Care Fertility Chester - just been referred

[ChristmasJumpers]

Me and Dh have been referred to Care Fertility in Chester for IVF. I'm 30, DH 27 and we're diagnosed with unexplained infertility after completing all of our tests at RPH.

We don't have an appointment date yet but apparently should get an appointment within 6-8 weeks.

Has anyone else been referred for treatment recently or is at roughly the same stage of diagnosis/waiting to see a clinic? It would be really nice to start the journey with others who are in a similar situation.

I've been reading IVF boards but it is blowing my mind reading about down regs/stims/egg collection etc. while we're still waiting for our first appointment!

@ChristmasJumpers that sounds exactly our experience, so I'm glad the time scales are all still the same.

Wonderful news! So happy things are moving forward for you so quickly. We had our afc scan and amh bloods today, they found 38 follicles and said my womb looks great such a compliment lol! We have an appointment on the 17th to discuss our results and hopefully find out more about when we will start treatment. Keep us updated. Best of luck x

@ChristmasJumpers that's great news! Really glad to hear your referral is moving along so quickly!

Hello,

My partner and I have been referred to Care Fertility in Chester recently, we were told there was up to a 6 month wait. We were referred at the end of July and still nothing yet.

I have had my AMH bloods done so all just a waiting game now! I am very eager to get started, I do the same as you researching different things everyday to see what the process will involve or trying to find out how long have been waiting!

Hope you get seen to soon xx

@CurbsideProphet I thought the same, although I got my call quicker, all in all my wait for the skype call is the same as yours :) Once you'd had your skype call was it literally just a case of calling them when you started your very next cycle? I know they put you off due to the NHS limits but wondered if there was any kind of waiting list at all before you were allowed to call in? I hope that makes sense!

@Mrsallenxo I don't know much about it yet but 38 follicles sounds really promising! Please keep us updated when you've had your appointment

@HJen22 thank you it's reassuring to have a date in the diary now rather than waiting for a call!

@IVFchester that's strange, I wonder if the waiting list depends on your CCG? We've been referred from Preston and chose Chester as it had the shortest waiting list from our options. If I were you I might chase that up as I don't understand why you should still be waiting from a July referral, I was only referred mid August.

@ChristmasJumpers yes we had the call and were told to call on Day 1. Unfortunately the day of the appointment was day 2, so we had waited 23 days to call on the next day 1 but then were put off until the following day 1.

I actually gave them a call this morning to chase after seeing your update about getting a phone call, hopefully I'll hear something back soon! x

@CurbsideProphet Oh that must have been frustrating for you! I'm really hoping my AF comes between now and the appointment so that I don't have a long wait after. My cycle is irregular but always over 30 days so that would really drag, especially if they push us back to the next cycle!

@IVFchester oh good! It doesn't seem right, hopefully they can bump you up the list a little as you've waited so long

Hello ladies, hope you don’t mind me joining in.

I’ve just been referred for IVF at Chester Care, although I was told I’m entitled to two rounds on the nhs as IUI isn’t suitable for me.

All tests have come back normal, although my egg reserve was the lower end of normal.

Would love to hear any advice and what to expect as I’m feeling a little scared! I’m waiting for a video appointment with the consultant but have no idea how quickly to expect things to move. She did say 4-6 months for egg retrieval but not sure how quickly the “prep” starts x

Hi @maybemumma, welcome to the thread! I got a call from Chester exactly 2 weeks after being referred and have a Skype consultation with Dr Haddad (who I think does all of the initial consults) on the 12th October (6 weeks after initial referral). After that I think the next steps all rely on my cycle! Some people do seem to have longer waits with Chester and I'm not sure why that is.

The amount of NHS rounds you get depends on the CCG area of the hospital that referred you. I only get 1 round funded coming from Royal Preston but it's fab that you get 2!

Hopefully the wait is shorter than you've been advised 😊

Thanks for letting me know. I said to the consultant last time that the whole unknown is the scary bit! I don’t know how you found your experience up to now but I’ve had to push for every test which has been exhausting. It’s only now that I feel I’m being listened to.

I haven’t spoken to Dr Haddad before, only Dr Wood when I had the hycosy and a lady consultant I can’t remember of the name of who referred me, she was lovely though.

I feel really torn at the moment, happy that we’re being offered IVF and there’s a next step. Scared that my egg reserve is lower. Terrified of the process! I suppose that is normal though.

