Fertility clinic appointment September

[Scotgirl1]

Hi everyone

After TTC for a year I went to my GP and asked for a referral. Appointment has came through for September. Found out recently that Husband has low sperm count and motility issues. Suspect this is due to a varicocele. We haven’t told anyone and it’s so lonely :( most of my friends are mums or mums to be and busy with their own lives. Would love to chat to others in the same boat! Xx

Hi @StarlingsInSummer wishing you lots of luck for your appointment, not too much longer to wait now. Have you had any tests with your GP that indicate what the problem might be? For us it's problems with my husbands sperm, his results for volume and morphology were out with the normal range.

Hi @nextweek We've had lots of tests done with the GP, and everything is normal according to my bloods and his sperm test. I've also had a couple of pelvic ultrasounand they were normal too. But my periods are very irregular - I'm having one now but it's the first since June; I had one in May but that was the first since January. Apparently I'm not perimenopausal though! I was wondering if it's because I'm overweight so I've been dieting for the last 2.5 months, and lost about a stone, but I want to lose quite a lot more.

We weren't sure if they'd see us at all - I've been going to the GP about my irregular periods for two years because we've been trying to conceive and they mostly fobbed us off with the fact that my bloods are normal. But finally I saw a woman GP who agreed to refer me. I'm 41 though, so I doubt IVF will be on the cards (from the nhs at least). I'm hoping they'll over me Clomid.

@StarlingsInSummer that must have been so frustrating for you going back and forth and never getting any answers or progress. Well done on the weight loss though, that's a great achievement! The criteria for ivf seems to vary so much from area to area in regard to age, how many rounds you get etc. Fingers crossed you get some more answers from your appointment!

I think one reason they fobbed us off is that we do already have a child, together, so they didn't think there was any point in refering. But he has a very very rare chromosome abnormality, and we're guessing that's why the fertitility clinic has accepted the referral. So we're not really sure at all whether they'll be able to offer any help on the NHS - except why would they agree to see us if they're just going to send us away?

@StarlingInSummer In my area they wont provide IVF on the NHS if you already have a child together, but that may differ for your area or they maybe have different guidelines if you have a child with a condition, perhaps it something they can check for future children. Our GP was lovely, but she said herself it's not her area of expertise and there wasn't much she could do other than the basic blood tests and then the referral. I guess we'll just have to wait for our appointment to find out more about what treatment they can offer and the situation with NHS funding. If nothing else, they should be able to investigate a bit more than your GP has and hopefully give you options.

We had our first appointment with the hospital two days ago. It was much briefer than I expected - she basically asked us a few questions.. do you have regular periods etc, and then told us she recommends ivf which we could apply for nhs funding for. Apparently the application for funding takes time; so the earliest we could probably have treatment is january - but it depends on how busy they are in the clinic.

I thought there would be some more detailed questions, or a scan or something. But nope, just a few brief questions, and they took my height and weight - I assume to calculate my bmi - think that's a requirement for ivf in my area.

@duckling3 it does sound brief but at least you have progressed and January is just around the corner. Is it male factor fertility you are dealing with?

@duckling3 thanks for letting us know how your appointment went. I know January probably feels ages away because its 'next year' but hopefully it wont feel long since Christmas and new year are just round the corner and it'll be January before you know it!

Thanks guys. It does feel ages but I'm sure will go quicker if I keep myself busy.

@Scotgirl1 we are dealing with male factor, although both the gp and specialist didn't seem too concerned about the SA results, so maybe they weren't that bad.

How's everyone doing today?

I'm feeling a bit low to be honest. We're still TTC naturally while we wait for our clinic appointment (GP seemed to think it might still happen) and my AF us due soon and I've got all my usual symptoms. The two week wait is always so soul destroying!

@nextweek isn’t it just. You live in hope but at the same time you want to make sure you aren’t disappointed if AF arrives. We still try but i’ve pretty much accepted it won’t happen naturally. This journey is constant waiting!

