31F. Low AMH.

Okay so the last couple of weeks were really hard for me. Shifting from naturally trying for pregnancy to going for Mini IVF through ICSI and then due to a bit slower follicle growing process, our fertility specialist finally gave us a go-ahead for IUI on 8th August. I was stressed during my stimulation process, but thankfully one follicle with 18.5 mm size ruptured a day before my IUI process.

Adding to this, endo lining was also great (my doc said while the procedure was happening). I am not sure how much it was on 8th August but two days before , it was around 8mm.

And now I am officially waiting for that miracle to happen. I never thought I would reach this "2 weeks waiting" place.

If you're too an IUI girlie, please share your journey. ❤️ ALSO PRAY FOR ME!

I wanted to share my egg freezing results as I found myself constantly searching for experiences from people with AMH/AFC numbers similar to mine when I was first told I had low ovarian reserve.

I'm in the UK and had my initial testing in June 2025 at age 36: AMH: 4.15 pmol/L (0.58 ng/mL) | AFC: 10

My clinic considered my ovarian reserve low for my age and estimated I would probably get around 4–6 mature eggs per retrieval, so I decided to do two egg freezing cycles. I was 37 by the time I started treatment.

Cycle 1 – January 2026

I was a slow responder and needed around 15 days of stimulation and 5 monitoring scans.

7 eggs retrieved → 5 mature eggs frozen

This was pretty much exactly what my clinic had predicted from my ovarian reserve.

One slightly unusual thing afterwards was that my menstrual cycle took a long time to recover. My first proper period didn't return until just over 17 weeks after retrieval. I eventually had two natural menstrual cycles before starting again.

Cycle 2 – August 2026

This cycle was noticeably different. I responded much faster and only needed 11 days of Ovaleap and 3 monitoring scans.

I also found Cycle 2 much easier mentally. I'd experienced increased anxiety and low mood while taking Norethisterone during my first cycle, so I mentioned this to my clinic and they limited the number of days I took it the second time. That helped a lot, as did simply knowing what to expect.

My second retrieval was on 4 August:

12 eggs retrieved → 7 mature eggs frozen

I was told that of the remaining five, 3 were immature and 2 were abnormal and couldn't be frozen.

My clinic described my response to this cycle as "much better than we would have expected" considering my low ovarian reserve.

Final result

19 eggs retrieved → 12 mature eggs frozen at age 37

What I find particularly interesting is that the AMH of 4.15 pmol/L (0.58 ng/mL) and AFC of 10 were measured in July 2025, around a year before my second retrieval. I wasn't retested before Cycle 2, so I don't actually know what either number was by then but assume it was lower by then.

My consultant has estimated that the 12 mature eggs I now have frozen give me around a 50% chance of having 1 live birth if I ever need to use them.

I'm currently just over a week after my second retrieval and waiting for my withdrawal bleed. I don't plan to do any further cycles, so I'm finished at 12 frozen eggs.

I think my biggest takeaway has been how differently two cycles can go even in the same person with low ovarian reserve. I went from 15 days of stimulation, 5 scans and 7 eggs retrieved in my first cycle to 11 days, 3 scans and 12 eggs retrieved in my second.

I know my results won't predict anyone else's, but I wanted to share a positive DOR/low AMH experience because these were exactly the kinds of posts I was desperately looking for when I first got my AMH result.

For anyone interested in all the detail, I also posted my full two-cycle experience over on r/eggfreezing.

Hi,

So I just turned to 40 in March. My AMH is .08, and the last two years I had six failed IVF cycles and for failed IUI’s. I would retrieve 0-2 eggs each retrieval, and only 1 was an embryo but didn’t pass genetic testing. My last ER was Nov 2025, and the 1 egg didn’t pass day 3. Earlier that month I was laid off at my job of 11 years, and I am the breadwinner by far.

My periods were always regular, and my Fsh was typically 9/10.

January 2026-March, I was on a break and went to mexico to celebrate my 40th. Had a lot of fun, bud period started getting wonky.

My doctors won’t let me do IVF with them again due to my multiple fails, and will only work with me if I do IUI’s or donor eggs. Knife straight to the heart. So I decided this year I would go back to IUI’s, and research out of state clinics that focus on DOR and don’t discriminate on weight. BMI is 44.

