Anyone else awaiting fertility referral?

[MallonMary]

Hi all,

Been ttc (unsuccessfully!) for over a year and just found out there's a problem with DH sperm (low mobility and zero normal forms), so awaiting referral to fertility clinic to seek further help/advice.

Just wondered if there's anyone else in a similar situation about to embark on this journey too?

Also similar success stories welcome :) x

@Morpho123 thanks for the vitamin advice, I will start taking the ones I'm not. Sounds like you are having a more positive month with fresh blood on cd2, I hope it has continued for you! Who would have thought we'd be happy for a longer period 🤣

Did you mean you have 3 Brazil nuts a day? I've not heard that one, I'm definitely going to try it.

I did acupuncture for 3 months and seen absolutely no difference. So I stopped as it costs a fortune!

@Maisy24 I think I spoke to soon, it finished yesterday afternoon so I had about 2 days which is better than one day, so it’s improved! I had my day 3 blood tests today so I think I’ll see what the result is with that.
I haven’t had results from HSG or ultra sound yet. The doctor has been on holiday for 4 weeks so I guess once they book me in I’m probably looking at at least a 6 week wait.
All this waiting makes me just want to go private to all the tests. It’s so frustrating. Iv had my clomid prescription since New Year’s Eve and I can’t use it until I get the all clear!

Yes 3 Brazil nuts a day, really good for selenium - I’m doing it, I actually like them!

Acupuncture is so expensive I haven’t done it! Xxx

Hi everyone,
Not been on for a few days. I'm finding this month difficult. I just can't be bothered trying anymore and putting up with the disappointment every month. I'm due to ovulate tonight according to OPK and apps.

@Limeflower2
I'm on the waiting list which is currently about 2 months so it will hopefully be April for me too. What hospital do you attend? With my cycles last time I got frustrated with the time delays. The nurse had 2 holidays so I had my treatment postponed twice. I understand everyone deserves holidays but I felt like I had a clock ticking.x

Hi @Chochaw, I'm feeling low today. I feel getting pregnant is my priority, and I'm putting all my energy into it. Sometimes I feel DH isn't fully supporting me even though I know he is. :(

I'm attending the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, how about you? Knowing I won't be starting IUI until April, I've already looked into the Easter bank holiday, I was stressing about what if they don't do scans, etc. I rang the admin team and they assured me they work over the bank holiday weekend, such a relief to know!
I understand how you feel about time, it freaked me out when I realised its March this Saturday! xx

@Chochaw Can I ask what app are you using? Thanks.x

@Limeflower2 I am at Crosshouse hospital. Our hospital work Saturday but not Sunday but they plan the trigger injection so ovulation doesn't happen on a Sunday. How many IUI have you got before IVF?(hopefully you will only need one). I use 2 apps and they seem to be in sync. Flo and Glow. We go on holiday on 14th April and my period is due to start on 15th so might have to postpone treatment in April. I'm hoping that waiting list might be quicker and I can fit in a cycle before.x

@Chochaw hi hun, I hope you are okay? its understandable to be struggling, remember we are all in the same boat and here to support as and when it is needed. how are you feeling today? did you manage to BD yesterday to hit ovulation? xxx

@Limeflower2 have you got morphology issues and doing iui? sorry maybe iv got confused and you don't have morphology issues? I just know we have, and iui has never been offered as an option for us xxx

@Morpho123 thanks for support. I'm a bit better today. We did manage to bd yesterday morning and again today so hopefully we've caught it but who knows. I'm going to try not worry about it for the 2ww now. Doubt it though. Just trying to focus on positives. I know I am very lucky to have Dd already.

Hi everyone! @Morpho123 recommended this group to me. I hope you don't mind if I tag along. Been trying for 14 months

DH sperm/semen analysis results are in, and everything was great except morphology. It is 1% normal form...

We've read up about it this week since finding out and have ordered 300mg ubiquinone CoQ10, 1kg L-carnitine which DH will add to smoothies he already has, omega 3 6 9 tabs, and we already have selenium and folic acid at home. Going to incorporate lots of tomatoes for lycopene and walnuts into his diet and will be taking out soy as much as we can, for my benefit too. We eat a lot of edamame :/ He also exercises already, is going to cut down further on alcohol and make sure he's keeping cool down there.

I've had blood tests, smear, swab and ultrasound, and everything is normal except raised Chlamydia antibodies in my blood. Could be nothing/wrong or could be blocked tubes, so being referred to Seacroft in Leeds which will now include DH too. I know it sounds bad but I'm almost hoping it's just the morphology and not me too as stress about my cycle really affects my cycle length. Ironic eh? I only ovulated 7 days ago on CD43 (can tell because my nipples always start hurting). I am working on losing weight in case I still have estrogen issues as I had them for around a year after coming off the pill.

I hope you all get your BFPs soon!

