First Fertility Clinic Appointment Tomorrow

@Juno231 that's a bit odd when you are having all your stuff done now? Then wait 6 months to tell you about it? Surely not?! Yes he made it on time. The issue is more the doing it like @thislittlebird says. You can't do it there and it's in a built up area too. God knows how blokes that can't perform under pressure do it. 🙄 It's pretty awkward!

@thislittlebird yes at the last one she just listed some tests and sent us on our merry way. I'll be done with my side of things next Friday already so I do hope we don't actually have to wait all that long for a follow up.

Oh ok, better than I thought but not ideal for a follow up nonetheless. Did they just agree to do more tests at the last one? @Juno231

SA test is annoying because we live too far from the hospital for him to take it in really so he has to do it there.

@paintfairy wow already! That's good! We haven't received any SA info yet. Did he make it on time I take it? As for me seeing them soon enough - god knows, this july appt is the only one I have.

@thislittlebird so I had my first appointment last week and they mentioned scheduling in a follow up. I'm therefore assuming this is the follow up one but hoping I'm wrong!

@Juno231 I actually had a day 2 in 2019 so it would be interesting to know what that was back then.
DH took his SA in today. That's traumatic on a time limit!
July cannot be right. You'll see them soon though, so you can maybe work out then what's going on?

@Juno231 Jesus they don’t rush, do they? This was rescheduled from this month?

@paintfairy hopefully your FSH was just high for that test and it was still clearly within the limit so nothing to worry about just yet fx. Maybe don't tell OH about the multiple births though lol!

So ladies I got a letter through for my next appointment with the fertility clinic - 8th of July!! I'm hoping that will change though, I really don't see why it would be so late...

Went to the hospital this morning to have my day 3 blood taken - they took four vials so it'll be interesting to see what else is being looked at (all I know is that they added an AMH test).

@Juno231 I think the window is 1 hour 15 and it was done on the hour. But why wasn't it done ASAP? Who knows! But yes, ridiculous these places!
Interesting about your friend. I can't believe it is all so different. I'm not sure which my hospital favour- she didn't say. Just said we'll need to check your tubes but I'm sure it'll become clearer when I go, which it is. I was just looking up assisted iui. Risk of multiple babies? God. DH will have a fit if I tell him that. 🤣

Interestingly (google) higher fsh is linked to low egg reserve and menopause? So they better hurry up! Before I'm out the threshold.

@paintfairy ooh interesting about the hour window. One of the clinics I have as an option locally had lots of scathing reviews here on MN and one of the things said about was how the ladies' embryo fail rate was so high - but no wonder when they gave the clinic the eggs at reception and the receptionist just put them on the floor and carried on with a private conversation over the phone - so god knows how long before they made it to the lab?

So one of my friends who's been waiting for a referral since Dec got a letter through the post today for a hycosy at the same hospital I'll be doing my HSG. They also got instructed that her OH needs to redo his SA. But they've had no appointment with the clinic yet?? How weird how differently it works. Also I wonder why she got a hycosy and I an HSG? Must be a doctor preference.

@dogmam AF arrived slightly early so I'll be ovulating just before my scan now, I reckon. The SA is tomorrow. So it's not a problem with dtd right now.
She told us to do 2 days. You can do 2 to 5 but she said if they use it for IUI they use it at 2 days. And they are doing a test wash. So therefore it makes sense to take a sample in at 2 days because that's a direct comparison to what they'll be using.

Interestingly our last one she said was tested at the end of the time window too, and that's not ideal. It was an hour old. Obviously now you can't do it there which is annoying. But we only live 20 minutes from the hospital. So they didn't bother doing it straight away obviously.

Good luck with the apptmt! Am new here and am not sure of the abbreviations etc. Am curious about whether your partner has been tested for sperm motility etc as fertility is about both of you being physically capable. It's not just up to us but this always seems to be forgotten about.
My partner had a very low sperm count/motility etc (approx 9000 and 20,000 is the average!) so it was up to him to sort himself out which he did via diet/behaviour.
Good luck!

@Juno231 that is great thank you. I have just gone back and seen the OPs second post and that is super helpful. Not sure how I missed it first time.

The clinic rang me this morning to say that the first consultation will be over the phone so sounds like I’ll have a similar experience to the OP.

What a road TTC is. You never think it’ll be you that will need fertility treatment and then suddenly it is.

@myfavouritefudgecake hello and welcome! I say don't worry about it - my fertility doc didn't even have ANY of our results when we went in for our appointment and I'm pretty sure as you've been confirmed with PCOS you'd qualify for a referral without them. And yes the referral is for you but they expect your OH to be present for the first appointment.

In terms of first appointment - def check the OPs posts in here as she detailed it well. Normally they go through (or ask you to fill out a form in advance) all the details of your TTC story so far. E.g. how long you have been trying, how often you DTD, how long/irregular your cycles are etc. They'll ask about medical histories as well. But really they lay out what the next steps will be based on what's happened so far. So in your case I imagine they'll still want you to do some of the blood tests, probably another ultrasound and they'll ask your OH to do an SA.

Hello! Can I join? Apols for a long post in the middle of the conversation but looking for some women who are going through the same thing and have some wisdom.

I'm currently waiting for my first fertility appointment and I'm in a whole world of confusion. I have my referral which is good and I have an appointment in the middle of next month at a private clinic with NHS funding.