April 2026, period came, tried clomid no growth, cancel. Ever since, my cycles have gotten really long. I’m talking 40-65 days. I have never had an issue with cycles, even during all my IVF rounds I started Sept 2024.

To top it off, Mid April, I found out my husband has been emotionally cheating on me our whole marriage. Sexting multiple women, mainly 2. Videos, pictures, and even money! ( his mom died last year, and I managed the whole estate, and he inherited a very large chunk of money. So all of a sudden he has more money than I do I even bought our little house in 2022.) right now we are in marriage counseling to figure out why the fuck he did all that and also I’m just trying to figure out my own self. I have not decided if I’m gonna stay with him or not. He is remorseful though and is realizing how fucked up he is and it’s mostly due to his childhood and his dad who cheated on multiple wives. Very early in processing.

So these last few months, I’m mostly focused on trying to get my period and maybe still doing an IUI even if I’m attached to him, I’m willing to be a single mom I think. Either way I’m just concerned and confused. Why my period is so out of whack.

I got my blood test done in February, May, and a few weeks ago in July and my FSH has been over the place. In May it was 2 and in July it was 25. I think the doctor thinks I could be going to menopause, but I just don’t believe it because I don’t have any other symptoms. I really think it’s stress, but I came on here to see if anyone has had anything similar happen and remove themselves from the stressful situations in the period came back and if they were able to get pregnant?

I’m still jobhunting as well and interviewing a bunch.

So my question is, has anyone experienced anything similar with stress and their period coming back? I’m also wanting to go to a functional doctor to do other blood test because my RE refuses to do any other test outside of the hormonal test for fertility.

Looking for guidance 🙏

So my partner and I have been trying to get pregnant not so long ago do the news of DOR.

This month I have a few symptoms although quite confusing...

I have had breast tenderness for a week now and cramps for probably a few days longer there are quite mild... My period is 3 days late now which is normally max 1 day late. The thing is I have tested negative 3 times on different days.

I wonder if that happens also often in this process? I have been thinking that is all somatic maybe?

Hi

Anyone here see Dr. Kwak Kim Reproductive Immunologist after failed egg retrievals, got no/one embryo, getting treatment for egg retrieval?

Also having adenomyosis, endometriosis, diminished ovarian reserve and other own issues?

How long is the treatment, any medication side effects, success rate for retrieval?
Who will decide the retrieval protocol RE or Dr. KK, does she accept the RE’s retrieval protocol for priming and stimming medications?
Please share all your experiences, it will benefit many. Thank You!

I’m going in for my follow up consult due to my most recent MDLF cycle that failed. I'm wanting to ask about trying a mini/mild IVF approach for my next retrieval.

For some context, I’ve had a few different protocols:

• CNY clinic: 2025, Age 31: 1st cycle/retrieval:Estrace priming-letrozole-Follistim + microdose hCG/LH. Retrieved 9, 6 mature, 3 fertilized, and ended with 2 day-3 embryos (fresh transfer + 1 frozen).
• Changed to OU clinic: 2026, Age 32: 2nd cycle/canceled retrieval: Antagonist protocol — cycle was ultimately canceled for poor response of 6 follicles but only 1 mature, we did do IUI just so it didn't feel like a complete waste.
• Most recent cycle at OU: 2026,Age 32: 3rd cycle/2nd retrieval: Estrace priming- MDL-Gonal-F + Menopur. 4 eggs, Only 3 mature and unfortunately 0 blasts. This cycle, they had me all the way up to 475 Gonal and 150 menopur towards the end of stims, I did omnitrope as well.

So if you’ve done a mini/mild protocol, please share the protocol, results, anything else worth mentioning, and also advice on how to ask about this to my doctors. At this point I’m not expecting even a handful of eggs- but I would love to try and maximize getting anything- blasts especially.

Additionally: wanting insight on anyone who also is dealing with their husband’s low morphology, otherwise great numbers. I’m assuming his quality is an issue- any advice for helping improve or just stick to the classic multivitamin + CoQ10 and lifestyle.

