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

Thanks @BambiOnIce80 😂 I'd be too scared to take the pen as I'd bring it out at work without realising! I've had a quick look on the Edinburgh site, does anyone know if their self funding costs include medication? I've sent gcrm a message this morning so will see what they say.
Hope everyone has a good week and gets positive news re investigations starting back up x

Oh and so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Sounds as if the consultant was very thorough with your last call though so hopefully you'll be able to make the best choice for you going forward x

Thank you @LouScot 😘 I have found them really helpful and supportive, which I guess is why I'm happy to recommend them. The cost of our self funded NHS fresh cycle included the drugs - they apparently do a 'one size fits all' kind of price, so you pay the same regardless of what doeses of drugs you need. I think GCRM charge per prescription, if I remember correctly 🤔 And yes, the pen was binned pretty quickly just in case it accidentally ended up in my work bag! 😱😂

@ BambiOnIce80 so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. That would be heartbreaking.

We are having medicated FET with the injection to down reg (my periods still haven’t returned since this. Although it was only 2 months ago). Then would take oestrogen tablets for 2 weeks before transfer (starting a week after infection). I have had one failed FET in the past (Medicated).
I know someone who had a successful natural FET. So, definitely something to consider. You need more scans and blood tests, I think. Which will mean going to hospital more often. I think if my next FET fails, I will ask to try natural. (We have 2 frozen embryos) If your cycles are regular, then it could be a good option.

@BambiOnIce80 tag didn’t work. Speak to the doctor and see what they think. They must have a good idea if they spoke to you for an hour! 🤞

Thanks for sharing @BeHereNowx32 ❤️ The doc did say that both natural and medicated FET's have exactly the same success rates, so it just comes down to personal preference. It's the having to go in for more regular scans that puts me off of the natural FET, mainly because if the 'right time' to transfer happens at the weekend they'll cancel the cycle and then there'll be even more scans starting the next month 😕 My boss is very understanding, but maybe not 2-3 months of regular hospital appointments kind of understanding! 🙄 That's the appealing part of the medicated cycle - they'll tailor it so that FET can happen on a weekday when they're open! I guess we've got plenty of time to decide 😏

Saw on another thread 17 clinics have been approved for reopening, although none here yet, but can only be good news x

Yes I keep checking the HEFA page it’s updating throughout the day! It’s making me ill lol need to stop checking 🤪

... Yep, I'm hitting refresh roughly every 5 minutes! 😂

😂 I think you can save the refresh till tomorrow now, the list is the same as it was early afternoon so hopefully there's a few Scottish clinics on tomorrow. I'm not even at treatment stage I just want to know when my (long!) enquiries will be replied to!!

I was referred to FVRH (in early March) and got a call from them on Monday saying that my 1st appointment (supposed to be next week) is cancelled but they are going to be reopening “soon”. As I’m booked to see 1 of the nurses (not the consultants) there isn’t a waiting list at this stage. It’ll be a discussion and a vaginal scan.

We are very lucky, we have 1 DC born in 2018, after TTC 2 years I had an HSG done (as part of fertility investigations - we were “unexplained infertility”) and got pregnant that same cycle. In parallel they had put us on the waiting list for IVF but obviously that wasn’t required - from memory the waiting list for 1st appointment was going to be 6 months.

Now after TTC 6+ months (aged 36) I asked to be referred again and I want to try HSG again. If it doesn’t lead to pregnancy then so be it, but it’s worth a try (for our situation anyway).

@theotherfossilsister I went to see a counsellor and that really helped me with my mental health & stress while TTC. Maybe something to consider xx

Thank you so much all of you for replying to me.

@BambiOnIce80 - we gave GP a call Monday, but they asked us to call back later in the week. They are a good GP practice, but I feel like I'm bothering them with something not life and death. I have Rheumatology tomorrow, unless they call and cancel it today (last one got cancelled) and might ask them about it. I came off medication especially to ttc and I know it concerned my consultant but she agreed, so maybe she can help speed up investigations? (Sorry if this sounds like queue jumping, it's not meant to, just she said the sooner I had a child and was back on mtx the better my joints would be.)

Your miscarriage sounds devastating, I hope so much it happens for you next time.

@RonRon1 - ah, I know the reloading and going mad feeling, it's horrible isn't it? I know you'll know all about distractions (work, long walks, journalling, facetiming friends) but when you need to know something all this knowledge of what you should do instead of constantly checking seeming to go out of the window. Am arranging a

digital book group for my work at the moment, which is distracting-ish, and might head up Arthur's Seat tonight.I can be very obsessive compulsive about things, so it's tough. What lovely distractions do you have?

@MrsDrambuie that sounds like a really positive step. I did have a counsellor through work after taking time off for panic and anxiety, but all our appointments got cancelled sadly (but understandably.) She did actually tell me to stay away from the TTC board on Mumsnet and not join any buses, which is hard, but I get it.

Please can you tell me what an HCG is and how it works?

It is lovely to know folk in Edinburgh going through this. Would love to meet some of you for a cup of coffee when we're allowed to meet people for coffee again, or even a wine, if you're up for that, and allowed at this point in your treatment (I don't know when in IVF you need to stop drinking. Currently am having one glass a night, because quitting alcohol didn't help ttc and just took away one lovely thing DP and I share.)

