Fertility Clinic Appointments and Beyond..

[dogmam]

New thread for us to continue our fertility clinic appointment progress...

Some of us are waiting for initial appointments, some are having tests and some are starting treatment!

@Juno231 yes definitely. Or might even try and do it before if we can.

@Juno231 no I don't get my AMH until my appointment on 28 September. Meant to get my 21 day bloods tomorrow but we're still in lockdown so they're not doing non-urgent bloods. It's all quite frustrating at the moment!

Hello, Im hoping to join here if that's okay?

Brief story: 32 years old, BMI28, started trying to conceive March 2020. Very long irregular cycles (49-141 days long). Conceived once in Sept 2020 but miscarried at 12 weeks.

Thus far have had bloods done twice - nothing showing off apart from progesterone saying I hadnt ovulated yet that cycle (duh). Do not completely trust that the GP hasn't missed something related to fertility on these. Was tested for antiphospholipid syndrome after miscarriage, which was negative.

Not eligible for NHS fertility referral until December 2021. Have just started the assessment process with a private clinic (GCRM in Glasgow)

@TheDaydreamBelievers ah that's tough - such long cycles!! Have you had any tests for PCOS? Not sure how referrals for assistance work over there but in NZ it's a year but sooner if you have a known issue. So if I was identified as having endo, I would be able to access fertility treatment sooner.

I'm paying privately for some initial tests ($300 over here, so £150) so I can rule anything out.

@BritInNZ sadly, despite there clearly being an issue, its a year wait. To add insult to injury, our miscarriage restarts the clock. That's why I'm not eligible for referral until Dec 2021 even though we have already been trying over 1.5 yrs. In terms of 'tests for PCOS' my GP would only offer bloods and a referral for a scan. Post covid19 the scan waitlist on the NHS is about a year I think. Given all that, we have decided to get private testing (about £500 for testing for both of us).

@thedaydreambelievers welcome xx

@dogmam sounds like testing tomorrow morning is a good idea to rule in or out either way, can your OH be there for support? Is it normal for AF to be so late after the IVF meds?

I up my Metformin to 3 x 500mg a day tomorrow. I'm not really sure the Metformin is doing much more to help than the Conceive Plus Ovulation Support supplements did (as my cycles have been quite regular the last few months) so I expect it will be another unsuccessful cycle. I'm trying not to pin all my hopes on my first Clomid cycle (next cycle... eek!) 🥴

@thedaydreambelievers despite the cost I highly recommend the private testing. I certainly feel more in control of my fertility health.

@TheDaydreamBelievers as annoying as it is having to pay yourself, I think it's 100% worth it. There's no better investment than in your own health and happiness, so I really hope you get some answers ASAP. We have an equally long waiting list here - I have to have a pelvic ultrasound as I've been having a few issues and that's a few weeks wait and if they find anything, operation waiting lists at 18 months! Unfortunately I'm not quite well off enough to pay privately for that 😂 so will probably just have to wait it out.

Hope you get some answers soon! It's horrible waiting isn't it?!

[quote Tillybabs]@Juno231 oh lovely so we can share experiences with the same ccg. Im hoping I can go to Kings, their facilities are brilliant. [/quote]
There is a thread about kings fertility on here and I know another person having IVF there at the same time as me. All have said the admin organisation is rubbish but once your treatment starts it's good. They are keen to get your money quite quickly if private but no special treatment for being private Vs NHS.
Just recovering from egg collection there today. Yes facilities are good but staff are very hit and miss. Anaesthetist had me in tears today and was sent home in a lot of pain with just a "oh you'll feel better soon, take care".
So pretty buildings can be misleading.

@PurpleUnicorn01 I see congratulations are in order! Amazing news.

@Tillybabs hope you’re doing ok and it sounds like they have a plan in place now

@dogmam I hear you on that test anxiety. I’m actually scared of taking them and I’m dreading ivf making me take them. How long now until the FET?

@BritInNZ welcome! Sorry to hear the lockdown is delaying everything.

Hi @TheDaydreamBelievers, I agree with what pp said, the private fertility tests are worthwhile.

@Zibidee are you a private Kings patient? I was looking at them at one point, but I now have a Guys nhs referral and had started some treatment with the Lister.

No, not started, started looking into. I wish I’d started 🤨

My appointment with Guys is a week away. I’m really worried they’ll tell me there’s a long wait for treatment. I can’t deal with more knockbacks.

@tillybabs I've found a freeze all cycle absolutely fine, I've especially liked the break between finishing the cycle and waiting for FET as it's the first time in a very long time I could switch off a little bit, not have to think about ttc.
In terms of timing it's going to depend on your protocol, but if it's short, then my scans were day 9 and day 11, so I would say you're free to do whatever prior to that, just need to be home for whatever time you do injections and just remember some need to be kept in the fridge so going away may be tricky.

@thislittlebird how are you? Hope you are further forward with stuff.

@kay00 hopfully the metformin surprises you and does the trick but can understand you're looking forward to Clomid, loads of people have success with it.

So AF started properly yesterday afternoon so I have rang the clinic today and they've started me on the estrogen tablets 3x a day ready for my FET, and I have a scan booked for next Thursday!

@dogmam exciting, is the scan to check your lining?

