Fertility tests...when to have them?

[Nouveau2021]

Hi there,

Little backstory, I’ve been off the pill since June 2020, had one really long cycle but 4 normal length cycles. Currently 3 days late for this months period so looking like gonna be a longer cycle again.

I have been doing OPK’s and got a high on CD18 but due to events, didn’t manage to test again so don’t know if I got a peak. I’ve had ovulation pain and a lot of EWCM but no period so far.

I got blood tests in November due to an 80 day cycle and a history of family early menopause. Apparently all my levels were normal.

I’ve seen people saying they’ll get a fertility check before they start TTC, does a GP normally do this? Or would I have to go private for this?

It’s getting to the stage where I feel like I need to know what’s going on inside and with the irregular cycles, whether it’s just my body getting used to being off the pill or something more. I’m almost 37 so not got much time to waste.

TIA

@Nouveau2021
Hiya - you would have to go private to be tested before TTC. The general rule is you can see your GP after 12 months but some areas might see you after 6 if you're over 35.
When I came off the pill it took a few months for my cycles to regulate too.
January will be our sixth cycle and I'm thinking of getting a fertility MOT maybe in March if no luck by then.
The wait to see if things are happening is rubbish!

This will be my 7th month off the pill. I’ve been trying to DTD when I think I’m ovulating but obviously my periods don’t seem to have regulated yet. At my age I really can’t waste much more time, don’t really want to be hanging around waiting on regulation for a year at which time I’ll be 37 and a bit. I’ll maybe leave it till the end of this month and give my GP a call and also look into private testing as a back up.

Thank you for your reply 😊

If you're 37 then definitely get the ball rolling on tests I think :) For reference I started mine in July 2020 and it took until end of Nov before they were all done so no point delaying.

Also, if your cycles are irregular, it might be worth starting BBT tracking to identify when your ovulation is.

@Juno231 thank you for your reply. Did you go private? What tests did you get? Would a clinic be able to advise me on what I need to do?

@Nouveau2021 NHS - you just need to contact your GP and they'll set you up to do Day 21 and Day 3 blood tests, plus ask about your OH getting an SA done. They'll also refer you for an ultrasound. Those are all the first steps. After all that's done they refer you to a fertility clinic for an assessment - I think they do this whether your tests come back normal or not.

Feel free to ask anything you like about these tests !

You've already been TTC 7mths, and as you are over 35, I'd speak to your GP now- not wait another month. I was in a similar situation (slightly younger back then), and my GP said I was 1 week off their timelines so woudlnt do anything!!! I've now been TTC 10yrs and still no kids!

I'd at least get the ball rolling with your GP. Depending on your area, local hospital and whether fertility clinics there are even open (many staff are being redeployed again). IF they could give you a rough timeline, you can then decide whether to go private or not. OR, get what you can (maybe basic bloods from your GP) from your GP and the rest privately.

Were your cycles irregular before you went on the pill? What bloods did they check in Nov? I ended up paying privately when abroad (I used to work in Aus), but believe the same tests would have been done in the UK- albeit likely slower!

From memory they said they will check for:

-Sti's check for both of you- HIV, Hepatitus, chlamydia

• Day 21 blood test to check you ovulate
• Bloods for anaemia, thyroid, diabetes etc
• Height/weight to check BMI isnt too low/high
• Hycosy or HCG- both check the shape of the uterus and patency of fallopian tubes. It will also show fibroids, polyps etc.
• AMA blood test- combined with a scan of the ovaries, it will give an ovarian reserve level. if your family have a history of early menopause, there is a chance your levels might be lower than average for your age. What age did your mum have menopause?
• Semen analysis for your partner

Any questions, feel free to ask.

If you can afford it, go private. You'll have your tests within weeks. NHS will be a few months delay (possibly longer due to COVID). At 37, I wouldn't wait.

@Juno231 thank you, I’ll give my GP a call on Monday. To be fair, when I called worried about the long cycle, I was only on day 65 (read that bloods aren’t done till 90 days have past) and they did do the blood tests quite quickly so hopefully the fertility side of things is still moving. I’m in Scotland so not sure if it’s different elsewhere.

@Elouera thank you for the information, that’s very helpful. I genuinely can’t remember if my periods were irregular or not to be honest, I don’t think so but I didn’t track when I was younger, it just came when it came. I was on the pill from the age of 19 but have had breaks of up to 6 months when I wasn’t in a relationship and all seemed fine. But again, I didn’t track.

