Low AMH and Failed IVF: Why Didn't You Respond to Stimulation?

Low AMH? Diminished ovarian reserve or POI? Failed IVF or told donor eggs are your only option? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com You have low AMH or diminished ovarian reserve. You've gone through IVF stimulation, but only one or two follicles developed. Maybe your cycle was canceled before egg retrieval. Now you're wondering whether mini IVF, lower medication doses, or a different protocol could give you a better response. But you're also frustrated. You've already invested time, money, and hope into IVF, and you still don't understand why your ovaries aren't responding. What if changing your IVF protocol isn't the only thing worth investigating? In this episode, we explore why poor ovarian response deserves a closer look at your overall health and how a functional fertility approach can work alongside your fertility clinic. In this episode: Why low AMH and diminished ovarian reserve can make IVF stimulation challenging What to consider when only one or two follicles develop, or your IVF cycle is canceled Why mini IVF, lower medication doses or a different stimulation protocol may be worth discussing with your fertility specialist How thyroid function, nutrient deficiencies and blood sugar regulation fit into your fertility assessment Why digestion, inflammation, sleep and chronic stress deserve attention Why the male partner's health matters, even when the focus has been on your ovarian response How to investigate your health while continuing to explore IVF treatment options You may decide to try another IVF protocol. Or you may need time to consider other fertility options. You don't have to put IVF on hold to investigate your health. Both can happen in parallel. The goal is to make your next decision with more clarity and fewer unanswered questions. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner if you're trying to conceive together, and upload your labs and test results to our secure portal before the call.  We review what you already have, your fertility history, previous IVF response, and the health of both partners to identify questions that may not have been explored and discuss potential next steps. Book here ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. For almost 12 years, my team and I have worked with couples navigating low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, high FSH, POI, recurrent pregnancy loss, and failed IVF. We look across fertility history, previous treatment, bloodwork, functional testing, and the health of both partners to identify patterns that may not have been explored. We work alongside your fertility clinic, not instead of it. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Low AMH? Diminished ovarian reserve or POI? Failed IVF or told donor eggs are your only option? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com You've been told your AMH is too low. Your FSH is too high. Your IVF cycle didn't work. And now donor eggs are being recommended. Maybe donor eggs are the right next step for you. But before making that decision, have you been given the full picture of what's happening with your fertility? Was the recommendation based mainly on your AMH and FSH? Has anyone reviewed what happened during your IVF cycles, including follicle response, fertilization, and embryo development? And has anyone looked beyond your ovaries? Donor eggs can be a wonderful path to parenthood. This isn't about ruling them out. It's about understanding your options and making a decision with fewer unanswered questions. In this episode: Why low AMH and high FSH don't tell the whole story about your fertility What to ask when donor eggs are recommended after failed IVF Why your previous IVF response, fertilization, and embryo development matter Why the male partner needs to be investigated beyond a normal semen analysis, including sperm DNA fragmentation What may still be worth reviewing, including thyroid and autoimmune patterns, metabolic health, inflammation, gut health and the nervous system How to determine whether further investigation could meaningfully inform your next fertility decision Why being informed about donor eggs doesn't mean you have to decide immediately You may ultimately choose donor eggs. Or you may decide there are still questions worth exploring with your fertility team. Either way, you deserve to understand why a particular path is being recommended. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and upload your labs and testing into our secure portal before the call. If you've done testing in the last three months, we won't automatically ask you to repeat it. We review what you already have, your fertility history, previous IVF response and the health of both partners to identify questions that may not have been explored and discuss potential next steps. Book here ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. For almost 12 years, my team and I have worked with couples navigating low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, high FSH, POI, recurrent pregnancy loss, and failed IVF. We look across fertility history, previous treatment, bloodwork, functional testing, and the health of both partners to identify patterns that may not have been explored. We work alongside your fertility clinic, not instead of it. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Low AMH? Diminished ovarian reserve or POI? Failed IVF or recurrent loss? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com You've done the stool test. You've worked on your gut, changed your diet and taken the supplements. You've addressed your thyroid, hormones and inflammation. So when someone asks whether anyone has looked deeper into your health, your answer is: I've already done functional medicine. But did your practitioner specialize in low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, POI, recurrent pregnancy loss or failed IVF? And did they connect what they found to your fertility history, IVF response, and the health of both partners? Doing functional medicine and having a complex fertility case investigated aren't necessarily the same thing. In this episode: Why general functional medicine may miss patterns that matter in low AMH, DOR, POI, recurrent loss and failed IVF Why more testing and more supplements aren't necessarily the answer What may still be worth investigating, including inflammation, autoimmune and thyroid patterns, the nervous system, gut health and vaginal microbiome Why his side matters beyond a normal semen analysis, including sperm DNA fragmentation How your IVF history, embryo development and recurrent losses become part of the investigation What to ask about the work you've already done before another IVF cycle You're not starting over. You're figuring out what hasn't been connected yet. CHAPTERS 00:00 I've already done functional medicine 02:10 General functional medicine versus complex fertility cases 03:40 High achieving, hypervigilant and the nervous system 04:30 His side beyond a normal semen analysis 10:50 Your fertility history, IVF response and recurrent loss FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs and testing into our secure portal before the call. If you've done testing in the last three months, we won't ask you to repeat it. We look at what you already have, your fertility history and the health of both partners, see what's been missed, and give you a plan to put it all together. Book here   ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. For almost 12 years, my team and I have worked with couples navigating low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, high FSH, POI, recurrent pregnancy loss and failed IVF. We look across fertility history, previous treatment, bloodwork, functional testing, and the health of both partners to identify patterns that may not have been explored. We work alongside your fertility clinic, not instead of it. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Low AMH? High FSH? Diminished ovarian reserve or POI? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com Your AMH came back low. Your FSH is elevated. You've been told you have diminished ovarian reserve and may not respond well to IVF. And very quickly, that gets translated into: I'm not going to get pregnant. That isn't what AMH was designed to tell you. AMH is useful for helping predict how your ovaries may respond to stimulation and how many eggs may be retrieved during IVF. On its own, it's a poor predictor of whether you'll conceive naturally, and it can't tell you the quality of your eggs. So instead of building your whole plan around raising that number, the better question is what else deserves a look. In this episode: What low AMH can and can't tell you about IVF response, natural conception, and egg quality Why chasing a higher AMH isn't the main goal, even when we do see it move What may be shaping the environment your eggs are developing in, including inflammation, thyroid health, blood sugar, nutrient status, gut and vaginal microbiome, and the nervous system Why your partner's health matters and why a normal semen analysis isn't always the full picture Low AMH is important information. It isn't your entire fertility story. CHAPTERS 00:00 When AMH becomes the explanation for everything 02:00 What AMH can and can't tell you 03:00 Why did this happen? 04:00 The environment your eggs develop in 07:00 His side and what hasn't been investigated FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs and testing into our secure portal. We look at patterns across your fertility history, bloodwork, existing testing, and the health of both partners to identify what may not have been investigated. Whether you're trying naturally, preparing for IVF or deciding what to do after a failed cycle, we'll help you understand what deserves your attention next. Book here   ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. For almost 12 years, my team and I have worked with couples navigating low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, high FSH, POI, recurrent pregnancy loss and failed IVF. We look across fertility history, previous treatment, bloodwork, functional testing, and the health of both partners to identify patterns that may not have been explored. We work alongside your fertility clinic, not instead of it. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.  

Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com Your AMH is 0.2 ng/mL. Your FSH is 40. Another IVF cycle has failed, you've experienced another loss, or donor eggs are now on the table. So you research. You ask ChatGPT fifteen versions of what should I do next? and every answer gives you five more things to investigate. You have more fertility information than ever, and you're still terrified of making the wrong decision. Information and certainty are not the same thing. No one can guarantee another IVF cycle, a different protocol, PRP, or donor eggs will work. You don't need to know your decision is going to work. You need to know why you're making it.  