I’m not in the best way tbh. A lot of anxiety over everything right now. A podcast triggered me in a big way and now I’m worried about the ivf repeatedly failing. I’ve been dreaming about not being able to look after babies (I hung a very flat baby on a washing line and left it there 😔), and I’m scared of my appointment on August 31. Did I come back to say they approved the funding? I don’t know what to expect of this appointment but I don’t want them to tell me there’s a 4/5/6 month wait to start. The letter says within3 months, but the thread I’m on for my clinic said they’ve thrown that three month rule in the bin because of covid. So I’m anxious. We lost seven months to cockups and I will be pointing that out.

@thislittlebird yes private at kings. But my friend is NHS at kings and seems to have had the same timing as me, no delays.
My only delay was the time for the sperm to arrive, a full month I hadn't accounted for, and when they booked my baseline it was supposed to be day 21 and admin cocked up and booked on the wrong day, so lost a whole month due to that. But it turned out better as I've had all the hard stuff during school holidays so didn't have to worry about impacting on work.
Just found out we have two fertilised eggs, keeping everything crossed they develop ok!

@dogmam exciting things are happening.
@thislittlebird I know what you mean. It takes over your brain.

@paintfairy it really does. It’s all consuming and I’m so tired of it. Two years lost to this and no progress made as of yet in terms of actually getting egg to meet sperm. I have no friends or family to talk to either. My closest friend just didn’t even reply when I tried to talk about some of these anxieties the other day. It’s such a horrible, lonely experience.

I had all these goals (post-infertility issues) like wanting to have my first before I turned 39. It’s all gone to shit now, with my egg quality probably declining each day. 😑

@Zibidee was the sperm frozen? I wanted to get started in august too because my job is quiet then, but it was not to be. Good news on the fertilisation! How many did you collect?

@thislittlebird they collected 7, I was expecting more as there one 10 in the left on the scan and the right was hidden so was hoping for 12-15. But I guess 2 is better than 0 and would mean a second go as frozen transfer if the first didn't work. But gotta get them developing well first, one day at a time.
I joined the south east london fertility network on Facebook, they do monthly zoom meetings, one is tonight, that's where I found my friend at the same clinic and same stage as me. It's been a god send to have her to chat to. Maybe give them a try?

@Zibidee two is definitely better than none! I’d be happy with two at this stage. Someone on my Guys thread had 17 and I think 3 fertilised. It’s such a frustrating process and the rates of attrition are all over the place, a rollercoaster.

I’ve never heard of that. Is it private? I think I might try that. Thanks for the recommendation!

Oh and I forgot to add, I sprained my ankle last week, I don’t think this is helping my mood and anxiety

@thislittlebird I'm doing ok and remaining positive about it all. I've stopped looking up things online and unfollowed fb groups on it as well as I just found it made me more anxious.

I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry about things too much. You are having those dreams because you are subconsciously worrying about it.

I find it watching some pregnancy manifestation videos help on YouTube. Go for walks etc.

I think we might be in similar positions? I started trying last year and an 40 now! I too worry but try not to think about what ifs too much.

@dogmam thanks for the info. Sounds like you are on track for an FET soon! I guess they will check the lining of your womb at that scan?

@thislittlebird yes, I'll be lucky to be pregnant now by 39. Certainly no hope of having a baby by then. I don't have anyone to talk to either really. But sometimes I don't want to talk about it either, so it's difficult. I'm annoyed the nhs wasted 5 months on iui without knowing my egg quality. I still have no idea what it is and I dread to think!

@Tillybabs I’m glad you’re staying positive. Were the fb groups on that specific issue? Yeah It’s funny, like I like threads like this, it’s relatable. But I was listening to bfn the podcast and it set me right off. Everyone had raved about it and the first few episodes were good, but then the hosts got pregnant what felt like straight away. It became more about infertility and pregnancy and I just couldn’t handle it at all. They were even annoying me going on holidays and stuff because pre-covid. Something that was supposed to be a relatable listen became like a taunt that they were pregnant, and younger, and had support networks and I had none of these things. So I had to stop listening to it. I got it into my head that it won’t work for me.

I also had a dream the woman at work who is older with an adopted kid got pregnant too. Like even the last person who would get pregnant in my life was pregnant and I wasn’t. There’s a lot going on in my head right now.

I was doing exercise but I sprained my ankle so I’m stuck here until I feel it’s strong enough to walk a bit further on. I do have some exercises to do for it so I should probably do those. I took today off sick. I had a migraine this morning (and yesterday if I’m being honest, or the start of one) and I feel unwell. Just did some reading in the bath.

When did you turn 40? We started ttc in October 19 when I was 36 😑

@paintfairy when are you 39? I’m 39 in May so I’m coming up to the can’t get pregnant in time to have a kid before I’m 39 now. Sigh. I’m scared by egg quality too. Basically because my AMH is fine they just dismissed me initially, so I lost six weeks when I should have been referred. Oh no problem if you have a high AMH. Which is nonsense. I know loads of people on here who had 20/30 eggs and they didn’t fertilise or were mostly poor quality or whatever.

I’d already lost six months before that to the GP surgery saying out results were ok when they weren’t. And not just a quality thing but once you hit 38 you have more expensive private packages if it fails with the nhs, can’t do some of the refund packages and so on. Frustrating to say the least.

@thislittlebird January. So I'm beyond hope. 🤣 Yeah no one is in a hurry. I'm not, or wouldn't be if everything wasn't deteriorating by the day. 🙄

@thislittlebird I turned 40 in Jan.

Yes was groups about adenomyosis. I just found the posts were worrying me more than anything and making me look things up. I'm still in a couple but just unfollowed so I don't keep seeing things.

It's good to turn off sometimes