Starting the journey

[wannabemum38]

Hey I used to post on the TTC threads but now its been over a year of trying and sadly no baby. Due to lockdown I decided to delay going to doctors but finally plucked up the courage and been referred for tests. Annoyingly my bloods on day 21 next month will coincide with christmas eve/day or boxing day can I even get bloods done then cos if not got to wait til my cycle in January. I am on day 4 at the moment this month and am wondering if I could go tomorrow for my first round of bloods but my doctor said ideally it should be day 3. Any thoughts?
Would love to chat to others in same position as me.

Hey!

It's usually day 3 and day 21 bloods that are done. The day 21 is the one to test if you are ovulating.
How long are your cycles usually? 'Day 21' is not the same day for everyone. It's 21 if you have a regular 28 day cycle. It's meant to be done 7 days after ovulation to confirm you did ovulate

If you are day 4 right now can you do day 21 this cycle?

Getting that first step done is good! Your partner will need to get an SA also.

I'm not sure on the waits currently but if you are NHS prepare yourself for some long wait. We were initially referred Oct last year and in two weeks will have our 'top of the list' appointment

Happy to help where I can, although I'm certainly no expert and this is my first time going through this too.

Thanks for messaging back.
Do the tests not have to be in the same cycle? I can do the day 21 cycle this month. I am usually 27 or 28 day cycles so she said day 21 is fine.
Partner has his lab appointment booked for end of month for his SA.

@wannabemum38 I guess clinics may vary or GPs but my own experience I only had to do the day 21 blood test and partner have SA for us to be referred. I'm not sure if it's because we had been ttc for 4/5 years or if they just didn't require the day 3 one for me.

Did the GP say they need both? Hopefully you can get them both in. I know how anxious things can be with the wait. I still have a wait to go also, because my appointment for plan is 26th Nov, I think it will be Jan before we start as my next period after then is mid Dec and I doubt they will do anything during that time :(

Yes GP said both. Full blood count on day 3 testing for everything.
Lockdown has definitely put things on hold for a lot of people so hard x

The tests don't need to be from the same cycle.

@physicskateOh really well thats very helpful thank you hopefully will be able to fit them in before Christmas thanks for replying x

@wannabemum38 hi, did you manage to get your bloods done? I am at a similar stage to you, well slightly ahead as I have had my 21 day bloods and my partner has had his SA, my GP didn't order the day 3 bloods for some reason but I think it just varies depending on which gp you see. We had out results back a couple of weeks ago, 21 day bloods were fine but the SA showed low morphology of 3% and also low motility. We have been referred to our local fertility clinic but haven't heard anything from them so I guess it's just a matter of waiting and continuing to ttc as normal for now.

Hope we both get some help and answers soon!

@dogmam Hi no not yet got my day 21 ones next week will be like a pin cushion as got some injections on monday for my new job in a hospital aswell!
So does that mean he has slow swimmers - think that can be quite an easy thing to help along cross fingers for you.

Hi, hoping I can join this thread to find other people in a similar situation.

We have been trying for 2.5yrs and finally the doctor has agreed to refer us to the fertility clinic I had some bloods done in August but it wasn't on a particular day of my cycle. My husband has had a SA which has come back with an issue but we don't know what yet. He has another booked in tomorrow and we have our first call with the fertility clinic on Tuesday. Does anybody know how long it takes from the initial call to getting any treatment? x

Hi @Abbs17817

The length of time really depends on the area you are in and clinic you are being referred to. Some of the appointments are a bit longer now due to the backlog from Covid
I'm in Scotland and was referred to Aberdeen. We initially went to doctor in Oct last year and got our first fertility appointment through for Jan 2020.

For the blood test if it's for hormones or ovulation then it needs to be your 'day 21' to confirm if ovulating. I would ask your GP to do this one again as fertility clinic will need it and it may put your waiting time back again if they send you back to get that done.

@wannabemum38 not long for your bloods then, hopefully get some answers on the back on those!
Well when the GP called us with my partners SA results she said they were all normal, luckily I happened to ask for a copy of them just to look at the exactly numbers and saw they weren't normal at all! Never mind, we have our referral so would rather it be looked at by specialists anyway.