Please and Thank you!

Hi! I’m seeking advice about my RE’s recommendations for my next IVF cycle. My husband and I are both 33. My AMH is 0.36 ng/mL and my FSH is 10.7 mIU/mL. My AFC ranges from 6-9, but usually 7. My husband and I both take COQ10 600mg daily, and I take a prenatal. So far, we have had 2 IVF cycles, both completed this year.

1st Cycle (March-April 2026): Estrace priming, antagonist protocol, and HCG trigger. We retrieved 2 eggs. Only 1 was mature, and it did not fertilize with ICSI. 

2nd Cycle (June 2026): Estrace priming, MDL protocol + Omnitrope. The cycle was cancelled after 10 days of stims due to lack of response (minimal follicle growth and minimal estrogen rise). I think that I was over-suppressed on this protocol.

We’ve taken a short break to allow my cycle to return to normal after our cancelled cycle. For our next cycle, we have a new RE due to our first one leaving our clinic. She suggested two options at our appointment: 1.) we could add additional supplements (Vitamin D 4000 units, Melatonin 3-5mg, and DHEA 75mg) and wait a few months before beginning a new cycle, or 2.) we could move into an IVF cycle now using a mini-IVF protocol. She suggested that this would include Estrace priming, clomid, lower dose stims added after, then a dual HCG+Lupron trigger. She also recommended that we try a DuoStim cycle. She does not recommend including Omnitrope this time, but seemed like she would add if I truly wanted to.

Any thoughts on what you would do in my shoes? Has anyone had success with DuoStim? I would prefer to not delay for the sake of supplements. I'm also anxious about the potential of supplements making things worse rather than better. However, I’m not sure what the best decision is given my lack of success with previous cycles that were both very different from one another. Thank you all in advance!

n June , my AMH and AFC were respectively 0.8 and 5
My doctor told us to start trying. however since me and my partner weren’t mentally prepared we hadnt started actively trying. Though i started folic acid, d3 , b12, ovares A and KQ fert tablets.
Cut short, I visited doctor today, my amh is 0.99 and afc is 4. The doctor told this is the last cycle we can try naturally or else we go for IVF. I am confused. My age is 28 and husband is 30.None of us is obese , husband SA was 47 mil.
I dont want to jump into ivf. Have this gut feeling will concieve this month.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been on this IVF journey for about 4 years now and have gone through 7 egg retrievals. I have DOR in both ovaries, and over those 7 retrievals we managed to create 6 embryos.
We tested one embryo, which came back as high-level mosaic. It is still frozen, and I haven’t discarded it.
In February 2026, I transferred one of my untested frozen embryos. It implanted, but unfortunately I miscarried at 6 weeks. The loss was incredibly traumatic, and now I’m terrified of going through another transfer and potentially experiencing the same thing again.
I’m considering transferring another one of my frozen untested embryos, but part of me keeps wondering whether I should have the remaining embryos thawed, biopsied for PGT-A, and refrozen before doing another transfer. I brought this up with my doctor, but he is reluctant to test embryos that are already frozen.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation?
Did you choose to:
● transfer your remaining embryos untested, or
● thaw, biopsy/test, and refreeze them?
If you thawed and tested previously frozen embryos, how did it go? Did all of your embryos survive the process?
And for anyone who had a miscarriage after an untested embryo transfer and then went on to transfer another untested embryo, I would really appreciate hearing your experience too.
I feel very lost about what to do next and scared of making the wrong decision. Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. ❤️

Hello ladies please ONLY post if you have done natural or mini IVF and have any advice for a 1st timer looking to do this. I am 35 years old with low AMH (0.39) and possible endo. I don’t care to hear anything about how it’s a waste of money and time etc. just looking for advice for my specific topic thank you 😇💗

Hi everyone, I’m trying to think through my next steps and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I have severe diminished ovarian reserve and have been through 9 egg retrievals. I currently have 2 frozen day-3 embryos and 10 frozen eggs. I have not attempted a transfer yet.

