NHS wait times

[CaramelPies]

Hi

I was referred for early losses by my GP around 2 months ago and have heard nothing back. I’ve chased up the hospital who I’ve been referred to and there’s no appointment issued for me yet.

What were your experiences like pre Covid or even during Covid for getting help through NHS x

Mixed to be honest! They were really quick for my day 3 and 21 tests. They warned me a referral for an ultrasound could take ages but I got an appointment the very next month. It then took 2 months for a referral for OH to do an SA and now I have to wait 6 months for my fertility assessment appointment. So I feel like I've had the full range...

@Juno231 - I’m glad things are getting done for you, I feel a bit useless sitting around waiting. How was your experience with the ultrasound? I’m thinking of going private to get one x

@CaramelPies really good actually! I was a bit apprehensive about it as it's up the foof but the room had dimmed lighting, I had a modesty paper thing over the nether area and honestly didn't feel any discomfort at all. Must have been the nicest foof appointment I've ever had tbh haha.

@Juno231 - you made my day with the word foof 😂 Was everything okay? Am I right I’m saying they tell you about uterine lining, ovarian cysts, fibroids etc x

@CaramelPies haha I do apologise, it's just half the time I browse MN at work and don't want any naughty words flagging lol! Yes all of our tests have come back normal - for the US they checked lining, cysts, fibroids and it was shortly after ovulation so they also confirmed it looked like I had ovulated. They also check for size of uterus, position of it etc in case there are any other reasons we might be struggling.

@Juno231 - that’s great news, you must feel relieved? How long have you been ttc?

I feel better about the u/s process now that you’ve explained it x

I was referred to the recurrent miscarriage clinic in June
Had my first phone call appt on Monday (3 days ago!) xx

@Dixywitch19 - aw that is a very long wait, but it’s good to know what to realistically expect. I guess I may have a few more months to wait. If you don’t mind me asking what was the appointment like, what sort of steps are they taking next?

I’ve hard 3 losses this year all around the 4 week mark x

@caramelpies 3 CPs this year is hard, I'm hoping they look into it properly for you. Have you been told to take aspirin from ovulation yet?

I'm relieved yet not. We've been trying for a year without a single whiff of a BFP, so would have been nice to have something small wrong that could be fixed and sorted if you know what I mean? Instead we just have to plod along and hope something happens.

@Juno231 - aw I understand, on the plus side knowing there is nothing stopping you hopefully means it’s only a matter of time before you get your good news? Sometimes it just takes that extra bit longer. I know it’s easier said than done.

I haven’t been advised to take aspirin, in fact nobody’s mentioned it to me but I might ask the GP his views on this.

My eggs seem to get fertilised but don’t stick. It would be good to know if there was something stopping the process or if it’s sheer bad luck 3 times in a year.

It’s incredibly frustrating that it’s all out with my control and I’d love to do what I can within reason privately to eliminate any issues. So I’m starting with the u/s x

@CaramelPies definitely look into the aspirin then - I think GPs tend to recommend it for recurrent miscarriages as it thins your blood and improves the chances of the bean remaining implanted properly. Then again if I google it the NHS seems to say conflicting things about it depending on the trust!

@Juno231 - I’ve googled it but there’s so much conflicting info. Some people take it from bfp and others from ovulation. I don’t know which I should do if any. I’ve also heard about people falling pregnant after HSG as tubes just need a clean x

@CaramelPies yes I'd be keen to see what an hsg would do for me but sounds like I'd have to wait to get it only after my appointment at the fertility clinic in May? I'm too impatient for this ttc business 😅

Do you mean specifically for losses or just general fertility?

I went through my gp in Nov/Dec because i had no luck ttc at all. Had bloods done for ovulation, partner had to do a sperm sample and then we were told to wait for appointment for a fertility specialist. Had that appointment in March and we were added to the IVF wait list at that point. She said there was no point in doing any further tests or examinations to check for blocked tubes etc as we’d been ttc for so long. Haven’t heard anything since.

@CaramelPies it was basically a ‘tell me about yourself’ call, introduced herself, asked about all my previous pregnancies and my successful one including the birth, I’ve to go for blood tests tomorrow they’re checking something different to what my fertility consultant has done (I’m not sure what though) then I have no idea from there xx

@Juno231 - I was googling if you could get HSG done privately but I don’t think you can. I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that I might need to wait month and months to get help if I need it. Chasing up my referral has been a nightmare, it’s just been sitting there for two months so I dread to think how long other appointments/treatments will take.

@Bumble84 - just in general really, sorry to hear you’re having a hard time TTC. I hope you get your good news soon too.

@Dixywitch19 - glad things are moving along for you. Have you had CPs or have you been further along? So very sorry to hear of your situation. How do you stay positive through it? I’m probably not TTC this month as I need a break from symptom spotting and obsessing during the two week wait x

@CaramelPies I had a mc at 6/7 weeks in June, a cp in December last year & 3 early miscarriages around 6 to 7 weeks over the years.

We’ve been ttc 3 years and I have hugely irregular cycles so symptom spotting isn’t something I can do because I find it hard to pin point ovulation as it happens so rarely.
I got pregnant naturally in may after clomid failed 3 months in a row to make me ovulate.
I started taking inositol daily in March and ovulated that month and the following 2 months so that helped a lot.

Some days I’m super positive and other days I’m on the verge of giving up.
We decided last month to stop opks and obsessively testing but it didn’t stop me obsessively taking PG tests 😂 xxx

@Bumble84 those waiting times are insane. Are you at all tempted to go private?

@Juno231 well as luck would have it, whilst we were waiting we actually got our bfp!! However yes if we hadn’t and I’d known the wait time then I would have quite possibly gone private. The trouble is they can’t give you a definitive wait time and obviously covid hasn’t helped either

Has your go definitely sent the referral?

GP

Hey all, managed to get an update that I’m looking at months before I get an appointment. Under 6 months I’m told, because of Covid it’s a long wait. I was kind of expecting that anyway x

@CaramelPies I sincerely hope you won't need it and that you'll have your sticky bean before then!

@Bumble84 brilliant to hear! How many cycles did it take in the end if I may ask?

@Juno231 all in we were probably about 20 cycles although at the beginning we weren’t ‘trying’ as in we weren’t timing sex, just weren’t using contraception and seeing what happened so possibly could have been more scientific about it at the beginning. I can’t quite believe how lucky we’ve been to conceive naturally, I thank my lucky stars every day!