First Fertility Clinic Appointment

Im spotting red when pushing on the toilet and then brown stringy bits but nothing comes on it’s own. I’m 12 dpo today

@emilyhall91 So frustrating isn't it! I'm 13dpo, started very lightly spotting 3 days ago but bit heavier today so I think AF is imminent. My LP is usually around 12 days so I'm a little over for me, but I occasionally get to 14 days so I'm not too excited. Debating whether to do a FRER if it hasn't come by tomorrow, I hate the disappointment but it might shut my head up a bit! We have our consultant phone appointment on Monday anyway so at least there's something to focus on after AF arrives.

I’m spotting after using the toilet 11 dpo but getting bfn. Day 33. Zzzz

how r u

Congratulations @RugbyGirl1 that's amazing! Fingers crossed for you. How are you feeling?

I'm in the anxious waiting bit at the moment too @emilyhall91 ! AF due in 4 days or so, haven't started spotting yet which is a bit of a change for me but after 2 years I don't get too excited any more.

I had my scan a few weeks ago, all seemed fine although she asked me if I had had my AMH levels checked which I ended up getting so paranoid about that I sent off to get it checked! It was 14 which is within normal limits although seems to be a bit low for my age. Turns out I've got a retroverted uterus too but that's not supposed to affect fertility! I've got an appointment with the consultant Monday week so hopefully will get some more info about ivf and timelines etc.

Wow that’s brilliant how long had you been trying. Still no AF today yet day 29 here.

I haven’t had my appointment yet. The gp has told me that my referral is rejected for fertility due to my bmi. So can’t sort out my low progesterone…

sending you loads of baby dust.
do you have any children? Did you have any symptoms / did you feel different this cycle.

I need my husband to agree
to go private but he won’t he says it’s not natural?!?! More like he wants me to do all the hard work losing 3 stone when I was high bmi with my first child….

Hi @emilyhall91 you really have covered all bases! I assume the test you your tubes they mentioned was a HyCoSy or HSG? Have you had it yet? Hope it helps provide some answers in some way.

DH and I agreed to go ahead with a private round of IVF in the New Year but this month I actually got a BFP... I'm cautiously optimistic that this might work out and it's still very early days but here's hoping.... 🤞

I’m still waiting to see if this cycle is going to be successful.

we have never had sex so much
where I’ve circled is actually where the clear blue fertility monitor told me was peak fertility.
I’ve done quite a few early tests all negative
my usual cycle length is 28.5 days average this app says.

How are you all girls x

I’ve had my blood test appointment today - she said if the blood test was done on the correct day - day 22. Then the progesterone level was 6 which is low.
The last set of blood tests I had were fine.

she said that at ‘health harmonie’ they just do the testing for my spotting in between periods and cramping. They don’t investigate infertility (although it definitely links and they do ask about it) she says the low progesterone she will write to the doctor about - as I need to be referred to fertility clinic (I already know this won’t happen with a BMI of 36)
She mentioned having a test done on “my
tubes” and if my husband has been tested yet. -No he hasn’t

She is putting me forward for it and says I will need local anaesthetic and to take ibuprofen before I have the camera and it’s not a good idea
to get pregnant if I have polyps. I’m convinced that this reoccurring pain in my left ovary area is something.

@emilyhall91 good luck with your appointment - hope it's positive news 😊

@Decaffe it's a bit frustrating when everything is fine, with us I kinda wish they found something so that there would be a reason and a (quick) fix. That's fab news that you're progressing with IVF - how do you feel about it? Is mild IVF with less drugs than full? It's funny, so much online says every other day or every day - every three days makes sense to let the sperm recuperate!

Hi @RugbyGirl1 thanks for asking, all went well at the scan. We then had a consultant consultation who basically says the test results for both of us are absolutely fine - DH’s sperm fantastic (I take the credit for that as per my previous ‘how to’ thread! and my results are fine for my age (Day 3/21 bloods ok, ‘perfect’ HSG, and antral follicle count of ten.)

(A bit of me does wonder if there are any DNA fragmentation issues - because surely there has to be SOME reason I’m not falling pregnant. But this isn’t checked on the NHS and we don’t have any spare cash for a test so I guess we’ll never know.)

So we are going to proceed with mild IVF in autumn. Only reason for the delay is life events already booked in that would have had to be cancelled due to dates falling over ovulation/egg retrieval! So we have two cycles of carrying on as normal in the meantime.

I asked the consultant how often he recommended DTD in the meantime and he said in his experience and through working with embryologists, sperm is at its best after three days. So he said to DTD every three days and to try to work it so that one of these is one or two days before ovulation. So we’ll give it a go!

Hi I’ve got a review appointment on Thursday after my progesterone blood test last week

I’m on day 25 and spotting …….. so I’m guessing I’ll be on my period again… getting cramps too

@Msrivia @Decaffe @emilyhall91 @SunshineS1 how is everyone doing?

@RugbyGirl1 I'm in the south east, it's still pretty bad here in terms of health services - my local gp aren't even offering econsults not to mind face to face! My only worry about my scan is that AF is due around that time - I've been googling and apparently that doesn't usually matter but I'm hoping AF can hold off a day or two! Good luck with your private consultation 😊

@emilyhall91 Sounds a bit confusing! Did he misunderstand about when you seem to be ovulating? To be honest I've ended up just going on the NHS advice of every 2-3 days rather than getting too worked up about exactly when I'm ovulating, because it was just causing stress especially for my husband. I do have a short-ish cycle though so that makes it a bit easier! How long are your cycles usually?

@Decaffe How did you get on with your appointment?

