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Video: Can High FSH Be Lowered?

FSH levels vary throughout the menstrual cycle. A high FSH level on day 3 of the cycle can empower you and your fertility doctor with information, and help guide a treatment plan. Dr. Pavna Brahma, an Atlanta fertility doctor with Reproductive Biology Associates, explains.

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0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source 0:00:02.000,0:00:05.000 Ask the Experts 0:00:05.000,0:00:10.000 Can high FSH be lowered? 0:00:10.000,0:00:13.000 Dr. Pavna Brahma, Reproductive Biology Associates: FSH is a hormone that varies with the menstrual cycle, 0:00:13.000,0:00:22.000 so it's important, when you get it clinically, to get the test early in the follicular phase, right after the period has begun. 0:00:22.000,0:00:26.000 Although we don't necessarily have treatments to decrease one's FSH level, 0:00:26.000,0:00:34.000 having an elevated FSH kind of empowers us with that knowledge to know how quickly we should move into fertility treatments 0:00:34.000,0:00:39.000 and how to choose different dosing protocols and drug levels that might be needed. 0:00:39.000,0:00:43.000 But we don't really have a lot of clinical ways to lower one's FSH, 0:00:43.000,0:00:50.000 because that typically would mean that we would have a way to increase one's egg reserve, and science isn't quite there. 0:00:50.000,0:00:52.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source
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High FSH and IVF

The number of eggs retrieved is the best predictor of IVF success, so not getting enough eggs even with intensive ovarian stimulation is a significant predictor of IVF failure. With high levels of FSH, this is likely because there are few eggs left. Those that are left may be of poor quality.

Age and High FSH

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The Orchestration of the Female Hormones

Submitted by Traci Shahan on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 18:06

a blog by Traci Shahan, RN, WHNP-BC, Doctor of Nursing, Albrecht Women’s Care Denver IVF, January 30, 2012

This afternoon as I finished reading about Celtic spiritual practices, I glanced up to see my daughter Taylor staring into a neatly labeled chart, which I recognized immediately (even without my corrective lenses) as that of an impeccably rendered human female menstrual cycle. One aggravating dynamic of seminary curriculum is that, unlike my prior stint in graduate school, divinity studies seldom have one right answer. To me, Ockham’s Razor does not provide the succor as does the constant Avogadro’s number. Having cut my academic teeth via the rigors of science, in which there is a correct answer, theology is a jot shy on right, wrong, hypothesis and null.

I miss the certitude of science, so I practically shot off the couch when she asked me to quiz her in preparation for a test about reproduction. A chart! Of fastidiously diagrammed female hormones — estrogen, progesterone, FSH, LH, the whole, happy gang, ebbing and flowing in sinuous curves, just as nature programmed!

Premature Ovarian Aging (POA): Can It Be Treated?

Women who have premature ovarian aging, which causes diminished or low ovarian reserve, can possibly be helped with a hormone called DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). The Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a New York fertility clinic that specializes in patients with premature ovarian aging, has been treating patients with DHEA since 2004 with significant success.

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Premature Ovarian Aging (POA)

While the term premature ovarian failure refers to a woman whose ovaries have stopped functioning before she is 40 years old, there is another term that refers to a woman who has elevated FSH levels: premature ovarian aging, also known as diminished ovarian reserve.

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Video: What is High FSH?

Dr. Pavna Brahma, a fertility Doctor with Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, explains that FSH - follicle stimulating hormone - is a good measure of ovarian reserve. With high FSH, the ovarian reserve is depleted. By measuring FSH, your fertility doctor has a better understanding of what fertility treatment or protocol will be best for you.

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0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source 0:00:02.000,0:00:05.000 Ask the Experts 0:00:05.000,0:00:10.000 What is high FSH? 0:00:10.000,0:00:14.000 Dr. Pavna Brahma, Reproductive Biology Associates: A high FSH means an elevated level of Follicle Stimulating Hormone, 0:00:14.000,0:00:17.000 and that's a hormone that's made by the pituitary gland. 0:00:17.000,0:00:24.000 The brain signals FSH in order to communicate with the ovary and send signals to, ultimately, 0:00:24.000,0:00:27.000 grow follicles and reach ovulation. 0:00:27.000,0:00:32.000 We use FSH clinically as a test to measure a woman's ovarian reserve. 0:00:32.000,0:00:39.000 As women, we're born with a finite number of eggs, and each month, as we ovulate, we deplete our follicular pool. 0:00:39.000,0:00:46.000 When we get an elevated FSH value, that means that the brain is likely working a little bit harder to drive ovary function, 0:00:46.000,0:00:50.000 and that typically signals that the ovarian pool is somewhat depleted. 0:00:50.000,0:01:00.000 Women over the age of 35 are more likely to have a depleted ovarian pool, and that's why this test is useful clinically. 0:01:00.000,0:01:07.000 Having elevated FSH values can help us to choose fertility treatments or select appropriate protocols. 0:01:07.000,0:01:13.000 It also helps us to understand the urgency of treatment or entering treatments. 0:01:13.000,0:01:15.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source
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High FSH and Fertility

Source: Center for Human Reproduction
What are effects of high FSH on fertility and fertility treatment? Dr. Norbert Gleicher, a fertility doctor and founder of the Center for Human Reproduction in New York, NY, explains the role of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) in a woman's reproductive cycle, what various FSH levels indicate, and whether there are effective treatments for diminished ovarian reserve.