My mum didn’t start menopause till she was 50/51 but my Gran (mums mum) went through it at 36. My mum and sister seem to have been/be extremely fertile, as do my 2 cousins. Unsure of fathers side as I don’t know him but he has a (really) large family and they all have lots of kids so I’m assuming there’s no issues on their end.

I did actually fall pregnant on the pill 5 years ago. I didn’t know I was and I lost it. When I went to the doctors the next day, the male GP tested my urine and said I couldn’t have been pregnant but I know what I saw and also my mum and sister saw it as well.

The blood tests I had in November were to check if I was showing signs of early menopause, I’m sure they checked my FSH? LH? And something else that I can’t remember and they were apparently all normal. I wrote the levels down on a piece of paper and have since lost it 🙈

It’s just weird that November and December AF came right on time (I do have slightly longer cycles at 33/34 days) and I have been doing the OPK’s and the levels were going up but nothing has happened. Currently on CD36.

@Chanel05 I can’t really afford private right now but I’ll find the money somewhere if I need to. But I’m going to call GP on Monday anyway. And I’ve booked onto a webinar/information evening with a local fertility clinic on Tuesday.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply and giving me this information.

Could I ask one last thing? I’ve looked up the price list of the local fertility clinic but I couldn’t figure out the price just for the tests? It was all bundled into the full costs of IVF. Does anyone know the ballpark figure I would be looking at in the first instance?

I paid £450 for a basic female MOT. Hormone test and scan. DP did a spunk test circa £150. Cheap, quick, easy, really helpful. I would recommend your DP gets that done first.

My tests came back 'fine' - in the past with previous partners I've got preg after one shag. DP basically infertile. Send him off first

Maybe just after £400 rather than £450. Seemed standard. Google female fertility MOT

Another thing I find useful is a reusable saliva OPK. They arent that well known in the UK. Despite knowing I do indeed ovulate, I never got a positive opk with the urine strips! I do, however, always get a positive with the salive type. My one is called 'Maybe Baby' but there are other brands on ebay/amazon. Its basically a tiny microscope. You put saliva on it, let it dry, the look at the pattern. A fern like pattern means fertile. As said, I've TTC 10yrs, so the one off cost to buy it has saved me YEARS of urine opks which never seemed to work for me.

Don't forget that many larger NHS hospitals that provide assisted conception, will also see fee paying patients- not just NHS patients. Don't JUST look up private fertility clinics, which IMO, can end up costing more. I found that the mainstream hospital options were often not as high up on a google search page, so are often overlooked. I can see at Guys, London, that a baseline scans and blood tests are £200, with a hycosy costing £400. Obviously depends what hospitals/clinics in have your region though and if they are indeed open now?

@Titsinknicks thank you, that’s very helpful and also within the realms of what I could afford.

DP already has a 12 year old. I’m assuming male fertility doesn’t decline the way the female of the species does considering all the geriatric rock star dads there are in the world. DP was certain that I’d be impregnated immediately due to his “potent” sperm 😂 he didn’t really understand why I’ve been a bit stressed and a bit obsessive 🙈 tracking my period, intercourse and ovulation. He didn’t realise that it’s harder as a woman ages. My friend also told me a couple of years ago that I had years and years to have children yet and when I said it was probably 10 at the most, he was genuinely flabbergasted. A 40 year old man had no clue what the menopause actually means for a woman.

Feeling a bit better now I have a starting point, thanks again.

@Elouera thank you, I’ll look up the saliva test. And I’ll see what I can find on local hospitals. I’m in Glasgow so we have a few large ones, hopefully one of them has this option.

I’m going to phone my GP on Monday but I’m just worried that they’ll try and fob me off.

Your main issue will be that your DP already has a child so the treatment the NHS will offer you will be very limited. I’d hope they’d do initial blood tests for you. Good luck.

I’ve checked previously for NHS Scotland and it looks like as long as all the other criteria are met regarding infertility i.e how long a couple has been trying, weight, smoking status etc, that even if one person has a child, they still offer treatment. I know a woman who has a daughter but has secondary infertility due to PCOS and she’s currently in the early stages of the process so hopefully my DP having a child won’t scupper my chances.

I’m hoping I don’t need treatment at all tbf, I just want to get tested so I know one way or another and can adjust my expectations accordingly. When I went for my bloods my GP did say that as I managed to get pregnant previously while I was actually on the pill, that was a good sign and it may be just that I’ve not been DTD at the right time yet. I know my friends body took about a year to adjust being off the pill and her period to regulate and she was in the early stages of testing when she got pregnant with her daughter. So I’m still slightly hopeful but just a bit impatient 🙈

I think I’ll feel better if I get the tests and find out what’s happening with my body though. So that’s my first thing to action 😊