My AMH went up 7x! | How fast AMH falls #advancedmaternalage | #IVF #lowAMH #infertility #IVFat40

Summary

Hellynn shares her intense journey with IVF treatments from Korea, detailing her struggles with diminished ovarian reserve at age 40. Over the year, she underwent seven egg retrievals, dealing with fluctuating AMH levels, which surprisingly increased sevenfold by her last check. Despite low expectations due to her initial AMH of 0.06, she persevered through diet changes, supplements, and a focus on less intensive exercises. Hellynn's dedication resulted in nine embryos, setting her up for an upcoming transfer. She concludes by inviting viewers to share advice and support, reflecting on the emotional rollercoaster of her fertility journey.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Hellynn, the speaker, started a channel to share her IVF journey in Korea and is currently still undergoing the process.
• 👵 Hellynn is 40 years old with diminished ovarian reserve, meaning she has a lower egg count than other women her age.
• 💰 She chose Korea for IVF due to its efficiency in treatment and cost, as well as personal and financial support from the government.
• 📈 Her AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) levels, which indicate egg reserve, surprisingly increased sevenfold during her IVF treatments.
• 📉 Initially, Hellynn's AMH was almost non-existent at 0.06, which is considered very low for her age.
• 🍲 She made significant dietary changes, including eliminating processed foods and refined sugar, which she believes may have contributed to her improved AMH levels.
• 🧪 Hellynn underwent seven egg retrievals from February to November 2023 as part of her IVF process.
• 🌱 She also made lifestyle changes, such as avoiding plastic and taking various supplements, which might have impacted her fertility.
• 🧘 She engaged in light exercise like yoga and daily walks, which could have supported her overall well-being during the process.
• 🚫 Despite the improvements, Hellynn experienced a miscarriage in August 2022, which was a turning point in her desire to become a mother.
• 🤰 From her seven retrievals, Hellynn has nine embryos, two of which were discarded due to abnormalities, and she plans to return to Korea for the embryo transfer next month.

Q & A

What does AMH stand for and what does it indicate?

AMH stands for Anti-Mullerian Hormone, and it is a hormone that indicates the number of eggs left in a woman's reserve.

Why did Hellynn decide to share her IVF experience?

Hellynn started the channel to talk about her IVF experience abroad in Korea, which she underwent last year, and to share her ongoing journey with others.

What does it mean to have a 'diminished ovarian reserve'?

Having a diminished ovarian reserve means that a woman has a much lower egg count than other women of the same age, which can affect fertility.

Why did Hellynn choose to undergo IVF treatment in Korea?

Hellynn chose Korea because of its efficiency in treatment and cost, as well as the fact that the government helps finance many IVF treatments. Additionally, she is originally from Korea.

What was Hellynn's initial AMH level before starting IVF?

Hellynn's initial AMH level was 0.64, which is considered very low.

How many egg retrievals did Hellynn complete in 2023?

Hellynn completed seven egg retrievals between February and November of 2023.

What was Hellynn's AMH level after her seven egg retrievals?

After her seven egg retrievals, Hellynn's AMH level had increased seven times from its lowest point, reaching 0.4.

What lifestyle changes did Hellynn make during her IVF treatment period?

Hellynn changed her diet to whole foods, gave up refined sugar and flour, limited red meat intake, and consumed more fish, vegetables, and fruits. She also reduced her use of plastic, especially with hot foods, and took various supplements consistently.

What was Hellynn's most successful egg retrieval?

Her sixth retrieval was the most successful, resulting in 5 mature eggs and 3 embryos.

How many embryos did Hellynn have after her seven retrievals?

Hellynn had a total of seven embryos after her seven retrievals, after discarding two that tested abnormal.

What is Hellynn's plan regarding the IVF transfer?

