When can investigations resume? (Scotland.)

[theotherfossilsister]

Just that really, I know it's a difficult time for so many people, but clinics shuttered just as DP finally agreed to get his semen analyisis done. My progesterone was normal, and I have regular periods, so I don't think Clomid would be an option for us. We've been trying for a year and a half, and I am 35 on Saturday.

If we do get a referral, and need IVF, how long will that take? So many questions?

Thanks

@Daisz hi. Glad your appointment went well.
No period yet. But I took my last Provera this morning. So, period will arrive in 2-7 days... hopefully! We should still be very close with timing then.
Hope you don’t have too much symptoms. Prostap made me very emotional.

Hi to the new comers. I did post a message yesterday but it didn’t save.

Thanks for sharing your appointment @Daisz ❤️ All sounds very efficient! When will your next appointment be? Does AF come and then you start the tablets, or do you need to go back in? I'm so glad that things are starting moving for you 😊

I hope AF is on her way for you now @BeHereNowx32 🤞

Great news that you've got your tests in the pipeline @LouScot 😃 I've managed to get into the GP's tomorrow for my thyroid function and prolactin bloods, so the results will be ready and waiting for when I eventually get my FET appointment 🧪 I'm also keeping everything crossed that the R number keeps nice and low 🤞🤞🤞

Welcome @unknownscot and @ally99101 👋 I think they can check your rubella status via antibodies in your blood, so try not to stress too much if you can't get your GP to confirm the dates. On the IUI front, I was meant to start a cycle with my XH years ago (but then he became my XH! 😂) and I did have my AMH and AFC done, but I think that was more in the context of investigating my unexplained infertility 🤔 I suppose it would depend if the IUI was going to be medicated or unmedicated - if it's medicated, then they'll need your AFC and AMH to determine which dose of drugs to give you 💊 Hope this helps.x

I did indeed end up calling this morning @Daisz (must have been the same time as your appointment, freakily! 🔮). First nurse I spoke to was lovely 🥰 She advised getting my thyroid function checked with my GP so that the results were ready for when they needed them (sorted ✅). She also said they'd arranged the outstanding FET's from March and April and she was just working her way through calling the next 30 FET patients for the next cycle (which I'm obviously not one of 🙄). So, she put me through to the nurse coordinator to check that I actually was on July's FET list... and she definitely wasn't as delighted to hear from yet another patient asking about the cycle schedule 😬 The good news was that I am on July's list for an NHS funded FET, but the bad news is that it's of course not going to be in July 😏 She obviously can't say exactly when I'll hear (depends on how the other cycles go and R numbers and stuff 🔮), but she said she'd guess a ball park date of 'autumn'. I'm not exactly delighted, but at least I can stop torturing myself about the lack of communication and readjust my head to accept it'll hopefully be 'the autumn' 🍁🍂 Need to find something else to obsess about in the meantime! 😒 Definitely need a distraction or 5 🙄

Oh that's good news that you'll have results ready and waiting @bambionice80. Hopefully it's sooner than "autumn", would be nice if you were given a definitive date. Sounds like the second person you spoke to was maybe just saying "autumn" as they'd already been asked many times (but justifiable people want to know!) so perhaps it might be sooner. Fingers very much crossed 😁

@BambiOnIce80 was that the ACS in Glasgow?

No, sorry @Scirocco, it's EFREC in Edinburgh. I take it you haven't had any news from Glasgow yet either? The waiting for a phone call really has been hell and I couldn't take it anymore 😔

After a lot of phone calls And the NHS being absolute dicks with no one taking responsibility for who to contact regarding regards I've decided to just pay for the anti body test.
The nhs no longer do it so £75 is nothing in the grand scheme of paying for IVF!!!

Yes I need to wait till af arrives before starting tablets, so probably around 10+ days time. Then I have to start tablets on day 3 of af. I think they will get me back to check womb lining around 5 days after that, so it will probably be another 2 weeks or so before I am back.

Forgot to mention that I also had to wear a face mask. I brought my own but they also provide one if you don't have one.

