Skipping straight to IVF

[EmbarrassingMama]

New to this board - hello everyone.

I seem to have experienced 'hyper fertility' in my youth - falling pregnant once on the pill, then again on my first cycle after having a coil (of ten years) removed.

My husband and I have now tried to get pregnant unsuccessfully for 12 months. During that time I had one ectopic pregnancy (about 6 months into trying).

My blood work (hormones and progesterone) have all come back fine but I have not had my AMH tests done yet as I'd have to do this privately. I know that I ovulate each month and I have regular cycles of 27-31 days.

Is it foolish to want to skip straight to IVF, supposing the above comes back normal? I am disinclined to spend another year trying other methods, only to fall back on IVF anyway, but be 12 months behind where I am today.

Advice and opinions welcome.

Thanks very much.

Hi ! Has your dh had a semen analysis ?

No, that's the only thing we're waiting on.

The GP won't do that for us, so we have paid privately for:

• Consultation with a fertility specialist (both partners)
• Advanced pelvic ultrasound scan (with 3D and blood flow studies) - Semen analysis
• Anti Müllerian Hormone (AMH) blood test

However the earliest appointment we could get wasn't till the end of the month.

Thanks for responding.

Sorry if I'm being stupid but why won't your gp test your dh? Is it because he won't refer to fertility yet?
I always had normal blood work but once I had a transvaginal scan my ovaries were polycystic and that along with irregular periods was enough to diagnose pcos.
Not saying that's what you've got btw! But would be good to have the scan!

In answer to your original question I think it depends on what you've said, timing. Do you think you're at an age where waiting may cause more harm or do you think age is on your side and waiting won't make a difference

@elsaesmeralda that's right, they won't test him because we had a "successful" pregnancy back in June (which was ectopic [think]).

I'm not that old (32), I think it's about not letting me get another year or two older but also not having a huge gap between kids.

Well from my personal experience I had a dc when I was 24 and have been trying for number 2 ever since. I'm 31 now.
See what happens with your results, if they are all good it wouldn't hurt to give it a few more goes naturally but at the same time going from my own struggles it can take years. Do you have any children?

@elsaesmeralda yes I have a 2.5 year old. Hence NHS not being terribly interested. I got pregnant with him on my first cycle, hence feeling like we might need some additional help this time, given we’ve had 12 unsuccessful natural cycles so far.

@elsaesmeralda have you had IVF or similar in that time?

Compared to some it isn't a huge amount of time to have been trying but I know when you are trying and want it so much it seems like it is!
I've actually just had an egg collection last Friday and due to have a frozen transfer sometime in January hopefully. I've had clomid before this which didn't work, partners SA was perfect on nhs but a year later when we got it tested again through the ivf clinic and it had dramatically dipped.
Was shocked how much it changed in a year and questioned the consultant who said it can happen with age and lifestyle!

@elsaesmeralda Just seems silly to wait even longer I suppose, if the chances of success are rapidly declining.

Gosh that's extraordinary! I had no idea, thanks for the heads up!