TTC #1, cycle 13 and fed up! Whose with me?

[Theawkwardblonde]

Hello. So AF arrived yesterday which means I'm officially on cycle 13 of TTC. I'm a healthy 28 year old with husband whose 33. We've had 2 chemical pregnancies in the time we've been actively trying. We are just waiting on our dates for blood tests and SA for husband.

Needless to say I'm bloody fed up! Had 3 friends announce pregnancy news in the last week, and one friend is due in 4 weeks. TTC is definitely starting to take its toll on both of us and the realisation that something may be wrong is starting to sink in.
Who else is having similar? Please feel free to share/rant!

@thislittlebird yeah it's rubbish. Ah well! By fluke we'd booked the week off of the 21st June lol so we'll try and do a uk break then!

I’m waiting for them to email me @notyetamumbuttrying, determined to get my few days away before June. Luckily both of us have very flexible annual leave, and obviously no kids/school to work around (for now!).

I've got my start dates for IVF 😬
Starting this cycle. They'll want me to take norethisterone from day 16 to induce a period on a particular date, then injections will start.
They seem to have forgotten that I have epilepsy and my medication interacts with norethisterone and prevents it from working 🤦🏻‍♀️ hopefully they'll listen while I explain it again.
DH is miserable about what I'm going to go through. We've gone from feeling anxious that we don't know when we're starting to feeling anxious that we are starting 😬

@CurbsideProphet how exciting and scary to have a start date! Will keep everything crossed for you.

That’s so soon, how exciting @CurbsideProphet. I imagine it’s a lot to get your head round initially, understandably scary too and I would be the same.

@thislittlebird hope they get bk to you and confirm it! 🤞🏾

@CurbsideProphet that's exciting! Apart from the drugs situ, they defo need to listen to you!! Eek I bet it's a mix of emotions! This will be me and my Dh next month I reckon. Pls keep us posted and best of luck 🍀

Thank you 💐

How is everyone doing? Did you get the drugs sorted @CurbsideProphet?

Got my report back from tests but not got appointment with consultant for a few weeks. Amh is high at 72 and my follicle count was 96. Think I’d be at risk of OHSS if we have ivf.

@Rosie189 got my Amh result bk today too and it's on the slightly lower side of 5.4. Lowest is 5.5 for 35-39 age range. Good you've had both done now. Was ivf going to be an option then?

Well we’re currently unexplained although the nurse at the clinic did say I could have pcos and that would fit with my numbers being so high. I’m 33 soon. We are considering ivf for when we get to the two year mark in late summer. I haven’t been able to get a scan via nhs as they aren’t running the service here hence why we went private initially. Can’t get referred to fertility on nhs without the scan apparently. Think I’ll wait till the consultant appointment though if they think clomid would be worthwhile will try and push to get that.

@Rosie189 good luck! Very frustrating they're not even scanning in your area. I hope the consultant call goes well x

@notyetamumbuttrying do you have a scan booked too now you’ve had the AMH?

@Rosie189 that’s a lot of follicles yeah so they would definitely have to monitor you closely. But it’s good to know so you can make sure you’re monitored if on clomid or similar. I’m still stunned by how variable these results can be and have been for even us here, it’s such a wide range.

@thislittlebird yeah scan booked for Monday! How's things with you?

That’s good! You’ll be able to see how it matches up with your AMH at least @notyetamumbuttrying

Yeah ok, I’ve been pretty distracted by my nightmare skin this week so I’m hoping to get that resolved (seeing a private dermatologist next week) because it’s too much to think about on top of ttc troubles tbh.

@thislittlebird yeah thank god! Getting it done privately as the nhs won't do it until
Fundings approved, that won't be for months yet!
Aw that's a pain. Hope they sort you out. Is it adult acne? I suffer with that a bit, it's more just oily skin for me. I literally glow!

That’s so long @notyetamumbuttrying, glad you’re paying for it and it’ll be sorted. Getting my AMH and scan done privately was a good call, put my mind at ease on one front anyway.

No, the opposite of acne, it’s eczema. I definitely do not glow lol. Had it forever but for the last 17 months it’s been a nightmare off and on. Sick of my crappy GP not being helpful so just paying to see the dermatologist from the local hospital privately, I can’t wait 4 months or whatever and keep having these awful flare ups. So my attention is kinda on that right now, but ttc never leaves the mind fully

@thislittlebird I hear ya. I'm fed up of waiting on the nhs too so going private is defo the way forward!
Ooh eczema is so uncomfortable, both my sisters had it growing up (one still does) so I know how bad it can get. I hope they can prescribe you some good stuff to get it sorted! 🤞🏾

@notyetamumbuttrying the whole system just seems very unfair from what I’ve seen so far. I find the fertility referral speed just incredible really, especially when you’re dealing with people mid 30s plus, it doesn’t seem right.

