First NHS Hospital appointment- what to expect?

Daisychain333 · 2024-04-30T04:47:53+00:00

I have my first appointment at the hospital “infertility” clinic after being referred by my GP. TTC 2 years. can anyone help me with what to expect? I’ve had all the blood tests via GP and pelvic ultra sound/HyCoSy already. My husband has also had sperm analysis. We are in the “unexplained category” We think we need IVF, from anyone’s experience can the hospital set us off on that path from the first appointment? thanks in advance :)

ACR7 · 01/05/2024 10:37

I was nhs. They would have set us off in the waiting list from the first appointment but my bmi was over 30 so I had to get that down first which took about 5months. They didn’t do any additional testing with us so as soon as I reached the required bmi we went on the wait list. I reached it in June last year and the treatment in September and so pleased to say it was a success so currently 34wks. The issue is I don’t think anything is consistent and depends on where you live as to how that nhs trust does things and wait lists etc.

CEllenx · 02/05/2024 06:57

Hey - I also had unexplained fertility
husbands sperm was perfect - Nothing abnormal detected
only problems I had were under - active thyroid and high AMH levels (Polycystic Ovaries) - so put down to unexplained infertility

At the first appointment you usually go through your medical history, they will do their tests and scans - to check your follicle count and the condition of your ovaries.
They may do another sperm test - usually the results are back within a week. They will also want to know if you are ovulating on time - if not they can give you medication for this as sometimes people don’t ovulate every month during their cycle- and this could be the reason for not getting pregnant

They will look at your age, weight and test results and decide if your candidates for IVF- if you are they will send a referral to your local ICB - who will decide if you are eligible on the NHS , as they often have a set criteria eg BMI under 30, can’t have kids with previous partner all that stuff ( it’s different depending on where you are located) - some care boards will only fund for one rounds, others will be 3 rounds.

usually the referral process takes up to 4 weeks to be accepted from the care board. If you are accepted, they will call you back into the hospital again or chosen clinic where they will tell you what your treatment plan will be. You also then have some immunology bloods which can take a few weeks to come back, and then you can start your treatment.

in all it does a few months to start but once your foot is in the door with the appointment you feel much closer ! Dont be disheartened! Mine took about 1 year in all but I had other health conditions so I coasted for a bit- but just had my egg collection yesterday , so it is defo worth it:)

I’m here to answer any other questions you may have :) Good luck hope it all goes well for you!

Original poster

Daisychain333 · 02/05/2024 12:32

ACR7 · 01/05/2024 10:37

I was nhs. They would have set us off in the waiting list from the first appointment but my bmi was over 30 so I had to get that down first which took about 5months. They didn’t do any additional testing with us so as soon as I reached the required bmi we went on the wait list. I reached it in June last year and the treatment in September and so pleased to say it was a success so currently 34wks. The issue is I don’t think anything is consistent and depends on where you live as to how that nhs trust does things and wait lists etc.

Thank you for your reply :) it’s really helpful to hear other experiences. I think you’re right, it will depend on the area. We’re in Sussex. Huge congratulations on your happy news. We are looking forward to getting the ball rolling, starting a new phase of our journey

OP posts:

Original poster

Daisychain333 · 02/05/2024 12:38

CEllenx · 02/05/2024 06:57

Hey - I also had unexplained fertility
husbands sperm was perfect - Nothing abnormal detected
only problems I had were under - active thyroid and high AMH levels (Polycystic Ovaries) - so put down to unexplained infertility

At the first appointment you usually go through your medical history, they will do their tests and scans - to check your follicle count and the condition of your ovaries.
They may do another sperm test - usually the results are back within a week. They will also want to know if you are ovulating on time - if not they can give you medication for this as sometimes people don’t ovulate every month during their cycle- and this could be the reason for not getting pregnant

They will look at your age, weight and test results and decide if your candidates for IVF- if you are they will send a referral to your local ICB - who will decide if you are eligible on the NHS , as they often have a set criteria eg BMI under 30, can’t have kids with previous partner all that stuff ( it’s different depending on where you are located) - some care boards will only fund for one rounds, others will be 3 rounds.

usually the referral process takes up to 4 weeks to be accepted from the care board. If you are accepted, they will call you back into the hospital again or chosen clinic where they will tell you what your treatment plan will be. You also then have some immunology bloods which can take a few weeks to come back, and then you can start your treatment.

in all it does a few months to start but once your foot is in the door with the appointment you feel much closer ! Dont be disheartened! Mine took about 1 year in all but I had other health conditions so I coasted for a bit- but just had my egg collection yesterday , so it is defo worth it:)

I’m here to answer any other questions you may have :) Good luck hope it all goes well for you!

Edited

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share so much detail, that’s all really helpful to hear. Hope you are doing ok after egg collection :)

It’s good to hear the approx timeline. In my mind, I have pencilled in August/Sept as a hopeful start date to get things going. Trying to be realistic but eager to start now have got our heads around it. We have selected a clinic (the one we had some private scans at), so plan to start asking about the finding application at the first appointment given we should tick all the criteria boxes from what I’ve checked online. Keeping fingers crossed.

As we have had pelvic ultrasound, HyCoSy, bloods & semen analysis, all not flagged anything. We feel like either we go for IVF now been 2 years TTC. Will keep an open mind though :)

OP posts:

Rettafun · 13/05/2024 20:11

Heyy guys
Me and my OH have been referred to a Gynaecology at Barts Hospital. We have identified that my OH has low sperm mobility with a Create (a private clinic) we couldn't afford the prices so decided to go with NHS.

I have a few questions. Depending on my cycle my BMI would either be 29.8 or 30.1 :( do we get to choose our appointment date or isn, do you think I would have to redo all my tests and my OH test as it has already been? Would they refer us straight to an IVF with ICIS?

Also do they weigh the day of the initial appointment and also before you start the procedure to make sure your BMI is within wait.

Last question for my Londoners does anyone know the wait list time frame as I wasn't aware there was a even a waitlist

If only one of my questions are answered maybe I can relax a little and stop worrying so much

ACR7 · 14/05/2024 11:37

They weighed me at every appointment, they were very strict. I didn’t get to choose any of my appointment dates so I think you’ll just get whatever’s available.