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

Gorgeous today isn't it? How is everyone?

I've just been for a socially distanced meet up with my brother in case restrictions get tighter this week.. I'm feeling a little anxious that clinics might close again, but don't think there'll be a total lockdown again.. I'm so conscious of getting older every day!!! Xx

@Louscot it is, we're going up Calton Hill.

I'm also terrified of delays. Seriously thinking about going private if possible. I'm so angry that the HFEA feel women going through IVF need protecting against pregnancy or the NHS needs protecting against us, while as all the women who get pregnant naturally are absolutely no problem.

Just to add, rant, I just saw a 'quarantine made me pregnant' t shirt and it made me so so angry. How glib and insensitive.

Oh @theotherfossilsister, that sounds so upsetting! I'd have been the same. It's hard seeing people being so glib about something we all want so much x

@theotherfossilsister oh no 🙈 some people’s comments etc are so flippant and insensitive.
Hopefully everything goes ok for you. They might not stop ivf as there’s no evidence that Covid affects pregnancy anymore than others. 🤞 it will be so frustrating for you with all this waiting!!

@LouScot there’s been some lovely sunny days. Think it’s to rain during the week. But another nice weekend! It’s defo helps make things feel a bit better. How are you doing?

I’m ok. I’ve to take a pregnancy test this weekend, and check it’s negative. I’ll prob do on Sunday. Then I’ll think about phoning the fertility clinic to ask about starting again. But like I said before, it will be a while away. X

People are massively clueless @theotherfossilsister - I'd be raging too if I saw something like that 😑

I'm vaguely hopeful that the HFEA won't force the clinics to close again 🤞 They opened them back up whilst the country was still in a full lockdown, so wouldn't be able to follow the logic of them insisting on shutting them down again. I'm more worried that our hospitals will get hammered by new covid admissions and then need to redeploy non-essential services staff (ie. IVF 😔) to the main hospital. That apparently didn't happen much in the first wave so, again, keeping everything crossed that it doesn't come to it 🤞🔮 🤞🔮

I just saw this update from EFREC @BeHereNowx32 - wondered if the waiting times might be of interest to you going forward?

services.nhslothian.scot/edinburghassistedconceptionprogramme/Pages/COVID-19.aspx

@BambiOnIce80 thank you for that. I will try phone during the next couple of weeks and see what they say x

We're having a hard day today.

Do forgot that he wasn't to ejaculate for forty eight hours, and did so yesterday afternoon, forty three hours before SA due at hospital centre. I think it'd fine probably but he's in pieces saying he's ruined it. I didn't know it was effecting him so badly. Apparently he didn't sleep last night.

I'm still hoping we might get NHS treatment if SA done tomorrow, because then hopefully we'll be seen within five months before going on ten month waiting list, but thinking of going private too.

The advantage in waiting for NHS, other than cost, is that we could use those fifteen months to really focus on our health. We're both struggling emotionally at the moment, so maybe we could spend those months as a time to get really well while hoping for a miracle.

I caught myself today thinking that a friend who is pregnant with twins in greedy. Ridiculous.

@theotherfossilsister sounds like you are both struggling with the stress of it all. Which is understandable, you’ve had such a long wait. It will be good to focus on your mental health. The whole process is hard, especially the long waiting.
Hopefully a matter of hours won’t make a difference to the results. Good luck xx

Hey everyone. Well I had my midwife appointment this morning. It was not in my usual surgery, and it was actually a trainee midwife that I saw on my own. She took quite a bit of time to get my bloods, which was a bit painful, and I gave my urine sample, and got my blue notes. Unless there is something wrong the next time they will contact me will be at 16 weeks. I need to send a text after my scan on Tuesday just to confirm that all is ok.

@BeHereNowx32 I hope all goes well with you this weekend. ♥️

@RonRon1 hope you are settling nicely into your pregnancy and your not feeling so bad.

@BambiOnIce80 Time is moving forward, you must be excited but anxious about starting treatment again? I hope all goes well for you. I have not actually decided when to tell everyone my news. Last time I waited till I was 16 weeks, and a lot of people were very annoyed that I waited so long to say. Having said that it was mainly the males in my family that had that opinion, I think men struggle to really understand pregnancy in the first place, so I suppose that maybe an understandable reaction. Ideally I would love to wait until after my 20 week scan, but don't think I will be able to get away with that.

