IVF referral wait through NHS

[HopeHopeandmoreHope]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone was in the same position as me, I have my next appointment with our consultant in less than 3 weeks and at this appointment he will be doing out IVF referral, from this stage how long were people waiting before they actually got their first appointment and started IVF?
TIA x

Hi @HopeHopeandmoreHope I’m afraid I can’t offer much advice on this so following with interest… we’re in the same position and waiting to hear after our referral but the thing I’ve learnt from other recent threads is that it massively varies by area, waiting times can be 5 months (this was North West London if that’s any help!) or up to a year from the initial GP appt to IVF. If you don’t mind me asking, how many months in are you so far? And which area are you?

Hello ladies! @HopeHopeandmoreHope @Barbs3116

I also can’t provide advice but we’re in the same boat… our first NHS referral appt takes place next week! We’ve been waiting for almost a year (with it being sped up). I’m based in Wales so it’ll vary from area to area but hopefully I’ll know more about treatment progression for IVF (if suitable) sometime next week. I’m not sure what to expect! How are you feeling about your appts? No doubt they’ve been a long time coming x

Thanks for your replies and sorry your in the same position as me, it sucks!

So we're 2 years TTC, we first visited GP October last year, initial tests done at the end of last year, partners tests done early this year, result from both I don't ovulate regular and he has low count, referral was sent around Jan this year and appointment with gynae was July who advised IVF was our only option at this point, boyfriend had to do a repeat test and no improvement so back in with the gynae consultant beginning of October who will then do the IVF referral, so it's from then to actually getting started with IVF I'm hoping to find out!

I'm greater Manchester based! X

Hi @HopeHopeandmoreHope @Yolo23 thanks for sharing more, it really does suck doesn’t it? I appreciate MN for having someone to talk to, it’s a lonely old journey!

You’re both further ahead than us, I’m kicking myself that I waited so long to go to the GP as we’ve been trying for about 2 years but we only started our testing through the NHS around May/June and are just waiting for our first referral appointment. So it sounds like it could be summer 2024 before we’re actually starting treatment. I’m looking at private options too but we need to keep saving.

We’re all in different areas, we’re Hertfordshire based and ours is unexplained so far from the tests we’ve had. I might call and see what info I can get - the GP wasn’t able to give us anything in terms of typical waiting times or what we could be eligible for.

Will you both be eligible for 3 rounds? And can I ask how strictly they followed the BMI guidelines for your partner in your area? My DP is a bit over BMI (mine is within) so I wonder if we’ll be told we’re not eligible after all this!

Good luck for both of your appointments - not long now 🤞🏼

@Barbs3116 MN has been a saving grace for me I've learnt alot through it and makes me feel better knowing I'm not alone!
For me, the waiting is so difficult and feel like I'm constantly on count down till our next appointment.
In Manchester as far as I can work out from different government websites we are only able to have 1 round.
Regards BMI my BMI when I check on the NHS website is around 25 so well within the guidelines but at my last appointment with our gynae I asked what I can do to help out chances and he said loose weight which I was quite surprised about, I have lots a few pounds since that appointment in July though x

Completely agree - it helps to talk about it and I’ve learnt loads. My poor DP is fed up of me telling him everything I’ve learnt about supplements and things that might help us (my bank balance is suffering too!)

On the BMI - SAME!!! I haven’t had the consultant appointment yet but when I saw my GP she said I needed to look at what I can do to manage my weight. My BMI is 25 and I was quite surprised to hear that, as I exercise pretty regularly and eat a good balanced diet…except sugar, I need to work on reducing that 😣

Well done on losing a few pounds! It’s not easy at the best of times and when I’m also not drinking and thinking about TTC all the time, dieting is the last thing I want to think about!

@Barbs3116 really I thought I just had brutal consultant haha! I am exactly the same, it's on my mind constantly!!

Have you had all your initial tests done through your GP? X

Oh no, I think my GP could give your consultant a run for their money 😩 She’s brutal and lacks any empathy or understanding. I do understand they have a very tough job though!