In this episode, I walk through when you genuinely need more information after failed IVF, recurrent pregnancy loss, low AMH or high FSH, and when research has become the thing keeping you stuck. We look at what has actually been investigated for both partners, including autoimmune history, inflammation, food sensitivity, bloating, skin changes, male bloodwork and sperm DNA fragmentation beyond a semen analysis that came back  And instead of asking what else should I research? I give you a different question: What information would actually change my decision? Whether that's IVF number four, trying again after loss, continuing with your own eggs, or moving to donor eggs. Preparing is not the same as being evaluated. CHAPTERS 00:00 AMH 0.2, FSH 40 and fifteen versions of the same question 01:20 When you do need more information 02:20 What has actually been investigated, for both of you 05:20 What information would change your decision 08:10 Fear about time, fear of choosing wrong, and certainty FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs into the secure portal. We look at your history, your bloodwork, what you've already tried and your current plan, and talk through what has not been investigated and how to work on it alongside your clinic, in parallel. It is not IVF or your health. It is both. Book here → https://fabfertile.com/pages/second-opinion ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

POI? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs are your only option? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com *]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:9a98f112-4419-4d46-93c0-adaa0a2bc62a-233" data-turn-id-container= "request-WEB:9a98f112-4419-4d46-93c0-adaa0a2bc62a-233" data-testid= "conversation-turn-388" data-turn="assistant">   She was diagnosed with POI at 37. Her AMH was 0.16, her FSH was hovering around 45, and her ultrasound showed three follicles and at one point, none. Her IUI cycles were cancelled, and she was labeled a poor responder. Then she was told she was not a candidate for IUI or IVF and that donor eggs were her only option. But she wanted to know what else might be going on with her health. In this episode, I walk through our client's POI success story, including her Hashimoto's, inflammation, low vitamin D, B12 and iron, chronic stress, gut and vaginal microbiome, her partner's health, and what happened the month before her planned IVF. After eight months of following the Fab Fertile Method, she became pregnant naturally the month before she was planning to start IVF. This is her story of looking beyond AMH and FSH and asking: what else might have been missed? CHAPTERS 00:00 POI at 37 with an AMH of 0.16 and an FSH of 45 04:00 Told donor eggs were her only option 06:30 Inflammation, nutrients, stress and her gut 20:10 PRP timing and the month before her planned IVF 24:20 Why AMH and FSH alone are not the whole picture FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs into the secure portal. We review your bloodwork for patterns and talk through what is worth digging into before another IVF cycle.  Book your call with your partner here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Failed IVF? Embryos arrested at Day 3? Told it was your egg quality? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next retrieval → fabfertile.com Day three, you got the call that your embryos were developing, and you let yourself feel hopeful. Day five, there is nothing to transfer, and you are told it was your egg quality. Then you read online that embryos stopping after day three could point to sperm. So now you do not know what actually happened, or whether anything is left to investigate before you go again. Your clinic may have had good reasons for saying egg quality. They also cannot test it directly. That makes it a conclusion rather than a finding, and it is usually where the investigation stops. In this episode, what I would want looked at before another retrieval includes the 90 days before stimulation started and his side beyond a semen analysis that came back fine. Preparing is not the same as being evaluated. CHAPTERS 00:00 Day three looked fine. Day five, there was nothing to transfer 01:20 Why egg quality is a conclusion, not a test result 04:00 The 90 days before the retrieval, for both of you 05:30 Blood sugar, the full thyroid picture, inflammation and nutrients 09:30 His side beyond the semen analysis FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs. We review your bloodwork for patterns your clinic is not set up to examine, and talk through what is worth investigating before another retrieval or transfer. It is not IVF or your health. It is both. Book here → second opinion ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Told donor eggs after failed IVF and miscarriage? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next cycle → here. Heather had been trying for five years. Three failed IVFs. Two losses. At 38, with diminished ovarian reserve, she was told donor eggs were her only option. She had a 10-day luteal phase, daily fatigue, PMS, body aches she had been told were normal, and a decade of hormonal birth control behind her. None of it had been connected to her fertility. Her partner's semen analysis was not clean either, and he had DNA fragmentation that had never been tested for. She followed our Fab Fertile Method and did one more IVF. That transfer worked, and they had their daughter. This is one couple, and it is not a promise. What it shows is what a complete investigation looked like before that last cycle. CHAPTERS 00:00 Three failed IVFs, two losses, and a donor egg recommendation 01:20 Told donor eggs at 28. Why I never got a second opinion 03:00 A 10-day luteal phase and the symptoms nobody counted 04:30 What testing showed: absorption, inflammation, and a decade of birth control 06:30 His side. Sleep, headaches, and DNA fragmentation nobody had looked for 11:45 What changed before the last transfer FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs. We review your bloodwork for patterns your clinic is not set up to examine, and talk through what is worth investigating before another cycle or transfer. It is not IVF or your health. It is both. Book here → ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.