@theotherfossilsister I hope all goes well with the SA, I am sure it will go better than you think. I seem to remember that they don't just go with the one analysis, they do ask for a couple more when treatment begins, because realistically the sperm they are seeing at that moment is the result of lifestyle/illness of three months prior so for that reason they don't just take the results of that one analysis.

That's crazy @Daisz that people would take the hump about not being told sooner! 😕 There really is 'nowt queer as folk 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not particularly excited here yet because I still don't have any paperwork yet confirming that we're starting next month 🙄 I'm sure I'll relax if/when it turns up 🤞 Could you answer a FET question for me, please? Which drugs do they put us on and for how long? How often are the scans (I know they're supposed to be minimal compared to a fresh cycle)? I have this nagging feeling that when I ring in October when AF starts that they'll whack me on the pill again to put my body on their schedule (and it'll take ages), but not sure if they do that for FET's? Sorry for the umpteen questions! 😬

Sorry that you're having a stressful time of it @theotherfossilsister 💐 I agree that a few hours shouldn't make a huge difference to the results (plus they'll be repeated if anything is/isnt abnormal when yoh geg to your clinic appointments anyway). I think the bigger problem is if he'd have abstained for more than a week, so you definitely don't need to worry about that 👍

Hope everyone is well.x

@theotherfossilsister sorry you are havibg such a rubbish tine. I wouod not worry about the time windows. I hope ur feeling better. Although i know its easier said that done when ur having a rough time. Do u know when you get theeSA results?

I am so greatful for NHs and had suxh amazing nurses and it of couse has worked but in hindsight if we had gone private we wouldd have had out treatment so much sooner albit with a finiancial cost but i think the impact it had on my mental health and relationship was hard. Equally if u go throughNHS u will get amazing care from amazing nurses who really care.

You may not need to go down any ofbthese routes 🤞

And never feel bad for ur feeling as ridiculus as they may feel. Thats wjat the councillors said me me as i kept feeling guilty for being resenttful.

@Daisz thank u i am good thanks ❤️ we r still in shock i think... Although my dog no longer talks to me which is upsettingg so i wonder if he can sense something 🤔 oh that doesnt sound good about the bloods. Ouch! Glad ur ok tho. How r u feeling x

@BambiOnIce80 cant belive you stary next month! Could u call? I dont think i got a letter this round mind you!? How r u feeling?

Hope you are all well x

@BambiOnIce80 I started on oestrogen tablets day 2 of my cycle. I think I was on them for around 14 days, then had a scan. Then I had progesterone pesseries for 5 days, then transfer. I’m sure that’s right...

@Daisz thanks! Glad to hear that you’re doing well. I will let you all know.

I’ve started to have feeling to wait even longer for our next FET... but I know I may feel differently in a few months. Not going to worry about it for now anyway.
Xx

Yes @BambiOnIce80. I was on day 21 protocol for Fet and no contraceptive pills are required. I went in on day 21 of my cycle for my injection that puts the body into artificial menopause. I needed to call back when my period started which was around 10 days after. The injection does seem to lengthen a normal cycle slightly. Started taking Prognovya 4 days later for 2 weeks (3 a day). Then went in for a womb lining scan. All looked good so was booked in for my Fet 8 days later. Started taking progesterone pessaries 4 days before transfer (3 a day). Continued taking the medication for the duration of the tww. Once I had a confirmed beta, starting taking 4 Prognovya tablets a day instead of 3. Then told to stop all meds 10 weeks after transfer.

I must admit, I struggled with the cold turkey thing so I admit that I have tappered slightly. After doing some research it seems that stopping medication abruptly can trigger a withdrawal bleed in some people, and I think this is what happened to me in my last pregnancy when I started spotting at 11 weeks. So to avoid that I have used up the little medication I have left reducing the dose. There does not seem to be a set in stone limit with ivf in general when meds should be stopped, a lot of clinics advise staying on meds upto 12+ weeks. I really just did not fancy another mad dash to the early pregnancy unit. Also because the early pregnancy unit and infertility are not connected, the midwife could not connect my spotting with the withdrawal of ivf medication at the time. They just said it was an unexplained bleed. The bleeding is not dangerous to yourself or the baby, which is maybe why not more is mentioned about the possible side effects, but without the experience any bleeding in pregnancy obviously causes alarm and panic. I know I am quite sensitive to medication anyway, just changing a brand of vitamin pills used to lengthen/shorten my cycle. It is only recently I connected the two incidents together, but I just think if there was more communication between the two departments it would be better. I often think once we are released into the wider pregnancy community no one really knows much about ivf, which can be a bit frustrating.

