First appointment at clinic

[FingersXssd83]

Today I've been referred to St Mary's (Manchester) fertility clinic as we've been #TTC 1 year without success (I'm nearly 35!).

My DH is just in the process of transferring to the same GP as me and he'll be bringing his SA along to the clinic to be seen at the same time.

Does anyone know how long it will take to get an appointment and what will happen when we get there?

My 21 day test and DH's SA have both come back as acceptable.

I attended my first appointment last week (although it was a different area.) The appointment was less than 6 weeks from referral.

In addition to a detailed chat about medical history etc. On the day I had; a pregnancy test, bloods and an internal ultrasound. I was asked if I would like to make another appointment for the scan and bloods but I opted to get them done on the day.

Hope this helps

Wow thats's fast @jellybeans81! Hopefully mine will be as equally as speedy.

How long have you been trying for and how do you feel about it all?

I was really nervous before my GP appointment yesterday, just want to crack on now though and sort any problems that need resolving.

I'm currently pregnant from IVF cycle done at St Mary's Manchester

From GP referral to first appointment it was around 12-14 weeks I think, but this was longer than usual we were told as I believe they were exceptionally busy at that time, so fingers crossed it is much faster for you!

However, when we received our first appointment letter - it included details about booking in for fertility tests. (This was 2017 so may have changed since. But if not...) This included bloods for me & a scan. Sperm analysis for DH (even though we had one done through the GP)

The first appointment occurred after these tests as they like to save time and go through the results with you and plan how to move forward.

For us it was male factor issues so we were offered IVF. Everything moved very quickly after that appointment and there were no waiting periods at all. We decided to postpone our follow-up/IVF plan appointment until Sept 2017 so I could lose some weight.

Once we had the appointment we got the go ahead to ring up on next AF to request IVF treatment. They can refuse you 2 times if they are busy.
I rang up late Sept 2017 and they used that month to deliver medication and for us to have a 'teach' appointment for the injections.
I began injecting for short protocol in late Oct 2017 (when the next af arrived).
Late Nov 2017 we had the embryo transfer.
Early Dec 2017 I had a positive pregnancy test.

Sorry if I went on a bit! Just wanted to give you an idea of timelines.

The staff were lovely, so very welcoming and friendly. We are actually having our ante natal care at the other part of St Mary's across the campus because of how well we were treated.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me!

I’ve an appointment at St Mary’s to discuss an ivf plan in the next couple of weeks. I’m also 35 this year. We’ve been ttc for 2 years and I’m really emotional about it all at the minute.

We also got a letter where we had to book in for tests as riverrose said. My dh has to repeat his analysis and they took an AMH level from me. After this we received a letter confirming we need ivf and have attended an information session on it.

I can’t remember how many weeks ago we were referred but it doesn’t feel like it taken that long.

Although the process has felt quite streamlined for my ultrasound test I had to wait in the antenatal clinic waiting room. Maybe I’m sensitive but I found that hard. If I’d known in advance I could have mentally prepared for it which is why I mention it now just incase it would help you to know.

Hope you hear something from them soon.

@FingersXssd83 I'm 37. We have been trying for 6 months but I have only had 1 period in that time. I'm now waiting for a MRI. We have a follow up with the fertility clinic in 10 weeks time.

I was pretty anxious before my first appointment as I had no idea what would to expect. However, I've calmed and am now wishing the next 10 weeks away to find out what's next. How about you?

Hi Ladies, just came across your thread and wanted to reply as I also got referred to St Mary’s this February. We’ve been TTC our first for over a year but issues on both sides mean it’s not looking possible without the help of IVF for us unfortunately. So far we’ve been really pleased with St Mary’s everything’s moving faster than I’d thought we were referred in mid Feb after initial tests at my GP and got our e-book appointment through end of Feb, pink forms arrived mid March and sent back the same day ☺️ we were told to wait 10 working days before ringing to book in for initial tests, had a slight issue at this point with missing forms but seems they had a back log due to the bank holidays and after hounding the poor nurses with calls day after day finally got my appointment through two weeks later. Went to St Mary’s for the 1st time at the end of April felt a little like a fish out of water and but all the nurses were really lovely, had my scan and bloods done and hubbys tests and was told to wait 4-6 weeks for a letter inviting us to see the consultant to discuss our treatment and results, it will be 6 weeks on Monday so I’m just watching the letterbox now! Would be great to hear the journeys of any other ladies out there who have had experience of St Mary’s! Congrats RiverRose on your BFP you must be over the moon! 😊 x

I had my first appointment last week, had a transvaginal ultrasound (which looked ok), routine blood tests and an AMH test. DH was asked to book in for another sperm analysis. Now waiting for an appointment with the specialist.

Thanks for sharing everyone and sorry I went a bit quiet. Have had some family problems on top of TTC.

DH went for his SA the other week and I'm booked in for my ultrasound and bloods 22nd June.

I'm changing jobs soon so have been worrying that I'm doing this at the wrong time with upcoming appointments but have decided to go with it and just book any time needed as leave.

Feel a bit bad for my new employer but I don't want to put my career on hold any longer plus there are reproduction rights in the workplace for a reason, right?

Hope everyone's having a good day today xxx

Hello fingers I was thinking of doing exactly the same and the reason why I am not moving jobs is IVF but I really hate my job and I can't imagine get pregnant and staying there for another 9 months.this decision is really stressing me out and I really want a baby so I can't put IVF on hold either.

