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!

@CurbsideProphet yes we are! I was referred from preston to Chester for my nhs round. Prof kingsland was my consultant at preston, although I never met him, literally only spoke to his secretary!
After our first cycle at Chester was a complete fail, then found out that preston had misdiagnosed me with pcos and the consultant at Chester was pretty awful in our review meeting, I made an appointment back at preston to have a rant, when I arrived prof kingsland was in the meeting! He was really lovely and said we could do our private round in Liverpool with him as our consultant. Haven't looked back since, he has been fantastic!
Mr wood is just so lovely. I'm sure if he was our original consultant I would have stuck with Chester!

We have got 7 embryos at the moment, just waiting for the proper update on Monday which will be more exact, then they are hopefully being biopsied for PGT-A (if they are good enough!) 🤞🏾

@Ind1e04 I agree with @CurbsideProphet , definitely ask about why that protocol etc. I found in my second round they explained more, but sometimes the first round can be a bit of trial and error as no one knows how your body will respond. In my case it did not respond as expected!
Also ask about supplements they recommend and what the benefit is.

Aw thank you, that’s great advice. I follow an account on Instagram and she said the same there to definitely ask why they have chosen a certain protocol for you. I think I’ll need a notepad for all the questions and responses etc

Look forward to seeing updates from you all on here, fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.

@Coops0406 good luck with the Liverpool branch. I have met Dr wood, he performed my hycosy in Nov and did my referral. He seemed lovely and restored a bit of faith that I had lost with Chester. I guess time will tell.

Good luck for Monday. I hope it is good news. I know I am at the beginning of this ivf journey but the waiting for appointments and tests is unbearable. I can’t imagine what it must be like a bit further on. I hope you have a restful weekend.

Thank you for the advice also. It’s much appreciated. I feel like a deer in headlights!

@Ind1e04 did you see it on Amber Izzo's account? That's where I read her advice! I wish I had read more about IVF before I went into it as I would have asked more questions.
I had my 2nd egg retrieval and both reviews with Dr Sephton and liked her. I was a bit more brave with questions in my recent review and she didn't seem to mind.

@Coops0406 I also like Mr Wood. He did my first egg retrieval and embryo transfer. I found he was really kind and did his best to put me at ease. He was also very nice to DH.

Prof Kingsland was my consultant at RPH. He referred me for IVF and told me "this will work for you". Whilst waiting for IVF, I saw an old documentary with him in it and he says he's a pessimist at heart, so his confidence meant a lot.

Mr Wood did my egg collection and first transfer. Dr Sephton did my second transfer. None of these people would recognise me if they passed me in the street but I will always have a great deal of affection for them.

@CurbsideProphet yes it was Amber Izzo! She keep saying that you really do have to advocate for yourself. I’ve been watching her for ages and now she is doing her third round and vlogging it, I’ve been watching to prepare myself. Obviously lots of googling too! Ok, I think I will deffo be writing down all the questions I have!

I've just joined MN so I can join this thread 🥰 we were referred from arrow park to Chester on the 20th Decemeber. We haven't heard from Chester yet though, we called today to chase based on my reading this thread yesterday and they said it's a 10 week wait on getting that initial appointment which puts us at the 28th February which feels like forever away to be honest.

This cycle is cycle 24 of trying, I've never been pregnant, neither of us have children and I have no clue about ivf 😅

They think it's MF so it's going to be icsi

Just wanted to join in really 🥰

Aww hello @Spurds!

Yeah I was referred about mid November and then got an email and phone call to say it’s gone through and they gave me info to log on to the portal. On their we have some forms to fill in and the appointment letter was on there for the 8th. So yeah probably was about that.

Back then I thought it’s a long wait (we are also on cycle 24/25 of trying 🙄) but it’s now around the corner and seems more bearable. It’s the waiting around that bugs me, I just want to get on with it. Try to keep busy, and hopefully it will pass quickly for you. 🤞🏻

Welcome @Spurds 👋🏻
We're all at different stages which I think is quite helpful as sometimes these types of threads can see some people storm ahead to the finish line while one or two are left behind.
Yes 10 weeks doesn't sound unreasonable. In the meantime you might be sent log in details for the patient portal and be asked to watch educational videos and complete different consent forms. I can't remember if I did that before or after the appointment.

I would really recommend looking at this Instagram account if you're on there:

Nurture.HF is run by a female embryologist. Her posts are very educational and easy to read. I wish I had found the page before I started as I was completely clueless.

