Fertility blood tests/age for IVF eligibility – confused!

[NSC1980]

Hi Everyone,

We've been ttc for around 10 months now. I did some private blood tests when we first started trying and found I had a MH level of 22.3 pmol/L and FSH 6.62 (both apparently within the normal range for my age – 40!).

Having put it off for ages I finally called the GP the other day to get some advice on next steps and the doctor I spoke to told me I should get some blood tests done there. She said I'd need two tests and I'm very confused about the dates she mentioned – one of which would be on the day of my period. I can't remember the other date as I assumed she would book these for me but she didn't and now I think I'd have to ring the reception and try to book these tests when I'm unsure on dates (find these kind of phonecalls difficult anyway)...

The other thing she said which really surprised me was that, while they can do some tests/fertility checks, I'm not eligible for IVF on the NHS because of my age. I had thought age 40–42 you're eligible for one cycle (I meet all the other criteria on the NHS website for this). Does anyone know if this is area dependent? I'm in Wiltshire...

Any help or advice gratefully received as can't face another awkward call with the doctor!

Yes, I'm afraid it is area dependent and not even county or council as the clinical care board areas are different.
In my area for example the cut off age is 35, so once you hit that they decide you're too old to bother spending money on. It's shit.
There are other things they can try and test for (check if your tubes are blocked, if you have hormonal problems, abnormal uterus, maybe throw some pills at you if there's any that might help) but it might take a long time between waiting for appointments, then waiting for results, then waiting for the followup call, which tells you to wait for the next test. And suddenly you've lost another half a year.

If you can afford it, I'd suggest go private. You can take your NHS blood tests with you and they might accept them if withing 6 months, but they might ask you to pay to do them again.

Hi @NSC1980 I'm so sorry you're struggling to conceive. Yes IVF policies are area dependent and it looks as tho the Wiltshire cut off is aged 40. You must have started treatment 18 weeks before your 40th birthday. You also need to have been trying for 1 year prior to investigations and 2 if they find no cause of infertility (which is the norm).

If you want IVF you will need to go private but as the previous poster says there may be other things the NHS can do. It's also worth getting as many tests as possible from the NHS even if you go private as they are expensive.

Your AMH is good and your FSH too. Your hormone levels are usually tested on days1-3 of your cycle (LH, FSH, maybe oestrogen, prolactin). Progesterone is tested one week after ovulation or 7 days before your period. They often set this as day 21 but if you don't have a regular or 28 day cycle you will want to adjust the timing accordingly. This is a test of ovulation and or your levels later in the cycle. AMH can be tested any time of the month.

Best of luck with everyone. I know 10 months feels like forever but it can take that long even when there aren't issues. Having said that I started TTC when we were 40 and went quickly to IVF because I didn't want to take the risk of waiting. I have 2 kids from IVF but it was a long road especially for the second.

I hope things work out for you soon. Xxx

Thanks so much @Janefx40 and @Omgdnswv – that's really helpful advice.

With hindsight, I should have checked my area policy on IVF well before turning 40... I just wasn't ready/wasn't sure if I wanted children then – but now, faced with the chance that it won't happen, I suddenly really do! The costs are scary... especially looked at next to the success(or not!) rates for over 40s but we'll just have to find the money.

I'll be a bit braver and ring the surgery to arrange the blood tests for the correct days this month. @Janefx40, what you've said about dates makes sense/I think correlates to what the doctor was saying – I was just a bit overwhelmed to write it all down/absorb it when she told me. I think you're right and we'll do the NHS for this first bit/get whatever we can for free and then look to take things private.

I know what you mean about 10 months not being too long in general – but yes, it seems like a bit of a panic when you hit 40 so need to set the wheels in motion (the GP did say sometimes once people start doing all the tests/start the process of IVF they conceive naturally so I suppose I can keep my fingers crossed for that too).

Thanks again for the advice.x

Hi, I just wanted to do a little update here in case it helps anyone else.

Following my GP phonecall last summer and realising we were unable to have IVF (we can't afford to do it privately) we went back to hoping it would happen naturally (it hasn't).

This week, I plucked up the courage (might sound silly but it all makes me really nervous) and spoke to another GP at my local surgery about getting a referral to the local fertility clinic. My partner had run them direct and they said they could see us if the referral came through my GP.

Now for the interesting bit... what we've now learnt (from a phone call – we haven't had the appointment through yet) is that as my partner is in the armed forces we are actually entitled NHS to IVF after all!! (if one member of the couple is serving, and the female is under 40, you're entitled to three rounds; if you're 40–42 like me you're entitled to one round).

No one had previously mentioned it to us, which is a real shame as we could have set the wheels in motion last summer, but just feels good to know that there's hope for us now.

Sharing it here on the off-chance that someone reading this is in/has a partner in the armed forces and this will help them too.

@NSC1980 great that you can get started. Best of luck with it all x