We’ve had all the initial tests done and the
results were fine. All pretty good for our age (I’m mid 30s, he’s early 40s). Which is good in a way but frustrating in another because I’d rather know what the cause is and then find solutions to fix it. I am worried about DP’s BMI - it looks like 30 is the absolute max and the NHS will be quite strict on it. He has a few health conditions and it’s going to be difficult for him to lose weight quickly..so we may end up going for private treatment after all this!

@Barbs3116 I understand that, was his test results ok?
I've read a lot about the womans BMI but not really seen much about the man to be honest I don't know how much of an impact that would have. I suppose because my boyfriend is a slim build I've never had to look into it and may have just bypassed anything that would mention it x

Yes his tests were all fine too! I thought the same, the women’s BMI seems to be key but private clinics don’t seem to have the same approach when it comes to the male’s BMI. So not really sure where we go from here but I’ll speak to DP.

Please keep us posted on your appointment, I really hope everything moves quickly for you 🤞🏼

@Barbs3116 Thank you I will do! Hopefully your first referral appointment doesn't take too long, or even better you get your BFP before then! X

2 1/2 years - we were hit by covid though so assume things are better now. Will depend on your health authority, waiting lists, if they find anything wrong, age... lots of factors x

@MotherOfShihTzus thank you for your reply! Is that from your first GP appointment or from your hospital referral to the IVF clinic? Hope you had a happy outcome x

Hello again! Sorry had such a busy day today.

I think we’re entitled to two rounds here where I live but I’m optimistic with 3 being the lucky number… so unfortunately if we are entitled to NHS (and omg how cheeky are these specialists re. The BMI! 🤦‍♀️🤣)… we will be paying for our last IVF private. After that, I guess we move onto plan B - whatever in the hell that may be 😂

@Barbs3116 hindsight is a wonderful thing so don’t kick yourself too much! You don’t go into this expecting to have issues and it’s best to give yourself the natural time it needs.. but to follow through when you’re not getting anywhere. My recommendation would be to try and expedite your referral - do you have any pains or symptoms that may encourage an earlier appt? Mine was slightly sped up due to horrendous pain with endo (and being unable to do this for longer than neccessary as I’m off the pill which affects my work). I’ve had a few operations for it in fairness so this time around I was ready for the process of referrals 😅

@HopeHopeandmoreHope ita great to hear you have an appt next month! Like me, the waiting is the worst part but having a date in the diary has been incredibly helpful. I’m unsure what this appt will entail and whether we will be able to progress straight onto IVF or if further tests etc will be neccessary - from our situation, my partner and I are healthy, his SA a month or two ago was normal and I’ve got endo diagnosed so I guess they know what they’re working with… hoping it’s not too much trouble to refer! xx

@Yolo23 that was from referral 😩 add on 10 months from referral to fertility. Was due to start end of March 2020, but pandemic added another 15 months to June 2021. Surely things aren't this bad now though 🤞

@MotherOfShihTzus oh no! So the fertility team took 10 months to get you onto IVF? Or it took 10 months from your GP/gynaecologist to get you seen by fertility? Covid would have had a huge impact for sure but waiting times are always a bugger xx

Thanks @Yolo23 I appreciate the advice and you’re right about hindsight for sure! That’s good know about the wait times, I don’t have any pain, symptoms or known conditions, so I don’t think they would speed up the referral but I called the clinic yesterday to see if I could get any more info and due to my partner’s BMI being over the 30 limit, they wouldn’t be able to move forward with the referral anyway until he’s brought that down…we would only be eligible for 1 round in our area and they weren’t able to give me much indication on waiting times, so we’re weighing up whether to wait or go ahead with private treatment, even though it pains me to spend all our savings..

