I have a low AMH level - what should do I do ?

Posted by nurul Saturday, April 16, 2011 0 comments

For older infertile women, AMH ( anti-Mullerian hormone, also known as MIS ( Mullerian inhibiting substance) has become the new FSH . AMH is a very good marker for egg quality - and provides us with a quantitative measure for egg quality and quality.

In the past, we had to depend upon FSH levels. A high FSH level suggests poor ovarian reserve, but FSH levels are not very reliable, because they vary according to which day of the cycle the test is done; and can also be artificially suppressed by a high estradiol level

AMH is a much better marker for ovarian reserve. It does not vary from cycle to cycle; and remains the same throughout the cycle. A low AMH suggests you have poor ovarian reserve - but even if your level is low, this does not mean you should panic !

Remember that it's just a test - and good doctors do not treat tests - we treat patients !

Step number one is to repeat it again - preferably from another lab.
Step number two is to run additional tests to check your ovarian reserve.

You have 2 options: an ultrasound test called the antral follicle count ?
and a blood test called a clomid challenge test.

Even if these are poor, this does not mean you cannot improve it ! While Western medicine does not have much to offer, there are alternative medicine options you can try to improve your ovarian reserve

These include the following:

1. Yoga
2. Acupuncture
3. DHEA, 25mg thrice a day.
4. Wheat germ daily
5. CoQ 10, 100 mg daily
6. Vit D3 ( Calcirol), 60000 IU, once a week for 10 weeks

Read the book, Inconceivable.

Re-test your AMH level after 12 weeks to see if it improves.

Even if it does not improve this does not mean you cannot get pregnant ! Patients with low AMH levels do also get pregnant on their own ( though their chances are reduced). After all, levels provide information about groups of women , and there can be a lot of individual variability !

If you have poor ovarian reserve, IVF is often your best option as it maximises the chances of a pregnancy. IVF allows you to make the best use of the few eggs which are left, by telescoping time.

Plan B would be to use donor eggs, if you are willing to consider this option. This has a much higher success rate