Private patient - NHS

[AllyBali123]

Hi just looking for a wee bit of info!

Brief background, have 4 year old DD with my hubby and been ttc a second child for almost 3 years. Had an ectopic pregnancy last year, tubes all fine and had various scans at the time which showed I was technically "looking good" no blockages etc!

Anyway fast forward to this year still ttc, I've had blood tests which show I'm ovulating and hubby is just waiting on his semen analysis results. Thought I would phone the Glasgow royal today as I know we are going to have to pay and they have gave me an initial ivf appointment for middle of September! They said we should have my hubbys results by then so just to bring that along.

Quite shocked at the quickness of it all but obviously happy as it's been a long three years! Does anyone who has gone privately with NHS know what happens at the initial appointment and then how long it takes to actually have treatment?

Thanks in advance!

Hi there

I am in a similar situation to you with a 3yr old. Been trying for 2.5yrs for another. Nothing found at testing.

I am with Glasgow Royal - had one cycle of ivf. At initial appointment you will be seen by a consultant who will check blood for amh and do an ultrasound scan to look at follicle count. You have to both go to sign consent etc but as you will be paying privately you can pretty much start whenever you want.

Whole process including retrieval and then transfer takes about 8 weeks in total.
They are all very nice - once you have seen the consultant it's pretty much nurse led from there on.

If I can help with anything else - just let me know. Costs etc.

Good luck! X

Thank you for the info. Do u think I should still go to my gp for amh test then or no point if they will do it? I'm worried about the paying part if 1 cycle doesn't work as it's a lot to go again. Also according to the websites costs will differ depending on what type of treatment we require which will prob depend on my husbands results. If you don't mind me asking are you now having a second cycle?

Slightly off topic, but to maximise your chances the first time, get onto supplements asap, e.g. Proxeed for him and her. Also no smoking, drinking, loose pants and no hot baths/saunas for you husband, 8+ of your 5 a day, a high protein diet for you etc.

Costs such as ICSI will depend on the sperm test results. Things like blastocyst culture and freezing you probably want to budget for regardless.

I'm in the middle of my 2nd FET.
My first fresh cycle and 1st FET failed.
Get your go to do amh first - they can access the result.
They only do icsi now - total cost
Is just over £4000 and further frozen embryo transfers are £675 if you go for a natural cycle and £875 if you go for medicated.
Have no frozen left so if this doesn't work I'll be going for another cycle.
Fingers crossed x

Your GP probably won't do an AMH as it normally can only be requested by your specialist.

The dose of medication you need, duration of stims and whether they want you to have any swanky immune treatment can make a big difference to cost. For the stimulation drugs alone, if you need higher doses +/- a longer duration of treatment with them, this can add around £500-700 to the cost of a cycle.

My gp did my amh test

Thanks everyone this has all been really helpful as up until recently I really didn't have a clue. I contacted my gp and they have said they will do my amh. When I spoke to the receptionist she wasn't sure if it had to be done at a certain point in the month though? Anyone know?

Hubby got his results today, everything apparently looking fine, he will physically pick them up on Monday so can have a better look then.

I didn't know about the frozen embryo part, I thought it was about £4000 each time you tried so that is good to know that a second go would be affordable. Good luck I hope this time it works for you!

Thanks again for the info xx

AMH can be done at any time in the month.

With regards to FET (frozen embryo transfer), it's a lot cheaper and easier than a fresh cycle. However, it is only possible if you have had any embryos frozen which isn't always the case. When you have your fresh cycle, a certain number of eggs will be collected. Out of those, some aren't mature, some don't fertilise. Then some embryos arrest etc. Also clinic don't freeze embryos that are below a certain grade. All in all, many couples do have some embryos to freeze and it's good to budget for it but you can't assume that it'll definitely be the case. In some rare cases, the fertilisation and embryo development go so badly that you could end up with nothing to transfer.

Thanks Jojo. I guess I will just have to take it one step at a time. Fingers crossed my Omh results are ok and we are suitable for ivf treatment. It's scary to think we could go through all this and spend all this money and not get anything at the end but I'm willing to take the chance. At least then I will know we have given it a try and might help me come to terms with not having a second child if it'a not meant to be.