Covid and isolating before ivf

[Gfarm21]

Hi everyone,

I'm a front line NHS worker and hoping to start fertility treatment soon. I was wondering if I'd be required to self isolate prior to starting stims?or egg collection?
I wear full PPE but cannot avoid seeing covid patients when working.
I'll be with Abcivf clinic
I don't really want to tell my employer I'm doing ivf.
I'm also worried about annual/sick leave due to covid as staff numbers are down atm.

Thanks,
Helen

Hey @Gfarm21

Hopefully someone will be along with a working situation that more closely aligns to yours, but didn't want to read and run.

My clinic didn't say to explicitly say to self isolate before treatment but there was a 'code of conduct' re: covid and I was tested before egg collection and expect to be again before FET. Id imagine that ABC have guidelines for how they are managing the risk around Covid so I'd email to ask for them.

I can understand not wanting to tell your employer you are doing IVF but there are quite a few appointments and some of them you can't quite predict the timing. I found it easier for my employer to know but my working environment is very different from yours. Would your employer be okay with last minute leave taking?

I can understand your situation @Gfarm21. I left my acute hospital job last summer before starting IVF. I now work in community with more flexibility however I still had to tell my line manager. Most nhs have it in their policies that ivf is classed as medical and they should allow you time off. You will feel bloated 2nd week of stims and it’s very uncomfortable so if you’re doing manual handling etc it’s not ideal. As we know from first wave - wearing full PPE doesn’t mean we won’t get it. If you’re not doing so already - get weekly swabs. I think some clinics specify self isolation but mine doesn’t (or didn’t last year) but I know the goal posts have changed with this new variant. I’m desperate to have another round of ivf but I’m holding off until things calm down a bit - I’m having to cover on bank shifts due to sickness and been redeployed. It totally sucks. Stress levels are high and you need to be relaxed when going through it...although work is a nice distraction from it all. I would speak to occupational health/your immediate line manager if you can. When you are deemed pregnant in 2 week wait you’re still clinically extremely vulnerable in your job and I just wouldn’t risk it at the moment. I didn’t have a great relationship with my old trust hence why I left before ivf...I just knew they wouldn’t understand at all. Going through recent miscarriage my new manager was very understanding but it was also very isolating in lockdown and not having support network. If it goes well it is great but if things don’t go well there are more things to consider - complications from the ivf, potential misscarriage (I had 2 weeks off but needed more) and the hospital did their best to help but I’ve heard women not allowed partners in etc. Not sure if that helps at all. Feel free to DM if any questions/advice x

I was with Create - ABCs sister clinic and had a successful cycle during the last big lockdown - we were just told to take sensible precautions and socially distance. Expecting 2 people to isolate for weeks without pay isn't realistic

Hello,

I'm a frontline NHS worker and have had 2 FETs over the last few months through CARE fertility. I discussed with my clinic about isolating etc and if possible they prefer it but understand if not. Any contact in correct PPE isn't classed as a true contact (according to PHE).

I felt a bit rough on some days due to the meds so tried to work in less busy areas of my department. My line manager was very understanding though and if you need time off then do, especially with healthcare as it is at the moment, relentless and exhausting!

Good luck

I'm in a similar position as I'm also NHS staff but non patient facing. I can technically work from home but have been going in still as I'm a senior manager and my team can't work from home and I need to support them. My manager knows about the IVF but I feel my team will think it's really weird if I just wfh for weeks and think I'm not supporting them! But I don't want to tell everyone!
Have you had the vaccine? The guidelines have now changed so you don't have to prevent pregnancy so I'm hopefully getting it next week. This would mean that I shouldn't catch it and risk a cancelled cycle.

My clinic advised self isolation for 2 weeks and shielding for 3 days prior to egg collection (they do a covid swab 72 hours beforehand) I'm a health worker too but mainly based in outpatient specialities so it's easier for me to work from home compared to acute specialties! My line manager was super supportive too during my last cycle but my clinic did give me a note I could give to my employers regarding the need to isolate.
Do check your clinics policy, and good luck xx

@Narwhal88 it sounds like you and I are in very similar positions - NHS managers that can work from home, but our team can't. I had a FET in November and decided to work from home for the whole cycle. My clinic didn't ask me to, but I was panicking that my cycle would get cancelled if I got any type of cold symptoms (a bit like OP's concerns). I have to get public transport to work (none of my team do), so no one batted an eye lid when I worked from home for a few weeks (luckily!). I had the vaccine 3 weeks ago and am due to start another FET next month. The only thing I'd say about it is that it doesn't stop you getting covid or passing it on to others. It should effectively stop us from getting very ill with it (and possibly make us asymptomatic if we're lucky), but the evidence is already showing that people who've had the vaccine have contracted covid, just with less severe symptoms.

I'd second other posters advice to try and take annual leave if you can @Gfarm21 during the TWW. Work can be a nice distraction, but then it can also be stressful (particularly in these covid times). Best of luck to you 🍀

@BambiOnIce80 Yeah I read about the fact you can still catch it even with the vaccine today. It's disappointing as I was hoping it meant I could protect my husband ☹️ he isn't in a risk group but I still worry as he has asthma. Mine is booked for Tuesday. My manager has been supportive and even repeated to me today that I can take time off if I need it without using leave so I know I will be able to work from home if I need to, I was just hoping I could prevent it.

Thanks everyone for your input

I've booked some annual leave, fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled. Staff numbers have been low as everyone is either isolating or sick.

I work for a large trust and my department isn't the friendliest, so I'm not sure if I want to tell my manager. I wear full PPE and have been fit tested but not had the vaccine yet.

Thanks so much everyone and good luck with ttc xxx

I'm a frontline NHS worker and had a round of IVF in Nov. There was no way I was going to be able to take the time off to self isolate so I just explained this to the clinic. They swabbed us a few days before the egg collection and all was fine. Personally I wouldn't use your annual leave up for this but up to you! Good luck for your cycle 🤞