IVF Scotland - thread 5

[itsmschanandlerbong]

Hello, made a new thread for us Scots going through IVF, thread 5. Hoping this is the best thread yet for dreams coming true ❤️

@lt103 i don't know how to do the heart emoji on this, but thanks <3 for the encouragement . We just had out telephone appointment and are at least immediately now referred to glasgow, 7-8 months wait time as you said @hollyrocket. I can't thank you enough for the information you gave me, it meant I wasn't in shock when I heard it from the doctor and was able to ask the practical questions that I needed to ask. Thanks goodness for you both! Period a day late, the cycle of hope and heartbreak continues...

@Nosejug That’s great you didn’t need to get any additional tests done, that will have saved a couple of months. They originally told me it would be a 6 month wait so I was a bit disappointed to find it’s actually 9 months at the moment, I did wonder if they meant 6 months until the telephone appointment (which it was) or if the list had got longer after I was added.
Just think, now you know that this time next year you should have started your treatment.
Did they also remind you to ensure your smear test is up to date and check that you have had two doses of the MMR vaccination? They didn’t tell me about the MMR but luckily I have had both. My smear/another gynaecological issue is going to hold things up a bit for me I think 😣

Yes, thanks for checking! Just had a smear this week (I have HPV so mine are annually-hopefully it's gone now!) and MMR all fine.

Yes Crosshouse told us 6-7 month wait for treatment at Glasgow (plus two weeks to wait for this referral letter). We found out that after being to our gp 4 separate times to get both semen analysis put on our records, they STILL haven't done it, despite promising it was done since December. We've just to mail them in ourselves. They're a cantankerous bunch so I'm wary of chasing them/complaining! Crosshouse have been very efficient/polite/clear/informative though. Thank goodness.

@LT103 can I ask, did you go private at glasgow? And you say the process went from Oct 21 consultation to March 22 for egg collection, then another three months for transfer? That's a very long wait. I wonder if that is still the wait time or if it was affected by lockdowns.
We were thinking of seeing if we could get a loan for private treatment if timeline made it worth it, but it's unlikely as we just bought our first home (and big mortgage) so we are not a very safe lending bet... and if the difference is only a few months then what's the point of more debt.

Could I also ask what you meant by not being allowed a fresh?

I hope I'm not being annoying in this forum asking a million questions. I really really appreciate all the answers.

@Nosejug i think the slightly longer wait was a fall out from covid and it isn’t usually that long. We had our nurse appt in January and started meds end feb and had collection in March.
the wait for transfer was down to me. My amh and egg reserve was super high and they were concerned about the risk of ovarian hyper stimulation so I had to do a freeze all cycle and then once things had settled do a frozen transfer. It was frustrating at the time for definite but just need to trust they know what’s best.
And yes we were gcrm in glasgow. I loved them. Staff were all amazing with us and even now I’m pregnant I’ve still messaged them to ask stuff and the consultant had got back super quick etc

Oh my word, I didn't want to ask through all this if the process had been successful. Absolutely amazing, I'm smiling away. Congratulations.

@Nosejug we've just started the process of a private cycle. I enquired early February, 3 weeks later we were booked in for the initial tests then 3 weeks later we had the consultation. Due to our own situation we had to repeat some of those tests and have a follow up consultation 3 weeks later, so I would discount that 3 weeks in your own timeline. We then got the invoice to pay one week later but that was due to Easter so 2 bank holidays. When we paid the invoice we were then given an appointment for further tests for this week, the consents appointment the following week then I can book in for treatment on my next cycle which will be May. But when you start treatment it actually takes around 2 full cycles, so I'm looking at egg collection mid / end of June.

Hi everyone, myself and husband are about to start our IVF journey on the 1st of June, this is our Art appointment for bloods and hand in my swabs. I was wondering if anyone has already been through the process has an idea of the time in between each appointment stage and are some appointment stages merged in to the one visit? We are also wondering when you phone to let them know of your period starting how long is it before you are called to collect the injections?
thanks in advance for any advice,
Kirsty

Hi all. Was wondering what happen at first appointment face to face? I'm with Aberdeen. On the letter we received, on the one on my name I've been told to get there 20 minutes before the appointment because I need to see a nurse (what for, I don't know). After that, anyone know when they will send the referral for IVF? Thanks

@KirstyReid welcome! Are you with GRI?

@KoraPersefone we didn't use Aberdeen so I'm not sure. The nurse will probably do bloods and possibly a scan and hopefully will explain the next steps.

@itsmschanandlerbong thanks for the details of your timeline. Everyone's been so helpful. All my best wishes for swift success in your journey.