Hellynn plans to return to Korea next month for the embryo transfer and will keep her audience updated on the process.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 IVF Journey and AMH Surprise Increase

Hellynn introduces her IVF journey, which began in Korea due to its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and her personal connection to the country. Despite being 40 with diminished ovarian reserve, she aimed for multiple IVF cycles to increase her chances of having two children. She discusses her AMH levels, which initially were very low (0.06), but surprisingly increased sevenfold after seven egg retrievals in 2023. Hellynn emphasizes the importance of understanding AMH as an indicator of egg reserve and the need for multiple IVF cycles when levels are low.

05:06

📉 Declining AMH and the Urgency to Act

Hellynn reflects on her AMH levels, which have been consistently declining, and the emotional impact of her natural pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. This event heightened her desire to become a mother and made her realize the urgency of her fertility situation. She discusses her subsequent AMH test results, which continued to drop, prompting her to seek IVF treatment in Korea. Despite the low AMH level of 0.06, she was not turned away by the clinic and began her IVF treatments with monthly retrievals.

10:07

🔬 Factors Contributing to AMH Increase and Successful Egg Retrievals

Hellynn speculates on what might have contributed to her AMH level increase, including fertility treatments, a significant change in diet, avoiding processed foods, and consuming more whole and organic foods. She also mentions her efforts to minimize plastic use, especially with hot foods, and the supplements she took, including NAD+, resveratrol, and myo-inositol. Light exercise, such as yoga and walking, was part of her routine. She also suggests that emotional well-being, possibly linked to time spent with her husband, might have played a role. Hellynn details the results of her egg retrievals, which culminated in nine embryos, two of which were discarded due to abnormalities.

15:10

🤰 Upcoming Transfer and Seeking Advice

Hellynn shares her plans to return to Korea for the embryo transfer and asks her audience for any advice on preparing both physically and mentally for the procedure. She expresses gratitude to her viewers for their support and encourages them to like, subscribe, and share her video with others who might benefit from her story. Hellynn wishes her audience 'baby dust' as a symbol of good luck on their own fertility journeys.

Keywords

💡AMH

AMH, or Anti-Müllerian Hormone, is a hormone that indicates the number of eggs remaining in a woman's ovaries. It is a key biomarker for assessing ovarian reserve and fertility potential. In the video, Hellynn's AMH levels were initially very low, reflecting her diminished ovarian reserve, but surprisingly increased sevenfold during her IVF treatments, which was a significant point of discussion and surprise.

💡IVF

IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilization, a process where eggs are fertilized by sperm outside the body, and then the resulting embryos are implanted into the uterus. Hellynn underwent multiple IVF cycles in Korea, which is a central theme of her video as she shares her journey and experiences with this fertility treatment.

💡Diminished Ovarian Reserve

Diminished Ovarian Reserve refers to a condition where a woman has a lower egg count than is typical for her age, which can affect her ability to conceive naturally. Hellynn mentions that she has this condition, which is why she pursued IVF treatments and dedicated a significant part of the year to increasing her chances of having children.

💡Egg Retrievals

Egg retrieval is a medical procedure used in IVF where eggs are extracted from a woman's ovaries. Hellynn completed seven egg retrievals between February and November, which is an intensive process that she discusses in detail, including the number of eggs retrieved and the development of embryos.

💡Fertility Treatments

Fertility treatments encompass a range of medical interventions designed to help individuals or couples conceive. Hellynn's video focuses on her experience with fertility treatments, particularly IVF, and how they have impacted her journey to motherhood.

💡Supplements

Supplements refer to vitamins, minerals, or other nutritional substances that are added to one's diet to support health. Hellynn mentions taking various supplements consistently during her IVF process, suggesting that she believes they may have contributed to her improved AMH levels and overall fertility health.

💡Diet Changes

Diet changes involve modifying one's eating habits, often to improve health outcomes. Hellynn discusses significant changes to her diet, including eliminating processed foods and refined sugars, which she believes may have had a positive impact on her fertility and AMH levels.

💡Miscarriage

A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week. Hellynn shares her personal experience of having a natural pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage at seven weeks, which was a turning point for her in realizing her desire to become a mother.

