How long does the process take?

[lou-sarah]

hello we are new to this group. We are a same sex couple who have recently been married. We are looking forward to starting a family and have been refered to a fertility clinic by our doctor I'm presuming for iui. I was curious how long it took you all from being refered to first appointment, treatment etc. also what should we expect from our appointments? Thanks in advance for any replies or advice

[poochi]

Hi lou-sarah, congratulations on the wedding! I spoke to my doctor for a referral on the 31st March, then had an initial appointment on the 26th June. My first consultantion with the doctor is on 16th October to confirm if funding has been agreed & what the test results showed, then hopefully things will get going! My friend went down the IUI route, & she ended up ending IVF but her partner had IUI which worked the first time as they bought super sperm from abroad! All the luck in the world to you both. Andrea x

[lou-sarah in reply to poochi]

Thanks for replying oh that's not too long to wait really. I hope it's pretty straight forward and I don't have any problems. I've never tried to get pregnant but have had problems with my monthlies for years so I hope there's no issues there. How is the funding decided? It's so worrying, and unknown. X

[poochi in reply to lou-sarah]

Yes its a complete unknown, so i'm just keeping positive & going with the flow for now. As far as i'm aware u just have to meet the NHS criteria which is mainly age, weight & no children. You'll get a questionnaire to complete prior to your first appoinment & i'm hoping the funding approval is just now the doctor signing & sending forms to the governing body that they answer to (not sure who that is). From what i've read on here, once you start treatment with taking all the drugs the process is about 7wks until you have transfer day. My friend who has a stunning 2yr old boy was told not to waste the clinics time & yes she had 4 heart breaking cycles but he was worth the persistence. Good luck Andrea x

[nellynel]

hi I think the wait all depends on your clinic - some has very little some has years.. have you had your apt yet for intial investigations? That will give you a better idea. Treatment depends on your protocol. I was on the short protocol so I was only injecting for around 4 weeks, then the collections, transfer was 5 days later and test days 9 days later so all in all around 4 weeks so not long till I knew the results. The long protocol by its name is longer

[lou-sarah]

We are right at the beginning, waiting for an initial appointment. My bmi is about 39 at the min and their criteria is 35 so u know in gonna have to get some weight off. We have been refered for iui (artificial insemination) so Im not sure it they will give me fertility drugs at first. I'm hoping this makes it quicker and more straight forward. If the wait for an appointment is killing me il be hopeless during the 2ww! Xx

[nellynel in reply to lou-sarah]

are you sure on the BMI.. most have BMI of 30, and some are 28/29. Its usually private that are 35

[Katrina13 in reply to nellynel]

My clinic is 30 for both NHS and private.

[Katrina13]

Hello, sorry to say it but I know that where I live funding is only available to women in same sex couples if there is an actual diagnosed fertility issue, i.e. if you are naturally fertile and you only need help for sperm donation & IUI, then no funding is available for this. If this is the case then the clinic will want to put you through all of the main fertility checks, and if they show no issues then I'm doubtful you will have any funding and would have to pay for IUI.

This funding criteria quite probably varies across the country. Did you ask your GP what you should expect?

Have you looked into the new sperm bank centre that has opened in Birmingham?