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Video: What Do FSH Levels Tell Us about Fertility?

High FSH levels indicate low ovarian reserve, or a diminishing egg supply. Dr. Pana Brahma, and Atlanta fertility doctor with Reproductive Biology Associates, explains what FSH levels can tell you about fertility and fertility treatment.

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0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source 0:00:02.000,0:00:05.000 Ask the Experts 0:00:05.000,0:00:10.000 What do FSH levels tell us about fertility? 0:00:10.000,0:00:16.000 Dr. Pavna Brahma, Reproductive Biology Associates: In general, FSH values above the level of 10 are thought to be elevated. 0:00:16.000,0:00:21.000 That number is not really set in stone, and it really is combination of different factors 0:00:21.000,0:00:23.000 that helps build a clinical picture of ovarian reserve. 0:00:23.000,0:00:27.000 We also use ultrasounds to measure basal antral follicle levels, 0:00:27.000,0:00:32.000 and there are some other lab studies, like Anti-Mullarian Hormone, that we might do, 0:00:32.000,0:00:36.000 in order to get a complete picture of someone's egg reserve. 0:00:36.000,0:00:44.000 When FSH values are elevated, that would signal to us that it's probably a good time to enter fertility treatments. 0:00:44.000,0:00:53.000 And, based on the level, as well as other clinical factors, we might select together a treatment protocol. 0:00:53.000,0:01:00.000 If FSH values are elevated, that might mean that we need to use stronger medications or more fertility drugs 0:01:00.000,0:01:04.000 in order to achieve the adequate ovarian response. 0:01:04.000,0:01:06.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source
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Video — Journey to the Crib Episode 6: High FSH & Your Biological Clock

Source: East Coast Fertility
Dr. David Kreiner, a fertility doctor and founder of East Coast Fertility, and Pamela Madsen, Fertility Advocate, talk about the impact of age and FSH on fertility.

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[text on screen]: Journey to the Crib. Fertility Talk with Pam and Dr. Dave Pamela Madsen: Hi. I'm Pamela Madsen, and welcome to another segment of Journey to the Crib. And I'm here with Dr. Dave Kreiner, who is the founder of East Coast Fertility. Thanks for joining us! [text on screen]: Episode 6: High FSH and Your Biological Clock. Pamela Madsen: You know, patients get diagnosed with FSH. They don't know if it's a high number, a low number, what it means. Can you tell us a little bit? Dr. Dave Kreiner: Yes. Pam, if I had one wish as a doctor in infertility, it would be that my patients or all prospective patients understood the impact of age; the impact of FSH. Unfortunately, though the word has been out, it's not getting down to the patients who still will try on their own for years and years, go to their OB-GYN, and oftentimes not initiate any aggressive fertility treatment even though they're over 35, approaching 40 and sometimes even past age 40. There doesn't seem to be enough of awareness of the effect of age on your fertility. Pamela Madsen: So I go in to the doctor and he says I have high FSH. What is that telling me, as a patient? Dr. Dave Kreiner: The FSH is a pituitary hormone that will respond to your ovaries' production of estradiol and inhibin. And if the number of eggs is decreasing and the number of cells that produce estrogen and inhibin is decreasing, then there's less negative feedback on the pituitary production of FSH, so FSH goes up. Pamela Madsen: A high FSH is really telling them their eggs have aged. You can't, like, fix it, right? Or can you? Dr. Dave Kreiner: Well, Pam, it's not exactly that the eggs have aged. It's that they're running out. There aren't as many. And if you're young and your FSH is going up, well, that's not nearly as bad. Because when you're young it's still likely that most of the eggs are healthy, most of the eggs are genetically normal. And with the help of a reproductive endocrinologist, we can capture those healthy eggs, fertilize them, and hopefully get you pregnant. There's still a pretty good chance. Pamela Madsen: So, a high FSH is not necessarily a death knell for your fertility? Dr. Dave Kreiner: It's never a death knell. Pamela Madsen: It's never a death knell. I like that. So, let's close on this, then. That a high FSH level is not necessarily the end of the game. It doesn't mean, necessarily, that you can't have a baby. Is that true? Dr. Dave Kreiner: That's right. Pamela Madsen: I love that. [text on screen] To Learn More Visit: www.thefertilitydoc.com www.thefertilityadvocate.com For a Free Fertility Consultation Visit: www.eastcoastfertility.com
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High FSH Myths and Facts

If you are trying to become pregnant, you have probably noticed that lots of attention is being paid to how high FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels affect fertility. But lots of attention equals lots of information, and it can be hard to figure out what’s true—and what’s not. Here are some common myths and facts about high FSH to help you out.

FSH is vital to fertility.
FACT. Without FSH, your follicles are not stimulated to produce eggs and you do not ovulate.

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