Can depression affect fertility treatment

[Blubelll]

Hello! First time posting here, nice to meet you all :) I'm feeling quite alone and low right now so hope someone can give some advice or support.

I'm 33 and trying to conceive with my partner (38). We haven't had any luck in 18 months and have already been to the drs to get tests. They have found some issues but, everything seems to be moving slowly so we're not yet sure what we do next/exactly what the issues are and what they mean for our prospects etc. It's very frustrating but especially as the NHS is under such pressure, I know we just have to wait.

One of my main concerns at the moment is, I am feeling incredibly depressed and anxious. I've had experience of this before, and I'm sure it's down to a mix of things including fertility worries (but explaining it all would take another huge thread in itself!).

Does anyone have any experience with going to their GP for mental health issues at the same time as pursuing fertility treatments? I'm concerned that it might be a factor in them giving treatment or not. I may be worrying too much but, things feel so bad right now that I'm at a loss. One of the major things I worry about when I feel this way is food- logically I know I need to keepself as fit and healthy as possible but even the basics feel overwhelming right now.

Though I'm not sure what they would be able to do for me (I don't want to go on medication again as we are trying, therapy waiting lists are huge on the NHS and I can't afford private therapy right now), going to the drs feels like the logical next step when I feel this low. But I don't want to do so if it would jeopardise our chances of getting help.

Any advice would very much be appreciated.

@Blubelll hi! Nice to meet you too! Up front I don't have experience of what you want advice on but I didn't want to 'read and run'.

I would be extremely surprised if seeking help with mental health would cause issues with also seeking help with fertility - particularly if the difficulty conceiving is part of the MH issues. Also, as I'm sure you probably know, there are whole teams of specialist MH midwives to support women through pregnancy. Some of those women have existing MH issues and some develop them during pregnancy. It's all very normal and part of life. Discriminating against you on the grounds of existing MH would not be legal I wouldn't think. I would say definitely talk to GP about any concerns as a first port of call. Wish you lots of luck!

I was 34 when I conceived my first and had a dream pregnancy. It's great that you already know some of the potential issues etc already and not even mid thirties yet. Hopefully you've given yourself lots of time to find answers etc.

Big hugs! Seek support here any time you need. There is nearly always someone else who has gone through the same or has some helpful words of advice/support 👍🏻

@Blubelll I could have written this six weeks ago

We’ve been trying for coming up two years, I was referred to the fertility clinic last March and had my first appointment at the end of July. They did find a problem with me in that I wasn’t ovulating. I was prescribed medication and did finally have a successful ovulation in November. Unfortunately I’m still not pregnant and we are having write off this cycle and next due to me having a HyCoSy. It was supposed to happen yesterday but was cancelled 20 minutes before so it will be my next cycle now. After the HyCoSy we will have two more cycles with medication before we look to IVF. I feel the same about your frustrations with how long treatment takes but we do have more of a defined timeline/plan now.

I have not coped with the situation well and I had been putting off going to the doctors as I didn’t want to go on medication in case it made things worse. Both the GP and the fertility consultant have assured me that it won’t and that lots of women in our situation do take medication for anxiety and depression. I’ve been on citalopram for about four weeks and I’m feeling much better for it.

Have you had an appointment with the specialist yet, where I am the clinic has a specialised counsellor that you can access whilst having treatment.

Do you have any friends you can talk to? I’ve really opened to up to others in the past month and I feel like a weight has been lifted by doing that too.

Hey SnookyPook, thank you I really appreciate the reply. Those are some really good points and that's put me a bit more at ease!

Hi PixieDusted thanks so much for the reply. I'm sorry you've been struggling too, I'm glad they've given you more of a plan and timeline now though. Really good to hear you're feeling better though, that's super encouraging. I hope it goes well for you <3

We haven't had an appointment yet, my Dr said my other half needs a second sperm test before we go to a fertility clinic, but to organise that he needs to be referred by his GP. His GP surgery seems so much worse than mine-he got his first results back in November and he still hadn't even had a phone appointment. They say they are busy, but it's so frustrating when most days they don't even answer the phone.

I do have some friends I can talk about this with but I don't want to be the negative person always talking about the same things. I can talk to my OH too but he is out of work at the moment and very stressed about money. I feel like I don't want to add to his plate too much by talking too much about this stuff. He gets really worried about me when I'm in one of my dien and crying spells and I want him to be able to focus on other important things without always having to contend with me!

*down, not dien!

Hi @Blubelll how are you doing? Did you manage to speak to a doctor to get some support?

Hey @Pixiedusted , I had a phone appointment last week and from that I've been given a face to face one in a couple of weeks. I thought it was probably best to just go for it as if I need the help, I need the help.

Fertility wise my partner had a 2nd sperm test and the results came back today, saying no sperm at all again. We had hoped the first one saying this was flawed/things change so that this time it would show a better result. Yesterday we had a call from a Dr at the fertility clinic who has ordered more tests for both of us just to tick boxes. But this 2nd test has been another big blow and has got me worried if Ivf or Icsi will even be applicable for us. We just feel completely in limbo and that really doesn't help with the mental health side of things.

How have you been doing, have you been better having been on medication for a bit longer now?