When can investigations resume? (Scotland.)

[theotherfossilsister]

Just that really, I know it's a difficult time for so many people, but clinics shuttered just as DP finally agreed to get his semen analyisis done. My progesterone was normal, and I have regular periods, so I don't think Clomid would be an option for us. We've been trying for a year and a half, and I am 35 on Saturday.

If we do get a referral, and need IVF, how long will that take? So many questions?

Thanks

[Etonmess20]

Hi OP,

I'm not Scotland based but I have regular periods & my progesterone levels are also fine & I have been prescribed 4 months of clomid (all tests currently completely normal for both DP & I)

[Scotgirl1]

Hi @theotherfossilsister I am also in Scotland. After being referred by the GP in June I was at Glasgow Royal within 3 months. After some tests, I was put on the waiting list in December. We were supposed to have our top of the waiting list first appointment in April but it obviously got cancelled. Had it not been for covid 19, I think we would have started treatment around July/August. Right now we are just waiting to find out when the clinic will open back up. Hope this helps.

[theotherfossilsister]

Thanks @Etonmess20 - I'm really confused now as I thought it was only if progesterone indicated you're not ovulating, but it gives me home that there might be something they can do which isn't IVF. How are you finding it? Does it give you more than one egg a month, so a greater chance? Sorry if this sounds dense, I just know so little about it and Google isn't particularly helpful.

@Scotgirl1 ah, that must have been so disappointing, I really hope it happens July.

[Etonmess20]

@theotherfossilsister don't worry, I was exactly the same!! My Dr said it was a good thing to try first before more expensive/invasive treatments because (from what I understand) induce super ovulation (more than 1 egg per month) so technically increases your chances! I would definitely ask if you can, worth a go.
I haven't really noticed too many side effects other than some bloating, perfectly manageable. After reading some advice I took it at night so you sleep through some of the hot flushes, but everyone's different x

[theotherfossilsister]

Ah, thanks @Etonmess20 - to me, super ovulation and a greater chance sound amazing. I hope it works for you. I will definitely ask for Clomid, so long as there is no other factor they pick up on. How long has it been? I've heard of the risk of twins, but to me twins sound like heaven.

[Etonmess20]

@theotherfossilsister I'm only on CD17 of my first cycle of clomid. I took the tablets day 2-6, started on the lowest dose of 50mg!
I think twins are only marginally more likely but, like you say, two for the price of one sounds lovely!!
Definitely worth an ask, hope everything goes ok for you x

[theotherfossilsister]

@Etonmess20 doesn't it? I hope it works for you, and yes, twins would be incredible.

[PheasantPlucker9]

I just wanted to say my situation is identical to yours: in Scotland, trying for 1.5 years, normal hormones and periods, 35 tomorrow. Quietly waiting for things to go back to normal so we can get referred, but screaming inside. May we have patience and luck xxx

[RonRon1]

@theotherfossilsister
Hi there, I am based in Edinburgh and my husband has very low sperm count and we are awaiting our second round of ICSI. Not sure if you know what that is but it is like IVF but they inject the sperm into the eggs. My time scale was:

1. Referal from GP November 2018.
   
2. Appointment with Fertility clinic February 2019 (3 month wait) then we were approved straight away for treatment as we met the criteria.
   
3. Early November 2019 Treatment consultation
   
4. Started injections on 2nd January 2020. Short cycle.
   
5. Egg collection 13th January - very strange day!!
   
6. 5 day embro transfer on 18th January
   

We were going to go private but it is such a cost and the nurses and embryologist were so nice.

So it failed anyway and I was booked in for round two end of March but due to Covid 19 this was postponed but feeling positive.

I hope that helps. I remember feeling so confused at the start of it all so if you have any questions please let me know. Although I hope everything works out and you don't need treatment.

[theotherfossilsister]

@PheasantPlucker9 wow, happy birthday on the ninth, and what a weird coincidence. Are you in Edinburgh too? Just took a bloody test, as period is due tomorrow and the sunshine made me feel all optimistic. Negative, of course. Currently stuffing my face with birthday cake, which my friend had delivered this morning.