My GP doesn't seem to have been very thorough compared to some people's on here! A few months back I went to the doc because I was sure I had PCOS and I was right. Blood tests and an internal ultrasound confirmed that my suspicions were correct. I asked then if I could be referred to the fertility clinic but was told I would have to wait until we had been trying for 1 year. Fair enough. After the 13th cycle I went back and asked for a referral and I got one. Went online and booked in and I am now waiting. My DH rang the GP to see if he needed to do a SA but the GP said no point as they'd probably ask at the clinic. I haven't had any recent blood tests at the GP. I asked if I could have bloods to see if I am ovulating and the doc said no point as my cycle is between 26-35 days and too unpredictable.

I'm worried that the clinic are going to think we've gone mad turning up without any recent bloods or a SA.

But also, the referral was just for myself and doesn't say anything about my partner? Is this correct?

I have no idea what to expect during an initial consultation. Can anybody tell me what to expect? I feel nervous all the time about it which definitely isn't helping the situation.

I know I just need to ring to clinic and speak to a human there but I can't get through to anyone on their reception!

Yeah like what paintfairy said, you can just provide your tests to the private clinic @Flutterby8. We uploaded ours to our client portal area ahead of our consultation and she talked to my husband about the SA he had on the nhs, and offered advice etc. Obviously if they need you to redo something or get another one they might suggest it. You can pick and choose what you get done really because of the fee factor, at this stage anyway.

And yes, I am sure I will be charged for the three minutes . They said anything over 10 will be charged so I do not think they’ll waive it. It’s frustrating but it is what it is. I’ve asked them for the costs of a monitored cycle and someone is going to call me tomorrow to discuss details and once I hear from her and get prices I’ll decide what to do.

I did monitor my bbt last month and I was chatting to @Juno231 about it at one time. I do think I ovulated but it looks kinda...weak???? I don’t know if that’s an official term. No big leap up and it dropped off really soon, was odd. I’m not going to temp this month, especially if I have my cycle monitored, it will just cause me more anxiety and less sleep I think.

@Flutterby8 no, not necessarily. My friend has gone private for ivf. Her DH already has a child from a past marriage, so they aren't entitled to ivf on the nhs. But they had all the initial investigations done on the nhs (because you are entitled to that) and she got copies of all tests. So when she went private- she didn't have to pay for all the tests, because they are ok to use what you've had (unless anything needs to be more recent or needs repeating).

God now I'm worried about not having a day 3 test?
I'll be honest, I really dont want to go back to the GP and ask simply because they were clueless and I think I'd get more sense from someone a bit more in the know. I'm fully expecting to have everything retested now though.

I have been thinking about going private. Havent mentioned this to DH as I think he will think I'm jumping the gun somewhat. He will want to wait for the initial appointment and go from there I'm sure.
Should I assume that even going private they would carry out the majority of the basic tests again?

@thislittlebird i hope you werent charged for your additional 3 mins! In a way its good they're trying to monitor a cycle to figure things out, but its another monthbif not knowing.
Do you monitor your BBT or anything? Would that confirm ovulation at all?

It’s a good question, I might call tomorrow to ask if it’s gone through @paintfairy. My problem right now is two months feels two months too long when I may not be ovulating. I don’t know how to just sit here and wait for that, really. It feels like lost time, and the when I get the appointment they’re just going to run more tests on us I assume? I’m wondering if I can combine the systems to speed things up.

@thislittlebird have they actually put the referral through? My gp dragged it out by being useless and I was frustrated because I'm old. But once it went through, they seem to be on the ball. My referral was like 4th jan or something and by 1st March we will have had our first appointment (last week), I'll have had a scan, DH a SA (this week) and then a discussion on next steps. Which is not a bad time frame at all in my opinion.

My concern right now is time, I guess. I really just want to be put on something if my results are this low, and I don’t want to keep waiting for that when they may not even be able to see me for some time. @paintfairy

I’m wondering whether to tell my GP I want another blood test this month. Problem is I can’t just go on the day because of covid. This makes it all so much harder.

It’s so arbitrary, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. But I see what you’re saying @Juno231, I just wonder if the nhs will accept the results?

Right now I am tempted to hold off. I’m so confused.

@thislittlebird I personally would wait. The nhs are concerned about my spotting being progesterone related, even though my tests are fine. The GPs won't be that clued up, but you'll probably find the fertility referral changes that. And you'll have paid for nothing. Because the nhs will have done it for you.

@thislittlebird yeah it's utterly frustrating how piecemeal, contradictory and at times arbitrary it all seems. FWIW I think you're doing the right thing to investigate it and once it come to the referral you'll be armed with more ammunition to advocate for the treatment you deserve.

Yeah exactly this @Juno231. I want them to offer me more I guess, and it feels just as slow but in a different way and at a cost. I’ll do it, because I do want to know what’s happening with my progesterone etc but it’s going to be a hefty bill just to potentially get a similar result. And then what? It was unclear on the call because she seemed very unconcerned about my levels. I said to my husband it’s like they don’t think it’s as much of an issue as I perceive it to be. Frustrating.

I just wish I could speak to someone (and the nhs haven’t helped me much either) who would give me an honest and useful answer. What can I do? How do I fix this? People seem to be given clomid etc with much higher results so why isn’t it being discussed as an option for me? I don’t get it. Really hoping the nhs referral won’t be too long because a second opinion would be nice.

@paintfairy god I hope not. I'm ready to go for my day 3 on Thursday at least!

@thislittlebird oof that's frustrating. What I can't stand with private stuff is that you never shake the feeling of them trying to pump you for money? Much like mechanics and dentists you just have to trust they're honest and not taking you for a ride. I really hope they give you clarity on this progesterone malarkey though!