@abbs17817 sorry tonheat you've been trying for so long. That's good that you have at least got a telephone appointment booked in, hopefully a step in the right direction. If I were you I would ask for a copy of your partners SA results, just so you have them and can do your own research.

@willithappen I bet the wait from October to Jan feels like a lifetime, not too much longer to wait now though.

@dogmam oh boy it's been a longer wait than that haha. Our appointment was OCTOBER 2019 at doctors and then JAN 2020 at fertility. We've been on the waiting list since May 2020 and have our top of the list appointment 26th Nov, it's likely we'll start IVF in Jan 2021
I wish it was just an Oct - Jan wait haha. We've been a year and two months dive initially going to docs before making it to top of waiting list

@willithappen omg that is horrendous, I'm sorry you have had such a massively long wait!! I really hope it works out for you! I've just rang the doctors to ask who I was referred to so i can chase them up, turns out I haven't actually been referred to anywhere in particular and instead it's like an e-refrrral where o have to go online and pick a clinic and an appointment, they posted it out to my last night so good job I chased it up!

@dogmam ah so sorry that's happened to you but lucky you chased it up! That was a fear of mine also, getting all this time then realising we hadn't actually been referred!

With us it's just what it had to be because of Covid. It's a nightmare, but I'm taking it one step at a time and being thankful that we have this opportunity and help. When it gets to IVF time also just gonna take that one step at a time too and try not put too much forward hope into it.

Hi @abbs17817 welcome glad you got some progress and appointments its so nerve wracking though isnt it and lonely.
It is so nice to chat to others about this. Although I have a best friend who had a baby she conceived within 2 or 3 months of trying so didnt have to go through all of this. My other best friend has had IVF two unsuccessful rounds and now is going through a lot of health issues so its all on hold so dont feel I want to drag all of this up for her. My partner and I talk about it all the time which helps but its definitely nice to talk to others albeit virtual.

Had my day21 bloods done on Saturday. She read the form wrong thought it was for day 3 so took three lots of blood lol. Got my day 3 ones on Monday if AF turns up.
My DP got his SA back - seems like he is fine above average in all areas. Is it normal to feel absolutely devastated because it basically confirms it is definitely problem with me. I am even more terrified of results now.

Had my bloods back all ok. Getting a full print out tomorrow but nothing wrong - unexplained infertility potentially so being transferred to hospital gynae clinic to investigate further.
She said my day 21 level was about 51 which is in the range. I guess for my age (40) thats good from what I have read. But obviously just cos I am ovulating doesnt mean my eggs are any good.
Feel happy there isnt anything sinister they did full bloods but frustrated that I still dont have answers.

@wannabemum38 Glad to hear your bloods have come back okay. Its nice to hear things are all good but I also find it frustrating when its unexplained.
We had our phone consultation the other week and found out my husbands results were fine apart from his Morphology is low so hoping healthy eating and him cutting down on alcohol might help that. They also said my blood should have been on day21 so just had those done. They have referred me to have a HyCoSy test - booked for Thursday. Anyone else had this test done?

@Abbs17817 sounds very similar to me

I had a HyCoSy done before referral. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as the internet made me think. Take a couple paracetamol about 20 minutes before. It was nice and quick, very short sharp pains but they didn't last long.
I am one of the biggest wimps going and I managed to get through it so you'll be okay :)

Thank you @willithappen! I'm a little nervous as my husband can't be there because corona but glad to hopefully get some answers. I should be able to get my blood results and my husbands second test results as well so I'm glad we will know more before Christmas. I lost my job in November so could really do with some good news for the new year!

@Abbs17817 understandable to be nervous, it's a strange procedure and not one everyone gets done. My partner didn't come in with me (he was in waiting room but this was pre Covid) and the nurse very kindly gave me her hand to squeeze haha
I did take advantage of that when I could feel the sharp twinges but I felt really proud of myself after for actually getting through

I got my results there and then of the test, he talked me through it at the time too so hopefully you get yours at the same time :)