Ive just read “dare to dream” by Izzy Judd which I found really useful. I find some of the podcasts out there too medical (sorry if that sounds silly), but I want to know more on a practical level.

Hoping we all get the outcome we’re hoping for! Glad I’ve found people to talk with through all of this x

Hi @Maybemumma it does take 4-6 ish months to get to egg retrieval. You've got to have your video appointment with the Consultant (usually Mr Haddad as I think he only does these appointments and not the procedures), then you'll ring on the first day of your next period. Depending on your CCG you might have ring again on your next period. Each CCG will only pay for a certain number of IVF cycles per month, so it depends how many other patients from your CCG are being treated.

After you've made the call the nurse will arrange a phone appointment to go through the protocol and medication. The medication usually starts from your next period. So for example I started norethisterone on the period after my call with the nurse, then the period after that I started my injections.

I've done the process twice now, unfortunately. The one thing I will say is that the nurse system isn't ideal as you have to leave a message and wait for them to call back.

I haven't found any podcasts I have taken to either! I'll have a look for that book 🙂

@CurbsideProphet thank you, that is so useful to know! There’s just so much to take in isn’t there?

I’m a bit of a control freak so this is so far out of my comfort zone.

Sorry that you’ve had to go through it twice, it must be so exhausting. Hopefully we’ll all be in a much better position soon!

Happy to share contact details if anyone is interested in a text group. It’s so nice to hear from people in the same boat. X

Hi!!

I was referred in June to Care Fertility Chester also from RPH!! Starting treatment either end of this month (September) or next month (October) to give you an idea of timescales! Happy to chat more about the process so far too :)

@cassbailey wow that is quick! We were referred in July so I suppose we could still be looking at an October/November start?

What communication have you had with the clinic so far? We've been through all the documents on the portal and signed the online forms so just waiting for pur consult with Dr Haddad now

@ChristmasJumpers hi! Yes so far we had firstly our portal online forms, then our initial consult with Dr Haddad who sets your treatment plan at the consult call. Then you get an appointment for both of you to have your bloods and you your scans etc. At that appointment they then tell you to ring on your next Day 1 (so when you book in for your scan appointment a good tip is to try not to book it for example on day 2 of your cycle but more towards the end). You’ll then get a call back from a nurse who will go through the injections and meds with you then your next call to them on your next day 1 you can start the meds (if they have room for you - I have heard similar to the above re CCGs and the number they will fund in any given month).

Happy to swap contact details too to keep in touch it’s quite a daunting isolating journey isn’t it! X

Hi all, i hope you are well. I just saw this feed and just thought I'd pop on and have a read, and noticed a few had been referred from RPH.

I too was referred from RPH back in February, had our first consultation in April then rang with my Day 1 in May and started on norithisterone on day 16 or 17...unfortunately I had to be on them for 3 weeks to time everything with their schedules. So eventually started 10 days of injections at the very end of May, with EC on 9th june. I found it a bit hit and miss with the nurses, even for my scans, but once in hospital the doctors and nurses were amazing! I didn't respond as expected to the stims, wasn't even expecting to get to egg collection based on my day 6 scan but somehow did. I had a lot of cries in the hospital and they were just brilliant! We then made it to having one "above average" embryo to transfer back, again, nurses and doctors amazing at Chester hospital! But it didn't stay.

We are now on a self funded round, still through care, but we both wanted a different consultant after our review meeting with mr haddad, so now with professor kingsland in Liverpool. On norithisterone now with injections starting mid October (was a month's delay due to a cyst appearing on my left ovary).

If anyone wants to ask anything I'm happy to talk xx

@Coops0406

Hello! Thanks so much for your detailed reply on the thread. So sorry your first round was unsuccessful. The IVF journey is definitely that isn’t it.. a journey, and not a quick one.

I was referred from RPH too (after a full year with them doing tests!)

Are you doing what is known as the “long protocol” if you start meds on day 17? I’m sure I was told my meds start on day 1.

Do you happen to know when your treatment plans are uploaded to the portal? Again I’m sure he said it would be straight away but it’s still not on.

I’ve heard Professor Kingsland is amazing so wishing you the very best for this round xx

@CassBailey I went to the GPs, told to try for a year, during which they sent me to endocrinology then finally to gynae, where they told me I had polycycstic ovaries. Was then put on clomid for 6 months to no avail.