Thank you @RonRon1 for the idea of scale, I hope it resumes for you soon. Do you think new referrals will be delayed by Covid 19? Also, I heard they sometimes refer you faster at 35, as time is against you, is this the case? I know fourteen months isn't that long in the grand scale of things, but it seems like a long time.

[RonRon1]

I don't know about seeing you quicker on age, possibly. I am 34 next month but was 33 when referred.

I think they will want to get things back to normal asap so hopefully you won't need to wait long it is a 12 week wait from when your Dr refers you. We did contact GCRM after we were told we needed ICSI and had to wait ten months. They are REALLY fast but of course also really expensive. We decided to wait. If money was no issue I would have went private, purely for speed! I totally get you. It actually feels like I have been going though this for ten years lol and its only been 18 months!

Be kind to yourself and try not stress (easily said) What I do is when I am feeling low I do something I couldn't do if I was pregnant or had a baby. Like go for a massage, book a weekend away, go for dinner and drinks!

I am also taking CoQ 10 which is meant to be good for us girls and my husband is taking extra vitamin C and cod liver oil. We won't actually know the impact until next Sperm analysis but I have did a lot of research that says Cod Liver oil is really good for sperm count and quality.

Please let me know how you get on! A year and half is still not too long so you could still fall naturally :) My cousin was like you and they decided to stop trying for a few months and boom she was pregnant. Although I HATED when people told me to relax and it may happen I know they don't mean harm but I found it so patronising !!

[theotherfossilsister]

Thank you @RonRon1 - it must feel like forever.

Oh, how I hope they get things back to normal, for both of us. I can't imagine deciding to stop now. Even if we said we were stopping, I'd be lying to myself, although it is wonderful that it happened for your cousin. How I wish it would happen for us. (And for you.)

CoQ 10 does sound good, where do you get it please? Trying to relax, might buy a new dress, maybe a white one, which would be impossible to wear with a baby (but again, it's the pretending to be cool with it, and lying to myself thing.)

Am considering accupuncture when this is over, anything that will give us a chance. Giving up feels impossible though.

[RonRon1]

I totally understand what you are saying, I would be the same hehe pretending I wasn't trying but actually totally still trying!

I just got mine from amazon 500mg www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Z1DZ28Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?psc=1&ie=UTF8&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

I do hope it all works out for you my dear! If you do have to go down the assisted conception route please contact me if you ever need support. People who have not been through it usually don't quite understand your feelings the same way.

We both also had acupuncture it was cool but really expensive!


Good Luck!!!! :)

[theotherfossilsister]

Thank you @RonRon1 I have a feeling we will be going down that route, as it doesn't seem to be happening naturally, sadly. It would definitely be good to have someone in Edinburgh who has gone through/is going through it. I'd love to talk to you more x

[LouScot]

@RonRon1 sorry to interrupt the thread but I'm Edinburgh too (!) and just wondered where you went for the acupuncture? I know it'll be a while before it's available again but would be good to have recommendations.
Here's hoping for new Edinburgh babies next year

[RonRon1]

@theotherfossilsister please do get in touch if that is the case but hopefully not! I would love to give support if you need any! Good luck 🍀

@LouScot of course. This clinic was recommended to me by a girl who had IVF and was successful : www.chinamedic.co.uk/

My husband and I both had it and it was relaxing but pretty expensive 😃 Good luck everyone!

[BambiOnIce80]

Hello fellow Edinburghers! 👋

@RonRon1 it sounds like I was one day behind you with our treatment in Edinburgh (freaky coincidence!). EC on the 14th of Jan and ET on the 19th of Jan! We had a BFP and got through the 7 week viability scan fine, but then found out we'd had a missed miscarriage at our 11 week scan 😔 So it's back to the drawing board and hopefully a FET in July (Covid19 allowing) 🤞

@LouScot I had acupuncture before and during IVF and went to this place: albanystreetclinic.co.uk/
They're very fertility based and do appointments on a Saturday too, which was handy 📍