Look forward to hearing how your appt goes next week 😊

@Yolo23 I'm very much the same except I'm being hopeful for the second round being the lucky one!! A little bit of positivity regarding endo, 2 friends of mine have both naturally got pregnant with endo, one has just given birth to a baby boy and the other is currently 6 months pregnant💕both had the operation done last year (sorry I'm not so clued up on it so not sure if it's just a standard operation that get's done or if there are a few different ones?)
What is next for you? Your appointment next week is that with a gynae?

@MotherOfShihTzus sorry it took so long! I can't imagine how hard this must of been during covid, it's hard now with waiting times but gosh that must of been so much worse! 😔

xx

@Barbs3116 Oh that's rubbish! I know you mentioned he has some health conditions, so is loosing the weight going to be do-able? Or is private your only option, is there a BMI limit if you was to go private? I know there is for the woman, all be it higher than the NHS but not sure about the man x

Hi @HopeHopeandmoreHope

My wait for the first appt after referral was 35 weeks last year(Leeds based). After I had the first appt they said I could start the treatment in about 6 weeks - would have been earlier but Xmas was in the way, and during the wait there were some more scans/tests at the hospital.
I assume it would also depend on when your periods are.
My advice would be to ask the hospital how long the waiting list is (I wasn’t told without asking), and when it’s near to that time if you haven’t heard anything then phone to ask when your appointment will be. I phoned a few times and I’m not convinced they would have sent me an appointment at all if I hadn’t chased!
Hope everything goes well for you

@Natpat81 thank you for your reply! I will definitely do that! Was you referred to another hospital or to a smaller clinic? X

Hi I'm in Scotland so might be different but they have never once asked my husband for his weight at appointments - only mines every time Iv been seen 😕

Have you had a hycosy? To check your tubes? If not that will probably be the next stage.

Once they check your tubes are ok etc they then told me I could have icsi or go straight to ivf. She told me given my age (33) I would be best going for ivf because if ICSI didn't work it would be another year waiting for IVF. This phone call appointment with this information was in the November.

I then got phone call in the may to tell me to make sure I had rubella vaccination before starting treatment otherwise that can delay it for another 2 month and that I should have a letter within a month or 2 when I get to top of the waiting list. I also had to have repeat bloods from my gp to send to the hospital (think that was thyroid)

I got my letter in June telling me I had reached the top of the list, my appointment was in august to have bloods taken (to check AMH levels) and to show proof of the vaccinations. Also got weight checked then too. I was also given a link to a portal to fill in loads of details about consent etc. my partner was asked to make an appointment with his GP to have his sperm test done again.

I had a telephone appointment September to tell me the next steps about ivf, what my AMH level was and my husbands sperm count. I should hopefully be starting the actual egg collection process in November.

Hope that helps, I hated not having a clue of what the next steps might be.
Xx

@HopeHopeandmoreHope the fertility clinic was based at a hospital, but may be different where you are.

@HopeHopeandmoreHope yeah it’s really rubbish! Losing weight is going to be difficult because of the medication he’s on, which slows the metabolism. There’s no BMI limit with the private clinics that we’ve researched so far and I haven’t seen it mentioned much on articles/sites I’ve read about how to increase your chances of conception. It’s always the female’s weight that’s discussed!

@mhchjj they never asked, that’s so interesting!! I’ve only spoken to the receptionist at the clinic in my area and not the consultant directly so that was their advice - I wonder if they are actually strict when it comes to it. I did have a scan (internal/external) and there were no issues that came up but I’m not actually sure if that was hycosy. They did loads of blood tests and nothing came back from those. That’s super helpful to hear more about your timelines, thanks so much for sharing. Wishing you all the luck with your egg collection :)

@mhchjj They never offered me hycosy due to the issue being with both me and my partner, he pretty much said because our bodies aren't doing what they should do there's no point! I'm abit confused why they would offer ICSI but then have a year waiting list for IVF, did they mean IUI before IVF? Good luck with everything, I hope it works out for you!

@Barbs3116 that just sounds like an added stress you don't need! Let us know how you get on with looking at private clinics

xx