Private clinic and NHS referral

[Yazoop]

Hi there,

Wondered if any advice. Me and my husband have been trying to conceive for over a year. Before Xmas, I was referred for bloods to check ovulation etc and all came back fine, so was referred to fertility clinic for further investigation. But they won’t see me until I get my BMI under 30 - rather annoyingly I put on a stone and half since the pandemic started and am just over. Am slowly getting the weight off but prob at least a month until I can go ahead and get weighed at GP and then could be another couple of months to wait for a consultation.

I’m 37 and have endometriosis, so I don’t want to delay any further. For background, I also had a chemical pregnancy in August, where a couple of days after a positive test I started bleeding. I want to be able to quickly check me and my partner out to get a clearer picture of any potential issues so we get a bit more time for options like IVF if needed. I feel like the wait could waste 6 months+ that could be pretty important.

So we are thinking of going private for a fertility consultation that includes egg and semen analysis - does that cause any issue with going back to your GP for a referral for any NHS follow up/treatment if needed? Any experiences of this? I’m in London, if that’s relevant, and my council area provides 3 rounds of IVF if needed for those under 42.

Hi there, my situation is a bit different to yours but I obtained a PCOS diagnosis through a private clinic. I then took the documents from the private clinic to my GP and based on them I got a referral to a NHS fertility clinic.

Good luck!

Thank you - that’s helpful!

OP we've been TTC for 2+ years with our referral going to IVF clinic from the fertility clinic next month which then has a wait of 6-9 mo. Unexplained infertility here as bloods / scans / SA all ok. My BMI is sitting at 31.5 and the initial referrals etc to fertility clinic were done when it was higher. All I was told was as long as my BMI was 30 or below at initial IVF clinic appt they were happy to proceed as I was moving towards it. Sadly I think it depends on your healthboard too which is frustrating! Best of luck and have some baby dust ✨ 🥰 💐

Different situation as I'm in a same sex relationship but we contacted the NHS about treatment and contacted the private fertility clinic at the same time. Due to my wife's age we went down the private route initially then during our 3rd round of treatment the NHS got back to us and we switched to getting fertility treatments on the NHS with no issues.

4 years later, we have 2 boys.

Good luck on your journey!

Pre pandemic the waiting lists for IVF on the NHS were a minimum 1 year wait regardless of age but they would have put us on the list with a BMI over 30 but it needed to be below that for treatment to start.

Not from a personal experience, but a friend of mine tried IVF with NHS and I remember her saying that she would stop being eligible for NHS funding if she did a round of IVF abroad or privately. So I dont think you'll have a problem if you just do some tests.

@Yazoop we've been to a private consultant last week and she said we can get all the diagnostic tests done privately (so I've been booked in for HSG, AMH) and once she has everything she needs, she can transfer me directly to the NHS clinic for treatment (no need to go through GP). So I don't think you'll have any issues. Good luck!

Sorry to hijack and feel free not to answer, but thinking about the private PCOS diagnosis, would you be able to share what it involved/ how long it took/ costs etc and if any treatment was offered? I'm wondering about this and impacts on my fertility. Thanks

@Ft23 not a problem to share. Once I came off the pill it took over 5 months to get a period and even after that they were really infrequent and irregular. I also got moderate post-pill acne and dermatitis and low energy (other common PCOS symptoms can include weight gain, excessive hair growth or hair loss). I went and got blood tests. The main ones are LH/FSH (a 2 or 3:1 LH/FSH ratio is a common indicator of PCOS, in non PCOS people the ratio is around 1:1), testosterone (often raised in PCOS), oestrodial, prolactin and a thyroid profile (often raised in PCOS). I also had a scan. My blood tests all came back 'normal' but I had clinical markers of PCOS as described above and I had polycystic ovaries on a scan (this is where you have large numbers of "follicles" or undeveloped eggs because your body is not making the hormones for an egg to fully develop and ovulate.

I was diagnosed 6 months after coming off the pill and my tests and a scan cost around £400 privately. I was prescribed metformin (a diabetes drug used to lower insulin levels which can promote ovulation, as PCOS people generally have insulin resistance), but I chose to not take this and instead adapted my diet and lifestyle. Once I was referred to the NHS fertility clinic I was offered letrazole, an ovulation induction medication, along with IUI (no issues on my partner's side, but conception chances are slightly higher with IUI then with sex at home so the clinic suggested it). I'm currently on my first cycle.

Thanks, everyone - really helpful! I’m finding the whole thing pretty confusing so great to hear from others’ experiences.

Are you in Camden or Islington? Theoretically every private round of IVF reduces your NHS entitlement by the same, so once you’ve had 3 full rounds of IVF, you can no longer see the NHS.

No issues with having tests etc and you can take the results back to the GP. Once you are referred, it will take a few months to get an appointment. I was referred in Sept 20 and didn’t get a call up until Feb 21.

*the reduction in NHS entitlement is relevant for Islington and I think Camden is the same - it will change for other areas.

@magnoliasinbloom thank you for sharing - appreciate it! x