@BambiOnIce80 so pleased you finally called and hope you get a more definite time frame soon. Bet you feel a weight has been lifted, now that you finally made contact?

@BeHereNowx32 hoping your af arrives soon, so you can get started on the next stage.

@BambiOnIce80 the only things I've heard from the ACS have been when I've phoned them, and today they've told me that they aren't doing "anything fresh" for the foreseeable. As I'm "not a priority", the best they can recommend is that I check their website regularly and phone them when they post about "fresh" cases.

According to the person I spoke with, the onus will be on patients to get in touch with the clinic at that point, and the clinic won't be routinely contacting patients to update them about that... !

I'm slightly upset, to say the least. They won't even let me have the results of the tests we've done so far to take anywhere private, without an unnecessarily complicated request process which just feels like another kick in the teeth.

So we either have to wait indefinitely or potentially start from scratch again.

Does anyone know what the waiting list is like at GCRM?

Hi,
Wondering if I can join in.
We've been trying for 2 years in July and are being seen at Monklands. My husband's SA came back normal both times it was checked. My bloods show I'm ovulating and my ultrasound was normal. Our next step was a lap and dye because I have come symptoms of endometriosis. It was due to take place two days after lockdown and is now on hold. We got a letter three weeks ago saying they were restarting the lists but when I phoned today I was told there were no signs of the list starting again. So feeling a bit stuck at the moment. We haven't tried this month in case I got called in. If we do try and I suddenly get called then we get knocked off the list for not following instructions as they won't carry out the procedure in case I might be pregnant. Feels like a catch 22.
I was so pleased to hear things were starting up again, now I'm back to being so incredibly fed up of the whole thing.

Evening lovely ladies,
Glad things are morning for some of you. Yey!

@unknownscot you sound frustrated. I am too. I actually thought I was having a break down at the weekend I just snapped. I cried for most of Sunday as I just feel like it's one knock back after the other. Hindsight is a great thing. If we had have gone private last April we would possibly have had a baby by now.

I know when I enquired at GCRM I had to do that, request my test results and notes. It look 30 days to get them!

I called yesterday as I was considering booking a holiday (not a good time but I have not idea when fresh cycles will commence and I need a distraction! ) I did not want to ask AGAIN when they will start. I really need a distraction.

Sending love to you all x

@Scirocco currently it's around 4 months at GCRM cause of the backlog. It's rotten yet so much better than NHS!

My excellent GP just gave me the results I was asking for from the clinic, without anywhere near the hassle. Feeling a bit more positive today...

@unknownscot thanks, that seems really amazing from where I've been, so thank you for brightening up my day. 💙 Maybe there's some hope after all.

Period just started 🙂 but wondering if I’m best just phoning tomorrow. They close really soon, I think...

@BeHereNowx32 just read this. Congratulations! The clinic shuts at 5pm, but you do have a 3 day window to start meds ie 72hrs so calling tomorrow should be fine, and they are open over the weekend. Good luck!♥️

@BeHereNowx32 yay, great news! Did you get through to them?

@RonRon1 ooo, a holiday would be a great distraction😊 I wish they'd just tell you so you know, rather than the not knowing and just hanging on.

I'm going to gcrm next week for initial tests. Worried about being close to people for first time in 3 months so that'll stop me stressing about the actual tests/ results 😂

Hope everyone is well x

I hear you @RonRon1 ❤️ I spent all of yesterday crying (thank god I'd gotten the day off!) after the phone call with the coordinator sunk in 😔 It's not that we won't be getting the FET in July - I was expecting that. It's the feeling that the vagueness that they're trotting out about when things might happen is deliberate in order to stop us from ringing them (a kind of "it could be autumn, but might be winter, so if you don't hear from us don't worry" kind of affair to stop us bothering them, iyswim?). A simple "at the moment it's looking like X month, but it's an ever changing situation and we'll ring you either way if it's going ahead or not" would have placated me no end. I'm not one for mindfulness, but I'm going to have to try something to get me out of this funk 😒

That's great news about AF rocking up @BeHereNowx32! I hope you get on alright with your call today 🍀

Good luck with your tests @LouScot 🍀 I'm sure they'll be handing out masks, so try not to worry.x

@Kitkat247 sorry to hear this, that’s stressful. I had a laparoscopy for endometriosis where they found it but couldn’t remove it. If you have any questions I’m happy to answer if I can.

