Fertility Tests Advice

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Hi everyone,

Just wondering for anyone who's had to go for further fertility tests when TTC at what point did you decide to do so? Did you wait until after 12 months or decide once you reached that point it was time?

We're about to enter cycle 12 with zero luck so far so this is now at the back of my mind.

Is it worth going privately for tests? Or wait it out through the GP?

Thank you!

Hey, I have no advice sorry, but in the same boat basically, 9 months ttc and never even a sign of bfp. So just a couple of months away. I made a deal with hubby he will do SA privately in the next two weeks, it is not that expensive but basically rules him out if it's OK. Since i did use bbt and opks I am sure I ovulate, also had my vaginal ultrasound and Papp smear in January in follicular phase which was all good.
of course it doesn't rule out other fertility issues with me but still I feel like I did something in these 9 months so we plan on checking him and if that comes good I will defo get my bloods done and decide wether to do hycosy with my gp.
I feel like that's some sort of a plan, and that's reassuring.
So I think if you talk to your partner and make some sort of plan it will give you security. Best of luck OP

Thanks so much for the reply, all of the things you've done sound exactly like what I feel I should be doing. My partner is totally on board for any tests so might be a good starting point. Best of luck to you and hope you get your BFP soon!

Hiya I did my initial tests via the doctors, blood tests, they then referred me for further tests at hospital fertility unit; scan and more bloods for me and partner and SA.

If I could go back in time I would go privately for the tests to get the answers quicker as the NHS didn't run all the tests I ended up needing and the the whole testing process took almost a year.

I was ovulating normally during this time.

When I went to private clinics, results were back within days. If you can afford to, it could be helpful to do a fertility MOT privately so you have most of the answers.

I was 37 when I was tested, 38 accepted for IVF via NHS, 39 by the time I went private due to super long delays in the NHS processes, so time was a big factor for me due to my age.

As the blood results are a snapshot in time and hormone levels can fluctuate month to month it was beneficial to have more than one set of test results too.

I.e NHS tests my FSH level came out at 48.3 they advised i was peri menopausal and conception highly unlikely, gave me info on adoption and egg donation.

my private results FSH was 11 so while higher than normal showed i just needed to supress my FSH ore cycle or wait for a good month FSH naturally before starting my treatment.

alwo identified that i was ovulating prematurely before the folicles were big enough to contain a mature egg. So through medication my ovulation was supressed by an extra 3 days until they had grown. Basically it would have been almost impossible for me to convieve naturally as my FSH was too high for the folicles to grow and then even if a folcile did grow it was getting ovulate before it was mature enough to be fertilised. I only know this through the private tests.

I hope this is helpful and I wish you both all the best in your next steps and hope it is something super simple for you both ❤️