Thank you so much @BeHereNowx32 and @Daisz ❤️ That's massively helpful. I know when AF is likely to be in October and I'm trying to (loosely, at this stage) organise work/annual leave around the TWW. I worked through my last one (which obviously did no harm as we got a BFP), but I could just do without the hassle of commuting and the stress of work this time I think 🤔 I'll probably drive myself nuts if I don't find something else to keep me busy mind, but I still think it'll be better than being at work! 😄 I'm already worrying about the possibility of a BFP and then the stress of stopping meds, but I guess we'll cross that bridge if we get to it 🔮

That's interesting that your dog has gone off you @RonRon1! My cat kept sniffing all round my face and would sit on my lap whilst I was pregnant - he's quite the opposite normally 😼 I did give the clinic a call last week about this mysterious paperwork and it's distinct absence from my letter box and was told that the secretaries were in the process of pulling it together and sending it out. Reading between the lines, I think they won't send it out until the middle of next week just in case they're inundated with phone calls from patients trying to squeeze into September rather than October 😏 I'll call them again if it's not here by next Friday. AF isn't due for me until towards the end of October, so I've got time before I need to start hard core harassing them! 😬

Whilst I've got you all, can I ask if any of you did acupuncture this successful cycle? I did it last time, but I'm feeling like I'm not arsed about it this time (expense/hassle, really)... but then I'm worried if I get a BFN this time I'll berate myself for not doing the acupuncture again 🙄

@BambiOnIce80 I did acupuncture the cycle before my first successful pregnancy. BFN. Then did not bother for this cycle or the cycle before both BFP. I personally did not find it that helpful, but everyone is different.

Thank you guys. They said one week for the SA which isn't too bad but as dp's gp is only in Monday and Friday I am guessing we will get it next Fri. She keeps telling me to relax and how it took five months for her. I'm on day two of cycle 23 though.

I tried to call the NHS Waiting list coordinator for an answer as to how long it will be realistically, as no one else could give me an answer but she doesn't answer the phone. Have tried before too. I also badly want to know whether we will lose our NHS cycle/s if we self fund at GCRM. It's not possible to self fund at Edinburgh at the moment. I wish they would give answers.

I just feel desperately sad and angry at the injustice of it all. I sometimes seek out things that hurt me, like on one of the other boards a woman was saying she was 'a bit miffed' to get her bfp after one month because she was looking forward to enjoying trying. She can swap with me if she's so miffed.

@Bambionice it sounds like things are happening, I had no idea about having to withdraw from IVF meds after a bfp, so much I don't know.

@theotherfossilsister i was told I'd lose an nhs round if i went to gcrm for a private round, but i don't know if it might be different in different health boards?

@BambiOnIce80 no haven’t done reflexology. It will probably only help if you find it relaxing.
When I fell pregnant with DD, I did go for a head and shoulder massage a couple days after transfer. I visualised the embryo implanting 🥰

I love the idea of visualising the embryo implanting. I sometimes think about possible embryos in the days after ovulation, are they there, are they comfortable, how do they feel? I imagined a person walking through my city knowing it was theirs and the world was theirs and we had given it to them. I pictured them at all ages. This as yet unknown but amazing person. It didn't work but doing it again next month just in case they're in there and they feel me thinking of them.

I managed to get a call back from the waiting list coordinator at efrec and am really cross. Although they told GPs they weren't taking referrals during lockdown some sent them anyway. They are now honouring these from the date sent when they ask the GPs to rerefer. My GP towed the line and didn't put ours in until thr date they were open. We won't be seen for at least six months and then another year for IVF. I asked if age could mean I'd be fast tracked and she said no, because that wouldn't be fair on people who've been waiting longer. But we've been trying and waiting ages and age is such a big factor.

I guess we will go to GCRM after all. If it was just a year I would wait and use it to get healthy but I've heard the odds drop dramatically against us between thirty five and thirty seven. Angry with everyone, all the doctors who told me to relax and keep trying when it had been a year, efrec, Covid, just so cross. It's really not a good place to go from.

At least I guess I'll get a feel for GCRM when I go for my hycosy on Wednesday. I just feel ill struggle to let go of this injustice with efrec.

