Secondary infertility

[Mumto1princess]

Hi there,
I'm new here. I just wanted to tell my story and my current situation. And would love to hear others who have gone through something similar.
I got pregnant a year and half after trying for our first, everything went fine. I now have a healthy 6 year old. Because it took a year and half the first time we didn't want delay conception for our second. We tried as soon as we were fit after birth, its now been 6 and half years and no luck getting pregnant. I had bloodwork done at the end of last year, all came back normal. My husband was then asked to have a semen analysis done in January which resulted with low count and then we were referred to a fertility clinic. Our first appointment was in April but was cancelled due to Covid. We finally had our appointment last month, we had a medical history taken, an ultrasound for me and we were given the option for iui if the semen analysis had good results and we were put on the waiting list for ivf. We were reminded that we would have to self fund. Which we were aware of from our GP. Couple weeks ago we went for blood tests and we have another semen analysis coming up and then a follow up appointment to go over results and discuss next plans. I would love to read others in similar positions or experiences , advice on whether to go private as we are self funding rather than staying with the nhs.
Thank you in advance

I don't see much point continuing with the NHS since you'll need to pay anyway? There are virtually no waiting lists for private clinics whereas NHS could be months and private clinics generally offer a better/more tailored service?

I'd have a look at clinics in your area and attend virtual open evenings to helps decide which one might fit you best as there are several different protocols on offer. Also obtain price lists as some very hugely and some are signed up to Access Fertility which offers refund or unlimited cycle packages - but not all clinics are signed up

I have a 4 year old dc and secondary infertility, been trying for nearly 3 years. We did Nhs for the tests (and surgery to unblock a Fallopian tube) but after no joy we started ivf with a private clinic in January this year. Have had three failed embryo transfers and in the middle of an egg collection round at the moment. I would definitely go with a private clinic just because things will most likely be quicker.

@Mumto1princess
Hello - I have had a similar experience.
My D.D. is now 6 and was conceived after only 3 months with no complications at all. We have now been trying for no.2 for 3 years - we have had 1 fresh IVF cycle (BFN) and 1 frozen (BFP which unfortunately ended in chemical). Having another frozen trf early next year.
I live on a small island so have to go private (and travel to England for treatment) so don't have any advice on the NHS element but thought you might like to know that you are not alone! x

@ivfbeenbusy
Thank you for messaging me. I was not aware that going private would mean less waiting time. I assumed it was be as busy as NHS.
My husband did mention going private, what worries me is being given a massive bill that we may struggle to pay for. I want to have a price given to us that is manageable. wow, refunds! I did not know that was even a thing. Thank you for the helpful advice.

@seven201
Thank you for messaging me. When you went private after testing on NHS, did you have to redo any tests or were you able to give the results of your NHS tests to the clinic?
I am waiting to hear results this week, and then we will see if I can do hsg to see if I have any blockage in my Fallopian tubes.
If you don't mind me asking how was your experience with hsg, your surgery to unblock? How's your experience at the clinic you are at?
Sorry to hear about your failed embryo transfers. I am really nervous to start be on this journey. Any advice or experience is really appreciated.

@LJM83
Thank you for messaging me.
Hi, It is nice to know that I am not alone.
If you don't mind me asking;
How was your experience with private clinic?
And which is better fresh or frozen transfer?

@ivfbeenbusy @LJM83 @seven201
Hi ladies, I just wanted to ask your opinion on this matter
Back in February I took a test on cycle day 26. I have a 29 day cycle. It was a clear and simple test from Wilko.
The test line was a faint pink straightaway I hadn't even gotten off the loo. I retested the following day with a clearblue it was negative, I then retested again the following day with a first response and it was negative I start my period two days later. For some reason I just dismissed it as a faulty test. Last week it suddenly occurred to me that it could have been a chemical pregnancy. Do you think that it was a chemical pregnancy, I have attached an image.

@Mumto1princess
My clinic has been fine, not great but fine. I seem to see (remotely) a different doctor each time which makes things a bit disjointed, I'm fairly laid back so ok with it but others might not be.
We have used Access Fertility for the funding.
It's difficult to say really - I found the medication in advance of the fresh cycle easier to tolerate than the frozen but I think the most unpleasant part was prob the egg collection and even that wasn't too bad. Obvs with the frozen I didn't have a collection but I found the medication in the lead up harder - not unbearable to any extent of the imagination but just felt pretty bloated. I have read that frozen is actually now producing better results than fresh.
Overall it has def all been easier than I anticipated.
I had a planning meeting today and it has been agreed that my next frozen will be non-medicated so relying on my natural cycle which eliminates the need for the medication pre trf so it will be interesting to see how that goes x

@Mumto1princess hmmmmm - I can def see a line on there and in my appointment today I asked the specialist how long I would have actually been pregnant last time and she thinks only a matter of days so there is certainly a chance it was a chemical (which they claim is a good sign) x

@LJM83
Do you know why its claimed to be a good thing?
What does it prove?
It may be a silly question I'm new to this but with the frozen, fresh embryos, did you have one egg collection and then used a fresh embryo from that batch and then the rest are frozen for another cycle. Is that an additional cost ? To have the frozen? Or is that included in the price for IVF?

@Mumto1princess now I didnt really understand what it proves and I said this to my specialist - I've already proven I can get pregnant because I have a DD. She said that because that was some time ago now, this proves that things haven't changed and implantation is still possible. I guess it rules out that as our reason for not conceiving.
Yes, I had one egg collection - 11 eggs collected, 10 fertilized, 1 made it to a day 5 blastocyst and 2 day 6. I had a fresh with the day 5 and then the two day 6 frozen. With Access Fertility we paid for two fresh cycles with a 50% refund if we aren't successful - that covers 2 fresh cycles and the amount of frozen cycles that result from those 2 collections. The only additional cost is the storing of the frozen embryos.
I hope that all makes sense x