Should we just go private?

[MissScarletInLibrary]

Been TTC for over 2.5 years with no success.

Phone appointment with GP in June 2020 following this I had blood tests and referred to fertility clinic (Leeds). Appointment with fertility was in early Feb 2021 and was sent for HSG and ultrasounds in March.

Last week I was asked to go for another baseline scan as apparently in the original one they didn’t check follicle numbers?!? I know they did because i asked the radiographer what she was counting! She counted 22 on one side and 18 on the other.

I know that things are delayed but it is almost 1 year since we saw GP and we haven’t actually seen a specialist (only a call with a nurse that arranged the tests).

I am 33, healthy BMI but severe acne (which because it’s all phone they can’t see) and I’m almost certain I have lean PCOS as I have most of the symptoms.

I have been thinking of booking an appointment with a private gynaecologist to go through the results we have because I think I would be suitable for Metformin.

Can private consultants get the results from the NHS? At the moment we aren’t sure if we want to have IVF, we would rather try alternatives first but I don’t want time to run away so that it’s our only option (DH is 39).

WWYD in my position? We can afford to spend £5k but if we needed private IVF in the future this would soon disappear. Leeds offers 1 round of NHS IVF.

Really sorry to hear this @MissScarletInLibrary you must be very frustrated! For PCOS the diagnostic criteria involves assessing:

• The AFC, yours is high and would meet the diagnostic criteria.

But a high AFC alone doesn’t mean PCOS they also assess:

• Biochemical Hyperandrogenism (Elevated Total/Free Testosterone)
• Oligomenorrhea (Less Than 6-9 periods a year)

My understanding is that there are options they can try prior to IVF in PCOS and I’m sure someone would be able to advise about their experience.

If I were in your position I would ask for print offs of all the investigations you’ve had and book a consultation with a fertility specialist at a private clinic. Essentially to get their opinion, they may well advise on other options at this point like further investigations or treatment.

must be due to covid as I was with leeds and from start to finish was a matter of months
Good luck

Take ur free one I did and lost it at 10weeks so paid for second round (with Leeds still) as they knew me.. second round worked thank god as that’s all we had enough for 1 go paid for
Good luck

Personally I'd wait , you've waited this long! Will probably be another few months. Once you pay private you won't be eligible for the nhs cycle x
It is a wait I'm afraid. I first got referred Feb 2020, appointment for April 2020- got cancelled and discharged because of covid. Phoned Gp and she referred me to another hospital - had this appointment end of October. Tried ovulation induction and was unsuccessful . My next appointment was Jan and I'm currently doing IVF now. It is a wait, I feel ya! The whole ttc game is wait wait wait xx

If it were me I'd go for an initial consultation privately and see what they say. I wish I had done this. You can always decide to wait or proceed once you've had their advice. I will say though 5k is a little optimistic for IVF - that will likely just be the IVF itself, none of the initial consultations/tests and none of the IVF drugs. The drugs can be 1-2k alone depending on your individual circumstances.

It depends on your own financial situation. We went straight to private but thankfully my in laws had a fund put aside for it when my DH was diagnosed with cancer as a child.

FYI my costs were:

£5000 for the IVF itself
£2000 for the meds (this may be cheaper for you as with a high AFC you may not need or want as high a dose of meds as i had)

In addition
£2000 for the ICSI (You probably don't need this)
£3000 for PGS testing (Depends on your feelings if you want this and i think with NHS you have to pay extra for this anyway)

Hi lovely, if you think Metformin might work for you, the GP can give you that. I've just started it, I have lean PCOS too and more than 20 follicles on each ovary. (I say 'lean' like I'm so athletic... I'm not I'm just in the normal BMI range. It's worth a go for a few months and it's only the cost of the prescription.

If the gp won't give it to you yes I'd go private. I regret not doing so sooner. I saw a private gynaecologist and tried clomid (but it thinned my lining), something else I've forgotten the name of that is similar to clomid and also was prescribed metformin as I have pco (no idea of I have pcos or pco). Unfortunately none of that worked for me (although still on the metformin) and have since been doing ivf (16 months and counting). I do have a naturally conceived nearly 5 year old so it's all a bit of a mystery for me. I think it only cost about £400 for all of that. A drop in the ocean compared to the ivf bills! I wish I'd done everything sooner.

Thanks, I will see if I can arrange an appointment with the GP, my testosterone levels were raised and with the high follicle count (that they didn’t record), my acne and irregular(ish) periods I am self-diagnosing as PCOS. My BMI is 22 and my periods range from 22 days to 28 days (and last 7 days - I feel like I’m always on) I’ve read that lean PCOS can also show as very frequent periods.

I guess I’m just a bit frustrated that I have to go back for more scans when they were done weeks ago - I thought the letter would be our follow up consultation!

We can afford more if we need to, we have £10k in our monzo baby pot at the moment but DH is reluctant to spend more than 50% of the pot as we need to cover my mat leave, I’m the higher earner and only entitled to SMP.

If we did need help paying for IVF/ private treatment I’m sure my DP would help us - my DM is desperate for a DGC (we haven’t told her about problems as it will add an extra layer of expectation/pressure).

I think we will carry on and if we haven’t got an appointment on NHS to review results but end of May we will go private - it will also give us a couple more months of savings.