My main advice is when the doctor goes through the treatment plan ask them if there's a reason why certain drugs have been chosen and how they hope you to respond.

I only say this because we had our 1 NHS funded cycle and went along with it blindly. I had 5 eggs retrieved, I was given progesterone only by pessaries, and was unsuccessful as the 1 embryo didn't even implant.

When we went self funded I was given more drugs, got 11 eggs, and progesterone by injection. The first embryo implanted but didn't grow properly. We're heading towards using our 1 frozen embryo hopefully soon.

I wished I had questioned their decisions with our NHS funded cycle in case I could have had a better chance. I'm not saying I would definitely had had success and I know it's not an exact science, but I had no idea what I was going into or why certain decisions were made.

Oh hindsight, what a marvellous thing it is 🙄

@Ind1e04 we ended up calling today 😅 my husband kindly did it for us and they basically just said they've received our referral, they could see it on the system but that it's a 10 week wait so end of February. Just to wait for them to call us a few weeks before the app (which should be next week I guess). I guess if I think of it as when you get to your app, I'll almost certainly have the date for mine, which is a nicer way to think about it 🥰

@CurbsideProphet thanks for recommending the insta account 🥰 I'll definitely take a look. One of my friend's partner has just qualified as an embryologist too so I really need to pick her brains more too, we only see each other at group events so I haven't felt like I can delve into it properly haha!

I'll definitely make sure to ask those questions about each med/decision. I will feel super uncomfortable doing it because I hate being seen/feeling like I'm difficult but it's bigger than those feelings isn't it! As you say we get limited time/attempts so I need to push through any awkwardness!

Those of you who have had that initial ivf appointment where they discuss protocol etc. can I ask how long is the appointment generally? My husband is trying to decide whether to take the morning off or not.

@Ind1e04 I think 45mins. It was via video call.

@Spurds I really sympathise. I still feel that "oh I don't want to be seen as difficult". But I've realised now (in cycle 2🤦🏻‍♀️) that I really need to understand what I'm doing, as I can't just have DH inject me with various things if we don't really know why.
Wow how interesting that you know an embryologist in real life! I think they're amazing. I've spoken to a few at Chester (they give you updates themselves when you're at that stage) and they're all so kind and patient on the phone. To be that clever and able to do such delicate and intricate things, but also have that level of emotional intelligence. It takes a special human being.

Weve still not heard anything, on week 7 now so hubby emailed them and they've now said it's 8 to 12 weeks from the time they receive the referral and that's if we meet the funding requirements which we think we do but haven't had complete confirmation.

I think we're almost there then they add another 2/4 weeks on.

I'm getting so frustrated 💔💔💔

I fond the waiting the hardest part so far. I’ve never done IVF before so I’m sure that will be the next challenge.

I was referred in November and got my appointment through in Jan. then it was about 3 weeks ish until the first appointment and log in details for the portal. We had to fill in a health questionnaire etc. (I’m NHS). I’ve just had that appointment Tuesday just gone. They went through the health questionnaire and then explained the whole process of what happens etc. they told us it’s a 3 month wait from here to start. But they said in the meantime they will be doing scans, blood tests and consent forms.

Once I knew when that first appointment was, I felt like I cope cope with the wait. And same for waiting to start. I think I struggle with the not knowing when things will happen. I hope you hear back soon. Sorry for rambling on. Xx

@Ind1e04 that's good to have a timeline thanks for sharing. I won't lie, my heart sank reading that they've advised another 3 months following your initial appointment though.

Our original doctor at arrow park was like 8 weeks for your first appointment, ready to start by Easter time. But it's looking more like end of summer if your waits are anything to go by 😫

It's nice having someone just a few weeks ahead though 🥰 defo keep me updated!

We finally got to the point of receiving our protocol and meds last week 😊
Did anyone else with Care Chester not have a baseline scan? My protocol goes roughly like this:
Norethisterone
5 days of Ovaleap
Day 5 scan (due to PCOS)
5 days of Ovaleap & Fyremadel
Day 10 scan and hopefully trigger

It just seems a bit... uninvolved. No baseline and then they leave the fertilised eggs alone until day 5 whereas other clinics will update you more frequently.

Main concern though is lack of baseline scan. Do I push for one or trust them?

Hey!

