First Fertility Clinic Appointment Tomorrow

[dogmam]

Me and my partner have our first appointment with our fertility clinic tomorrow!

We went to the GP after a year of TTC and after 21 day bloods and partners SA, we were referred straight away to the fertility clinic. GP tests were in October/November so it's moved along quite quickly so far.

Feeling slightly nervous but also excited to hopefully get some help! My partners SA showed low motility and morphology so I assume that will be discussed..
What else should i expect from this first appointment? Is there anything I should be asking?

Thanks in advance! I'll update this after the appointment tomorrow as I know there are a few others on here who are in a similar position and might find it useful.

What region are you in @kaylsd? That seems a bit bonkers.

Yeah you’re right. I’m on the relatively younger side (31) and even I can see the months and birthdays ticking away if I add up in my head how long everything is probably going to take.

@kaylsd I'm hoping the waiting period is fake news like mine was. It was 6-7 months from referral to appointment but then they moved it and in the end I only waited 3 months I think. I guess the upside of these long waiting periods is that there are more cancellations as people get pregnant naturally in the meantime.

Hi Just catching up!

Hello to the new girls that's joined, hopefully the beginning of the thread will be helpful for you who are just at the referral/first appointment stage.

My initial appt was booked via the e-referral portal and the waiting time was something like 40 weeks but it's been much quicker than that. I actually think overall, the whole timeline thing hasn't been too bad. My first fertility apt was Jan and now I'm about to sign consent next week so it's been about 5 months to have all the tests/follow ups/treatment plan etc. But I suppose our male factor diagnosis was relatively quick to determine so if all your tests are coming back fine then it'll probably take longer as there's more investigations.

This time next week we will be signing consent forms!

I need to have a proper read of the last couple of pages but hope everyone's ok.

@dogmam wow amazing how quickly that has come round! Have they given you an idea of how long it takes to get funding approved plus the waiting list after?

@juno231 so quick!
Well the consultant said end of summer but I've been chatting to people at the same clinic as me who said they have started/starting straight after signing consent so I guess if that's the case I could be starting next month which is crazy.

How's things with you? Just patiently waiting for next appointment?

@dogmam that’s come round so fast! Exciting!

We saw Mr Ramsay today. Was so relieved to finally see someone. Was losing my mind the last few weeks without anywhere to turn for help.

@thislittlebird ooh how was it - bet it must've been nice to be taken seriously and not treated like crap for once!

@dogmam omg next month potentially? That would be amazing, fingers crossed that is the case 🤞. I'm 8dpo so just plodding along but realistiscally know I just need to wait for my next appointment (17/06). Can't help but get my hopes up a bit still though. I think @paintfairy is plodding along quietly as well x

@Juno231 🤣 plodding along/stalled, I'm not sure what I am! Given up i think. 9dpo here i reckon. Been spotting since ovulation and it's really annoying me. 🙄 I hate months like this. Who wants to bleed for 14 days before their bloody period comes? Bearing in mind my cycles are like 26 days, that's not many 'good' days.

@Juno231 yeah it was good. A live human doctor who wanted to help us, truly a rarity this past year.

I think it seems like it could be worthwhile. Not cheap but worthwhile. He was very friendly, said we definitely were not unexplained and is sending DH for tests and scans. Says he thinks there’s no hormonal issues because he has plenty of hair, a good count and I quote “a very good pair”. He was very happy with him physically but thinks he might have a small varicocele.

Basically said you need about 20 million motile sperm and we have 11 million so it’s not ideal. Then said with my progesterone levels I’m unlikely to be able to sustain a pregnancy even if his sperm can reach the egg so he’s not surprised we haven’t conceived.

He also dictated a letter to the Lister doctor we’re seeing next week while we were there and said they'll convene once the results are in.

It was very good to finally get help, even if it was pricey!

@thislittlebird

What region are you in *@kaylsd*? That seems a bit bonkers.

I'm in West Yorkshire, my local CCG is Pinderfields / Halifax clinic which is 52 week, Rotherham & Sheffield were 57 week, so we opted to choose Doncaster which I would presume has ties with Sheffield at 27 week to start treatment

[quote Juno231]@kaylsd I'm hoping the waiting period is fake news like mine was. It was 6-7 months from referral to appointment but then they moved it and in the end I only waited 3 months I think. I guess the upside of these long waiting periods is that there are more cancellations as people get pregnant naturally in the meantime.[/quote]
I've got ring mine up by the 8th of June if I don't hear anything so I'm predicting it'll be summer months when we first get seen 🤞🏻

@thislittlebird sounds a bit more promising! Very few interested drs around.
What are your progesterone levels coming back as?