Has anyone used the efrec satellite clinic? Thank you to the poster who told me we'd lose a round of we go with GCRM. It sucks. But I think we will have to do it. We're going to get the ball rolling in February so I guess maybe May will be our starting month.

Hi, sorry to jump in here. I’m from Scotland and been following this thread a bit. We have been referred to Dundee ACU. We were told by our consultant that we would not lose any of our NHS funded cycles if we did a private or self funded cycle, unless it was successful of course. I would check with your unit just to make sure. Is Efrec Edinburgh?

Hi all,

Oh @theotherfossilsister I'd be really cross too if that was me! Not fair if some people get ahead if their GP referred when they were meant to be closed for referrals!

@BambiOnIce80 ahh that's interesting about annual leave during 2ww. I'm no where near that stage but keep thinking ahead to different scenarios. I'm likely to be working at home till end of the year at least so working might be a good idea but not if stressed. And is the bed rest thing pretty much old fashioned for after embryo transfer nowadays?

Just if anyone is interested, I spoke with Gcrm today - they don't think they'll be told to close even if there is a stricter lockdown as all the clinics have safety procedures in place now. They also said their Edinburgh satellite will probably be opening for monitoring scans only.(don't know what else they do there)

Hope everyone is keeping warm and looking after theirselves xx

@BambiOnIce80 I did acupuncture before round 1 which failed. Its sooo expensive. So I did not do for round 2 which was successful. What I did do for round 2 was Mindful Ivf. It is a free app but as ur treatmentt progresses you can pay like £4.99 for meditation during the first trimester. The meditations for during implantation were amazing and I genuinely feel it helped. I did it every morning itts about 10 to 15 minutes.

@theotherfossilsister sorry u are feeling so frustrated at the minute it is defo not fair. As far as I am aware u can go private while on NHS waiting list and u would not get taken off.

On a seperatr note there is a programme on Amazon Prime called The Fertility Business and it is about the private clinics in Australia and how they are are guilty of exploiting our desperation. Don't watch if u are feeling a little emosh as I was in tears. One doctor allowed a woman to have 37 yes 37 ivf cycles!!!! It was really interesting tho.

Hope u all have a nice weekend x

Oops, not been getting the notifications again! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I'll have to look that app up, thanks @RonRon1 😊 Acupuncture is so damn expensive and I actually think it stressed me out slightly more than was necessary last cycle. My acupuncture clinic had a fresh cycle 'time line' of when you should have sessions (day before/of/after EC/ET kind of thing) and I couldn't always get an appointment, so I was fretting I'd ruined the cycle because of it 🙄 I also know that our embryo stopped developing at 8+4/5 and I was still having acupuncture up until 9+0, so whilst it may or may not have helped me get pregnant, it certainly couldn't keep me pregnant 😔 I'm pretty certain I'm going to give it a miss this time 👍 I might give that documentary a wide berth too! 😂 I'm already super suspicious of private clinics (bad experience with a family member and things I've come across through work - nothing to do with IVF) and that documentary sounds like it would make me worse! 😳

I would absolutely follow @Pumpkinspice77 's advice @theotherfossilsister and double check about whether you lose your NHS funding if you go to GCRM. We were told over and over again by the EFREC nursing staff (and one gynae medic!) that we'd lose our NHS funding if we self funded with them and turns out they were dishing out out of date advice 😕 When I had my post MMC consultation with one of the EFREC docs, she double checked everything and had it confirmed by the top doc that we could have all 5 of our frosties transfered on the NHS if we needed to 🤷🏻‍♀️ Maybe send an inquiry in to Dr Thong's secretary to double check what the state of play is with NHS funding after a private cycle?

When we looked at GCRM I think their satellite clinic in Edinburgh did scans and bloods @LouScot, so maybe they can't do bloods there at the moment? Bed rest definitely isn't a thing for the TWW, no - pretty much the opposite! 😄 The clinic advise to try and keep as chilled/happy as possible (thus why don't want to go to work! 😂) and gentle exercise (like walks) to keep the blood flowing to the uterus. If I do take the 2 weeks off, I think I'm going to walk round all the parts of Edinburgh that I haven't visited since lockdown. I haven't been to the old town and morningside for a looonnnnggg time! Did GCRM give you a hint about when you could expect to have your cycle? I hope everything is well with you.x

Oh @BambiOnIce80 sorry if that seemed insensitive about private clinics. It was just quite interesting but it was in Australia not here anyway. And from my experinace with Gcrm they were amazing as we were almost gonna go with them. ❤️