If you’ve recently received a high AMH result, you may be wondering what this means for your fertility. Your AMH result gives you valuable insights into your reproductive health. So let’s explore all the things you can learn from your high egg count (and some things it doesn’t tell you).
Why is AMH tested?
First let’s recap on why AMH levels are tested in the first place. AMH testing is one of the best ways to estimate the number of eggs in the ovaries at a point in time - also known as ovarian reserve or egg count.
It’s important to remember that your egg count is just one aspect to consider when evaluating your overall fertility - a fertility specialist will also want to consider your age, medical history and many other factors.
What does a high egg count mean?
If your egg count is high, there are two key takeaways for you:
- You are estimated to have more eggs than expected for your age.
- In any cycle of egg freezing or IVF, you have a higher potential for eggs being collected than would be expected for your age.
So good news! A high AMH result is also reassuring because it indicates that you are unlikely to run out of eggs early (also known as a depleted ovarian reserve).
Egg quantity vs quality
It’s important to remember that having more eggs than expected for your age doesn’t tell us anything about their quality. There is no direct link between egg quantity and quality, but we do know that they both decline with age. Unlike egg count, we can’t measure egg quality directly and age is the best indicator. Generally, egg quality is good in your twenties and early thirties but begins to decline from the mid-thirties onward. By your early 40s, egg quality is often poor which makes it difficult to support a healthy pregnancy.
The best case would be that you have lots of eggs and that your eggs are also of a good quality! But since egg quantity and quality are independent of each other, it’s possible to have a high egg count but for those eggs to be of a poor quality. So, while it’s reassuring to know you’re unlikely to run out of eggs early, a high egg count doesn’t mean you have more time for your family planning goals. Even if you have eggs available for longer, you still need to take your age into consideration as the quality of those eggs can affect your ability to become pregnant.
Exploring egg freezing
Having a high AMH indicates that you’re likely to respond well to assisted reproductive treatments like egg freezing and IVF. A fertility specialist aims to retrieve a target number of eggs to maximise your chance of a future pregnancy. With a high egg count, you have a higher potential for the number of eggs that can be retrieved per treatment cycle, often reducing the number of treatments needed to reach that target. So, if fertility preservation is something you’re considering, this can mean that having a high egg count lessens the physical, emotional and financial burden of going through treatment.
It’s important to point out here again that egg quality plays an important part of the success of any egg freezing - the later in your reproductive journey you freeze eggs, the lower the quality of those eggs is likely to be which can impact your chance of a successful outcome.
High AMH levels and PCOS
One thing to be aware of is that a high AMH is sometimes associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. However a high AMH by itself does not mean you have PCOS. To diagnose PCOS, you need a high AMH along with other symptoms such as irregular or missing periods, excessive body hair, acne, hair loss or difficulty avoiding weight gain. If you think that you might have PCOS, it’s important that you make an appointment with your Medical Practitioner to discuss this further as PCOS can impact on your fertility as well as your overall health.
PCOS is fairly common and affects about 1 in 5 people with ovaries of reproductive age. Encouragingly, if you are diagnosed by your GP or a fertility specialist with PCOS it rarely means you won’t be able to conceive, if that’s part of your family planning goals.
Navigating your fertility journey
So, the good news is that by finding out you have a high egg count you now know that you are unlikely to run out of eggs early and will also likely respond well to any treatment like egg freezing or IVF, if that’s the plan. But remember to keep in mind the association between a high AMH and PCOS if you have any other symptoms - and don’t take a high AMH to mean that you necessarily have a longer reproductive window.
DISCLAIMER
If you have any questions or concerns about your health, it is important to discuss them with your healthcare provider. It is important to note that our articles are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