@Scirocco oh that’s so frustrating! My first fresh cycle appointment at GRI was cancelled in April and I was getting counselling as I was really stressed. I relaxed a bit when the clinic reopened in May but hearing what they’re saying about fresh cycles stresses me all over again! It’s the waiting in limbo, and I’ve been waiting so long now because my laparoscopy delayed things and then they made a mistake and didn’t put me on the waiting list when they were supposed to. I really wish they’d just give slightly more precise info, “the foreseeable” could be anything from
a month to a year

Unfortunately my husband won’t go private he doesn’t agree with it. He’ll only reconsider once we’ve had our NHS goes if they don’t work.

@Daisz @Louscot @BambiOnIce80 got through this morning. I start tablets today, and then a scan in a couple of weeks, to check lining. There was a bit of confusion, because I’m actually doing a modified cycle. So, no prostap injection.

@LouScot that’s good that you’re starting tests soon. It is strange, but everyone will be wearing masks at least.

To everyone else, I am so so sorry that you’re having a tough time with waiting. I completely understand. I found it so painful during my first 3 cycles. And I know it must be worse when you don’t even know dates. Just do what you need to. Holidays are a great idea, just treat yourself 💓

We are just being seen quicker because it is a self funded frozen cycle, from a previous self funded fresh cycle. Take care x

@kikisparks did they say why they didn't remove it? I was told that she would attempt to remove it during lap. Also how long was your recovery? I found them to be a bit vague on that and got told maybe about a week.
I'm sorry to hear that your husband doesn't want to go private. We have looked into it but I am nervous about giving up our 3 tries on the NHS. We said we'd think about it again once we get told our next steps and how long the list is. We got told if we stay unexplained it would be IUI first and there wasn't a wait list for that before all this kicked off. There's so many difficult decisions for everybody, especially during all of this.

@Kitkat247 yes I was told they’d before the lap that they’d remove it during it too but they only removed a small adhesion on my ovary- they said the rest is too close to my bowel so they’d need full surgery with a bowel specialist to remove those adhesions but they said it was high risk and I could end up with a colostomy bag so I’ve not gone for it. The depressing thing is that I’m told being pregnant might resolve it which makes waiting for ivf in agony every month even harder.

The lap was not bad at all and recovery was fine, I took 2 weeks off work and probably could have gone back a bit earlier if I needed to but the 2nd week was mainly taken off for fatigue. The post surgery pain was not too bad, honestly much easier than endo pain! I didn’t like the cocodamol so managed with paracetamol and ibuprofen and just didn’t move much. My husband took a couple of days off and did everything for me in those first days which helped but if he couldn’t have I would have managed. Make sure you have someone with you for the day you come out of surgery though to take you home and be with you for 24 hours ideally. Incisions healed very quickly.

Buy a nice big loose nightie as you won’t want anything rubbing on your incision wounds for a few days.

@BeHereNowx32 I hadn't realised they could do fet any other way, can I ask how you qualify for a modified cycle? Just curious as not heard of it before. Hope your ok on the tablets without too much side effects.

@BambiOnIce80 Sorry to hear your feeling so down at the moment, sending hugs and I have been thinking of you.xx

@Daisz the nurse had said that this method is used for women with irregular cycles. Maybe because my period hadn’t came on it’s own?

Sorry if that last part of my message sounded insensitive. I didn’t meant it to be that way. X

@BeHereNowx32 oh no not atol , thanks for explaining, just being nosey. I am probably just jealous you get to skip the prostap.😀

@Daisz I am glad Tbf. Prostap made me a hormonal wreck! Hope you’re doing ok