Is a private fertility MOT worth it?

[lollosmash]

👋First time posting, so forgive me if I don't know the acronyms!

Has anyone had a private fertility MOT, and did you find the results useful?
Is it too early to get one after 6 months trying?

Have been trying to conceive for 6 months (not super long, I know). We're 34/35. I believe we need to try for 12 months before we can approach the GP about IVF. I guess I'm hoping if we get a fertility MOT we might already know what the problem is at that point, and be able to get the process moving faster.

The fertility test I was looking at was blood tests and potential trans-vaginal scan for the woman, sperm motility tests for the man.

Thanks!

The NHS will just run the tests again anyway as sperm tests in particular are only valid for a few months. Private clinics are pretty good about accepting NHS results but not the other way around. I'd just wait another 6 months?

Hi @lollosmash at 35 for the woman, the NHS will test after 6 months.

So, if you are 35, call your GP. They will run blood work and your partner can get a sperm analysis. If you're not 35, I would personally go private and get started with testing. You can get joint packages for not crazy money that will either give you peace of mind or find something that needs working on. Find a package that includes day 3 and 21 bloods, a trans-vaginal US and a sperm analysis. You could also check your AMH which gives an indication of your ovarian reserve. If you have regular cycles and are pretty sure you're ovulating, and you're taking Vit D and folic acid, id start by getting your partner to do a SA. 🤞🏻 for you!

I would get tested, we did after 8 months of trying as we really hit ovulation well and felt it should have happened. All my results were fine but my husband had low results on all counts for his semen analysis, making natural conception almost impossible for us. We then paid for a private urology consultation and he was diagnosed with a grade 3 varicocele, which a gp ten years ago said he didn't have! I'm now on the cusp of my first round of IVF with ICSI next month, which is 15 months since starting to TTC at age 33. If I'd waited for the NHS 12 months, we'd not be starting IVF until 2023 at this rate.
My situation is specific and yours may be that all tests come back totally fine, but I would advise the same even just for the peace of mind as TTC is such a minefield!

Thanks all!

@shrugitoffonemoretime - thanks - very useful to know the NHS wouldn't accept those tests and would just have to re-do them at that point, I didn't know that.

@FlyOnTheWall89 - I'm not 35 for a few more months, and as you say, been doing everything we should. Thanks for the advice on what to have done!

@Imisscoffee2021 thank you for sharing - we're in a similar situation in that we've been managing to hit ovulation windows for a few months. I might give it a few more, but I'll start researching MOTs more thoroughly. Wishing you all the best for your IVF!

Following as I am in the exact same position, 35 husband 32, GP said it’s over 35 for the 6 month rule, so I’d have to wait until October. Problem is I know what the issue is. Although I gave up breastfeeding 6 months ago, my milk hasn’t dried up and it’s giving me a really late ovulation which makes implantation impossible. We have an appointment next week, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Hi! Hope you have all got your BFP since you last spoke on this thread 🙏🏻 ✨ I’ve been tracking ovulation and TTC now for 5 months and I’m going private on Tuesday for fertility MOT! I’m 28, he’s 30. People have said it’s too early, but why would I do another 19 months of tears & negative tests for the NHS to finally look at me to possibly find out what I can find out now? I think it’s so worth it ✨

@Ellbell1234 I started getting us tested after 8 months TTC, didn't see the point in wasting time and the monthly disappointment was getting too much! Since my post back in July I'm happy to report I'm 12 + 1 pregnant with an ICSI baby, all good so far had a healthy scan yesterday! Baby due July 2023 :)

It might help somewhat but might leave you thinking nothings wrong when it is. We did one after 6 months, everything came back normal so kept trying for a further 18 months. When we did IVF we realised we just don’t make many embryos despite everything looking textbook perfect. I wouldn’t rely on the MOT but it’s useful if it picks up something glaringly obvious. The best of luck to you x

Aw amazing! Congratulations ✨✨💕

Ahhh I see! Yeah Someone I know also went for one and got told everything was perfect but ended up still being low in some hormone so was still struggling for a further year. Have you ended up with your little baby now? 🙏🏻 xx

@Ellbell1234 you can get all NHS tests done after 1 year of trying so depends how desperate you are for the data and if you're totally fine with spending the money. My experience was quick and easy via the NHS in terms of all initial tests. I'm 8 months pregnant having conceived naturally after 14/15 cycles. X

@Ellbell1234 also depends what it includes as some just don't cover everything and you'll end up having to do further separate tests to get a full picture!

