What happens now??

[babypleasenow]

So just a quick question, our referral has finally been sent off to the fertility clinic so now do we just wait for a letter or something? I'm not sure what I am to expect next... ?And my gp surgery are so hard to get hold of to ask questions, it took 4.5 months to even get the referral sent off after chasing them relentlessly!

Hi @babypleasenow, I’m in South London and for me I was contacted within a few weeks by the clinic to come in for a Hycosy scan and for my partner to give a semen sample. I think I also had blood and urine tests at the same point. We then had a talk with a consultant a few weeks later to go through the process of IVF, and any issues they think there may be. If you are paying privately then it’s also a good time to ask about different items included under each section and what they mean. We then couldn’t proceed due to Covid but later in the year I went back again for a baseline scan, further blood test, Covid test etc and we got the ball rolling from there. The process was relatively quick for us but I presume that varies by area and waiting lists as well as whether you’ve gone private or are NHS funded. Hope that helps a little

Hi @Clt1983 ! Thank you for that info, I am doing it through the nhs so I think it would be slightly different unfortunately:(

If anyone has any ideas from the nhs perspective I'd appreciate it xxx

Hi @babypleasenow glad your referral has gone through finally. I think chasing up is the key to getting yourself moved on all the way through this game!

We had our referral put in and we’re given a letter with a link to pick our nhs hospital. We looked on the booking system and one hospital had a much longer waiting list so we chose the shorter one.

In your case if there is only one hospital option, I imagine they would contact you to book you in for your initial consultation.

We had a first consultation over the phone due to COVID, they pretty much just talked through our history and then booked us in for some tests that only the fertility clinic book for.

What tests have you had already from your GP?

@ICSI hello! Yes I agree. Nothing happens if you don't chase, sadly.

Yes this is what I'm confused about, the doctor said our referral has been sent off but nothing since so do I just wait for a letter/call or shall I ask them what I'm waiting for now?

Ahh ok. I'm aware they'll probably do repeat tests of the ones the GP has done. So far I've had bloods on days 3&21 and then my partner has had a semen analysis which came back with low morphology so needs to be repeated.

It's just so hard because I hate chasing them in such busy times and I know infertility to them isn't a worry or an emergency but Christ it's important to me and worries me constantly. Just wish they were more helpful x

What stage are you at now? X

It does sound a bit confusing! For us the doctor printed out the letter while we sat there with two options of hospitals to contact so it was up to us to book in our appointment. I would phone up your GP again just to clarify and also ask if they can put you forward for an antral follicle count scan. I had mine through my GP before we went to the fertility clinic so it saved at least waiting for that test!

I know it feels so cheeky to keep contacting but I found that nothing happened unless I did. They didn’t ever contact me with results of tests so I had to phone every time to chase up.

I’m just a few days before egg collection at the moment. We have MFI and PCOS which I had no clue about until my antral follicle scan as I haven’t ever had any symptoms of it!

Best of luck now you have your referral!

You should receive a letter shortly for a consultation.
When we had ours the nurse chatted with us, discussed what had been going on with us, lifestyle factors etc. She then booked me in for a transvaginal scan as I had already had day 3/21 bloods done and booked my husband in for a semen analysis.
Husband called for results a week later and they said all was good with him.

We then had an appointment to go back 6 months later, that was a phone call because of covid and basically were told to just keep trying for another 6 months as they couldn’t offer me clomid etc as I ovulate. She then booked us another appointment 6 months later.
Before the next appointment I pushed for a laparoscopy as I was concerned about endometriosis, I’ve only just had that nearly a year on and they found endo and removed it.

We’re back to the clinic in 3 months and expect it will be a referral for ivf. It’s been a long, long process and I would say manage your expectations on how quickly they work.
I pestered and called the clinic constantly, I’m sure they rolled their eyes when my name popped up 😂 you have to fight for yourself though I’m afraid.

I hope that doesn’t dishearten you I just know I that I thought it would move quicker than it did and was upset when they just kept saying trying naturally for 6 months.
We had a year of high covid measures in the mix too which didn’t help so hopefully it’s not quite so bad for you.
Wishing you lots of luck, ask lots of questions on here as everyone is so knowledgeable xx

Update: was referred on 11th May and just got a consultation appointment for 28th July through the door. We are so pleased! Just taking the time to enjoy each others company before this crazy journey properly starts. X