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

Morning all, so Iv just had my HSG. What an experience! Jesus Christ, for me it was actually awful. My cervix is tilted so she couldn’t get it with the speculum, it took 3 tries and by that point I was sweating and feeling faint. She finally got it and did the dye- the dye for me was a quick sharp pain. I think removal of the speculum was also awful for me lol! Just please remember I pass out at smear tests too. My mind takes over! I did take a lolly in for sugar and to keep my concentration elsewhere. It didn’t work really but stopped me passing out so that’s good!
Annoyingly the doctor said she wasn’t allowed to tell me the results and the doctors would contact me for a follow up appointment. But she was so kind and told me everything looked absolutely fine, I could see the X-ray of the tubes and dye, so that’s really positive!

I hope everyone else is braver than me. I have bled after but I spot a lot so I think my cervix is really sensitive anyway!

I just wanted to share my experience, hopefully I can start clomid next cycle! Xx

@Morpho123 Thanks for sharing. I will have mine to look forward to soon. I'm nervous but I'm not going to think about it too much. Hopefully it won't hurt. X

@limeflower2 my advice would be take pain killers an hour before and have somehthing sugary- I had a lolly before my appointment and a lolly during 😂 the woman thought I was mad but honestly my blood sugars drop so low I’d have passed out. It did help although for me it was really painful. It would have been better if she could have reached my uterus lol! It’s over quickly thought tbh and Iv not had much pain after just a few cramps xx

@Morpho123 sorry you never got your results at the HSG appointment. @limeflower2 I recommend painkillers beforehand too and take the rest of the day off too just in case.

My appointment has been rescheduled again but is actually earlier now so fingers crossed it can all go ahead soon x

@Morpho123 thanks for sharing your experience! I'll do mine later this month also from the Hycosy!

A separate question, I got a letter in today that I assume is what the fertility clinic have sent my GP basically discussing everything that went on. It says I have antral follicle of 34, does anyone know what this means??

I called the hospital to get my follow up appointment after the hsg ASAP so I could start clomid... only to be told they forgot to send me paperwork for a day 3 blood test so that’s another month I can’t start clomid. I could of had this blood test a week ago! It’s so frustrating, it’s like they don’t understand the waiting times we have to go through.
I really thought we could start clomid on my next cycle, and now it won’t be until April. It’s made me feel so down, another 2 months to wait! I really felt like I was getting somewhere 😭 x

@Morpho123 sorry to hear that. Sucks!

Do you have issues with ovulation? Just wondering why onto clomid that's all!

Remember we were discussing the morphology thing before, so the doctor said it was fine but the letter I got today summing everything up says partner has 1% morphology with abnormal heads and then goes on to say it shouldn't affect natural pregnancy but I don't really understand how. I'm genuinely confused why they think it's not an issue but hey they are the experts huh!

Letter also said I had borderline ovulation results but again they are 'pretty sure' I ovulate. Confirmed that after Hycosy we'd go on IVF waiting and that partner has to stop 'socially' smoking

@willithappen I feel so disappointed.
my blood results on day 21 were '29' and have to be over 30 to confirm ovulation, although im sure I do ovulate as I do BBT. but they want to put me on clomid anyway on the chances ill release a few more eggs and give the sperm more chances. - I have progresterone pessaries too as I spot 7-9 days before AF arrives. which I am happy they have given me progesterone - but I still cant start it until they give me the go ahead.

my husband has 0% morphology, we are doing all we can to change that so fingers crossed it gets better, although the specialist wasn't hopeful. he said that because his count and motility are so high that the morphology isn't a huge factor, it would just take longer. which tbh I just don't believe. I think they realy play morphology down because there isn't actually a 'cure' for it.

I don't have an IVF waiting list in my area, its privately paid for and that's it. its so annoying. we will go to IVF august/September time if we don't manage to fall before. when is your hycosy?x

@morpho123

We're so similar in ways! I was 29. (Something) as my results too and questioned it at the appointment but was told that level was fine. I read it needed to be 30 and they told me no. But then on the letter I got they wrote borderline soooo.

Same with morphology, I don't think it's being taken seriously enough. It's been years and nothing. If my Hycosy comes back fine I'm going to push for them to try something with us during the IVF wait rather than just waiting.

My Hycosy is 25th Feb. I know it's slightly different but did you drive at all after yours? It's first thing in morning but it's about 45 mins drive away and I'll be by myself so trying to plan

Hope the clomid works for you! It's good to be trying something at least!

