# No follicles on ovaries?



## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

Just curious--I had an u/s done on my ovaries today to check a cyst,and the tech asked if I was on hormonal birth control in addition to my IUD (I have the Paraguard, so no hormones). I said no, and asked why, and she said that my ovaries have almost no follicles on them, and they look like "birth control ovaries". Anyone know anything about this? I did have depo back in 2001.


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## Gitti (Dec 20, 2003)

The hair on ovaries and other areas in the body dry up when mercury is in the body. Generally we get mercury through fish and some other foods but for sure it is injected into the body with the flu vaccine where it also bypasses all natural filters.

It actually prevents conception.


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

Wow, I didn't know that--interesting. Thanks.


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## Gitti (Dec 20, 2003)

What is depo?


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

Short for Depo Provera, an evil birth control shot that I briefly took--you take it every 3 months. When I stopped taking it I had all kinds of problems, I assume from withdrawl.


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## Crisstiana (Jan 18, 2007)

Was she performing an antral follicle count ("resting" follicles, which are normally counted as an estimation of ovarian reserve)? This should not be difficult for an experienced tech, but the results do vary a bit by tech as antral follicles can be as small as 2 mm. If she was not performing a true count and simply noticed less than expected without searching further, perhaps the count wasn't complete.

Did she also assess ovarian volume? What stage of your cycle were you in when you had the u/s? Normally, ovarian volume is considered along with antral follicle count to assess ovarian function. Also, there are other ways to do so, if you wanted. You could get your early follicular stage FSH and/or inhibin B measured. If you had a small number of antral follicles, your FSH should increase and your inhibin B decrease.

I wouldn't think the Depo would be having an effect this long as discontinuing it (usually you should be back to normal by 18 months). But a hormone check would test this as well.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gitti* 
The hair on ovaries and other areas in the body dry up when mercury is in the body. Generally we get mercury through fish and some other foods but for sure it is injected into the body with the flu vaccine where it also bypasses all natural filters. It actually prevents conception.

Ovarian follicles are not the same as hair follicles. There is no hair in the ovaries (there is a tumor that can appear in ovaries and contain hair, but that is a completely separate topic). The follicles are fluid-filled sacs that contain eggs precursors.

From UCSF Medical Center: Fertility - the menstrual cycle

...The main function of the ovaries is the production of eggs and hormones. At birth, the ovaries contain several million immature eggs. No new eggs will be developed. These eggs are constantly undergoing a process of development and loss. Most will die without reaching maturity. This process of egg loss occurs at all times, including before birth, before puberty, and while on birth control pills. The ovary undergoes a constant process of oocyte (egg) depletion throughout its lifetime.

As the levels of FSH and LH in the blood increase with puberty, *the eggs begin to mature and a collection of fluid (the follicle) begins to develop around each*. The first day of menses is identified as cycle day one. Estrogen is at a low point. Therefore, the pituitary secretes FSH and LH, a process which actually begins before the onset of your menses. These hormones in turn stimulate the growth of *several ovarian follicles (each containing one egg)*. The number of follicles in the "cohort" of developing follicles each month is unique to each individual. One follicle will soon begin to grow faster than others. This is called the dominant follicle.

As the follicle grows, blood levels of estrogen rise significantly by cycle day seven. This increase in estrogen begins to inhibit the secretion of FSH. The fall in FSH allows the withering away of smaller follicles. They are, in effect, "starved" for FSH.

Ovulation: When the level of estrogen is sufficiently high, it produces a sudden release of LH, usually around day thirteen of the cycle. This LH peak (surge) triggers a complex set of events within the follicles that result in the final maturation of the egg and follicular rupture with egg extrusion. The rupture, called ovulation, takes place 28-36 hours after the onset of the LH surge and 10-12 hours after LH reaches its peak. The cells in the ovarian follicle that are left behind after ovulation undergo a transformation and become the so called corpus luteum. In addition to estrogen, they now produce high amounts of progesterone to prepare the lining of the uterus for implantation....


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## mamaley (Mar 18, 2002)

Wow, thank you! The comment was just in passing by the tech, it wasn't the main thing she was assessing.


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