💡Maternal Instinct

Maternal instinct refers to the natural feelings of tenderness and protectiveness that a mother has for her child. Hellynn describes how her miscarriage led to the realization of her strong maternal instinct, which motivated her to pursue IVF and motherhood more actively.

💡Fertility Clinics

Fertility clinics are medical facilities that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of fertility issues. Hellynn mentions visiting fertility clinics in Korea, known for their quality and efficiency, as part of her IVF journey.

💡Embryo Transfer

Embryo transfer is the final step in the IVF process where an embryo or embryos are placed into the uterus with the aim of achieving a pregnancy. Hellynn is preparing to return to Korea for her embryo transfer, which is a significant event she is discussing with her audience.

Highlights

Hellynn's AMH levels increased sevenfold during her IVF treatments, a surprising outcome given her initial low levels.

Hellynn started her YouTube channel to share her IVF journey, which she underwent in Korea.

At 40 years old with diminished ovarian reserve, Hellynn dedicated 2023 to back-to-back IVF egg retrievals.

Hellynn chose Korea for IVF due to its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and personal connection as a native.

AMH is a hormone that indicates the number of eggs left in a woman's reserve.

Hellynn's AMH was almost non-existent at 0.06, requiring a longer-term IVF commitment.

She underwent seven egg retrievals between February and November 2023.

Hellynn's AMH history shows a decline from 0.64 in September 2021 to 0.06 before IVF treatments.

Modern Fertility's test results indicated a slightly lower AMH, which Hellynn later felt was overly optimistic.

Hellynn's miscarriage at 7 weeks in August 2022 sparked her maternal instinct and urgency to become a mother.

Kaiser, her new provider, showed her AMH had dropped further to 0.34, indicating urgency for action.

Hellynn's decision to undergo IVF in Korea was influenced by the country's willingness to treat all patients regardless of their AMH levels.

Her fertility treatments, dietary changes, and lifestyle adjustments may have contributed to her increased AMH levels.

Hellynn's dietary changes included eliminating processed foods, refined sugar, and focusing on whole foods and organic produce.

She also took various supplements, including NAD+, resveratrol, and myo-inositol, which she believes may have impacted her AMH levels.

Hellynn engaged in light exercise, such as yoga and walking, during her IVF treatments.

Her sixth retrieval was the most successful, yielding 5 mature eggs and 3 embryos.

From her seven retrievals, Hellynn obtained a total of seven embryos, two of which were discarded due to abnormalities.

She plans to return to Korea next month for the embryo transfer and is seeking advice on preparation.

Hellynn thanks her audience for their support and encourages them to like, subscribe, and share her video.

Transcripts

Hellynn: I got tested again.

And to my surprise, my AMH had gone up seven times.

Hello, ladies.

My name is Hellynn and I started this channel so that I can talk about my IVF

experience abroad in Korea last year.

And I'm actually still in the middle of all of it.

I still haven't done my transfer yet, but I dedicated all of 2023 to getting

back to back IVF egg retrievals.

I am 40 years old and I have diminished ovarian reserve, which basically

means that I have a much lower egg count than other women my age.

So I dedicated all of last year to getting IVF and making sure that

I give myself a chance to have not just one kid, but hopefully two kids.

The reason why I traveled to Korea is because it's incredibly efficient there,

both treatment wise as well as cost.

And so that's the reason I went back.

On top of that, I am originally from Korea and so, you know, it just

makes sense for me to go back there.

And also the government helps to finance a lot of the IVF treatments.

If you clicked on this video, then you probably know what AMH already is.

It's the hormone that indicates how many eggs that you have left in your reserve.

You probably already also know that if you have a low AMH like me...

my AMH is almost non existent...

it's 0.06...

You probably will need more than one cycle.

And you really just kind of have to wrap your head around the idea that

IVF is going to be a longer term thing than it is for other women.

So yeah, I have dedicated all of 2023 to making sure that I

give myself the best chance.

