Treatment in Scotland

[Buttons21]

After some festive soul searching my hubby and I feel rather than wait for Nhs treatment for icsi we would like to self fund. We are based in south west Scotland so would need to travel. Should we just be patient and wait or has anyone self funded? Keen to hear about experiences with both.

[AlisonO]

Hi

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[Newyeae]

Hey just wondering if you have had your referral on nhs yet? I live in your area and have just had my first round of icsi on nhs. We were referred by Dumfries hospital to be put on the waiting list for Glasgow royal infirmary in April 2017 after hospital checks in Jan 2017. We only went to our GP initially in October 2016. We started out tests etc at Glasgow in August 2017 and started our first cycle in November 2017. Our first round has worked so far. It has been around an 8 month wait. Just wanted to say as it can cost you privately and that the waiting list is not too long at the moment. Also depending on eligibility you can get up to 3 rounds of icsi free on nhs in Scotland.

[kenem808]

Hi. Similar to Newyeae I would consider NHS route if you’re eligible and check out waiting times before you jump into anything. From GP referral to treatment was 10 months for me, so not long at all.

Glasgow Royal have a non-profit making clinic with great results if you decide to self-fund.

Good luck.

[Buttons21]

We are in Dumfries too. I just think I’m impatient. We were told 9-12mth for consultation then obviously the wait after to start treatment. It’s taken a year to get to this stage and suppose am just a bit down hearted and thought if we could self fund we could move along faster....

[Newyeae]

Hi buttons I totally understand your frustration. It is a constant waiting game. Also to note that if you have any embryos left after a fresh cycle e.g. your first icsi cycle then if your fresh embryo(s) transfer did not work, if you have any frozen embryos they can be transferred without taking away another one of your free rounds of IVF on nhs so you would have up to 2 fresh ivf cycles left. The Glasgow royal had a price list last time which was quite abit of money to find but not unreasonable, if you have some time I would try to wait it out and save funds for if needed later. I'm 29 so I thought I had more time than others to wait and so far my first icsi cycle has worked so it is possible. The clinic were great on nhs. Wishing you all the best and if you need any further help we are all here x

[Buttons21 in reply to Newyeae]

I really appreciate the reply. I am torn what to do. Hubby will go along with whatever I decide. I’m 35 so my consultant says I’ve still tons of time (even though I feel that’s old) and the issue isn’t with myself. Think may just start the year and book a holiday and reassess after summer. Did you receive letter from royal saying they have received your referral and are on the list?

[Newyeae in reply to Buttons21]

After we had our initial tests at the hospital in January 2017 the consultant told us he was referring us to Glasgow royal for nhs funded. We then received a letter from him confirming we had been referred and were on the waiting list as of April 2017.

Lizzie has made a good point about finding out if being self funded would affect nhs funded cycles also.

Wishing you all the best in whatever you decide.

[Cinderella5]

Hey I'm based in Scotland although not near you. The only advice I can give you is if you think you can hang on for your 3 NHS cycles then do. The reason I early this is BUT is rarely successful on your first attempt although there are a few lucky ladies out there. After my first cycle the hospital began to learn from our failures and what improvement can be made. Unfortunately it hasn't worked for us and are now self funding abroad however we learned so much that if we had gone straight to private we would have been a fortune down already!!xx

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

We self funded our first round (in England) and I was glad I had as they used the info from my first (fairly disastrous) round to improve things for my second (funded) round, including trying more expensive drugs. I was 36, and time goes fast- I’m now 39 and still childless but know we have given it everything we’ve got. The circumstances are different though in that I knew we would only get one funded round in our area, and I knew I wouldn’t lose a funded round by having a private one. I also knew we could do our funded round at the same place as we had a private round so didn’t have to change consultants and also we are lucky that my dh earns a good wage so we didn’t go without anything to fund a round, other than our new kitchen is a lot more of a distant dream than it would otherwise be! Before you decide, do check that the funding rules won’t mean that they’ll fund fewer rounds if you’ve already self-funded one. Also bear in mind that the first round of ivf is more likely to fail as they work out what drugs suit you best etc. So by going for it now you might put yourself in a better position for your funded rounds.