Friday, June 15, 2012

AMH Test for Sis

Thanks for the advice on calling the doctor's office about the insurance - I called yesterday and they are putting a hold on my bill (so it's not due anymore) and are looking into it. I'm hoping they can get this taken care of and they will re-issue the bill to the insurance company.

Not much is going on this week, aside from being really busy at work. I presented at a conference yesterday, so there was a lot of prepping for that.

I am a little weirded out that I haven't gotten my period yet. I took my 12 days of 10 mg. of progesterone on the first 12 days of the month and I thought I'd have a period for sure by now. Last time I got it on the10th day of the month and here it is on the 15th with no sign of it. Why is my body so weird??

In other news, my sister went to her OBGYN yesterday for her annual appointment. Her doctor, coincidentally, is the same one who diagnosed me. I know Premature Ovarian Failure has a higher incidence among family members, so I told my sis a long time ago to get her AMH level tested. She is recently married and although she isn't quite ready to start TTC at this point, she'd obviously like to know if she has the same condition as me (I certainly wish I would have learned at 25 instead of 28). According to this site, the AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) is a way to get an idea of the number of antral follicles in the ovaries, or more plainly how many eggs are left. Unlike FSH (the normal way to tell if you are in ovarian failure), you can test for AMH anytime - it doesn't matter if you're on the pill or where you are in your cycle. It's supposed to be the newer, more accurate way to diagnose Premature Ovarian Failure.

So my sis called her OBGYN earlier this week to give them a heads up that she wanted to get that blood test, and they said just to request it when she went in for her appointment. During the appointment, here's the gist of how that conversation went:

Sis: Yeah, I'm not sure if they told you, but I need to request a blood test to check my AMH level. My sister was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure and she said that this AMH test would give me an idea of whether or not I would be looking at the same thing.
Doc: AMH Level?
Sis: Yeah, AMH.
Doc: I think you mean FSH level. You can't get that tested unless you've been off the pill for at least two weeks.
Sis: Um, my sister wrote down AMH, she said you can test this even when you're on the pill.
Doc: You need to be off the pill for two weeks if you want to test your FSH.
Sis: Yeah. I get that, but this is a different test.
Doc: Well I've never even heard of AMH, I'm sure you're just confused and are thinking of FSH.
Sis: So is there any way to find out so I can find out if I have Premature Ovarian Failure like my sister?
Doc: Like I said, you'd need to be off the pill for two weeks.
Sis: <<gives up>>

So annoying! I found it a little appalling that an OBGYN has never even HEARD of AMH.

Has anyone been in this situation? Is it typical that OBGYNs don't know anything about AMH? Any advice on how my sister can get this test? She has obviously been nervous about it for a long time and we are both looking for her to get some good news!

5 comments:

  1. Maybe she can email them with a link to more information? My AMH was tested, but not until I started seeing an RE, so it may be that OBs don't routinely come across this.

    Also - my insurance in my old state covered the test (but not fertility treatments) while my insurance in our current state does not cover the AMH test (but does cover fertility treatments). If it's not covered by insurance where she lives, then doctors may not suggest it? I don't know, just a thought.

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  2. What the...? An ob/gyn who has no idea what AMH is? For heaven's sake, even I know what that is!

    Bottom line: she needs to see a different doctor. If she can't, she needs to get some information on AMH that she can take to her idiot doctor.

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  3. Wow. How incredibly frustrating! But I'm not surprised, to be honest. If I were her, I'd march back in there with some medical journal or article on AMH, and demand the doctor do the test, while looking at him like he's an idiot.
    I hope her levels are all normal!

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  4. So I think I know you from Resolve? I started a blog back in January (never updated it though) but I would lurk around other people's blogs and came across your blog a few days ago and was like "I think I know this person!" Anyway, I just started updating my blog so I'm happy to be following you!

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    1. I just checked out your blog and I think you're right! Welcome to the Blog World (or welcome back - looks like your were inactive for a while). I think it's really helpful to write, although you can feel very exposed. :) I'll follow you back, and let me know if you ever want to grab coffee to commiserate!

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