How long did IVF funding and treatment start take for you?

[kalixxx]

Hello,

I had a telephone consultation today which confirmed we’d need IVF for male factor infertility. She advised we’ll next have an appointment to apply for funding and that whole process could take 4-8 weeks. I asked how long after that would we start IVF and she made it sound like it would be very soon after that. I was expecting a long delay before starting IVF!

What has everyone’s experience been?

We have to choose between Woking or Kingston, if anyone has any experience with either?

I’ve found clinics (NHS) are not always clear with communication.

For example, ours told us we’d be “starting” in November. To me, that meant meds and egg retrieval. What they actually meant was another consultation to discuss all of the risks, the process etc, and then it was another 2-3 months before they had capacity for me to starts meds and undergo an egg retrieval.

Once you start treatment properly, it’s better.

My first round entirely failed, and the clinic has managed to fit me in for a second round (only because we had no embryos) within 2 months of my first round - which is absolutely as soon as you could be seen.

I’d also advise you may find you have to chase the clinic for info and often advocate for yourself to push the process forward, particularly prior to starting meds.

Good luck!

@SquashedSquashess thank you, that’s really helpful! I’m thinking maybe end of the year is realistic to think we’ll actually be going through the process?

How was the egg retrieval? I’ve never had any kind of sedation so I’m kind of nervous!

Sorry to hear the first transfer wasn’t successful, fingers crossed for the 2nd. I can’t imagine how emotional it must all be!

I think if you have end of year in mind, that will manage your expectations and hopefully avoid any disappointment. I found it very frustrating finding each stage of “starting” was not what I imagined starting to mean!

My clinic is one of the few in the UK that does not sedate you for egg retrieval (obviously due to funding, as I did ask if there was any possibility of being sedated). Whilst I can’t speak to what sedation is like, I went through the procedure with a combination of local anaesthetic (yes, in my vaginal wall), diazepam and gas & air throughout. It wasn’t as bad as I feared - I felt one sharp pinch halfway through and otherwise it was just crampy. So if your clinic offers sedation, I wouldn’t be worried about it.

Thanks for your well wishes. It is very emotional, and unpredictable. Fingers crossed this round will give us better results.

Hiya,

I had my funding approval appt with the NHS (sign the paperwork and pick a clinic) end of Nov, took about 5 weeks for the clinic to contact us and book in our initial planning with them. There was then no delay in starting treatment (other than where I was in my cycle) and we started end of Jan. I'm with Berks/Ox/Bucks Care Board. A friend of mine was referred in London and there was a wait to start treatment at her clinic. Both of us were made aware of whether there was a wait for treatment or not at the point of funding approval though - so you should be able to ask your NHS fertility contact.

Completely agree with the previous poster that you'll probably need to chase things up and advocate for yourself and keep asking questions if you're unsure of anything! Good luck with everything, it's bloody exhausting so be kind to yourself - hopefully worth it in the end!

Funding was 4 weeks, then initial ivf consultation was 2 weeks later.
My understanding was then we’d do nurse planning a few weeks later then start ivf with my next cycle (but an issue came up for us and we couldn’t continue!