@willithappen iv literally read the entire internet on morphology lol and it seems to be the hardest one to change. which is why I think the downplay it. was your husband/boyfriend count/motility good otherwise? they seem to think morphology is only a problem when there is also an issue with count/motility. which obviously isn't true as none of us girls are pregnant yet.

how long is the waiting list for IVF for you?

my husband took me to the HSG (hycosy) test and tbh I was fine after to drive, but I didn't know so took him just incase. the pain in the procedure was more than I expected, but I didn't have much pain/cramping after - for some its the other way around - not much pain during but suffer after. I would advise taking someone with you if you can, just incase.

I hope the clomid works too, just another 5,768 years til they let me take it lol! x

@Morpho123 his motility and count are above average so that's why they are not classing it as a male factor and instead have us as unexplained currently. I don't see how they can have it as that when clearly there is at least one issue below what they recommend.

Waiting list appears to be 6 month from what I have read but I haven't been told directly. I assume I'll be told more during the appointment! Dreading it but looking forward to it at the same time as I feel that's when the waiting clock will start

@Morpho123 @Chochaw Thanks for the tip. I think I will take the painkillers for sure. I got my HSG appointment on Thursday next week.

Bloody morphology!!! I've read the internet too- driving myself insane with it I swear.

So after a 8 week wait since referral, we finally had our first appointment with the fertility consultant yesterday.

So basically our consultant said sperm regenerates every few months so he can’t go by the one SA alone. He said of all the millions of sperm deposited, the lab only put about 30-40 (not million, literally just 30-40) under a microscope and create the results from that alone. So he said just because no normal forms were seen in that, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have ANY normal forms in there. Also the fast and slow motility numbers (totaling 18% for us but should be above 32%) were ‘slightly under’ in his words! but still SOME were moving. So when I asked if we had any chance conceiving naturally IF those results were in fact accurate, he said to me ‘Put it this way, if you decided you changed your mind and didn’t want children, I’d tell you to use contraception with these results.’ I guess that’s a funny way of saying it is possible to some degree?

Anyway, he wants OH to do another SA to check results again but regardless of the outcome he said we wouldn’t qualify for IVF until we’d been trying for two years (which isn’t until November  and in our area we only get one attempt at it on the NHS.

I feel sort of mix, hopeful that maybe SA results will be better next time, (but then still why isn’t it working for us!) but sad that it’ll be another 10 months of trying, potentially hopelessly, before actually doing ivf.

Ttc is so draining and such hard work. X

@MallonMary sorry tohear you are disappointed with the results from yesterday. I can't remember do you have any issues? Is IUI something that could work for you? It is rubbish that the rules are different across the country regarding finding

@Chochaw I don't have any issue myself (that we know of) but SA for dh came back 0% morphology and only 18% total motility.

I'm hoping the next SA shows an improvement.

I'm currently in middle of the tww... I don't know why I always get so hopeful about it when every month (this will be month 15 of trying) is a disappointment! I still want to keep POAS - it's madness!

Anyone else with fertility problems still get like this during the tww?

Hey @MallonMary I hope you are okay?
How many SAs has your husband done and when is he next SA?
I know how you feel in the tww, I always know I’m out when I start spotting at 7/8dpo it’s normal for me to spot that early hence they are giving me progesterone pessaries when I start clomid. So I always know when I’m out- I never poas anymore as I don’t see the point, I wait for AF every month. I’d try and hold out if I were you, although it is hard! I found in the earlier days I was getting more upset seeing negatives so felt it was better to wait it out. I have no idea when I’m ovulating this month, Iv been poorly so my bbt isn’t accurate at all. I think it’s either been this weekend or early this week I haven’t a clue so no idea when my tww is starting! X

I didn’t realise they looked at so few sperm, but we got 0% too which must be right as I haven’t fallen yet! X

@MallonMary Sorry to hear the result. Like Chochaw mentioned, would you consider IUI while waiting for IVF?

I did POAS few days ago even though I knew well AF was due. I'm keeping myself hopeful! :)

I went for my ultrasound this morning, was told when I made the appointment that it would be just ultrasound on the belly. But when I arrived they offered a transvaginal ultrasound. I thought I might as well to get everything checked. It was the longest 10mins, they couldn't get a decent view of my ovaries, so lots of pressure moving the stick which caused some pain. But the Dr. was so kind and she was constantly checking if I was okay. Everything seems okay. I now have HSG this Thursday.

