FSH

wonderwoman

Hi. I am 37 years old and was hoping to FINALLY begin Follistim injections tomorrow for our first IUI. The nurse called to let me know the results of my bloodwork today and my FSH level is 21. I was heartbroken to learn that a normal level is 12 or below. The doctor prescribed birth control pills to try to lower the level. Has anyone else struggled with this? The nurse did say that if this doesn't work, looking for a donor egg will be our best option. I am so discouraged. Does anyone have advice?

THANKS!

hopefulchar

There are a lot of women on here with a high fsh. And I talk to a few that are pregnant now. Chin up. It will happen for you.

robin

I found out after using gonal-f for 1 month that my fsh went from 8.9 to 62! After watching the fsh levels for another 3 weeks it went down to 15. Still higher than expected but so much better than 62! The 15 ment I was not in perimenopause but had a low ovarian reserve. This was not expected bc my original tests all showed that everything was in working order and I should be ok. I should let you know I am 37 years old and have 1 ovary. My doctor talked to me about using donor eggs but knew that I was not ready to go that route rigt away. He told me that he has gotten woman pregnant with an fsh as high as 23 using their own eggs. He told me that we would continue using the gonal-f but I would have to be prepared for my ovary to not produse a follicle each month. We would have to wait and see which months I would be able to do the iui and which months I wouldn't. The low ovarian reserve meant starting at a very high dose of gonal-f. I was on 450 units(that is pretty much the whole bottle each night). I am lucky that my insurance is wonderful and payed for the meds. Believe me the meds were very expensive.

I am happy to report that I am now 20 weeks pregnant! My body seemed to produce just one healthy follicle every other month. I only ever got 1 follicle but that is all it takes. I have been on this journey since last february and after 4 iui's I got my bfp. Remeber I was only able to do an iui every other month. In the beginning bc of cysts and then later after finding out about the fsh. It is possible to get pregnant with your own eggs with a high fsh you just have to have more patience.

If you need to talk more feel free to pm me I am here for you if you need me!

Keep the faith, think positive and imagine yourself with your baby. I am a firm believer that all of this along with acupuncture helped me! Oh you might want to check out the book the infertility cure. It talks about acupuncture and how that along with a diet change can help with a high fsh.
Lots of baby dust!
Robin