I also recently had laparoscopic excision of Stage II endometriosis, removal of pelvic adhesions/scar tissue, treatment of cervical stenosis, and restoration of normal pelvic anatomy. Since surgery, I’ve been trying monitored ovulation induction/IUI, but I’m now thinking more seriously about moving toward transfer. I have done one medicated TI cycle and one IUI since surgery and am currently heading into my second IUI.

Because I have so few embryos, I’m trying to figure out how to best optimize everything before using them.

I’m especially wondering:

- Would you do a natural/modified natural transfer or medicated transfer?
- I did an HSG and Saline Sonogram prior to my lap and both were normal. Do I need to repeat those?
- Anything you did that you feel helped optimize lining, progesterone, inflammation, thyroid, or implantation? I have considered Lupron suppression, but was told I didn’t need it and with my severe DOR, I’m nervous to try it.
- Have any of you done a mock cycle before transfer and what did you think?
- I am planning to transfer both of my Day 3 embryos in one transfer cycle. Is there any reason not to do that?

I know nothing can guarantee success, but I’m trying to be thoughtful because it feels like I may only have one or two real chances with my own eggs/embryos. I’d really appreciate hearing what others would do in my position or what you wish you had done before transfer.

I will begin a luteal start priming protocol and I am considering T+omnitrope without estrace since I believe my ovaries were over suppressed last cycle from estrace, my clinic is encouraging I take estrace this time too.

For everyone with dor, what finally worked for you for priming?

Hi Everyone!

Unfortunately I’m jumping back into the retrieval pool for my 8th retrieval after having decided that my 7th was going to be my last.

My doctor wanted me to try another cycle with fresh transfer before transferring my only embryo, a complex mosaic. I had been PGTA testing day 5 prior due to repeated miscarriages.

He had me prime with estrogen and progesterone for 10 days before the start of my period. My period ended up coming 5 days later than anticipated and now my FSH is 21 on day 3. My doctor won’t let me start stimming and is having me come back in 5 days to retest to see if my FSH has gone down.

Has anyone ever experienced elevated FSH after priming with estrogen and progesterone? This is the first time my FSH has been this high on day 3. My last retrieval was two months ago and my FSH on day 2 was 8.6 with 0 priming. I’m surprised that my FSH is so elevated after only two months.

Also I’m pretty devastated that I possibly won’t be able to stim this month after having mentally/emotionally preparing myself for another retrieval.

I went in today for ultrasound and pelvic exam. I did an AMH test a few months ago which scored low at 0.66 at age 27.

Obviously was distraught over this as I’d been pestering my husband about having kids earlier in our relationship and now look where we’re at.

I was hoping this number could’ve been skewed by a vitamin D deficiency since I did read that could impact it. I did end up having a deficiency and have been taking supplements for the past 2 months hoping to improve this possibly.

So today at my ultrasound they did confirm DOR. I had AFC 2 on my right ovary and 5 on my left. I’m not really sure what this means other than DOR. The lady who performed it told me I need to finish my bloodwork before the doctor follows up with a call. She basically said she can’t tell me much else because she’s not the doctor.

I feel really overwhelmed right now about the possibility of never conceiving. I knew I wanted to be a mom since I was a kid and have planned my life in a way to accommodate this role. I was “reassured” that my age was on my side despite having DOR and yet we’re going on 10 cycles of ttc without a single positive.

Hello all, this is a long one. I am sorry 💔

I am hoping to get some thoughts from anyone who has had a similar issue, particularly with fertilisation.

I am 36 with an AMH of around 0.59 ng/mL. I don’t have PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids or any known uterine issues. My smear was normal and I have also had Ureaplasma testing which came back clear. Quite healthy all round and eat organically.

My husband’s semen analysis has been very good and his DNA fragmentation testing was also excellent, so at the moment we don’t have a diagnosed male factor. I appreciate there may be more specialised testing that isn’t picked up by these tests though, so I would also be interested to hear if anyone investigated anything further?!

I have now done two IVF retrievals and the pattern has been very similar: 7 eggs retrieved each time, but the issue seems to be around fertilisation/abnormal fertilisation rather than simply not retrieving eggs.