@theotherfossilsister I was fed up with the slowness of the NHS (we wanted to get the fresh cycle done before I hit 40, which was looking unlikely on the NHS), so we self funded through our NHS clinic. We looked at GMRC in Glasgow, but it was more expensive and it looked like there were lots of sneaky little 'admin fees' to add into each visit too. Ultimately, we didn't fancy having to travel to Glasgow for the biggies (egg collection and transfer) either - the 15 minute drive to the Royal was much more preferable! Since our miscarriage we've also had it confirmed by the clinic that our NHS funding has come around and we can have all 5 of our frozen transfers (if we need all 5 🔮) on the NHS, which has been a massive financial relief 😪 They said if we had gone to a private clinic for our fresh cycle then we would have lost our NHS funding, but as we self funded at the NHS clinic we get to keep it - definitely something to bare in mind whilst you're deciding how to proceed 👍

[theotherfossilsister]

Hi @LouScot and @BambiOnIce80, it's really good to meet people in Edinburgh who are going through the same thing. I know no one local who understands, just folk who get pregnant with seeming ease. I know they have their own problems, issues, too, so I shouldn't be bitter or direct my anger and sorrow at them, but it is a relief to know local people in a similar position. (Even though it is a rubbish position to be in.)

[RonRon1]

@BambiOnIce80 that's so funny we were literally just a few days apart! I am so sorry to hear that you miscarried. I think that means your chances for round two are good though? Is that right?We will be doing round two at the same time too I think?!?!? I was literally about to start the injections and it was cancelled. They can apply to reopen on Monday and HEFA say they should approve each application within 5 days so I am thinking treatment month July too! That's exciting ! I can't wait I work in a school and every second person just 'falls' pregnant. It is a tough ride we are on but I defo think it will make us tougher and also more appreciative of WHEN we do get our babies!

[BambiOnIce80]

@theotherfossilsister I've always found that people who don't experience infertility really just don't get it, sadly 😔 I guess if they fall pregnant easily they just think we're clearly doing something wrong (🤨) and should just 'relax' and 'it'll happen' 🙄 I was completely relaxed during the first year of TTC and still pretty relaxed through the next year of investigations - it makes no bloody difference 😡 Unexplained infertility is exactly that - unexplained! Not 'just relax and it'll happen' infertility! 🤯 Anywho. Rant over 😉 Back to the investigations thing - did you say getting your OH's SA done was the next step for you? If so, the clinic should be applying tomorrow to the HFEA to be allowed to reopen, which should hopefully include getting the andrology lab open (who do the SA test 🔬). Your GP will apparently have to refer him electronically for an appointment slot when it's reopened, so it's worth keeping an eye on the centres website for updates:

services.nhslothian.scot/edinburghassistedconceptionprogramme/Pages/COVID-19.aspx

Hope this helps.x

It is a small world indeed @RonRon1! 😄 I swear it's even smaller in Edinburgh too! Every new person I meet seems to have about 3 degrees of separation from one friend or another! 😂 It's definitely a tough ride for us 💐 July should be perfect for you if you work in a school 👌 I suspect our FET will be delayed a while whilst they work their way through the treatment backlog, but I'm still keeping everything crossed to have it before the year is out 🤞 We had a telephone consultation with one of the consultants a few weeks ago and she thought that FET's might get done quite rapidly because of the lack of theatre time and anaethatists needed to do them, so I guess we'll wait and see 🔮 The only worrying thing is I had a garbled message from my GP's surgery on Friday about them receiving a letter from our clinic telling them that our treatment was "cancelled" and giving a phone number for 3 months time to contact if we haven't heard from them... I'm giving it a week for the letter to arrive before I completely freak out though! 🤯 I'm hoping it's just a standard letter that they're sending out to stop getting eleventy billion phone calls about when treatments are restarting, rather than a literal "your treatment is cancelled forever and ever, now it's time to freak out" letter 😬

I hope all of you with birthdays this weekend have managed to have a lovely time? Mine was last weekend and it was surprisingly nice, I have to say 🙂 It ended up being a surprise video chat with all our friends rather than the cottage in the lake district with all our friends that it was supposed to be, but I guess we have to roll with what we've got in these strange times! ❤️

[kikisparks]

In Glasgow, my timeline was:

December 2017 started TTC
January 2018 went to GP
Sperm analysis and day 21 bloods both fine
May 2018 appointment at GRI TV ultrasound and referred for hycosy
Aug 2018 or so, hycosy (checking tubes are clear)
Oct 2018 or so referred for laparoscopy
Jan 2019 laparoscopy confirmed endometriosis
May 2019 supposedly put on waiting list (but they made a mistake and I wasn’t)
Dec 2019 phoned up to find out what was happening and found out I wasn’t on waiting list, emergency put at top of waiting list and given appointment
Dec 2019- first ivf appointment, blood test, high vaginal swab, smoking test and BMI check, given forms to complete
Jan 2020- went in and completed forms, given protocol and told to call with my period
Feb 2020- went back to fill in forms because they didn’t fill the forms right the first time
Early March 2020- phoned with my period, told they were full and phone again next period, given ivf start date of approx 21 April
Late March 2020- told ivf on 21 April cancelled.

When things open again then I understand what will happen is I’ll phone on my period, on day 14 DH and I go in for a further blood test to check HIV/ hepatitis and then on day 3 of my following period I’ll start on the drugs, short protocol so from there should be 9-11 days to egg collection if all goes to plan.

Such a long process, never thought I’d be TTC 3.5 years and still not have even started ivf if I can give one tip it’s advocate for yourself, push for things, I should have had my laparoscopy earlier, I should have been put on the waiting list properly, they shouldn’t have messed up my forms- I’ve just gone along with everything but I wish now that I pushed more.

[kikisparks]

Also you’re welcome to join in here if you want it’s for anyone in Scotland going through infertility treatment/ investigations www.mumsnet.com/Talk/infertility/3742246-infertility-investigations-ivf-in-scotland

[LouScot]

Thanks, I'll look at that thread. I'm thinking of using gcrm in Glasgow although I'm in Edinburgh, I had an initial consultation there 2 years ago (and kicking myself for not doing anything about it). I need to go private as I'm almost 42, single so need donor sperm and bmi 35 (covid hasn't helped with that one, but hopefully I'll get it a bit lower)

[BeHereNowx32]

Hi. I’m also from Edinburgh, so would be nice to chat.

We had just started FET, and it was cancelled. Currently waiting for news for it to start again.

I do have one child (14 months). From my 3rd fresh cycle (4th transfer). Hopefully still ok to join. I can share my experience if anyone wants to know anything in particular.

Hope you’re all coping ok. The fertility treatments are actually starting up a lot sooner than I anticipated. Which is good news.

[BambiOnIce80]

@kikisparks I'm so sorry to hear that you've been messed about so much 💐😔 I would certainly echo not being afraid to push. If you feel in your gut that something's taking too long/isn't quite right, then in my experience that seems to be the case. I'm hoping Glasgow opens up again soon and you get your cycle sooner rather than later.x

@LouScot I think GCRM are supposed to be pretty good if you're in need of donor sperm (I remember coming away from their open evening with a pen with 'European Sperm Bank' emblazoned across it... not one for the hand bag! 🖋🎈😂). That said, have you had a chat with Edinburgh about self funding donor sperm IUI/IVF? I'm sure Glasgow are great, but the having to travel for egg collection and transfer would be a pain... worth a look?

Welcome @BeHereNowx32 👋 Lovely to hear your success story 😊 I'd definitely love to hear about your FET experience, if you're happy to share? Our consultant gave us a massive phone consultation (nearly an hour 📞 😯) a few weeks ago after our miscarriage and she said there was more than one option available to go about the FET... I'm not sure which one to go with and would appreciate advice 🙂 The natural cycle appeals because of the lack of drugs, but the uncertainty of timings that comes with it doesn't 😕 The predictability of the medicated cycle appeals, but I'm not so keen to go through down regging again (nothing bad happened last time, I'm just not particularly keen on putting my body into temporary menopause if I don't have to!)... And then I can't remember if there was a third option?! 🤔 The call was so long and we talked about so many things that I know I've forgotten some bits of what she said 🤦‍♀️ I'd be really grateful for your thoughts/experience about it.x