I've completed seven egg retrievals at this point and that happened between

February and November, so a very long period of time, and during that period

actually, my AMH has gone up 7x!

So a normal AMH level for my age would be one.

But before I started IVF, my levels were basically zero.

If you're interested in knowing the average for your age, then I'll

link where I found this information.

Okay, let me give you a rundown of my AMH history.

So, September 2021 was when I first tested.

This was the first time that I ever even thought to test for anything.

I wish that somebody had told me a little bit earlier about fertility

and educated me a little better about it because I just was not, I

don't know if I wasn't interested.

I don't think I was interested.

I just, it just wasn't something that occurred to me.

I just thought it was so easy to get pregnant.

I've seen a lot of women my age get pregnant.

I think I really took it for granted.

Anyway, I just happened to be in Korea.

I knew that the fertility clinics in Korea were great and so I just

stopped by one and took a test, just some blood work and had an ultrasound.

They saw I believe six follicles or more, six or seven follicles during

that that time and my AMH level at that time was 0.64 which is also

actually very low, but I didn't even realize that it was that low.

I just thought that it was slightly lower than other people and it was fine.

Fast forward to March 2022, and this is when I turned 39, and I actually tested

with Modern Fertility, which is an at home test kit that you can order, and

you just prick your finger and drop a few drops of blood on a strip, and

then you dry it, and then you mail it into the lab, and then they come back

with the results within a week or two.

I signed in online and I checked to see what my results were.

They not only test for AMH, but other fertility hormones as well.

I could see that my AMH went down slightly from 0.64 to 0.54, and

this was in the span of six months.

But Modern Fertility said basically that my AMH was only slightly lower

than other women my age so I still was not worried at this point.

Now, in retrospect, I kind of think that Modern Fertility

was a little bit too positive.

I wish that somebody would have rang the alarm.

Go get help now, but you know, it is what it is.

Okay, in August 2022, that's when I had a natural pregnancy

and I miscarried at 7 weeks.

That used to be really hard to talk about, but now I feel like a lot of

time has gone by and I feel a lot more comfortable talking about it now.

But at the time, I was so devastated.

I really thought that, oh wow, I'm going to be a mom.

I look back and I realize that having this pregnancy has given me the

desire to really want to become a mom.

. And I've just come to realize how precious life is.

You can say that the maternal instinct became real during this time.

Anyway, when I had my miscarriage, I had my levels checked again.

This time I was with Kaiser, who was my new provider.

I had some blood work done to show that my AMH had gone down

yet again from 0.54 to 0.34.

I don't know what's up with all the fours at the end.

That's when I realized that this is really urgent.

My AMH just keeps falling super fast and so I knew that I needed to take action.

February 2023, a few months later, I, I think this was like six or seven

months later actually, I went to Korea with the goal of staying there for a

few months to get IVF and hopefully come back to the States pregnant.

Before we started treatments, I had to do all the tests all

over again at that clinic.

I got my blood work done and my AMH had fallen literally to nothingness.

That's when I found out that my AMH was 0.06.

The decline was real.

My doctor, who is actually really one of the most famous doctors in Korea, and

he has a lot of experience with women who are of advanced maternal age and

who have diminished ovarian reserve.

He was in shock and he, he was just kind of like, disheartened by this number.

I think I was one of the lowest that he's seen.

So he was just like, I don't know how it's even possible to have hope at this point,

but we can just, you know, give it a go.

The great thing about Korea is that they won't turn you away, and they won't

turn you away or reject you because it will lower their success rates for their

marketing purposes, which some doctors seem to do in the States and I just

don't think that's, I just don't think that's very, that's a very good practice.

There are definitely a lot of pros and cons when it comes to getting IVF in

Korea, but I would say that the fact that they don't turn people away based on their

BMI or their AMH levels, it's something that I'm really, really grateful about.

So, starting February 2023, I started my IVF treatments and I

had monthly retrievals, basically.

Once in a while I would take a break between.