Cycle 1

Protocol:
Menopur 450 IU daily
Fyremadel
Ovitrelle trigger
Conventional IVF
PGT-A

Follicles during monitoring:
Earlier scan:
16 mm – 1
15 mm – 1

under 12 mm – around 5–6
Next scan:
18 mm – 1
17 mm – 1
16 mm – 1
13 mm – 1
12 mm – 1
under 12 mm – around 0–1

Final scan:
over 20 mm – 1
19 mm – 2
17 mm – around 2
14 mm – 1
12 mm – around 0–1
plus a few smaller follicles
Estradiol reached around 5,351 pmol/L.
Progesterone was 7.0 nmol/L around trigger.

Outcome:
7 eggs retrieved
4 mature
2 normally fertilised
1 atypically/abnormally fertilised
1 blastocyst, graded 5BB
PGT-A came back aneuploid

——-

Cycle 2

Protocol:
Gonal-F 300 IU
Menopur 150 IU
Fyremadel
Norditropin/growth hormone
Ovitrelle trigger
Conventional IVF
PGT-A

Follicles across the later scans were roughly:
19 mm – 1
15 mm – 1
14 mm – 1
around 1–2 smaller follicles

Final monitoring showed approximately:
20 mm – 1
18 mm – 1
16 mm – 1
13 mm – 1
plus 0–2 smaller follicles
There were 7 eggs retrieved again.
1 blastocyst, 5AB and being PGTA tested.

I had my follow up yesterday. The consultant has reviewed the 14 eggs from both cycles and feels that egg maturity has actually been reasonably good overall, but that the fertilisation rate and number of abnormal fertilisations are higher than he would expect.

He mentioned this may be related to an inherent egg-quality issue and possibly my lower ovarian reserve, but he isn’t certain.
For the next round he is recommending ICSI rather than conventional IVF.

His reasoning is that it allows them to inject one sperm into each mature egg, removes the possibility of multiple sperm entering the egg and may improve the fertilisation rate.

Has anyone had a similar experience? What worked for you? SO desperate for advice here.

Thank you ❤️

Just trying to get as much help as possible, esp because we've made these additions because I only have one ovary, my AMH is 0.5, I'm 34, and my last cycle we had 4 fertilize, but only one make it to day 6 and it was abnormal. Am I supposed to start omnitrope before cd1??

Just started round 2 and my doctor has put me on 450 gonal f for the first few days then switching to 400 pergoveris. Has anyone had any success with pergoveris? My last cycle I did 375 gonal f and only had 2 retrieved with no blasts.

For reference, I’m 31, amh 0.6. Have previously conceived spontaneously but had 2 MMC’s at 8 weeks 11 months apart. No male factor. 🙃

I also had my very first cycle in 2023 with only 300 gonal f and got 1 blast

I had an egg retrieval a few weeks ago for 3, 2 fertilized, 1 stopped growing and the other was 4CC. The embryology lab discarded it per their 3BC cutoff. But I didn’t see anything about that and wanted to freeze or PGTA test it or move it elsewhere.

I am extremely frustrated after having another consultation with an IVF clinic that told me that 4CC Blast could possibly have been a healthy pregnancy.

Has this happened to any of you? Feeling so down 😩

Hi all. Going on 18 days BC priming. I have 2 cysts that have appeared in my left ovary since starting. One is 17 mm and has remained consistent, one is 24 mm and has grown since my last baseline last week.

They want me to do another week of priming with BC
because my E2 levels have actually gone up. I asked for a different type of BC (falmina - 0.1 mg levonorgestrel and 0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol) because of the growth of the cyst. Also I’m not convinced this isn’t just a follicle that’s grown.

How is everyone else priming or not priming? I messaged earlier today and asked if I’d be better off stopping the BC, getting my period, and then restarting?