@Morpho123 do you have any known issues yourself? Wondering why they've offered the clomid?

A part from morphology, were you're oh SA results normal?

How long have you been trying? Sorry it's so hard to keep up with everyone as there's so many of us- which does make me think it's more normal than I'd first thought!

@Limeflower2 what does IUI actually help with? Is it literally just the 'swimming' to the right place? I mean if it's just a case of putting it closer to the egg, if there aren't any normal forms then it wouldn't be able to insert into the egg anyway right?

Glad your scan went well! Another tick in the right direction. Hope your hsg goes well, do update us. Do you get results right away?

I haven't been offered an hsg, they said I didn't need one as all my other results were ok... but that doesn't seem the case with others like yourself who are offered it under the same circumstances xx

@MallonMary my husbands SA morphology was the only issue. My progesterone is low they think, hence the pessaries. The clomid is to produce more eggs in the hope one of his sperm will fertilise. They said they have offered that as we get no ivf funding in my area. So annoying they can’t treat morphology rather than me having to take medication when there is nothing wrong with me.
Been trying for just over a year now.

Iui isn’t recommended for morphology, because it’s the fact a deformed sperm can’t penetrate the egg, iui doesn’t help with that. So it’s been ruled out for us.
I didn’t get my hsg results straight away but some people do! I could see they were clear though as I saw the dye, and the woman said she thinks I’ll be ‘just fine’ hinting it was all okay. I have to wait for my next appointment for my results which is around 6 weeks away! It seems so unfair to wait so long!
If I were you I’d request a hsg to check! It’s another thing you can rule out xx

IUI was given to us as an option before IVF as we had unexplained infertility. It helped get the sperm to the right place and we had the monitored IUI which meant daily injections of Gonal F and internal ultrasounds every 2nd day to check progress. That helps stimulate more follicles and thickens the lining of the womb then when the follicles ar being enough you inject with ovidrel to force ovulation and means you know for sure with the timing. For us we felt trying IUI before IVF was better as funding was provided but you can't get funding for IVF and then have IUI if IVF doesn't work. They also 'wash' the sperm before IUI to get rid of any excess fluid/lazy swimmers.x

@MallonMary it is so common for people to fall naturally whilst waiting for treatment so stay positive as long as you can. The tww is the worst. I always wait with anticipation thinking this is the month and get so disappointed. AF is 5 days late for me this month with lots of BFN tests. I cant wait to see what the consultant says about starting IUI again tomorrow. I think I might get told I need to wait longer.x

@MallonMary With IUI, the sperm will be washed. And hopefully the stronger ones will be placed very close to the egg and penetrate it.

We were told there is no ivf funding in my area. So I went private. I think my consultant wants me to get everything checked first to rule out any complication before IUI and Ivf.

I'm hoping I will get result with the HSG on Thursday. Will keep you updated.xx

@Limeflower2 good luck with your appointment today.

We seen our consultant on Tuesday and they have given us the go ahead for IUI to try for #2. They are not sure if we will get funding for the 2 cycles left from last time or if we can get 4 cycles so doctor going to look into it. Waiting list is about 2 months to start treatment. I feel the pressure off now because I know that the ball is rolling again.

hi @Limeflower2 hope you got on okay at HSG and it didn't hurt too much.

how is everyone else getting on?
I had an ultra sound today - felt a bit weird being sat with everyone who was having baby scans I must say....

my husband went to reception and asked the cost of baby scans for information to which the receptionist replied 'they cost £5 each but obviously you don't have that issue right now' the cheek of it!

anyway, I wasn't sure what the ultra sound was for - I hadn't been told I needed one but I received a letter with an appointment anyway.
all was fine, the nurse said she couldn't understand why I hadn't got pregnant, it must be an issue with my husband, which obviously it is with 0 morphology, she agreed that morphology was an issue too.

also, I don't know if iv even ovulated after my hsg, im CD17 and normally ovulate CD13 - I haven't been BBT due to being unwell last week, but my normally BBT before O is 36.10 - and now its 36.38 but that doesn't seem high enough to confirm O to me, normally after 0 its 36.50 - do I keep BD just in case? IM TIRED!

can HSG delay ovulation/ has this happened to anyone? I need to book day 3 blood test, but this is the first time I haven't a clue where I am in my cycle! xxx