Welcome @iRawra,
That is a very long cycle. Is your cycle normally really long?

@Chochaw thank you for the welcome :) when I lost some weight in May/June last year through Slimming World they regulated to around 34 days. I lost about 4 kilos. The stress of still not conceiving, work issues and a friend passing away caused me to put that weight back on and I think it's affecting my cycle. It could also just be the stress of those events so I am learning meditation techniques. Also, the fact the ultrasound told me I'd ovulated almost made me obsess about the fact I had and stressed me out. I am very affected by stress as you can tell haha. I honestly think I only ovulated a week ago based on symptoms (gone dry CM wide and hurting nipples). I'm starting to track next month as we said we'd go a year without tracking. Been a bit longer than that now so time to give it a go. I like being in control so my focuses are now to lose that weight again and be as healthy as possible to help DH sperm issue :)

Hi girls, welcome @iRawra I hope this chat has some helpful info.
So me and my husband visited a private ivf clinic today, we have been to a few but this was defiantly our favourite.
We are paying they to do AMH test, vitamin D test and thyroid as well as a SA for my husband and internal scan to check follicles- we will book this once I get my nhs results from HSG, ultra sound and day 3 bloods.

They basically asked us to get all our results through NHS printed, bring with us, they will do our tests then and there and we wait an hour and all results will be in. Then they can advise weather clomid is worth trying or not, or weather iui (depending if his morphology improves) or straight for ivf/ICSI depending on my amh.
The woman was so lovely she said if it was just that I needed more vitamins and he did they would suggest that rather than the stressful journey or ivf if it wasn’t needed.
We felt like we got so much clarification from the appointment and they would make suggests to save us ‘wasting time’ if clomid wasn’t a good option.

So once I get my nhs results we will go straight back there for a full consultation and tests Iv not had done yet, and start our journey! I’m so excited and so nervous but we will be looking at around 6 weeks to get them done and start the process on what they recommend!

It’s my birthday tomorrow and this has made my day ❤️

Hope you girls are all okay 🤞🏽 Xxx

@Morpho123
That all sounds so positive for you! Really happy that you got that and it has put you in a good mood! :)

@Morpho123 thanks for the welcome. That all sounds so positive, like you're really getting off on the right foot with that clinic. Happy birthday!!

Its all so confusing isn't it? I sent a message to our clinic (NHS) after my GP told me they referred me to query wait times for first appointment and they said 8 weeks, which someone also told me on the Seacroft thread on here. Just got a letter from my GP today informing me that they passed on my referral and that the wait time is up to 18 weeks! Looked on the NHS website for my clinic and it says up to 18 weeks until treatment begins. I am beyond confused. It's Seacroft Hospital in Leeds which DH did his SA with, and his GP said they are going to expedite him for his second SA due to it being abnormal to confirm abnormality, then a third one would be in a few months when lifestyle changes have been implemented. I just hope it means I won't have to wait 18 weeks, as in they could see us both together. 18 weeks hits when we are on holiday for 3 weeks :(

Hello ladies. Hope you are all having a great weekend. And welcome @iRawra!

@Chochaw We are paying for the IUI so maybe we will try it once before IVF. And fingers crossed for your waiting list!🤞

@Morpho123 No morphology issue, it is just unexplained infertility.
I'm glad you found a clinic that you are happy with. Hopefully you get all your tests done soon.

I got another blood result back from my GP, it was just day 21 Progesterone and Prolactin. Progesterone seems fine. But Prolactin is over 670 (20 higher than dec). I've rang my consultant's nurse and told her the result. She said she will update my record. I did raised this issue with my consultsnt last time, that's why I did a retest. I'm not sure if this will have an impact with my IUI. Maybe I need to calm myself down/chill out and the prolactin level will come down naturally.
xx

@Morpho123 happy birthday. I'm glad you had a positive experience yesterday

@Limeflower2 did you have NHS tests or have you always been private? Just wondering for the future with us. I'm starting to worry that the 2 cycles we have wont be enough and I would like to do more privately if we need to. I'm wondering if we could go straight to IUI without tests as we have already received treatment on NHS and have a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. If we need to add tests and stuff on again I think I would just quit.x

Happy birthday @Morpho123 !

@Chochaw I did all my blood test and DH SA on the NHS. But amh, scans and HSG all private. We've been told there is no funding in our area for iui/ivf. We have to go private. So I just did whatever test is possible for us so we save some money. To be honest my consultant didn't even ask for my day 21 blood test after he saw my day 3 result. But I really want to make sure they have all my stats before any treatment.
When was your last blood test?xx

@Limeflower2
Last blood test was August 2017. HSG was Feb 2018. Our consultant was happy to do the 2 cycles we have without me repeating any tests. Husband to do a SA the month before to find out if 3 or 5 day sperm is better quality. Last time both were the same. X

@Chochaw that's great you don't have to do any more test. There was no more information on IUI for us until we meet the IUI nurse. Not sure if they will do SA again to analyse sperm quality. xx

Hi girls, hope you are all keeping well?
I thought I’d check in and see where you all are in your cycle? And what’s going on?

