Fertility help

[Katesg97]

Hi everyone I'm New Here and I was just wondering if anyone would be able to give me some advice or help?
I have two children aged 7 and 8 from a previous relationship and I've recently been diagnosed with pcos and my partner had testicular cancer over ten years ago resulting in losing one of his testicles I'm just wondering if we would be entitled to any help conceiving through the NHS, we have tried to conceive naturally but in the past three years I've only fall in pregnancy twice and both times resulted in early miscarriage I've tried talking to my doctor about this but I keep getting dismissed they say because I'm 27 I shouldn't have any fertility issues and my partner's tried talking to the doctor and they've said his sperm count is a little bit low but he should still be able to conceive and we seem to be getting nowhere I was wondering anyone could point us in the right direction if we are entitled to help and where we can go to try and get help

Hi OP, I’m sorry to hear you are struggling. As you already have 2 children you are limited in what help the NHS will offer, you would not be eligible for IVF on the NHS as you already have children. Depending on the issue though the NHS can offer some help if needed for example if ovulation was the issue or if progesterone was needed x

Thank you for your reply I have been told we aren't eligible for ivf but I am wondering if I would be entitled to fertility tests to check my hormones and help me ovulate regularly as some months I don't ovulate at all

I would go and discuss this with your GP. I have a friend in the same position and she was able to get blood tests on certain days of her cycle which show whether ovulation is taking place, she got medication (Clomid I think it was) for this, and she also got referred for a scan. Her and her husband were referred to a fertility clinic via NHS but once there as there are already children were essentially told nothing we can do outside of what has already been done so there isn’t loads of options but there are some.

The only thing I’d say though is there are BMI requirements incase that is an issue so ensure both are healthy x

Thank you for your advice I really appreciate it I think I may need to see a different doctor and get a second opinion because my doctor keeps telling me that because I'm still young I shouldn't have any fertility issues and is refusing to do blood tests or any tests at all. I had a previous doctor tell me I've got pcos but since then I've moved and had to move doctor this new doctor is telling me that my previous doctor is wrong and is refusing to accept that doctors diagnosis

Have you and your partner been actively trying to conceive for over 12 months? If not, that is why your GP won’t step in. Once you have been trying for 12 months you can access this help via your GP.

What tests did your previous doctor do to diagnose PCOS?

We've been actively trying for 3 years, I've been using the flo app and ovulation tests to track my cycle and fell pregnant twice but miscarried both times between 6-9 weeks
My last doctor took 3 sets of blood tests and each time it came back that FSH was too low and my testosterone was too high I also had an internal scan done that showed my left ovary is smaller than it should be

I would go back to GP then and explain you have been actively trying.

I appreciate it’s not much use at the moment but if you have 3 miscarriages you can also be referred to Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic to see what is going on.

It is absolutely worth going back to GP, they can do some tests and if ovulation is an issue (provided you meet health & BMI requirements) then they can provide medication to assist with that. Good luck!

Ask for a different GP. Saying you 'shouldn't' have issues because of your age is just ridiculous.

GPs can do blood tests, the further tests I had were via the fertility clinic so I'm not 100% sure these would be offered on NHS and possibly private.

Reach out to your nearest fertility clinic and have a chat.