Watching Friends the other night, I realised your handle comes from the episode Pheobe gets implanted! I'd be fine with triplets ha.

@itsmschanandlerbong yes we are with the Glasgow Royal infirmary.

@KirstyReid when I done my NHS round with them I had the consents appointment after ART, which is where you go through the legal paperwork and find out your drug protocol. This was about 3 weeks after the ART appointment. After you've done the consents appointment you can then book in for treatment on your next period. One cycle of treatment takes roughly 2 period cycles. When you book in, you'll come in halfway through the first cycle for your virology appointment which involves some blood tests and, depending on your protocol, you might need an injection then. Then you phone up on your next cycle and this is where you start the daily injections. I was on them for 11 days, 2 days after you stop them you then have your egg collection, 5 days after this was the transfer then 10 days later was test day. Just be aware though you may not always get booked in your first cycle, depending on how busy they are, and the lab shuts for 2 weeks in July too where they won't do any egg collections or transfers so that might effect things too.

Hi @itsmschanandlerbong thank you so much for all this info it is really helpful and not as many appointments as it looked on the letter! I hope you have had a successful IVF journey! 😃

Hi all. So I've had a bit of a reset and clinic have come back with next steps. They want to do a hysteroscopy which to be honest I don't know why that's taken this long to suggest - 5 failed transfers and a mc. They also want to do something called endometrial regeneration which involves injecting plasma from my own blood directly into the lining. Supposed to be good for those with immune issues like me. They haven't mentioned double donor yet but I have an appointment next week to discuss it all. Does anyone have any experience of the hysteroscopy? They're doing it under general.

Hi everyone 👋 Glasgow here - first post so hoping this works. Just looking for some advice I guess.

Myself and husband (both 30 nearly 31) have been trying since last September with no luck. I’ve recently just had a blood test from my GP done which came back ok, however a home semen analysis test my husband did came back negative.

He called his GP who has advised he will make a referral to the hospital for us both to begin testing. Is anyone able to give any advice on a timeline of how long to wait? The GP said they couldn’t tell us.

Other Qs -
I thought my husband would have went into the GP clinic to have a semen test done initially to check it was right? My concern is I’ve read you are required to do two tests 3 months apart and don’t really understand why we have to wait for the referral if the initial test could have been done during the wait time?

Is there anything your SO have done in the time being to try and rebuild sperm count? My husband loves hot baths and I know these are terrible for sperm count.

Feeling super lonely in this process, I can’t stand the thought of waiting over a year before even being able to begin IVF treatment if this is required and I don’t want to dump a lot of emotions on my husband as it’s male infertility and don’t want him feeling guilty.

Any advice massively welcome x

Hi @Sabrinafive 👋 try not to worry too much about those results, the at home tests aren't always very accurate.
The clinic will test but I'm sure it's not as long as 3 months between I think we were 6 weeks inbetween. You're right to avoid hot baths. We were also advised to also to minimise alcohol

Sorry pressed send too soon!
Minimise alcohol use, stop smoking, and try and maintain a healthy diet. A good multi vitamin will also help.
There is a Glasgow IVF / ICSI Facebook support group which I've found super helpful for processes, timelines etc.

Thank you so much for the reply ❤️ I’ll definitely check them out!

@Sabrinafive Hi, have you seen my post on the previous page with my timeline?
My husbands GP did organise a semen analysis at the local hospital, but I think this process might depend on your local area. Then once we had the appointment with the fertility clinic (after GP referral) he had to do another 3 months later. For us it took around 3 months to get all of my tests done anyway so if your GP can’t organise the first semen analysis I don’t think it will hold you up.
It is a long wait and I totally understand you feeling lonely.

Hey all, another timing question from me too: has anyone had an amh blood test, and do they remember how long it took for those results to come through? Practicing patience here, though my partner is getting anxy and I'm just trying to alleviate some of that pressure!

@Sabrinafive My partner ended up paying for one of his analyses. The waiting times were very very long, but we were in London at the time so things were different. They gave him the results the next day. Amazing what £100 will get you.

@Nosejug where did you get it? Have they arranged a follow up consultation to give you the results? They can get bloods as quickly as the following day.

@itsmschanandlerbong just at our GPs in Ayr about a week ago. I asked for an eta but they said they’ve no idea and that I have to call in everyday to check as they can’t tell me when they arrive. facepalm

Anyone know what happens in the 4 months waiting time between first visit to ivf call? Aberdeen clinic. We went there 3 days ago for first visit, they put us oh the list and the doc told us that we would have received by email some forms, patient access where to ask questions etc, just wondering if anyone is familiar with the process and can let me know what will happen during the waiting. Thanks