level, the harder your body is working for your egg. More information

After talking with the nurse, she called me back to schedule the test. It is a simple blood draw and was done at the beginning of my cycle. I arrived at the office, and the nurse started with her first attempt to draw my blood. During college I always donated blood for the Red Cross. When a nurse first preps me to draw my blood, she usually comments on my small veins. I've never had a problem before. When my nurse, Chris, prepped me she made the comment like many others before her have made, "My, what small veins you have." I shrugged it off and said, "that's what everyone says, but once they get in there, it's fine." Well, she stuck me twice, shifted the needle trying to find my vein, and nothing came. The office has a two-poke rule. The nurse can poke you twice, and if she can't find your vein, she has to get another nurse. So, in comes another nurse who also pokes me twice and wiggles and moves the needle around and still can't find a vein. I now have two pokes in each arm, and no blood. Finally she says she is going to try my hand. She pokes my hand and thank God!, she hits the vein.
We are chatting as the vial slowly fills, she tells me that she will be sending my blood to California to be tested. Apparently there aren't many labs that perform this test. And, I have to wait THREE WEEKS for the results. Three weeks means that I won't get my result until after Christmas. So, I have to wait through the holidays to find out what is going on. I was a little miffed, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

Scott and I were pretty nervous over Christmas. But we did our best to try to enjoy ourselves during our trip. When we got back, I called the office on Tuesday, January 6th to see if my results were in. They were in and my AMH is 0.8. This is not good. Normal results should be between 1-3, but close to 2.0. A low AMH level seems to confirm my fears which is that I may have diminished ovarian reserve.