Ivf/icsi West Midlands area?

[Donnas146]

Anyone here having ivf or ivf/icsi in the West Midlands area close to Birmingham preferabaly!
Would just
Like to know approx times scales from gp federal to gynaecologist/tests/referral to ivf clinics

I can’t help you with the time scale because our icsi at Birmingham Women’s was a while ago (dd is 9 next month!). But I can tell you that their care is excellent, the whole team were lovely and Dr.Shah is really really good at his job. A fantastic Dr. with a fantastic team. Good luck!

Thanks @CrispAddict77 how lovely you got pregnant on your first cycle! I have to admit I'm still coming to terms with needing IVF it does seem like something other people do ( I awlays thought i'd end up being a clomid girl) but hopefully it will be normalised for me soon enough.

Hey @Brambles7 i'm still not entirely sure how many I will go for. I'm thinking maybe around 3 if I don't find it all a bit much. I think it's good to set a limit of some sort as it is quite an investment emotionally and financially.

Thanks @TheGonnagle it's reassuring to hear such positive feedback about him. I have only met him once and he seemed nice although I think I was crying most of the time in his office so wasn't really in the best place to take on board too much.

@CrispAddict77 how lovely you got pregnant in your first cycle, definitely gives me hope!
I never thought we’d end up with Ivf either, thought we’d be one of those couples that it just happens to easily. Knowing that there are so many couples out there who need ivf also really does help.

@TheGonnagle thanks for sharing your experience! So very reassuring to hear you had such a positive time there.

@Buffy101 definitely having some limit in mind is probably a good thing. 3 is what I originally had in mind too until OH took himself on a secondment at work to earn a bit more so we’re saving like mad. I guess we just won’t know the impact until we actually do it.
How long to leave in between cycles is another of those conundrums - I’ll want time to treat myself to wine and cheese in between I’m sure.

@Brambles7 and @Buffy101, hi!

I don’t think you’ll know until you’re going through it whether you will do 2 rounds or 10. We were prepared to do 2 cycles, hoping that if the first one failed they’d have more knowledge to ensure success the second time. But our situation was slightly different as we already had a son who was conceived after ovarian drilling. So we were going to look at adoption if ivf didn’t work for us, so that our ds wasn’t an only child.

The clinic/hospital will 100% guide you through everything so you will be told about how long to leave things between tries etc.

In all honesty, the whole process wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be. Injections weren’t fun but we got into a routine with them, the 2ww was nerve wracking and I won’t even go into the hell that was egg collection (I think Birmingham women’s use general anaesthetic, I only had mild sedation ).

Good luck ladies xx

Can I ask where all you ladies are from in the West Midlands? I’m from Walsall area so just wondering if anyone is close x

@CrispAddict77 do you mean once you have referal from the gyn/infertility to the women’s hospital that it goes quickly? X

Hi @donnas146

Once you have your initial appointment with whoever is doing your ivf, then it all goes quickly, yes. I was told to wait for my next period then I had to see them between days 2-5 for bloods and a scan. My dh could do his sample anytime.

We did the long protocol short down regulation. So I down regged (1x injection daily for 2 weeks), then I bled like a period. On day 7 I had a scan to check if I had a thin lining and no activity on my ovaries. Then, for the next 10/14 days I did 2x injections daily. Then you have scans to check if there are any follicles. Once they are happy with how many possible eggs, they book you in for the egg collection. Then about 3-5 days later the embryo gets transferred then it’s just a 2ww then.

Looking back at my folder, I started down regulation on 2.10.12, then stimulation drugs on 15.10.12, I had egg collection on 30.10.12 and transfer was 2.11.12. So it took exactly a month from my first injection to transfer. We had 6 eggs, one wasn’t mature, but 5 fertilised. By transfer day, 2 were very good so they were transferred but the other 3 weren’t good enough for freezing. But, one embryo was all we needed!

Hope that’s helped someone!

@donnas146 I'm in sandwell, used to work in Walsall so know it pretty well and my sister lives there. How are you getting on? X

Thank you for sharing @CrispAddict77, it's helped me understand the process a bit more :)

Had a shit week tbf ! But I’m strong and pick myself up once af is out of the way 🙄waiting for an appointment at the end of this month hopefully know more. What about you? What are the waiting times like where you are do you know?

Sorry to hear your week hasn't been good. I'm really not sure on the waiting times. I finally have my GP appt next Wednesday (been waiting a month for that). I'll need a gyne referral first but I'm going to ask if they'll put a referral in to fertility at the same time. We're on cycle 15 now.

Pleased you have an appt coming up, I hope you get some clarity and movement in the system x

Hi, We went for our first appointment yesterday at Birmingham Women's Hospital. Unfortunately we have had some very bad luck with our GP losing referrals and not knowing what to do and it has already been about a year and a half for us. I'm nearly 38 now so any wait seems too long. My partner has to have a Cystic Fibrosis test and then if that is positive I have to have one too. After that he has to have a sperm extraction test and then a proper sperm retrieval if that is successful. From discussions here it sounds like we will still have a long wait. This is all before they put us on the waiting list for IVF. If anyone has any further information or tips we would be grateful.

Hey @donnas146 I live in Birmingham about twenty mins from the women's hospital. I think you, me and @VenusStarr are going to become very familiar with the Women's over this next year!

Thanks @CrispAddict77 for the detailed information it's useful and interesting.

I've started watching videos now of people's experiences on YouTube about IVF. It's kind of feeling a bit more normal to see it now before it was just some vague scary thing.

Hi @Rocma sorry you've had a lot of trouble already. I feel like I'm a bit of a newbie so can't offer much advice yet. I've not heard of having to have a CF test before? Is that just to check any potential genetic issues? Have they said why you guys might be having trouble conceiving.? X