Birmingham women’s what to expect?

[Rspu3]

Got a first appointment since being referred from the gp for Birmingham gyn/infertility team department next week, just want to know what to expect? What they are likely
To say? Are they good consultants there? Will they tell us options?
My tests have came back normal but my husband has low everything.
Very nervous 😬

[Rspu3]

Bump.
Anyone?

[Pinktruffle]

I go to Birmingham Women's. I don't like my consultant, he makes me feel like a number rather than a person, rarely gives eye contact, is very matter of a fact and very much misses the human touch (apologies if this not what you want to hear). The positives - the nurses are really nice. My consultant has been happy to send me for tests etc and most have come through quickly. I was referred May 2018 and have only had 2 appointments so far, my third is in May 2019 - you will wait 6 months between appointments due to how busy they are, which is frustrating when you are 36 and time is of the essence.

[Rspu3]

Sorry to hear that pinkytruffle! What is your consultants name?
I was hopeful it would be a little quicker but I’m glad you’ve not sugar coated it and I know what to expect a little. Thankyou for your reply and I hope and pray it hurry’s up for you now x

Me and my oh know of our issue and why we haven’t conceived does anyone know if that makes a difference for the time scale? Are they likely to investigate my ohs mfi?

[custardtarts]

We were just about to start with Bham Women's a couple of years ago When had a natural BFP - literally the day due to start injections - it took ages for appointments to come through - it's not like you can book in at the desk for each one - you have to wait for a letter and then if you can't arrange work around that one have to keep changing them. I think it was around 9 months before we even got close to starting - they wouldn't do anything for most of December and you have to attend an open evening first too and it just dragged it all out.

At the time we had MFI and the process was no quicker than others as they still make you do all the other tests as well x

[Pinktruffle]

I knew my issue before went in too, if had all the tests to confirm PCOS. They referred me for blood tests again and a HSG (which I had never had) and hubby was sent for another sperm count which came back normal as expected. I've seen Dr Shah whenever I've gone. I've been put on a course of Letrozale which I'm starting this month, It's taken 10 months for me to start that (due to a natural conception and miscarriage) but I have no monitoring or follow up, just take the tablets and see how you get on and we'll see you for your six monthly appointment.

A quick tip, make sure you arrive early. There is a multistorey car park there but it can be tough to get a place sometimes, hubby ended up missing our last appointment which was days after our miscarriage as we couldn't find a parking spot. I could have done with him there as my head was all over the place and the consultant shut me down quite rudely when I asked to discuss my miscarriage, I was too fragile to challenge.

[Rspu3]

What consultant did you see @pinktruffle? That’s awful I’m sorry to hear of your miscarriage and the unsympathetic doctor. It really doesnt help being made to feel like that.
We have been today and tbh I was quite surprised, we saw a female consultant who wore a hijab not sure of her name but I actually found her to be really nice and explained our results properly compared to our gp.
Oh had blood tests and needs another sa then our follow up is September she then said she will refer us for ivf after that appointment. It feels like a long time away but I’m actually so relieved just to have some answers to questions I’ve had and to know a kind of timescale. X

[Rspu3]

And Thankyou for the tip !
We did set off earlier because of your advice and it was busy we managed to get a space by the entrance x

[Pinktruffle]

I think I would have preferred to see a women, my consultant, Dr Shah, is male and quite old so he's a bit unsympathetic/unempathetic.

I'm really glad to hear your appointment went well and they you are getting the result you want. I'll keep my fingerscrossed for you. Hopefully we'll both have positive tests sooner rather than later x

[Rspu3]

Thankyou @pinktruffle sending good luck to you too, hope we can keep each other updated?

Would you be able to ask to change consultant?
I don’t actually mind the wait because I now know we have sort of a timescale and we also have a holiday to look forward to in August so just going to concentrate on losing weight for that now.
X

[Pinktruffle]

To be honest, I don't know if I could change consultant, I wouldn't know where to start to ask... plus at my age, I wouldn't want to be put at the bottom of the waiting list. My next appointment is in May, I might enquire then.

Yes, of course, it'll be good to share experiences. Baby dust to us both x

[KirstoStevo]

Hi all,
Sorry to add myself to your conversation but I have just read your posts and it’s really upset me. We have just had funding agreed and referred to BWH for treatment. I rang them last week to ask about the waiting times and procedures and I was told about the open evenings which you have to attend, but was told we will be on the end of April one, with treatment starting May/ June. I honestly thought this meant we would be doing IVF May or June? Reading your posts does this mean you have your first appt quite quick but then no more for months? What are they waiting for in between appt? X

[Pinktruffle]

I've had 6 months between each appointment but mine has not been for IVF. I've had my fertility issues investigated and been issued with Letrozole (alternative to Clomid).
I don't know what the waiting times are for IVF

[Thelonggrass]

Hi I just read this and wanted to add my thoughts about Dr Shah. Every experience is different of course, but I found him to be fantastic and I really appreciated his direct approach and matter-of-fact updates. I remember my very first meeting with him prior to starting it all, and first impressions were not great but I can honestly say I would opt for him every time over some of the more ‘ empathetic’ consultants we also saw there (we were at BWH for 3 rounds after intensive investigations prior, so I saw a large number of docs ).

[Pinktruffle]

Maybe I just need to give him time? I don't mind the direct approach, in fact a lot of the time I just want to be told the truth. I think it was the lack of willingness to listen or answer questions that made me feel like I've had a poor service. That and him shouting at me when I tried to ask about miscarriage prevention, he wouldn't even let me ask my questions.

[Thelonggrass]

Yes I understand what you mean. In retrospect, I think he was the best doctor for my third round, when I’d become somewhat more hardened to the whole crappy process, and had my questions and concerns answered earlier by the other doctors, and just wanted to get on with it. I may also have rose tinted glasses as he was the doctor who did ‘get me pregnant’ and I feel, rightly or wrongly, he did this because he batted aside concerns that a previous doc had had about ovary position and just said he’d get on and do what needed to be done. Or that’s how I remember it anyway.

I do hope your treatment goes well.

[Thelonggrass]

Re timing, I used to ring up regularly for cancellations to get earlier appointment, not sure if they still do that, but I often had appointments moved forward. My 3 rounds (2 fresh one frozen) from the group session to final transfer took 10 months.

[Brambles7]

So far I haven’t had much to do with the
Consultants at BWH because this is our first cycle. So far I’ve found all the nurses lovely, especially those that are on egg collection. They really put me at my ease and looked after me.
We got referred from our local hospital last July. Meeting with Dr Shah was September. Group meeting was December and we started our first cycle in Feb. The time between July & sept was because we were waiting for the nhs funding.
We also found we were able to move appointments/ get earlier ones if we rang up when they had cancellations.
It does feel a little bit like mass produced ivf because there are so many patients but they do try to make you feel important. At least that’s how they’ve made me feel.

[KirstoStevo]

Thank you all for your replies! I’ve rang today and got a cancellation so our first appt has moved from mid May to this Wednesday so that’s brill!! Ready to get going now.
I understand people feeling like a number, it’s really hard because unless your going through it no one totally understands how it feels.
I always find doctors in all areas quite blunt and to the point, some don’t have many social skills, but will let you know who we get and what they are like.
Good luck to you all xx

[Brambles7]

@KirstoStevo. Excellent, that’s really exciting!! Big difference from May to Wednesday. Let us know how you get on.