So September 2023, I finished retrieval five, and before

starting six, I got tested again.

And to my surprise, my AMH had gone up seven times.

Now mind you, seven times from 0.06 is not that much.

It's still extremely low.

It's 0.4.

But we're still minus 1 zero at this point, so it's reason to celebrate for me.

So AMH goes up and down regularly, but usually it goes down for women who are

of advanced maternal age pretty quickly.

So basically after 25, it goes down steadily.

After 30, it's a steady decline.

And then after 35, it's like,

It also depends on your condition.

If you're super tired or sick during the time that you get your blood work done,

then your AMH is more likely to be lower.

I don't know for sure what made my AMH go up, but I do

suspect a few different things.

I get this question a lot, actually.

First of all, I was getting fertility treatments.

I was getting IVF.

And so, I'm sure the medication had something to do with it.

But also, I had changed my entire diet, for that whole year.

I gave up most processed foods and stuck to whole foods.

I gave up refined sugar.

I gave up flour, except for whole wheat flour.

White rice, dairy, basically anything white.

I also stuck to as much organic food as possible.

I only ate red meat twice a week.

I ate lots of fish and vegetables and, you know, fruits.

I also stayed away from plastic.

I tried my best.

It's really hard when you're living outside of your own home for that long.

And, I don't know, that was really a bit of a challenge.

But I tried at least not to use plastic with hot foods.

Most of the time I just didn't use plastic at all.

Lastly, I was taking supplements consistently that entire time.

I'm honestly not sure if this had an impact, but it was

just part of what I was doing.

I did make a video about that and listed all the supplements that I

am taking so I will link that here.

On top of all of the supplements that I was taking in that video, I started

taking a few other supplements including NAD+ , resveratrol and myo inositol.

I had started taking these supplements a couple months, a month or two prior

to having my blood tested again.

Exercise.

I was only doing a lot of like light exercise.

I was told not to do anything strenuous or start anything super new.

And so I did some yoga a few times out of the week.

I went for long walks like an hour every day, if you can believe it.

Also, this is just my feeling on it, but after a summer of not being with

my husband, he came to visit me and I was just happier and more relaxed and

maybe that had something to do with it.

I just finished and OMG I'm so dizzy, but we got five eggs.

So, after my AMH test, I had my 6th retrieval and this actually ended up

being my most successful retrieval.

It resulted in 5 mature eggs and 3 embryos.

Two of them were five day or day five blastocysts and one

of them was a day four morula.

All average grades, so none of them are like fantastic looking, but still we

were so thankful and just over the moon.

Now after round six, I decided to just do one more round just because

my plane ticket was like a month later and I just had the time.

So why not?

Honestly, for round seven, I kind of let myself go.

I ate whatever I wanted.

I went out and had fun and you know, I drank wine, I just

did whatever I felt like.

Quite frankly, I was pretty much done.

I ended up getting three eggs that cycle and one four day..

Or day four morula.

That's kind of confusing.

Day four morula.

My hospital, they allow the embryo to grow as long as it can.

They try to cultivate the embryos as long as they're holding steady and once they

start to kind of slow down a little bit that's when they freeze them So that's

the reason why I have several day fours.

From my seven retrievals I I was able to get nine embryos, two of which I had

to toss because they tested abnormal, but the rest of them are untested.

I can't believe that I did that many retrievals.

That's so insane.

So that makes a grand total of seven embryos.

I actually came back to the States back home to just kind of chill and

relax for the holidays and just be with my husband for a little bit.

I am going back to Korea next month for the transfer and

so I'll keep you guys posted.

If you have any advice on what to do before the transfer to prep your

body or just get your mental state right before the transfer, I would

love to hear it in the comments.

Well, that's it for updates and if you want to see my story from the very

beginning, I'll link my first video.

Thank you guys so much for being on this ride with me.

Do me a favor and like this video and subscribe to my channel and hopefully

share this video with somebody that you know that might need it.

Baby dust to everyone Bye.