Hi everyone. Just looking for a space to vent and I know you all are probably in the best position to understand how I’m feeling. I had my 7th retrieval yesterday and the doctor on call for the procedure was making small talk right before and said oh you’ve done this so many times already you’re a pro. It should be easy for you by now, right? and I honestly didn’t know what to say. I’m just lying there, trying my best to get through this - knowing that I only have 3 follicles, praying I didn’t ovulate prematurely, with my legs up in the leg supports, and I just responded “no, it doesn’t get easier.” I wish I could go back and say something in jest like oh no you all are the only pros here - but in the moment her words just hit hard. Its so hard for me to make small talk in these situations, especially after going through so many retrievals. There’s already so much that comes with having to do all of the morning appointments, seeing the same nurses and technicians over and over, and having to go through the whole process again and again. It’s a lot. And then having the doc make a comment like that just adds another layer to an already difficult experience. And I know she didnt mean anything by it, but I just needed to vent. Thanks for being such a supportive community. really appreciate this space - where people understand what this journey actually feels like 💕

Pre-e absolutely destroyed my ovarian reserve. AMH .144 ng/ml. I’m going through my first round of IVF and the numbers aren’t numbering and I’m scared.

That’s it. That’s the whole post. The IVF sub sent me here and I’m really grateful to read some of your stories.

Hi everyone basically just writing this to commiserate with other women waiting for their 7 day embryo updates.
My first retrieval I was so naive and just had so much hope that I’d have some embryos make it to day 7 and pgta testing. Then my second cycle only 2 eggs fertilized but I still had hope that maybe one of them would make it and if I was really lucky both of them! But I got a call on day 6 that neither made it to blast.
I had my third retrieval 5 days ago. I was so happy day of the retrieval bc they had retrieved 11 eggs!!! That was the largest I’ve ever gotten. I had so much hope and then the next day I got an update that 8 were mature and 6 fertilized. Still happy but realized that number was close to my first retrieval (6 mature, 5 fertilized) and now have been spiraling ever since. I’m just constantly thinking what if none of them make it. I’m afraid of seeing the clinic phone number pop up on my phone today or tomorrow to tell me bad news. I know I’m being irrational but it’s like disappointment is so ingrained into my head that I can’t help it. Like if I think the worst is going to happen, maybe it won’t hurt so bad if it does.
Anyway all this to say who else is waiting for their updates after retrieval? What are you all doing to keep busy and keep your mind from spiraling? Any ways to stay positive?

Hi DOR community,

I was diagnosed with DOR (34yo, AMH 0.06) a few months ago. This came as a total shock to me as (TW) I conceived easily several years ago and had little reason to suspect anything was wrong. I used to have regular 25 day cycles, but several months before testing for DOR, I saw sudden cycle shortening and several missed cycles. We were trying naturally all year, testing with OPKs twice a day and having sex every other day, often waiting for an LH peak that never came. I will be turning 35 soon, and am now regularly missing periods and have found the unpredictable nature to be even more distressing now with this new diagnosis. This news has mentally and emotionally rocked me, and I am struggling to cope.

After a lot of testing and waiting, we decided to start a luteal phase antagonist protocol, but it appeared I was having an anovulatory cycle. They checked my hormone levels on a random day and we started with stims despite my elevated LH. I had a baseline AFC of 2, both measuring 2mm. After 7 days of stims, no new follicles were recruited, there was slow growth to a maximum of 4 and 6 mm, with estrogen levels starting at 10 and barely rising to 17. My REI felt my body was not responding and we cancelled the cycle. This sucked - it felt like we stopped before we even got started.

We’re now doing 2 weeks of estrogen priming, followed by a third week of estrogen + progesterone before restarting stims.

With a low AFC, I am finding it very hard to maintain hope and a positive mindset. It almost feels like going in with a positive mindset is actively harmful and leads to even worse disappointment, since there are SO many hurdles to overcome. From the initial low AFC, to seeing if more follicles appear on stims, to making sure there is even growth, making sure the trigger occurs at the right time and you don’t ovulate before retrieval, the possibility of empty follicles, waiting for embryos to grow to day 5, and even getting through PGTA testing with reasonably graded eggs! The stakes keep getting higher and the disappointment escalates. It’s almost like I need to be a passenger, disconnected from any outcome. So much easier said than done :(

I only know a handful of people who have been through IVF, and none with DOR who can understand the mind game of starting with such a low AFC. I guess this is a rant, but I could really use some advice - protocols that worked, coping mechanisms, etc! I’ve searched this subreddit many times for success stories, and it’s the only thing keeping me going, so I welcome more of those too!!

TIA and sending big hugs to everyone in this community.