What to expect- appt on Monday to discuss unsuccessful TTC

[chundercatsarego]

We have been trying 12 months at the end of this month and no luck so far. My cycles are pretty irregular-from 28 up to 43 days. Any hints/tips appreciated.

I went to the doctor about this and got sent for preliminary blood tests. It didn't seem to be to check hormones though, seemed to be for liver function tests etc initially. Presumably they would do hormone tests if the first blood test came back clear for general health problems but I actually found out I was pregnant the day before the blood test! So you never know. My doctor was really quick to send me for tests though, it was a 5 minute appt. Because your periods are irregular they might look into the hormone side of things straight away I guess?

Thanks elfo his far through the process have you got, if you don't mind me asking?

Sorry didn't check back til now. I had been trying for 18 months, went to Dr and then got pregnant the month after before any physical investigations were done so didn't get far enough to be of any real help unfortunately! Due in 4 weeks. I do wonder if the psychological hurdle of seeking help finally actually made me relax and that made a difference. I did feel LOADS better walking out of the GP thinking I was finally doing something about it after stressing for so long. Oh and I'm quite old (34.) Fingers crossed for you on Monday x

Thanks for the info elfo, I am looking forward to doing something productive at least! Did you do go with you, or did you go alone?

Hi OP, me and DH have been ttc for 3.5yrs now and finally the Dr's started testing us at beginning of this year. Sorry for long post, but hope this helps!

For us, they started testing me first, I had so many blood tests I forget what they all were, but I do remember specifically having a 21day LH test, plus checking oestrogen and testosterone levels. They also did all the routine tests for diabetes, thyroid, white blood cell count etc.
After bloods, I had urine tests for infection and STDs, then cervical smear for chlamydia and cancers. This was followed by an ultrasound of my ovaries and an internal exam (which I actually refused at the time, but it was offered). I got put on a conception multivitamin and told to use CB ovulation tests for 6m whilst waiting on next steps and in the meantime get DH to do a sperm test. After 6m they wanted to do all the bloods and smears again, plus another sperm check before referring us to the specialists for screening for what help would be best suited for us. They also have us on referral for an ovary dye test (can't remember what it's called exactly) to test if my ovaries are blocked.

I'm not sure if all NHS are the same, but that had been our experience to date x

Thanks for sharing your experience Eskimo, did the gp give any indication of the general plan/timeline etc?

Normally questions about history eg medical issues, previous children conceived etc, smoking etc.
Discussion and arrangement of various tests.
That's it really.

No discussion of any time line beyond tests. The testing phase can last a while.

No, not overall, just how long each set of tests were going to take. The OV scan was the longest wait, about 6wks i think, then a further couple of weeks to wait on the results.
For us its been 11m to get to point of referral to a specialist after all tests had been done, and they advised referral would be approx 3-4wks time... BUT i would mention thay we deliberately took a 2m gap in the middle where nothing was done as we were moving house, and didn't want the additional stress. So I'd guess maybe 6-9m from start to seeing a specialist? But that could vary depending on where you live

Thanks both, that's really useful!