Follicles not responding? Cycle cancelled? Told it is your low AMH? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next IVF decision → fabfertile.com You have done the injections. You have gone in for monitoring. They may have increased the medication already. And then you hear it again. The follicles are not responding. There are one or two growing. Maybe the cycle gets cancelled. Maybe you make it all the way to retrieval and get one egg. When you ask why, the answer comes back the same way every time. It is your low AMH. It is your age. You are a poor responder. Those are real factors, and I am not going to tell you the AMH does not matter. But if you are about to put your body, your finances, and yourself through another cycle, there is a bigger question worth asking. Is low AMH the whole explanation? Because these are two separate statements: I have diminished ovarian reserve, and low AMH explains everything that happened during that cycle. They are not the same statement. In this episode I walk through what AMH does and does not tell you, what I would want to understand about the 90 days before stimulation started, and what to ask your clinic before you go again. The full thyroid panel, including antibodies rather than TSH alone. Blood sugar and how it moves across a day. hs-CRP and unnecessary inflammation. Vitamin D you may be taking and may not be absorbing. Gut health, food sensitivity, the vaginal microbiome, nutrient status, and an autoimmune issue that gets mentioned as an afterthought when it belongs at the front of the file. CHAPTERS 00:00 The follicles are not responding 01:00 About Sarah and the team 01:20 What AMH does and does not tell you 02:00 Two statements that are not the same 02:20 The 90 days before stimulation started 02:40 hs-CRP and unnecessary inflammation 03:00 Optimal, not normal 03:20 Blood sugar regulation across the day 03:30 The full thyroid panel including antibodies 03:50 Nutrient depletion and secondary infertility 04:10 The vitamin D you may not be absorbing 04:30 An autoimmune issue is not a by the way 05:00 A clean diet that may not be the right diet for you 05:30 Hypervigilance and nervous system load 06:20 One client who did not have enough follicles to qualify 06:40 What I am not claiming 08:00 Annie and Miles. AMH 0.15, FSH 33 08:40 What Your Clinic Missed 09:00 What to ask before another IVF 09:40 Thirty days without medication, and doing this in parallel 11:00 Book a Second Opinion with your partner WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED If you have no idea which of these markers to run, we have a checklist called What Your Clinic Missed. It is a list of markers worth reviewing before a donor egg decision or before another IVF, so you can look at your own results and go from there. Email [email protected] with MISSED in the subject line and we will send it to you. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs into the secure portal. Before the call I review your fertility history and bloodwork from both partners, looking for patterns, unanswered questions and gaps. We are not diagnosing. Sometimes the review confirms that moving forward with the next IVF makes sense. Sometimes there are questions worth addressing first. Book your call with your partner at fabfertile.com If you want to know whether the call is right for you first, email [email protected] with FERTILE in the subject line and tell me a little about your situation. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review. It is how other women find this work.

Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com You got eggs. After everything, that part finally went right. Then day one, this many fertilized. Day three, this many are still growing. Then the call where someone tells you none of them made it. And what comes next, almost word for word on call after call, is you going back through your twenties. The years when maybe you weren't taking the best care of yourself. Maybe you drank more, were under a lot of stress, or simply weren't thinking about your fertility yet. And you start wondering, Did I cause this? Is that why this happened? But then you come back to the same thing: I'm healthy now. I'm active. I take care of myself. So what am I missing? Your age is real, and we are not going to ignore it. It usually is not the only thing on the table. In this episode, I walk through the three questions I want answered before you go again. What that cycle actually told us, and what it could not tell us about the 90 days before the injections started. What was investigated and what was not, including the full thyroid panel, triglycerides and insulin rather than A1C alone, hs-CRP, vitamin D absorption, the gut and vaginal microbiome, food sensitivity, and his side beyond a count. And if you do another retrieval, what specifically is changing and why. Preparing is not the same as being evaluated. CHAPTERS 00:00 None of them made it 01:00 About Sarah and the team 01:20 Question 1. What did that cycle actually tell us 02:00 The 90 days before stimulation started 02:30 Preparing is not the same as being evaluated 03:00 Where the nervous system fits 03:30 Question 2. What was investigated and what was not 03:50 Full blood chemistry, thyroid and triglycerides 04:20 hs-CRP, vitamin D absorption and gut infections 04:40 The vaginal and gut microbiome 05:00 Clean eating that may still be driving inflammation 06:00 His side. DNA fragmentation and bloodwork 06:30 The body is not a silo 07:10 What Your Clinic Missed 07:30 Question 3. If you go again, what will actually be different 08:10 Book a Second Opinion with your partner WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED If you are not sure what can be investigated or which way to go next, we have a guide called What Your Clinic Missed. It gives you the patterns and themes to look at before you consider your next move. Email [email protected] with MISSED in the subject line. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION Book with your partner and load your labs into the secure portal. We review your bloodwork for patterns your clinic is not set up to examine, and talk through what is worth digging into before another IVF cycle. It is not IVF or your health. It is both. Book your call with your partner here. If you want to know whether the call is right for you first, email [email protected] with FERTILE in the subject line and tell me a little about your situation. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review. It is how other women find this work.