@theotherfossilsister HSG is a hysterosalpinogram. They insert dye into your tubes and take X-rays. It’s used to check for damage or blockages. It was part of standard fertility investigations at the hospital. It’s got to be done on certain days of your cycle. There is no medical evidence that says it helps women to get pregnant, but the nurses say they hear of anecdotal evidence that for some women they get pregnant in that very cycle. It basically flushes your tubes out and can lead to your tubes being slightly enlarged for a couple of months.

(I ended up paying to have the HSG done privately as I got fed up of not having my period on the “right” day and getting availability at the hospital. It was £450 at Nuffield, it turned out to be the best £450 I have ever spent!)

I don't think that sounds like queue jumping at all @theotherfossilsister 💐 You definitely can't be taking methotrexate whilst TTC/pregnant, so it sounds totally reasonable that your rheumatologist talk to the Simpson centre to get things moving if not taking your meds is effecting your health! I'd certainly give your GP a nudge again too (they told you to ring back after all 😉) - it was probably just that they were up to their eyeballs with calls and handovers from the weekend. I always feel guilty about bothering the GP, but mine was great when I needed her to help me with something after having spoken to my clinic and that wasn't a life and death situation (although I do suspect she felt sorry for me after the miscarriage). She said they're still there to do their job, so by all means get in touch (just don't be surprised that referrals may take longer than usual/tests might not be done whilst we're still in lockdown).

We were advised to stop the booze once we'd started the treatment for a fresh cycle, so I'm definitely back on it now! 🍸😂 Like you, I didn't find stopping booze made any difference to TTC naturally so I'm not going to deprive myself of one of our small pleasures (although I have cut down the quantity a bit 😏). I'd be up for meeting post lockdown 🍾🥂👍 I ended up being a witness at the wedding of one of my MN friends from the TTC board and it was fantastic! 😁 No issue at all with mixing MN with real life.x

@MrsDrambuie that sounds amazing, which day of your cycle does it have to be? I have shorter cycles (26 or 27) so is it rigidly based on 28 day cycles?

@BambiOnIce80 Thank you so much! I felt guilty about asking her to fast track it, but she has said that I already have shown deterioration in my wrists. (Last time I was there I didn't let them do an X-Ray as was 2ww and was too scared I would kill a potential baby with radiation - how mad all this ttc makes us.)

I'd love to go for wine once this is over. I live between Leith and Portobello, but work fairly centrally, when my work is open.

Just to add I'd love to meet when this is over. I live just outside town so anywhere centrally is great for me. Don't think it'll be anytime soon though. I've got my period just now and I've been have total ice cold panics all week, what if this is my last ever period (!), will the clinic tell me I'm wasting my time etc etc etc so it's been lovely to be able to join your thread. I'm off outside for 10 minutes while it's sunny now then it'll be time to check Hfea site again

@theotherfossilsister In my appointment letter / info it said days 5-10 but when it came to booking in (you phone them on day 1 of your period) they said days 7-10. i.e. after your period but before an egg could be released.

I work in Fife but live between Edinburgh centre and Leith, so it's really easy for me to hop off the train after work at either Haymarket or Waverley for whichever drinking location suits 🍾🥂😁

Oh, I totally convinced myself that I was perimenopausal @LouScot when we started TTC, even though I didn't have any symptoms - just because I was 38!🤦‍♀️ I then convinced myself after the miscarriage that my periods wouldn't come back because I'm now 40 (birthday in lockdown was awesome 🙄), but it seems to have kicked back into a normal cycle 🤞 I doubt anyone will be telling you that you're wasting your time.x

Is anyone else slightly suspicious as to why there doesn't appear to be any Scottish clinics on the HFEA website yet? 🤔🤨

Hi,
I'm new to this thread. How is everyone?
I'm ttc with the help of a private Clinic based in Glasgow and my cycle got cancelled at the start of lockdown.

Have been refreshing the HFEA website since Monday like a maniac.

Is anyone else slightly suspicious as to why there doesn't appear to be any Scottish clinics on the HFEA website yet? 🤔🤨

This really worries me. It's been, as of now, three days and they approved a lot of clinics, which is great, but nothing here

I'd typed a message but it's vanished! Remember there's far fewer Scottish clinics so might still be coincidence.. And even if it's not, eg Public Health Scotland have asked for further measures etc (not saying they will, and know it's a UK regulatory body) I doubt it'll be much longer. Hopefully we'll see some tomorrow

Nice to hear from you @lillibeth86 - is it Gcrm you're using? How have you found them?

yes that's the clinic we are with and they have been absolutely brilliant so far.
Are you thinking about using them?

Welcome @lillibeth86 👋 I think I'm getting repetitive strain injury in my index finger from pressing 'refresh' so much! 🤦‍♀️

I know you're right @LouScot, but I noticed Welsh and Northern Irish ones on there who have even fewer than us so I'm also wondering if there's some PHS/Scottish government directive that is holding things up (and not being announced to the public because they'd go ape 💩) 🤔 Let's see what today brings... 🔮🤞

@BambiOnIce80 I think I'm getting repetitive strain injury in my index finger from pressing 'refresh' so much! 🤦‍♀️

Same 🤦‍♀️
I somehow felt better when I didn't know they might open. But since Monday I've been a nervous wreck.

I keep my fingers crossed for today. Maybe one Scottish clinic will get mentioned. Wouldn't even have to be mine, just so that I know things are moving here too...

@lillibeth86 i know. Really, really want to see somewhere from Scotland. Feels like we have been waiting for ages now!