First Fertility Clinic Appointment Tomorrow

Oh wow, I did not know that!! Never really had UTI issues before but previously had kidney stones!
Interesting to know though!

My brain has been working overtime since the BMI discussion recently on here.
I think although I know bodyweight can affect alot of different body systems, I dont think I ever appreciated how much it can affect fertility!
Ive been doing some reading up and scared myself into dieting again 😂
That and trying to get in some exercise, even if its just going for a walk. Although, its so cold and miserable at the moment I dont want to leave the house!

Yeah it's frustrating alright! At the same time I feel like I'm expecting it with the NHS lol.

Now I just read something which triggered an aha moment for me - apparently UTIs can cause scarring/blockages on the fallopian tubes, which I never knew. Guess who had 3 years of chronic UTIs waves

Makes me all the more keen to get a hycosy scheduled in to see if that's the case.

@Juno231 how bloody frustrating! I get that there is alot of strain on hospitals at the moment but you would have though you would have been given a bit more notice than that?!
On the plus side, at least you have been rebooked and its not too long to wait.

@Juno231 wasn't the original face to face appointment next week anyway? Its really annoying they made it earlier to then put it back again. Do they not realise they are disappointing people? Also your DH has to be there and not everyone works from home? So to cancel it on the day is pretty bad.

@dogmam oh I wasn’t very clear 😂 it was the private clinic contacting me, they’re ringing today to book my telephone call and any necessary follow ups/scans etc 😊

Aaah that sucks @Juno231 sorry that they’ve messed you about with it.

Well my appointment this morning got rescheduled only an hour before it was meant to take place... now it's on for the 11th. Kinda bummed about it!

@dogmam yup, AF has sort of arrived.
My BBT had risen quite a bit this morning and I was shocked as I expected the complete opppsite to be honest. Ive had a bit of a headache today and felt flat then started spotting this evening. Nothing heavy but just brown spotting. Sorry for the info overload!
I honestly just feel rough.
But as I expected, CD32 today. Back to the drawing board.

@Dancingfairydreams no i wouldn't waste money on at home ones. The results of the proper ones are fairly quick (much quicker than the way they faffed with me), so if they need one once referred, they'll just ask. And it won't hold anything up with you, as that's what takes time. Don't worry about it. I expect them to repeat ours but I suspect that'll be back way before they get all their info gathered on me and look into my potential issues etc.

@Juno231 yea it’s the worst! I did for a couple of cycles but my cycles are anywhere between 28 and 101 (seriously!) days and honestly I couldn’t ever really pick up a proper pattern, so I gave up, it was a bit depressing!
@Flutterby8 yea I gather it’s pretty much all down to Covid but isn’t everything right now? I did ask about a different hospital but there’s none close enough to accept me as a referral which is grand. I love living out in the sticks but it does sometimes have its negatives!

Can’t even believe it! Had an email yday saying that they’ve ‘finally’ reached me on their waiting list (after a week!) and that they just need me to complete a questionnaire and we can book my first appointment. Way too excited at the prospect of tests and scans 😂

Brill, thank you all, really appreciate the help

@Dancingfairydreams it does seem to vary by location as to the order they want all the tests to be done, but I'm sure if they expected the SA to be done before your first appointment then your GP would have told you that. As @Flutterby8 says i would just wait and see what they say at the appointment. I wouldn't waste any money on at-home tests, they aren't as reliable and I don't think the doctor will accept them anyway, so you would just end up needing to do them again anyway. Good luck for your appointment, let us know how you get on!

I would assume the at home tests only give an indication into the sperm count? Which is something they need to know, however they also need to look at the motility, morphology etc.
Sperm count could be fine, but if they have poor motility and cant swim in the right direction you wouldnt know from a home test.
You can ask your partner to speak to the GP about getting a test done. Its unlikely youll get reaults before your appointment though. If the fertility referral wants this info they will ask your partner to provide a sample anyway.
From lots of reading up the first appointment is info gathering and planning. The consultant will order more tests or procedures no doubt so they will prob ask for this at the time.
Dont stress about the appointment (easy for me to say) they will go through everything with you and point you in the right direction.

Thanks both for your replies.

It is worth doing a "at home" one before the apt? A quick Google shows some are available to do at home.

