Questions to ask at IVF consultation

[JJB92]

Hi

We have an appointment next week to discuss our fertility journey and the prospects of starting IVF in the following months.

I'd like to go prepared, because I always feel flabbergasted in the moment but then have 100s of questions afterwards.

At the moment I am thinking:
-What would the protocol look like and why?
-Should we considered genetic testing or not?
-What does a realistic timeline look like?

Hoping to get some insight into the things you asked and the things you wished you asked.

Thanks.

Chance of success, in terms of a positive pregnancy tests and live birth, and is that chance per embryo transfer or per cycle of harvested eggs?

what do they suggest if the first attempt isn't successful

what can you do to improve any chance of success

I would ask for costs and details of any screening tests they need to do, these can be a hidden cost and quite timely.
What wait times they have?
It depends on your situation, but we needed donor sperm, so understanding where they source theirs from and what information was available about the donor was really important to us.
Communication methods is really important. we were under the NHS first, and it was on us to ring them, but they never answered the phone... you have to ring on the first day of your period to request treatment, but it took me over 6 hours to get hold of them.... That is just extra stress you dont need when going through ivf. After that we went private and they always had someone on reception you could speak to and an app with a chat function that was super useful. So understanding what that looks like can at least help you prepare.
If there is any support / counselling available. Its a tough and lonely time.
Best of luck though! Wishing you success x

Thank you @StarShine23 and @Whatatodo79 I really appreciate the feedback and pointers!

oh yes how the communicate with you is really important- we changed clinics in part because i was so stressed with constant telephone ping pong missed calls (i was working) and no reply when calling back with the first clinic. The second had sn online messaging portal which was much better

I never even thought about how something so seemingly 'small' compared to everything else going on can become a major source of stress and frustration, but but make so much sense.

Will definitely ask about that.