Deciding when to go for ivf?

[Tha97]

Hi

Looking for some advice really from others who have gone down the ivf route.

I’m 37, husband is 44. We’ve done all the standard tests privately and no causes for concern except for low morphology (1%).

We’ve been ttc 7 months. We are in an incredibly privileged position of having access to ivf through private work insurance. I know this is an incredibly fortunate situation to be in. As I know it can take several months to get started with ivf I am considering whether we should start going through the process now, though I know that 7 months is not a long time to ttc.

Given our ages I am really conscious of not letting to much time go past unless there is an underlying issue we’re not aware of.

Might sound like a silly question but does anyone have any advice on how far ahead of “being ready” it’s sensible to start the process? I’ve heard even with private clinics it can take 3 months from initial appointments to treatment?

In my experience it can all move very quickly with private clinic from first appointment to treatment, it kind of depends if there is a lot of further investigation/tests etc to do.

Have you had your AMH levels checked, that is usually a good guide to how fast you might need to move, but given your age and the fact that you have it covered via insurance I would just get moving as no one regrets starting too soon, but they do if they leave it too late.

Hey @Tha97 . It probably wouldn’t hurt to book an initial consultation with your local clinic as this is normally the first step. My experience was that the process moved quite quickly. Had an initial consultation and as diagnoses was unexplained infertility, they said we could start straight away. This will obviously depend on the clinic and how busy they are. We had initial consultation at the start of July and started IVF process at the end of august. I think infertility is technically when no pregnancy occurs after 12months of ttc, so not sure if this factors into your insurance cover policy or not. I’m getting my treatment through my work PMI as well and they didn’t seem to need a referral from doctor I just booked in straight away, but slightly different as this was my second go ( first round on NHS resulted in DS).

i was in the same boat as you, my husband and I were both getting on and I was fed up with the stress of ttc naturally and disappointment each month and felt IVF gave me more control over the situation. Saying that, it does come with its own stresses and risks. So perhaps have the consultation to get more info/get the ball rolling and keep trying in the meantime. Set a time limit ie if we don’t conceive in 3 months we’ll progress with the IVF. Hope that helps!

@AnnieStar12 @Rosie86947

Thanks for your quick replies that’s really helpful 🙂Speaking to my closest friends (same age, none have children, none are ttc) has been a bit disheartening, they’ve said things like “7 months isn’t very long” and “you could be in a much worse position” - I know they mean well but I think unless you are ttc it’s really difficult to understand how it feels.

I think im going to take the plunge and book an initial appointment.

My AMH is 19.9 which I’ve been told is good for my age but my husband has cancer history so I’m worried that’s what’s caused the low morphology (and possible other issues we’re not aware of yet)

@Tha97 quite honestly my biggest regret is waiting, although your AMH is certainly better than mine was. In your position I would at least have an initial consultation with an IVF clinic and see what they have to say and then you can make a more informed decision. Good luck x

Hi OP

I know the statistics say its still likely to conceive naturally beyond that timescale, but everyone I know either conceived in either month 1 or 2, or has gone on to need treatment. maybe it’s because people in the middle category don’t speak up as much, but once we’d made the decision to try it was all we could think about and didn’t want to waste any time. it’s a really tough mind game at our age!

question I’d ask yourself is - what’s more likely, to regret having treatment so early or regret not doing so? It’s really about your mindset and how comfortable you’ll be with your decision in 1/2/5 years time.

Sorry to ask a side question but would you/others mind sharing which PMI provider you’re with that covers fertility treatment? I have some influence over our policy at work and we’ve not been able to find anyone who covers it! PM me if you’re more comfortable xx

@Sierra26 the PMI I have with my company is Bupa Business Health cover with £100 excess. They are honestly brilliant and it’s such a great benefit to have. (FYI The policy we have covers 15k worth of fertility treatment and also menopause care/treatments)

it’s a taxable benefit. We’ve also been given the option of including family members at a discounted rate so our whole family is covered for around £60

That’s brilliant! Thanks @Rosie86947!