Hey Ladies, just wanted to update you! We've received our letter today inviting us to see Dr Mathur at the end of June for our consultation, 3 weeks can't come fast enough now!! ☺️ I find it really comforting to share this journey with you all I find that generally people who are not experiencing the problems we face don't really understand the emotional rollercoaster we're dealing with! wishing all you ladies the best of luck! X

Hi Ladies, just wondered how everyone is getting on, we have our first appointment with the consultant on Monday, feeling pretty nervous! Will update you all next week hopefully with some good news x

Pleased to hear that you don't have a long wait until you find out your next steps @DreamingOfBump That must be such a relief and also exciting!

I've had a really challenging week. Had my initial tests two weeks ago and received a text from the NHS on Weds saying I have a appointment this Tuesday. I called the clinic to ask what it was for and they said that we're being fast tracked for IVF and the appointment was to attend an info session. You can imagine how much my heart sank. My mind went into overdrive that my AMH level must have been so low that they want us to crack on straight away. I managed to speak with a nurse who told me that my results look ok and it could be my partner that had an issue or the fact we've been trying for a while and I'm nearly 35.

This wouldn't have felt so difficult had I not handed my notice in a few days prior. I'm now due to start a new job in a different city to where I live/the clinic is based. I have no idea how I'll fit all of my appointments and scans in. Luckily the new job offers flexi and some remote working, so I'm just going to have to start my new job and IVF at the same time, whilst not telling anyone at least until I get through my probation (3 months).

@Guio like you, I wouldn't have handed my notice in if I knew I needed IVF, it's come as a bit of a shock.

We have an appointment with the doc a week on Monday, at that point we'll decide whether we go private for convenience (we get 3 rounds on NHS) and at least have an idea of timescales.

Hope everyone else is doing okay xxx

Hi, I think I will start in a few months but it is not sure yet.I was job hunting until I started to get stress about everything and I stopped and decide to be where I am until I do IVF and see how things go...there are 3 pregnant women at work and the stress of work combined with seeing them every day is not helping.does anyone have any tips about how to survive in a job you hate until the process is finished?it is sad that we need to put our lives on hold because of fertility treatments.i can't see myself working and doing IVF at the same time so maybe I am not strong enough...

@Guio I'm in a similar situation to you, currently hanging onto work due to its good maternity leave but not sure how long I will last there as it is so stressful!

I'm surprised at how quick everyone's appointment is and how much is done on the first one. We've been TTC for two and a half years and at my first appointment, which took nearly 3 months at the fertility clinic, I only had a smear test and chlamydia test done. I was told to wait for my next period to book in for blood tests (these have already been done at my GP) and for a HSG to be done. Where I am you can only have one round of IVF so I suspect they are very picky with who can have them.

Good luck to everyone, it's not a road I envisaged we would ever have to go down 😔

Afternoon Ladies! So today has been a game changer for us so I thought I'd share the news. We had our consultation at St Mary's this morning and being 8 months in to this process already were naively hoping today would signal the start of of our treatment ( in as much as we'd planned to go for a celebratory lunch after the appointment) unfortunately this has not been the case...queue tears by the bucket load 😭 after another hour trip to the hospital we sat down with the consultant who took our medical history only then to tell us they are not contracted by our CCG to accept us for treatment at St Mary's!! Why on earth has it taken all this time to tell us that? I have no words! Surely this should have been bought up months ago when we were having our initial investigations with them!? Anyway... we have to be referred to Sheffield to start this whole process over again 😔 we have spent the last few hours distraught at the news but having called Sheffield Care myself it seems they will get us in and seen upto this stage which has taken 8 months, within the next few weeks! 😊 My advise at this point Ladies is anybody who is not yet in the system if you have a choice choose Care and save yourself endless months of pointless waiting! Good Luck & Best Wishes xx

FFS @DreamingOfBump I can imagine how upset you must have been! There's a fair distance between Mcr and Sheff, how the heck could they mess up so badly? I know this doesn't help but at least things will now run smoothly for you xxx

I spoke to my GP today who said he'd sign off any sicknotes I need in my new job to help start IVF and new employment. He's also looking at referring us as a NHS patient to CARE Mcr, said it shouldn't be a problem. I spoke with CARE late last week and they seemed to think that we coulld get an appointment with the consultant by mid July, so paperwork all being well (and we don't choose to stay with St Mary's) then we could be starting v soon.

Xxx

Thank you @FingersXssd83 knowing you ladies are here to listen means so much! We went for a free one to one at Care Sheffield on Friday and I feel so much better now they are absolutely lovely and are happy to set the ball rolling for us as soon as they receive the referral from St Marys!

Have you decided wether to stay put or move to care yet? That's brilliant news about your gp being happy to sign you off if needed will make things much easier for you in your new job! I've been at my job a while now and haven't told them what's going on but I've found that quite difficult especially getting the time off we've ended up using all of our annual leave!! Where are you up to now anything new happened for you lately? X

Hiya @DreamingOfBump

Things have moved along a fair bit since we last chatted...

We've been to an info session and had or consultation (we're unexplained!) and as we look like we're in a good position for IVF to work, I'm going to start my new job, have the HSG test and then start treatment in the autumn. We're only on cycle 14 so we'd like to give ourselves a few more goes at conceiving naturally but if we do go down the IVF route then we're going to CARE as an NHS patient as we feel that it's probably going to be more flexible with appointments etc.

How's things with you? Any news on starting your treatment?

The main thing for me now is staying relaxed, which helps having a bit more control over the process.