What is “diminished ovarian reserve?
” Ovarian reserve refers to a woman’s current supply of eggs. As a woman ages, the number of eggs gradually declines until her supply is exhausted at menopause. In fact, a woman’s eggs have already decreased from millions before birth to a few hundred thousand at puberty. This number still far exceeds the number shed in the average number of menstrual cycles in a woman’s lifetime. The greater the number of eggs remaining, the better the chance for conception; and alternatively, a low ovarian reserve greatly decreases a woman’s chance of conception. As a woman ages and her ovaries near their end of a lifetime of producing eggs, the remaining eggs are of poorer quality. The day 3 FSH may be part of a Clomid Challenge test, which is more sensitive in detecting diminished ovarian reserve than the day 3 FSH alone. Following the day 3 lab work, the patient takes an oral medication called Clomid from cycle days 5 through 9 and has a repeat FSH checked on cycle day 10. An elevated day 10 FSH i
