GP referred fertility tests vs private fertility tests?

[whomoon]

I am 35, TTC #1 and just gone past the 15 month mark. I’ve had initial investigations at the GP with blood tests done, all within normal range. I’ve also had ultrasound scans for spotting before my period and there were no issues, evidence of endo, PCOS etc. My periods are regular and as far as I know I ovulate mid-cycle, based on OPKS.

I’ve been relatively relaxed up to this point, ‘what will be will be’ and all that, but starting to think we need to start proper investigations.

But I don’t know whether to get the ball rolling with the GP, and risk being on long waiting lists, not getting proper information to my questions/worries etc, or just cut right to it and go privately.

It would be great to get advice as to which route to take?

Is it one or the other do you think? How long do assessments take? I wouldn’t want to waste time through the NHS, but also concerned going private could be a money pit if things take longer than we’d hope.

I’m very new to this, so any insight would be greatly appreciated xx

@whomoon honestly if you have the money and you can afford to I would recommend cracking on and going private. I'm also 35 and just started my first ivf round after over 20 months of trying. If you're planning to have more than one child then I personally would get going with investigations and treatment. It can take a while to do more tests etc so best to start the process now- wishing you the best of luck xox

@whomoon I'm London based and the NHS has been really quick for me. If you and your partner have had all your initial tests, you can now be referred to a fertility clinic. I had my first appointment with the gynaecologist over the phone within a month of being referred, then 2 weeks later, I spoke to the dr who will lead my IVF if we go that route. I could start it next month, so literally 2 months total, but we want to try for longer. I see the biggest downside of going via the NHS as not being able to choose the exact hospital / clinic you would prefer. My local hospital has lower success rates than the one we would choose if we went privately. X

[quote hopefulivf]@whomoon honestly if you have the money and you can afford to I would recommend cracking on and going private. I'm also 35 and just started my first ivf round after over 20 months of trying. If you're planning to have more than one child then I personally would get going with investigations and treatment. It can take a while to do more tests etc so best to start the process now- wishing you the best of luck xox

[/quote]
Thank you for your response.
Can I ask, is it 20 months since you approached your GP to start tests/treatment, or 20 months since you started TTC? If the latter, how long has it been getting to this point with going through the NHS?

Good luck with your IVF xx

[quote FlyOnTheWall89]@whomoon I'm London based and the NHS has been really quick for me. If you and your partner have had all your initial tests, you can now be referred to a fertility clinic. I had my first appointment with the gynaecologist over the phone within a month of being referred, then 2 weeks later, I spoke to the dr who will lead my IVF if we go that route. I could start it next month, so literally 2 months total, but we want to try for longer. I see the biggest downside of going via the NHS as not being able to choose the exact hospital / clinic you would prefer. My local hospital has lower success rates than the one we would choose if we went privately. X[/quote]
That sounds like a really quick turnaround compared to what I’ve read! I’m in the Midlands, so perhaps it might be worth finding out how long the process might be with my GP.

My initial tests were performed March 2021. DP hasn’t had a SA as he’s not yet registered with a doctor since moving in with me. Is that too long to be considered valid, and perhaps need them all done again??

I hadn’t considered finding out the success rates of fertility clinics, so I will definitely look into that, thank you x

Yes that could be too long @whomoon ... if all your tests were normal, your OH desperately needs to get a SA. As women we tend to think it's on us... it's actually 1/2 1/2... it is just as often a male factor issue. Until he has done that, you won't get any referral.

@whomoon 20 months TTC. I was told by my doctor it would be a long wait on the NHS where I live, so I've just gone private for everything - it's not cheap don't get me wrong but I've saved up money and I'm happy to use it for this- it was just damaging my mental health too much waiting and not being able to move forward, especially as everyone around me seems to be getting pregnant!

I went down the private route because I had irregular cycles but initial GP tests didn’t show obvious problems so I would have had to wait another 6 months for a referral. It ended up costing just under £2k for all the tests and consultations but so glad I did it (and thinking of it as cheaper than IVF). It was a lot easier to manage than NHS eg I had to have weekly blood tests on a specific day of cycle for 3 weeks which would have been incredibly difficult to organise via NHS but was really convenient with private clinic. Helps to minimise stress when you are trying to juggle with work! Good luck