Yay your finally getting started ❤️

We had our initial virtual chat with Simon Wood in March, we're booked in for tests and other things that I'm not sure of on the 3rd May. (Think it's the immunity type blood tests 🤔)

Theyve said they will then allocate us to a month, it's looking like July if we're lucky, more likely August. So annoying that arrow park said we'd be starting a cycle by April 😅

I don't know a lot about the process but I would definitely want a baseline scan. How can they track if the meds have worked if not 🤔

@ChristmasJumpers I feel like I just responded to you in here but I can't see where I've posted! So I may have done it on a random thread! 🤦🏾‍♀️
I got referred from preston with pcos and had exactly the same treatment at care Chester, apart from I was on meriofert rather than ovaleap (my recent cycles have been ovaleap though).
I felt exactly the same as you, as everyone seemed to be having more scans and just more conversations with their consultants. I even rang to ask why I was on the meds I was and they couldn't tell me! So we just blindly followed what they said. I didn't push for anything or ask any questions, I didn't know enough. Then on my day 6 scan got told I don't actually have pcos! I would just ask them if they will do one for you, I think it's between day 2-5 of AF, however I started stims on about day 3 so it may not be possible with the timings.
I regretted being very silent in my first treatment and it built up frustration. Ring to ask them what it is, what it will tell them and if you can have one...and if not, why don't they think you need one.

@ChristmasJumpers also you can pay to use care maps which gives you the update on day 3 as it's in an embryoscope taking pictures so they can tell you how it's doing without any harm to them. If not then it's a do not disturb policy as they don't want to damage anything by getting them out to check.

@Spurds yep finally!! I thought I'd be over the moon but the fear qof it not working and realisation that we have absolutely no more time to try naturally has hit like a ton of bricks. I go from positive thinking to crying in the drop of a hat! Haha

@Coops0406 I've just replied to you in the other thread but I absolutely failed to ask them to explain to me what the baseline scan is for as I was thrown by how assured she was that I don't need one. She said it won't tell them anything and I'll be fine because I have the day 5 scan whereas others without PCOS don't have this

Hope you're all getting on ok. I just wanted to pop in. I'm 15 weeks pregnant now after 2 egg collections and 3 embryo transfers. One thing I would say about Chester is that I found some of the nurses lacking in people skills and not very good at explaining things. I also was never sure who was making the decisions about my protocol.

I ended up telling Dr Sephton during our review in January (after my FET was cancelled in December due to me not responding to the protocol) that I was very upset that I often didn't understand what was happening and why. I was also not happy that I didn't know who was making all of the decisions. During the call she put together the protocol for my FET and explained why she was prescribing the medications.

I keep getting error messages!

Dr Sephton took my upset very seriously and I wished I had spoken up sooner, but hindsight is a marvellous thing. She also understood that I only wanted 1 Consultant to be making the decisions. She also apologised that I had been upset by getting phone calls from different nurses who weren't always very sensitive in their phone manner.

That is my advice with Chester really, don't be afraid to request a particular Consultant and tell them when you aren't happy or don't understand why certain decisions have been made.

Dr Sephton was moving to be a big boss in Care Fertility but Mr Wood is still there and we found him exceptionally personable. He did my 1st and 3rd embryo transfers. I cried and cried after my 3rd in January as I was so overwhelmed and afraid after everything we've been through. I will never forget how kind he was to DH and I.

I wish all of you the best 💐

BTW for those of you from Preston, once you get beyond the egg collection and embryo transfer RPH's new infertility Consultant attends the 7 week scans at Chester and she is absolutely lovely. It's apparently to improve the "journey" for those of us referred from RPH.

Ahhhh @CurbsideProphet that's such amazing news!!!! I'm so happy for you 🥰🥰🥰

We had Simon Wood for our virtual consult, he apparently lives round the corner from us ha! He was great so I hope he is involved with our journey some more like he's been with yours.

Thank you for sharing your insight, it's really helpful because it makes me feel more comfortable speaking up if I have questions.

I have my swabs and scan appointment on Tuesday but I haven't had a confirmation letter so I'm going to have to call up again and ask exactly where I need to be because its in 2 different locations I think. I called the other day and asked when I'd find out what month we're allocated to but they couldn't tell me anything. Just in limbo constantly 🙄

I don't even know my protocol yet, Simon spoke about it on the virtual consult but I haven't had any other details.

I do think for the whole fertility journey they (the staff) deal with it all so often that they forget we don't have a clue what's going on!

I'm honestly beaming at your news, gives my anxious heart so much hope 🥰