When I had my scans whilst on the injections the care nurses said I don't look like I have polycycstic ovaries but do have endometriosis!! What a palava! I only produced 4 follicles, then got 2 mature eggs, one of which fertilised and made it to day 5 blastocyst...they were expecting around 20 follicles from me! So that was just a drop down to earth. It is such an emotional rollercoaster...no one tells you how hard it is to actually get pregnant.

Your protocol should be put in your portal within a day of you reporting your day 1...then I was told I would get a call within the week with a nurse to talk through it (because of the norithisterone only needing to start on day 16 or 17). Have they given you an idea of your meds at all?

I'm actually on a short protocol even though it seems so long as the injections are only 9 days for me, but the norithisterone is to time a bleed to fit into their schedules. So some are on it for 5 days and the longest I heard was me on 21 days.

We finally had our consultation with Dr Haddad last week! After almost 3 years of being told I don't have PCOS, he says he took one look at my AMH level (61.8 at age 30) and is positive that I do actually have it. It's a relief as nobody ever really explained my blood results to me so I had no idea 61 was high. I have other symptoms of PCOS too so was sure I had it but kept being told no.

Anyway, because of my high AMH, I'm being put on short protocol. I'm in two minds as I'm now very worried that I'll produce no eggs, when I suppose I should be worried about lots of eggs and the risk of OHSS 😳

Timescale-wise, we were told to call up on the first day of my cycle in January, but we have a big holiday booked at the end of Jan so have agreed to call on first day of Feb cycle.

The clinic have been really easy going with that. I probably would have cancelled the holiday if they'd said to call in November but feel okay about pushing back by 1 month 😊

It was explained that they still have limits from covid so we could be pushed back if they've already reached quota for the month (14 NHS and 14 private per month)

I'm with Care Chester, also referred from RPH, but this was 2019. No issues with being told to call again the following month. I don't know if that's because it was pre Covid or if I was just lucky. All appointments face-to-face back then and all paperwork was actually paper. The portal is much better.

I was really happy with them, but mine worked first time so what more could I ask for! I'm going in there tomorrow for a FET from my 2019 embryos, so I'm really hoping they can work their magic again 🤞

Well done on booking a holiday. Sounds daft, but many of us find our lives are on hold so much and don't make these plans. Ivf will be something to look forward to when you come back 🙂

Also, I know this was back in August and maybe you feel differently now:

I keep asking my DH if he's sure he wants to do this. I feel it in my bones that I need to do whatever it takes but my worry is that he's just going through it for me. He reassures me every time but I still worry!

My dp wasn't hugely into the idea of IVF and absolutely did it for me. I ploughed ahead anyway because he definitely wanted children and I knew he'd be supportive. I think accepting we needed IVF was more difficult for him to accept than he let on, but he is extremely glad we did it and is wholeheartedly on board with tomorrow's FET. I'm glad I didn't let his concerns or reluctance get in the way of something I knew we needed to do.

@ChristmasJumpers

Can I ask when you found out the date of your initial consultation? We’ve been waiting 7 weeks for a date!

I can’t believe those quotas, it concerns me as my day 1s for the next few months are towards the end of the month. Hardly seems fair does it?

It’s amazing after all the tests they’re only just finding out about your pcos. Sending lots of baby dust! X

@Maybemumma we were referred last November and were called within 2-3 weeks to book the initial consultation (which took place in early January less than 8 weeks after referral). Have you called to check what is happening?

I was told by Mr Wood the numbers are based on how many IVF cycles your CCG will fund per month. My CCG is Chorley, so when I was first referred I was put back from starting in January to February (2020) because they had reached the limit of what my CCG would fund that month.

I would say that we were told different things about numbers etc by Mr Wood and Mr Haddad. The nurses claimed not to know anything about anything, so I tend to not ask them any questions and only deal with them regarding protocol and dates. I might have just been unlucky, but I find one nurse in particular to be quite brusque. There's hopefully still a nurse with a scouse accent who was absolutely lovely to me.

I'm still with Chester now self funded. They aren't perfect, but I would say Dr Sephton is my preferred doctor now and I wouldn't have any further reviews with any of the other doctors.

Best of luck for tomorrow @Holskey 💐 I'm planning FET in early December. Can I ask when your protocol was arranged / call with the nurses etc? I've had my review and agreed a plan with Dr Sephton. My CarePals Coordinator is insisting that I just call on Day 1. However I will need to start taking the oestrogen on day 1 so obviously need to know what I'm doing before then. I'm not sure if the CarePals Coordinator doesn't understand the difference between FET and the full fresh cycle?