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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

waiting list for ivf

17 replies

thisisouryrfx18 · 16/09/2018 17:51

Ive been told the waiting list for ivf in my area can be up to a yr long wait i cant take it. We ve been ttc for over 3yrs now just need help from anyone in the same position😭

OP posts:
carben · 16/09/2018 18:01

Can you self-fund if you're this upset about waiting?

thisisouryrfx18 · 16/09/2018 18:13

@carben we ve been talkin bout it we have sum savings but we dnt think itl b enough we d have to get into debt

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JeNeBaguetteRien · 16/09/2018 19:59

this is sorry you're having a hard time.

Who told you the waiting list is a year? Your doctor, the clinic, a friend?

Have you actually had tests and been referred for treatment (not necessarily IVF depending on what they find).
I don't know what you've found out yet or if your OH has had any tests?

If you do decide to self fund there may at least be interest free credit cards or a loan added to your mortgage if you have one.
Also depending on your test results there is a 'shoebox IVF' clinic in London called ABC IVF which is less expensive but they only take people they think will respond well to the drugs.

thisisouryrfx18 · 16/09/2018 20:19

@JeNeBaguette thanx hun the gynaeo thats referring us to the ivf clinic told us the waiting list is up to 12mnths long..my bloods have came back normal OH s SA is normal if anything high count! And we live up north so London is way out. Thanks for the advice bout the loans tho, its soo stressful i feel like time is against me im 34.

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IVFaugust2018 · 16/09/2018 20:25

It's awful, I completely get it. Why is it that some people get to have a family at a time of their choosing and have as many kids as they want?

Anyway, can you use the time to get yourself ready? I started last year by buying 'it starts with the egg' and and followed the advice in there about supplements. My husband and I have used the last year to finish some renovations on our house and save some money, so that when our cycle started on August I would be as stress free as possible. It's such a hard time feeling like you're just waiting and life is passing you by because you have no control over your future. The only thing that has brought me peace is to change my mindset so that I was using the waiting time in a useful way. I hope you feel better soon 🙏

thisisouryrfx18 · 16/09/2018 21:03

@IVFaugust2018 i know i hate to sound like a child but life is soo unfair. All we ve done the past 3yrs is decorate and renovate our house and garden, as soon as we started ttc we built a little nest egg to buy prams cots etc. We thought of every eventuallity except infertility. I try to stay positive even when they mentioned ivf up until the point of the waiting list but im gettin worn down by it all tbh.

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IVFaugust2018 · 16/09/2018 21:19

Take care of yourself @thisisouryrfx18, this September marks exactly 3 years TTC for us too. I have found that taking my basal temperature helps as I know when I ovulate due to the temperature rise so I don't have to take a pregnancy test when I'm 'late' as ovulation strips aren't always accurate, the BBT means that I know I'm not late, I just ovulated later so I can just wait for my period.

I don't think you sound childish, you just sound like someone who's tired of waiting for something that just seems to happen for other people. It's just not fair.

thisisouryrfx18 · 16/09/2018 21:45

@IVFaugust2018 yh i chart my bbt aswell this is the 1st time in about 4mnths i was actually late by one day, i think thats why i got my hopes up which made it worse. Sorry to hear yous have been struggling for3yrs aswell i wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy x

OP posts:
thisisouryrfx18 · 18/09/2018 12:44

Been trying to stick to a diet the past couple of days to distract myself and get healthier

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Pumpkin18 · 18/09/2018 22:56

Have you thought about going abroad for treatment? It's a fraction of the cost

Lauren83 · 18/09/2018 23:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CrCaLa · 25/09/2018 19:54

I just wanted to say have you tried to go with a different clinic that would have shorter waiting times?

When we got referred for IVF by our GP at the beginning of June we were automatically referred to the local hospital unit, which we didn't think to question at the time. But then I'd still heard nothing at all 10 weeks later and tried to contact them which was really hard because no one picks up the phone there and when I eventually spoke to someone they had misplaced my referral. Because of had that trouble with them I did some research and the general consensus on mumsnet etc was that they are massively overstretched, the wait could be long, they were difficult to communicate with and it was quite impersonal - a bit like an IVf conveyer belt etc so I was pretty stressed out.

So I contacted all of the private clinics in my area (which I found via the HEFA website) and asked them if they accept Nhs referrals from my CCG. A couple said yes so I chose the one with the best reviews and success rates and contacted my GP and the CCG to say I wanted to swap to a different clinic, I'd had confirmation from the clinic that they accept NHS patients from my CCG and so how do I go about swapping.

There was quite a bit of back and forth which took about 3 weeks of me chasing everyone up constantly, and I eventually had to speak to the head of procurement at at the CCG but they approved my switch to the other clinic.

Loooooong story short, literally the same day the approval letter was sent to the private clinic they booked me in for my first appointment 4 weeks later and told me I'd likely have the actual IVF within the 2 months after the first appointment, all being well. Yes it was stressful trying to organize the swap and I had to put a fair bit of time in to it but it totally paid off. Worth a try?

thisisouryrfx18 · 25/09/2018 20:16

@CrCaLa thanks for the advice xx i was thinkin bout this the other day gettin a gp appt and askin them if there were any other hospitals nearby with shorter waiting lists. The hospital im gettin referred to is a private hospital that accepts nhs patients i dnt know why the waiting list is soo long i think the demand for it is just massive in my area bad luck really. Its such a postcode lottery as they say😧

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thisisouryrfx18 · 25/09/2018 20:17

Sorry whats CCG?

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CrCaLa · 25/09/2018 22:21

CCG stands for clinical commissioning group. Basically it’s the department of the Nhs for your area that decides what they spend money on. So they’re the ones that decide how many rounds of ivf you get in your area and where they will pay for the ivf treatment to be had. That’s why I ended up going direct to them - my gp would have just had to go to them to get approval for me to move clinic and I’d have been waiting for my gp to sort it and get back to me so I just thought I’d cut out the middle man and go direct to them myself. You’re not really supposed to I don’t think but I pestered them constantly and I think in the end they just got sick of hearing from me and gave me what I asked!

thisisouryrfx18 · 26/09/2018 17:05

CrCaLa thanks soo much for the info hun! Xx

OP posts:
CrCaLa · 26/09/2018 21:31

You're welcome. Good luck xx

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