@Ellbell1234 Exactly, we had ‘unexplained infertility’ which is a difficult one to deal with, still don’t really know why it all happened the way it did.

Yes, we did have success, so far so good 🙏 I’m 16 weeks pregnant after a successful second IVF cycle x

Lovely to hear!! 💕✨🙏🏻

They’ve changed it to 2 years now! :( i know it definitely used to be a year tho, I definitely would have waited the year so it’s a shame xx

@Ellbell1234 fertility testing has changed to 2 years? I don't think so... that would be in the news and would be a huge thing, especially with declining rates of male fertility and the understanding/ research into this growing.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/infertility/diagnosis/

It's 6 months for woman 35 or over and a year for those under. Depending on your local CCG, you may not be eligible for NHS IVF treatment for 2 years, but that depends where you live and what your test results tell you. In London in my CCG it's a year. We were due to begin IVF in July and I got pregnant in May / early June.

I had day 3 and 21 bloods, my OH had his SA and I had a transvaginal ultrasound all within 6 weeks ish on the NHS, and I got my AMH tested privately for £100 as I'm 33 and therefore wanted to check my ovarian reserve.

@Imisscoffee2021 @ArtandMath @FlyOnTheWall89 congratulations you guys! So many BFPs! This is heartening to hear.

@FlyOnTheWall89 thanks so much for clarifying about fertility testing on the NHS - like @Ellbell1234 I'd also got the impression that they wouldn't do anything for me after a year (apart from maybe tell me to lose weight / exercise more). I had a brief chat with my GP at the end of another appointment a few months ago, and that's basically what he recommended.

We're now coming up to a year of trying so I'm going to book in with my GP and see what fertility testing we can get via the NHS. I'll let you know how it goes!

Went to see my GP, and although I got a bit of a mixed picture, @Ellbell1234 is right about not being able to access fertility testing on the NHS unless you've been trying for 2 years, if you're under the age of 36 (at least in my CCG).

The Dr explicitly said we can't be referred for fertility testing, however, she did book us in for a blood test each, and said she'd bend the rules to refer my partner for a semen analysis.

I'm trying to work out what would have happened had she referred us to NHS fertility services at this point - I guess looking at your message @FlyOnTheWall89 , you had two blood tests at different points in your cycle, and also an ultrasound. Would you mind telling me what the blood test at two different points was measuring?

I did ask about going private, and she implied it was definitely worth it, if we could afford it. She said the tests were better than NHS ones, and they would also be able to test AMH / egg reserve.

So, back to researching a private fertility MOT...

@lollosmash your day 21 test is not necessarily done on day 21, but it's 7 days before your period of due and this tests levels of progesterone to see if you have ovulated and if your levels are high enough to support pregnancy. Your day 3 test measures so much - it was a 2 page document, but crucially it measures LH and FSH (google them for accurate detail of what these are). All the tests have a range and if you fall outside of the range that will mean a further chat with your doctor. These bloods won't differ if you do them privately. Do your AMH privately as the NHS won't do this for you and if your AMH is low for your age, this is a big sign to get going privately. Nice of your doctor to organise a semen analysis too - the specialist we saw said really this should be one of the first things done and the threshold to test sperm should be low. It's painless and easy to do. No day of the month better than the other. I had an ultrasound technically separately to fertility bits as I had pain during sex which the doctor said was actually due to ovulation and I just hadn't realised it was always at roughly the same time each cycle. So, either be a bit cheeky and say something like this, or that will be a private job too.

Bad luck that you're in that CCG, that's a long time to wait to be referred and on top of that you'd have a wait time to actually begin IVF. There is a big price range for IVF, starting at around 5k ish realistically and obviously going just up and up and up. There are great packages you can get too.

Again via the NHS just prior to starting IVF, I had a hycosy. You can do this privately though. They flush your tubes with a liquid to make sure there is no blockage - it's or pretty standard for the NHS to do this before you begin your IVF cycle as a last chance because it is supposed to possibly aid conception. I got pregnant the cycle after I'd had it done.

Hope this helps!

@FlyOnTheWall89 Very useful, thank you!