@Dancingfairydreams when I spoke to my GP about our struggles i was sent for bloods and a scan without any questions. She said about DH needing semen analysis but that he had to call up for an appointment seperately so it could be raised on his notes. Either way I booked him an appointment there and then and he had the test with a local hospital.
She did say that these were routine tests and that it would help to have them done before referral as if there was something blindingly obvious wrong that the GP could prescribe for, then she would and we wouldnt need to be referred.
Sadly it was pretty obvious, but GP thinks referral is best in our case.
Good luck

@Dancingfairydreams it really seems to vary? So I wouldn't worry. My DH had a SA but I told him to call his dr and ask for one. He did that and said we were having issues, and I was having it looked into by the gp, but obviously we needed to know if it was him. And they were fine. Just did it. I'm not sure my gp would have asked for it before the referral though. I don't even know if the fertility people will have the results but I took a photo of them before passing them to my gp, so I'll have them to hand for my appointment in case.
There definitely seems to be no consistency with anything!

Hello,
I have an appointment next week but when reading through posts etc I'm concerned that my DP hasn't had a SA yet, will this make our appointment a waste? I've been waiting for the apt since October 2019,GP has refused any further tests during this time. I had an ectopic pregnancy in May, lost one tube, so am keen for for this apt to go well.

@dogmam I'm quite happy with the first consult being March. The timings give me basically 2 more cycles give or take a couple of days which I think is good.
Still no sign of AF though 🤔
I had cramps yesterday, but then I've had cramps basically on and off for the last 2 weeks. I thought I had a tiny bit of spotting yesterday but it was more brown than pink and it was literally a tiny amount (sorry TMI). My BBT also hasnt dropped significantly either. A very slight drop this morning.
I'm fully expecting AF to arrive tomorrow on CD31 which wouldnt be unusual.
Given I had a negative test yesterday I think my body is just doing this to irritate me.

@Juno231 I did wonder if everyone booking even follow up consults rather than initial ones got the 34 week wait message too if Im honest.

@Flutterby8 @dogmam I also wonder if the 34 weeks takes into account people that have their consult after the 1 year mark but then still have to wait until it's been 2 years to start IVF!

@Ughmaybenot That's terrible to not have heard since October?! I assume some trusts aren't seeing fertility cases due to Covid? How frustrating for you.
When the GP requested semen analysis for DH the hospital he was referred to weren't carrying out the tests due to Covid. Which in a way was lucky as it was about an hours drive away from us. Luckily a local hospital ran the test instead!
Are you able to be referred elsewhere or did you get an option of different hospitals?

Well I bit the bullet. We were going to wait until the end of this cycle to book the referral but I've done it. I didn't realise I could book online so had a check and there wasn't a lot of availability. Literally a few days spread throughout the begining of March.

It's just a phone consult to begin with but says when booking that the majority of patients start treatment within 34 weeks of the initial consultation.

Will see what the first appointment brings and go from there.
34 weeks is a long time......

@Ughmaybenot well that's rubbish, I'm sorry :( My friend lives not far from me but lives in another trust and she only got a call to be told not to expect an appointment any time soon due to covid and that's it. She's been waiting since Nov so not far behind you - meanwhile my hospital is still going ahead with appointments over the phone so it's all completely down to luck isn't it.

Do you temp at all? Would be good to see if you are ovulating okay despite the pcos xx

@Juno231 I know, it’s so shit isn’t it? Yep, I rang halfway through November to check and I was on the waiting list (8th on the list) and remained the same since. I’ve probably rung every other week since then, same answer every time. I was promised ‘the end of January’ back in December but have since been told the consultant has gone off on maternity so they ‘might not run those clinics at all for a while’ now.
I don’t know, the gp did the bloods etc, told me I have pcos and referred me and that was that.

@Flutterby8 the conception vits don't have much of anything though so if it's a Vit B boost you're looking for I'd get the Holland Barrett Busy B one as it has the whole complex (better absorption rates than pure B6 or B12 for instance).

@Ughmaybenot wow no word since Oct?? That's disgraceful - have you called back to see you haven't been missed off their lists somehow? Any idea if you ovulate or what your PCOS impact has been?