@kaylsd fingers crossed it'll be faster.

@paintfairy my last test came back with a level of 10. I know it's not impossible to get pregnant with these levels but the odds are stacked against you I guess.

@juno231 not long for your appointment then. Yeah hard not to get hopes up isn't it, I suppose with unexplained aswell, it could very much still happen it's just a matter of when.
I've stopped opks etc I don't even know what cycle day I am and not timing dtd so that's took the pressure off but it's hard to not be in control as ultimately I'm not giving it my best chance by doing this but I just am focusing completely on icsi now.

@thislittlebird how exciting you got to see Dr Ramsay in the flesh! Aw I'm so pleased you are finally getting somewhere, after all the hurdles you've faced. It'll be interesting to know what he has planned for your partner once the results come back.

@paintfairy last cycle I was exactly the same, spotting for about 10 days then 2 days of AF then mode spotting. So annoying.

@thislittlebird yeah 10 isn't ideal! Hopefully he's got some ideas though and you can formulate a plan.
@dogmam its very frustrating!

@thislittlebird oh wow, what a huge difference between Dr Ramsey and the other rubbish fertility clinics you have been to. Sounds like you have a bunch better idea of what's going on too. Are they able to prescribe progesterone to help in your LP?

@juno231 that's come around quickly! Do you know what you want to come off the back of your next appointment?

@thislittlebird sounds like on your side they could finally set you up with clomid and progesterone supplements to help - you just need OH's swimmers to play ball too! Lol at "a very good pair"

@paintfairy I can't even imagine bleeding for that long! Next cycle is a write off IUI wise right? So July if they have space for you?

9DPO and trying hard to not get my hopes up again!

@Juno231 I’ll raise it on the call and ask that they think. Obviously the motility issue counts against our possible success even if my issue is fixed.

It made me laugh, he must have said it three times and I had a giggle lol

@Kay00 he didn’t talk about prescribing me stuff because it was just for DH. I’ll raise it with the other doctor next week and see what she says.

@Juno231 yeah next month falls wrong. I'm away for 3 days right around the wrong time. So it'll be July.
I know what you mean about getting hopes up. Or reading into stuff. Look at my rhr. And do you know what? It means nothing. 🤣🤣🤣

Morning ladies, hope you are all OK and had a lovely bank holiday weekend?

I just had my prolactin results in... 405 mU/L which is within normal range, but at the higher end. I guess this might also be pointing towards a possible PCOS issue when you consider my AMH is 64 pmol/L ??

How does my prolactin compare to yours?

@Kay00

Morning ladies, hope you are all OK and had a lovely bank holiday weekend?

I just had my prolactin results in... 405 mU/L which is within normal range, but at the higher end. I guess this might also be pointing towards a possible PCOS issue when you consider my AMH is 64 pmol/L ??

How does my prolactin compare to yours?

Mines 421, I've just been recently diagnosed with PCOS sweetheart xx

@kay00 mine was 500 I think (juuuust under the upper limit?) but tbh it is strongly linked to stress as well and apparently can fluctuate a fair bit cycle to cycle. People with infertility problems due to prolactin seem to have it in the thousands and not the hundreds so I try not to think about it - I hadn't heard the link to pcos though! What did your other results come back with?

@paintfairy oh that is being mean! But AF hasn't started right? Sorry to hear about June being a dud - it can be really nice to take a break from TTC for once though!

@Juno231 yesterday it got meaner! 🤣 AF due any time from today by my calculations.
@@Kay00 I don't think they even did mine so I've no idea what mine is!

@kaylsd @Juno231 @paintfairy hmmm, interesting. Might be nothing to worry about or might be an indicator for some sort of PCOS.

My TSH, FSH, LH and Testosterone were all within normal limits when tested in December. And my fertility consultant said there was little chance of me having PCOS (esp. as I have no other symptoms). But my AMH came back as 64 pmol/L which could indicate PCOS... but it could be something else (such as high reserves or a tumour).

Maybe I just have a shit ton of eggs in there, and the reason I struggle to ovulate is down to over stimulation .

On that note, I have started taking Conceive Plus Fertility support AND Conceive Plus Ovulation Support (about 2/3 months ago) and I had an ovulation on CD18 last time, and looks like I might have just ovulated on CD15.... which would be amazing!!