I’m currently CD11 due to ovulate in the next 2-4 days. Iv started using the applicators with preseed- does anyone else notice it coming out the next day? It can be ewcm yet, but I get so much the next day and I only use about 1g-1.5g?

I’m currently on dexamethasone and hoping this doesn’t mess up this cycle? Has anyone else ever been on this? It’s a steroid for MS, but I noticed sometimes they use it with clomid to boost ovulation- however I’m not on clomid right now lol xx

@Morpho123 hello :) been a tough week here with the anniversary of a friend's passing.

I use preseed but I don't notice it coming out the next day. It could be EWCM or that you need to use less. I know some people say the recommended for them is too much. I only ever use about a gram and only around fertile time so not to waste it.

I'm currently CD54 :( . Only ovulated about 12-13 days ago based on my boobs hurting which is always my sign that it's happened (starting to track next cycle BBT and OPK). I think I can already feel AF gripes in my lower abdomen so she should come this weekend. Fingers crossed it's something else but I don't think it is. My last cycle was double length too. Ultrasound said she saw that I'd ovulated CD21 but clearly that was wrong as I'm not pregnant and no AF yet. Must have been a follicle ready that hadn't burst yet but I'm a bit annoyed that she said I had ovulated as I think that my brain tricked myself into thinking I was in the TWW and it gave me so much nausea. Almost like a phantom pregnancy TWW which delayed my actual ovulation?... My sister in law says that most of her cycles have a false ovulation and then her actual ovulation comes after, so she just treats it as if she has two fertile weeks. Bit strange, eh? At least she really knows her body as she has three kids now, all naturally conceived.

Dunno what's going on. I've stopped taking seven seas vitamins in case it was that that's lengthened the cycles and I'm following 'It Starts With The Egg' lifestyle and supplements although they are a bit expensive so can't get them all at once. Anyone else read that book?

Hey, sorry to hear about your friend , I hope you are okay xx

CD54! That’s a little crazy, do you have PCOS? Or do you just sometimes have longer cycles? Have you done a test just in case? Just wondered because of your bbt saying you ovulated cd21?

I don’t always trust ovulation tests if I’m honest, I used them when we first ttc and they were positive but never fell pregnant, this is the first cycle Iv started again but I can’t really be bothered with them. I’d rather bbt and know once Iv had a spike. Sometimes ovulation tests are too difficult to read! I’ll continue this month and see how I go.

I’ll use less preseed too! 😂 I am literally only using 1g, but if it doesn’t come out, where does it go?!

Iv read it starts with the egg, we take vitamins recommended for there, especially my husband because of his morphology.
His been on them now for a few months with a few added in this last 6 weeks, hoping to see some improvements soon! Xx

@Morpho123 thank you. It hit like a ton of bricks the other day when I thought I was doing ok xxx

I haven't BBTed or OPKed before but will start once AF comes so it's CD1. It was an ultrasound that said I'd ovulated around CD21 but she must have been wrong and I actually didn't ovulate until around 12 days ago based on my symptoms. I took tests from a week after she said I'd OV to 3 weeks after when she said I ovulated and I took one 2 days ago and nothing. I do have odd cycles sometimes but no PCOS at all. I had 5 months in a row last year where they were always 34 days and very regular, so I think it's hugely stress and weight related as I had lost 5 kilos on slimming world (put them back on and lost 2 again now) and was enjoying the summer weather and doing more activities so I'm hoping that the weather improving will help me.

I have no clue where it goes haha, but I was curious. Maybe some of it goes into the uterus when the cervix is open and maybe that's why it comes out so much when it's not open? I have no clue hehe.

Really excited about the book. I'm going to slowly introduce the supplements starting with vit C and E. We just bought all of DH from the book as we know he is definitely part of the issue with the tests we've had so far. Mine are mainly just so I know I'm doing everything possible and can stress less and hopefully get my regularity back, as I know I can be regular which is what annoys me so much :) xx

Hey ladies,
I'm on CD 25 so 8 days till AF due. I used OPK and got positives last week. I tried the 'it starts with an egg' method last time I tried to get pregnant for 4 months and it didnt work for us. I've not done much different this month to 'try'. Keeping going with vit c, vit d and folic acid. Still no word from hospital to get husband in for SA before starting IuI so probably not going to be April.

Another baby announcement at work today and my best friend started her mat leave today.

Has anyone tried the cough bottle yet for the month to create lubrication rather than using preseed? It definitely worked for me in the past and I had less leakage than with lubrication. X

Hi all, my referral for fertility clinic CS through today and my apt is start of May. How long should I expect first apt to last and what sort of things do they do?