Fertility MOT worthwhile?

[reluctantlondoner]

Have you had a fertility MOT check after a long time TTC unsuccessfully and, if so, would you recommend it? Did it help you? NHS unhelpful they just say keep trying all is fine it’ll happen (no tests offered).

We did. But we were older and needed to crack on.

Depends how long you have been trying / how old you are as to whether it is worth it.

Beware that it is likely to come up with all sorts of non-issues that are probably irrelevant and will cause concern / further testing. Sometimes these things can lead you down a rabbit hole which is probably why NHS doesn’t offer them.

How old are you and how long have you been trying?

We are early 30s. TTC since January.

I thought about going for one, in a private clinic. Though (and I know many mumsnet users will find this ridiculous) we've only been trying for 3 months. However, my view is, if you know it's something you want, a fertility MOT might help aortbout any obvious problems now, rather than after wasting a few months! Sadly the ones I did find (5 mins Google) are expensive and I'm not ready to fork out hundreds for tests... yet. If we're still trying in 2018 I might though. Bear in mind though that they don't seem to throw up or test for all problems, and some are just for the woman and costs extra to test the man too, and not always in depth. I was reading an article sperm DNA damage for instance... Some MOTs seem to test for quantity of sperm rather than quality too :/

If you’ve been trying for 10 months, it makes sense that the NHS would fob you off. However, you could try the MOT or get any other tests done sooner.

We never did the MOT but after getting repeatedly fobbed off by the NHS, we had a batch of tests privately. Thank god we did because we were able to get the IVF ball rolling. Do you know what they test with the MOT? Do you have any concerns?

My concern is chemical pregnancies. Have had two. Really reluctant to go down the testing route as it will stress me out, but scared of wasting more time to no avail.

2 chemicals in 10 months? TBH, I'd definitely investigate.

Thanks for the reply. You’ve worried me now. Not two in ten months. One was nearly two years ago. But still. It has happened twice. Doctor insists fine nothing to worry about just happens sometimes and more than we’d think?

Oh, I thought you said you've been trying since January. Do you mean it's been 10 months since the last chemical but you've been trying for longer and have no children? If that's the case, I'd get a move on with fertility investigations. If the GP fobs you off, change GPs. If you've got the money, I'd go private as things can happen pretty instantly, whereas the NHS can be very slow and it can take months to just get basic appointments and tests (in our case, private stuff was done in a week and the NHS took a year to the same from the time of referral).

my dp sent me a bbc news link saying that fertility tests are a waste of money as they cant tell how likely you are to concieve - only hormones and egg reserves.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41573346

i was considering it as im now mid 40s and after losing a baby at 44 havent got pg since. this has made me forget it as we are not willing to go down the ivf route so seems pointless.

@reluctantlondoner we started trying in April, 34 years old. I spoke to my doc about the Mot and she said don't bother they would help. I had blood tests and my partner semen tests within a week. Within 24hrs my apt came through for a scan which is next month. She is rushing through as most authorities in my area if fertility treatment is required only support one round which must start before the 35th birthday I googled various trust across the UK and 35 seems to be a common cut off as well as meeting other criteria such as having already done these tests, no children etc. I would book a face to face and google your local authority criteria its publicly available, you just need to find it.

Missy, you’re extremely lucky with your GP. My wouldn’t refer me even after 2 years despite meeting all the criteria.

We had one after 9 months of no success, despite being told by GP and friends that we shouldn't worry until 1-2 years of no BFP.
It immediately picked up a problem with DH, and a thyroid issue with me.

We then started IVF and the clinic eventually picked up another issue with my immune system - NK cells - which would have meant we had a statistically zero chance of conceiving naturally.

I'm really, really glad we did it, as we would probably have carried on for a bit longer naturally, and then gone down the NHS testing route, which would have meant years of waiting lists before finally getting the diagnosis we needed.

We started with this MOT: www.createhealth.org/fertility-diagnosis/couples-fertility-test

I've recommended it to a few friends as well

Spare, that MOT looks very expensive. It's basically one appointment with a USG + a semen analysis!

All the rest, ie BMI or blood pressure you really don't need a fertlity clinic to check...

If someone was thinking of that, I'd probably suggest just booking an appointment with a fertility doctor. The same would be done but for less money.