what to expect - gynae referral

[louise182]

I have been ttc for 12 months and pco but not the syndrone. I have a scan that showed some cysts but have recently had day 3 and day 21 blood tests that my gp tells me showed good strong level of each hormone all within the normal range - fsh lh progesterone and oestrogen. I have had erratic periods since stopping the pill and that hs been my only cause for concern. I saw my gp today she was a little dismissive and said as i am 22 and blood tests are ok she is not concerned about my fertility but said she will arrange for a referral to a gynae. What should i expect from this referral? Thanks.

Hi they usually repeat the blood tests, send Dh/Dp for a semen analysis, take a general history etc. Then at some point they may order a HSG, to see if you have blocked fallopian tubes. You will need an up to date/recent smear so worth getting that done at your gp practice. They will not do any treatments for infertility on the NHS until you are 23 so you may find you are waiting a while. They may repeat the bloods and semen analysis over 3 months to check that the normal results really are that. If you end up going down asssisted fertility routes you will need to have had testing for chlamydia etc, which is another cause of infertility so might be worth getting that all done while you wait?

Sorry, should say that I am not for one minute suggesting you have had any infections, but you cannot progress onto NHS fertility treatment without all those tests. Also you and your partner need to not smoke and to both have healthy weights, so they may at some point check those things. Probably not in early stages.

If they don't find anything wrong they will prob send you away again for another 6 months because of your age. I'm 25 but they said we had to be trying over 2 years. It's very annoying!!!

Oh yes if there is no cause of infertility then the rules used to be 3 years of ttc when we went through testing, if under 35 years old. Areas may vary on their rules.