Yeah fingers crossed! Will try to get my GP referral too but I forgot to call this morning.

@thislittlebird if it's any help we were referred to the NHS fertility service but saw the same doctor privately rather than wait for the NHS appointment. He then did the paperwork / referral for our NHS IVF as though we had seen him via the NHS. There is only 1 consultant at our NHS fertility service so that was why there was such a long wait. Possibly the same in other areas?
I bet most fertility doctors work in the NHS and do private work on the side. It makes sense really as they could never get through all of the NHS referrals. If they do private work as well in the evenings / weekend they know that will reduce the wait on their NHS list (plus there will of course be the financial incentive).

I agree with the frustration that the system is so slow. I'm 35 and DH is 38. We found out in November that my AMH is officially classed as low (and DH has a slight issue) after we paid for private appointments. If we had waited for the NHS we would still be waiting now to have all of the tests done.

So did you see him in the nhs first? @CurbsideProphet

I manage to find the consultant dermatologist at my local hospital last week and I’m going to see her Tuesday at her private practice. I can’t work out how it gets back into the nhs system though, because I had considered how I would broach the subject with her, and then also potentially with a fertility doc.

Yeah, same here. We’ve lost six months to their errors and now another 3 or 4 where I might need clomid and am just twiddling my thumbs.

@thislittlebird no we didn't see the fertility doctor on the NHS at all. The NHS referral was made by our GP in October and there was a 4 month wait to be seen. We saw him privately twice in November and I had a scan and AMH blood test. DH had a SA on the NHS organised by a helpful GP. We gave the SA results to the fertility doctor so that didn't need to be redone.
The fertility doctor did the NHS referral for IVF as though we had seen him on the NHS, as there would have been no point waiting 4+ months just for him to do the referral anyway.

We have only been ttc since November 2019 which is a short time compared to some, but our test results showed that although natural conception wasn't impossible it was dependent on my AMH not reducing further. Obviously can't predict that! Plus DH has the issue where he has a lower number of the sperm that are the right shape to swim properly. I can't remember which term that is.

When I've gone privately for other things the Consultant has then asked their secretary to look for me on the NHS referral list and get me booked into the follow up clinic (rather than the new patient clinic), as obviously they don't need to assess you again once they've seen you in a private clinic. I would be quite direct and tell her you are on the NHS list, as she might be willing to do the same.

@thislittlebird I agree, it doesn't seem right at all! Time is not on our side with our ageing eggs 😩 did you get your gp referral sorted?
@CurbsideProphet similar to us. I'm 35 next week and Dh is now 38. My amh is on the low side at 5.4 but was still told "normal" my Dh has major sperm issues and were waiting on repeat SA results this week! What's next steps for you two then? Will you wait for the nhs ivf?
Ah that name is morphology. That's the shape, motility is the speed. My Dh is low in both (and count) just hoping somethings improved 😬 he's had nearly 6 months on supplements and lifestyle changes etc so I really do hope so!

Useful to know @CurbsideProphet. I’m still not sure how to approach it really, going to the private derm tomorrow and want to ask for my prescriptions to be nhs and not private but not sure how that happens.

I might book in with the private gynaecologist from the local hospital then maybe and see if I can speed things up.

Referral for fertility is in the system @notyetamumbuttrying

When is his next SA result? My DH is going on Wednesday and I don’t want to know the results 😭

@notyetamumbuttrying my AMH is 6.8. Ah morphology. Is that the one that should be over 4%? That's the one DH has an issue with as his is 1.5%. The other numbers were ok.
We're both on Zita West supplements and he hasn't had any alcohol since January. Hopefully that all helps.

We're starting our NHS round imminently 😬 I start Norethisterone tomorrow until 21 March. Then so long as I have a period injections start 27 March with egg collection planned for 7th April. I'm swapping between calm acceptance and pure fear 😬

@thislittlebird I think you would have to pay for a private prescription, but they should write a letter to your GP and you might then be able to have the same item prescribed by your GP as it's on the advice of a consultant. I'm sure the dermatologist will tell you whether that's possible.

@CurbsideProphet yeah that is the one. No alcohol will defo help. It's helped my Dh, that and stopping smoking and taking supplements. The results are now all normal! Morphology is 4% but it was 2.3% before. The count and motility have tripled 🥳 we're thrilled!
How's the drugs going so far? Great you're getting started but must be nerve racking all the same!