@Scotgirl1 totally, I try to stay optimistic but its difficult and still feel disappointed each month. If only optimism could increase my husbands sperm count lol!

Hope you don't mind me joining here. I have my first appointment on 16th October. I got blood tests results today. As I I have irregular cycles they have done a day 8 test which showed my LH level to be high

LH 20.3 (14 is top end normal)
Testosterone 0.7
TSH 2.14
Prolactin 389 (should be between 100-500)
FSH 9

What does all this mean? I'm already thinking it could be PCOS as I've read high LH is an indicator, and that 2:1 ratio with FSH is also a diagnostic!

I've been TTC 12 months and my periods range from 26 days to 38 days. I almost always get a positive OPK each month, which tends to average out right according to length of cycle (if that makes sense!)

Anyone else have similar? Any success stories?

I understand from most people's posts that LH and FSH are done on day 2. No idea why mine are done on day 8, only that the fertility clinic that I've been referred to recommend this for irregular cycles.

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.shropshireivf.nhs.uk/fertility-treatments-and-investigations/fertility-investigations/blood-tests/" target="_blank">http://www.shropshireivf.nhs.uk/fertility-treatments-and-investigations/fertility-investigations/blood-tests/

I appreciate any help and feeling very anxious. Just interested to hear other people's experiences. What are the fertility clinic likely to do? Clomid? Metformin?

Hi @BewilderedBee

In my first appointment at the fertility clinic it was just talking to the doctor & they recommended a course of action (ivf in our case). My experience sounds a bit different from yours though so not sure if it's the same for all cases.

You are def not alone with the anxious feeling. I am totally the same - even with an action plan in place my anxiety I still just as high.

So I’m just back from our appointment. She scanned my ovaries and apparently I have the ovaries of a fifty year old. No eggs. No chance.

@StarlingsInSummer I'm really sorry to hear that, hope you're ok x

@nextweek thanks. It’s all a lot to take in, but we’re trying to count our blessings. As she pointed out, managing to conceive the son we do have means we are very lucky. And at least the ultrasound showed nothing sinister. There’s a private blood test we can do to confirm the ultrasound findings, so we’ll do that, and she said she can give us information about a Spanish ivf lab with 80-90% success rates with donor eggs. We’re not sure we want to go down that route, but I suppose it’s an option (we could just about afford it if we had to).

The odd thing is, my most recent blood tests still show normal hormone levels. But I have the same very rare chromosome abnormality as our son, and she said such chromosome issues can cause premature ovarian failure.

@StarlingsInSummer I know it's not what you wanted to hear but like you say maybe donor eggs could be an option. It's still a few weeks until our appointment and I'm getting really anxious, worried they'll find more issues that we dont know about yet!

Hey all -
Sorry I havent been on in a while - we have been busy going private and we're starting a private cycle of IVF at the end of the month with Reprofit Brno! Sooo excited!!!

Hello all wondered if you could help me? I think I'm going to go to a private fertility clinic this month and would like to know what to expect from your experiences. I was ttc for 8 months and got pregnant but had a mmc and been ttc for 6 months since with no luck :(. Started my journey in June 2018. My cycles are now totally unpredictable since I miscarried.

Hi @fallingasleeprightnow
We are going to Reprofit Brno - check them out if you're thinking of going private x

@Broodyaf how exciting!! Just looked it up there and it looks great. Good success rates and much better price wise. Looking forward to seeing how you get on 😊

Happy Sunday all. It's been a while since I've been on here. How's everyone doing? I feel like I've been just waiting for ages, but we have our first ivf appointment tomorrow with the consultant and then another with the nurse later in the week. Nerves are just starting to kick in now.

Hi @duckling3 I’m still waiting and waiting! Got 2nd appointment in 2 weeks and hopefully be added to the waiting list at that one.. think then it’s about 5-6 months. Good to hear you are moving forward. I can imagine it’s nerve wracking but it’s exciting too. Just view it as a journey to getting your baby How long did it take you to reach the top of the waiting list?