Anyone with low FSH?

[nikinabox]

I just went to my fertility specialist this morning for my check up after taking letrozole, she said that it looks like I have 4 decent eggs that have reached maturity, so she's pleased about that. I was able to ovulate before, but she wanted to try this before moving on to a more drastic course of action. However, she is concerned with my blood results from my last visit...

She said that I have low FSH levels and that for now, I shouldn't be alarmed, and that my other tests have been good, but that might explain why we have been TTC for so long without any luck. Do any of you have this issue? If so - did letrozole/femara help? Either way - what's your story and what have you done to improve it?

She says that this is the normal course of action she would take if it were the cause anyway... but lately it just seems if it's not something, it's something else that is preventing this from happening for us. Any advice?

 

[messica]

Didn't want to read and run....wondering if doc actually said FSH was high and not low? I know it's possible to be bottom of the barrel low with FSH and that can indicate things amiss but typically low(er) is what you want. High is an indicator of low reserve and/or quality of what eggs you have left (early menopause)

Did she give you an actual number by chance?

The use of femara wouldn't impact that number either way. If you have low reserve pumping out many follies each cycle will obviously cut the amount of time you have to conceive down, but it won't do anything to improve the reasons behind a low or high FSH level as far as I am aware.


That aside, four is a lot of matured follicles! I'm not sure whether to be happy or scared for you lol. Are you going to proceed on as planned or cancel this cycle?

 

[nikinabox]

Haha! I know - I'm not sure whether to be happy or scared either! She seemed very pleased with the results and as I mentioned in the other post, she reassured me that the chance of multiples from femara isn't as high as clomid, and she doesn't feel that it's a concern.

As for the FSH, I'm honestly not sure, maybe you are right about it being high instead? I'm expecting a call back this afternoon to hear about today's blood work... aka - when DH and I need to be "getting busy" - I'll ask for the number when they call me back. Thanks for the support!

 

[messica]

Hopefully when they call they can clarify your results and give you some peace of mind. It is more common for high FSH to be an issue but low can indicate some other things too so either way it's good she caught it!

 

[Cristina206]

I also had very low day 3 FSH levels . . . this along with other factors led my OB to diagnose me with PCOS. This cycle is my first round of Femara. I took it from cd 3 - 7 and am now on cd 13, so I don't know if it worked or not yet. This is not a monitored cycle either, I am just using OPKs and timed bd'ing. Good luck!

 

[tulip1975]

I think 4 mature follicles on femara is a great result! I would be thrilled!

If it doesn't work after a cycle or two, your doc may want to introduce IUI into the mix just to make sure the sperm are not having difficulty reaching their intended destination.

 

[nikinabox]

I also had very low day 3 FSH levels . . . this along with other factors led my OB to diagnose me with PCOS. This cycle is my first round of Femara. I took it from cd 3 - 7 and am now on cd 13, so I don't know if it worked or not yet. This is not a monitored cycle either, I am just using OPKs and timed bd'ing. Good luck!

How were you diagnosed with PCOS? What are the other factors? (if you don't mind me asking) I ask this because I have yet to have an HSG because my insurance doesn't cover it... they don't cover much in the infertility department, so that's been a blast...

We are very close to being on the exact same cycle. I'm CD13 today, and I took Femara CD 3-7 as well. My cycle is monitored, and I got the lovely "you should have sex tomorrow, the day after, skip a day, then have sex again" phone call while at work yesterday - thank god it wasn't on speaker phone

I found out my FSH number was 11.5 on Day 3 - I haven't looked too far into what that can mean for me, but she did say it was a little lower than she'd like, and that when we're ready, and if this doesn't work, she'd be more willing to go toward IVF for us sooner. I have to do a little more research, but research makes me both stressed and informed at the same time... UGH - I wish this could be easier for all of us!

 

[nikinabox]

Didn't want to read and run....wondering if doc actually said FSH was high and not low? I know it's possible to be bottom of the barrel low with FSH and that can indicate things amiss but typically low(er) is what you want. High is an indicator of low reserve and/or quality of what eggs you have left (early menopause)

Did she give you an actual number by chance?

The use of femara wouldn't impact that number either way. If you have low reserve pumping out many follies each cycle will obviously cut the amount of time you have to conceive down, but it won't do anything to improve the reasons behind a low or high FSH level as far as I am aware.


That aside, four is a lot of matured follicles! I'm not sure whether to be happy or scared for you lol. Are you going to proceed on as planned or cancel this cycle?

I mentioned it above, but my number is 11.5 - I just did some research and completely freaked myself out. So I have to stop or I'm going to get over-stressed.

 

[messica]

I mentioned it above, but my number is 11.5 - I just did some research and completely freaked myself out. So I have to stop or I'm going to get over-stressed.

11.5 is actually very good and not low at all. In fact, but some lab standards it may be considered a smidge high (some say anything over 9 means quantity/quality are starting to diminish). Anything in the range of 3mIU/mL to usually about 15mIU/mL is considered normal in regards to ovarian reserve and function as far as I am aware though.

Did she clarify why she thought that number was deficient for you?

 

[nikinabox]

I mentioned it above, but my number is 11.5 - I just did some research and completely freaked myself out. So I have to stop or I'm going to get over-stressed.

11.5 is actually very good and not low at all. In fact, but some lab standards it may be considered a smidge high (some say anything over 9 means quantity/quality are starting to diminish). Anything in the range of 3mIU/mL to usually about 15mIU/mL is considered normal in regards to ovarian reserve and function as far as I am aware though.

Did she clarify why she thought that number was deficient for you?

I'm assuming when she said low, she wasn't referring to the number, but more what the fsh level represents. She mentioned that there are 3 factors she was looking for, and that was the only one that wasn't either normal or above average so she's keeping her eye on it for now. Every website seems to have conflicting information on what qualifies a decent FSH level, so I've stopped looking it up. I've heard soy could help a little so I'll give that a try, why not, right?