@Msrivia sorry I should have said, my private appointment is on Friday 12 aug so not too long to wait at all 😊 good luck with vitex. I took it for a while

@Msrivia thanks, I'll check out HFEA - looks like you have a winner! That's super quick for a scan appointment too - you must be happy to see it all progressing at pace 😊 I'm surprised you've not seen anyone in person yet... Where abouts in the country are you based? I thought everything was back to normal now (as close as it can get to normal 😂)

@emilyhall91 wow, to be honest it doesn't sound like they knew what they were talking about?? A 'day 21' blood test should be taken 7 days before your expected AF, which may or may not be around day 21, depending on your cycles... Having sex on day 12 if you're peaking at day 22 also wouldn't be too successful, I don't think sperm can live that long! I think it's meant to be best if you have sperm there waiting for you to ovulate, so sex before the peak, and day of ovulation is your best bet. You ovulate after your peak in LH hormones as it's the rise that instructs your body to release the egg! How long is your cycle usually?

I’ve had my results for my internal scan and ultrasound. All results normal and clear.
today was my second appointment and he looked again (different man) And said because I’m on day 22 i should have a blood test today (it says progesterone on the request). I’ve already had two blood tests which were fine but anything to find something !!
I feel deflated and sad that there’s nothing to fix. There is something wrong I know there is, or else I’d have been pregnant by now.

I asked about the fact I’ve had a peak fertility yesterday and today and that it seems to late in the cycle. To which he said that’s right about day 22, as I should ovulate before the spike in hormones. And should be having sex on day 12.
my monitor says to have sex on high and peak fertile days. But I’ve been guessing the peak days are better than the high ones and that’s when the egg is ready to be fertilised. But what he said is making me think that waiting for the peak is too late.

just for lols- he asked if I’m on contraceptives. Hahahahahaa wtf

this is secondary infertility….

@RugbyGirl1 I used HFEA as well as using the clinic's own reported success rates. HFEA is good as well for having a patient rating for things like communication, care and costs - one of the clinics was 5/5 for patient rating and the other 3/5 so we'll go for the first if possible!

Just got an email with my scan appointment, it's in two weeks which is sooner than expected! Then I have a follow up telephone appointment one month after that, and I'm guessing that the application for ivf funding will happen then. It does seem a little odd that I have literally never been seen in person by a doctor since this whole process began - only the phlebotomist for bloods.

When is your private appointment? Let us know if they have any gems of wisdom! I'm still holding out a little hope that it could happen before IVF gets underway. I've started taking vitex since last month and it is helping with the spotting, but who knows if it will have any significant impact.

@Decaffe good luck for the scan today and meeting with the consultant tomorrow 😊 I hope they're able to give you some good news and timelines etc. I find it helpful to write questions down as I always forget when I'm actually there!

@Msrivia 4-6 weeks isn't too long to wait then so hopefully you hear soon! The clinic we were referred to is a satellite clinic for three different clinics so we get to choose too. Where do you look for stats? Is there any easy way to compare places?

I don't mind trying for another 6 months tbh. DH has to quit vaping for 6 months before IVF can proceed so it gives him a chance to get 'clean' 😂 I've booked the private place in the meantime to see if there is anything more that can be done to help conceive more naturally before IVF which can be quite intensive from what I hear

No, apparently it’s to check blood flow… or something?! I will update after!

Good luck @Decaffe ! Is the baseline scan to check where your cycle is at?

Thanks for the tip 😊 I have tried it but it only shows my GP test record. The HSG and AFC I had at the hospital aren’t on there. However, you prompted me to email the hospital, and they’re going to try and email them over, so that’s good.

I have my IVF baseline scan this morning and then a meeting with the IVF consultant tomorrow.

It would be great if I got that much info from the scan - my appointment was over the phone, but he said he thinks I should get an appointment for the scan in 4-6 weeks. If nothing found then they apply to the CCG for funding, which can take about 6 weeks, then I get referred to the IVF clinic. He said we'll have a choice from the three in the area so I've been madly researching them and their success rates!

How are you feeling about continuing to try for another 6 months? It was around the 18 month mark that I was losing hope that we'd conceive naturally, and it's hard to keep going through the monthly cycle of hope and disappointment. My GP surgery was just a bit useless with the referral paperwork so we got held up for 6 months trying to get referred, otherwise I'd be in the same boat as you!

Ah ok! At my first (and only) meeting with the NHS fertility consultant she did a transvaginal scan as part of the appointment, checked everything looked ok (uterus, lining etc), could tell I was about to ovulate, and counted an AFC of 18. I imagine your scan will be looking at similar things? It's a shame they were a bit condescending - usually if people have got to this stage they generally have good awareness of fertility matters - especially if you're a vet! When is your ultrasound booked for?

The consultant said to try for another 6 months, which wil take us to two years, then go straight to IVF. Just need to ring her secretary in January to get booked in and she said it would start pretty quickly after. Do you have to pick which clinic you want to go with?

Sorry to hear you've had a miscarriage, that must have been so hard. Certainly no harm asking about progesterone. My cycles are 25-27 days on average, with luteal phase 11-12 days, so I have my suspicions about mine too. I was told my progesterone was fine but it was only tested once and that was over 9 months ago now.

Ultrasound is just a general transvaginal one, nothing exciting, my gp just didn't do one before referring me! They haven't mentioned anything about an AFC, first time I've heard of it - was that done at the same time? The doctor we spoke to was nice but a bit condescending ('we may need to put a camera in your tummy', that sort of thing, which I get a bit impatient with because I'm a vet myself so I don't need medical terms explained!) so possibly could be planning on doing it at the same time but didn't want to bother explaining it.

Are you pushing for IVF via the NHS at the same time?