Hi all, I am 30 yrs old with a healthy BMI. Diagnosed with PCOS a year ago. We have been TTC for 2.5yrs. Partner has had the all clear.
Just finishing my last cycle of clomid after being on it for 6months, fell pregnancy on 3rd month which unfortunately ended in MC at 7-8weeks.
I had fertility appointment yesterday and next step for us is IVF. I was so shocked and upset that this was the next step as I thought there would be lots of other options. He said I could either do another 6months of clomid or IVF..cannot do both. The thought of IVF process really scares me but I’m sure il be more reassured when I know more about it.
Can anyone please provide abit of information on whole IVF process?
Did you have to take a lot of time of work for appointments leading up to IVF?
What are the waiting times on the nhs? Doc said about a year, is that right or is likely to be longer?. I am based in Wales so times may be different to England.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks all
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lisap123
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So sorry for your loss. We've just started ivf so I can only comment on my experience so far. I started the pill on first day of my period last week. Plan is to take that for approx 2 weeks then start 1 injection a day for 1 week then move on to 2 a day for 2 weeks. In the 2 weeks when I'm doing 2 injections a day I have to go to the fertility clinic for scans and bloods 4 times. Luckily they're all in the morning so I can go before work. then all being well we will have egg collection shortly after the 2 weeks of 2 injections a day,then embryo transfer 2-5 days later and test 2 weeks later.
Appts weve had so far at the Fertility clinic are a hycosy (April 19), a doctor consultation and nurse consultation to discuss ivf and why they think it hasn't happened for us naturally yet and a scan to check how many follicles I have before starting ivf (which were all in June). So after the wait of being referred it was fairly quick for us,though we are in England (sussex).
Do you know yet whether you'll plan on more Clomid or straight to ivf?
If you have any questions,feel free to message. Wishing you lots of luck for whatever you decide to do next xx
Thank you for your response and all the information.
As my fert doctor said I can only do IVF or prescribe clomid as NHS won’t allow me to do both at same time. He recommends we go for IVF so I accepted and we are waiting for written confirmation.
Did they show you how to do the injections?
And how long roughly were you on waiting list for?
Good luck with your ivf, really hope all goes well for you😊 x
Ah that's very exciting then that ivf is next step but totally understand why you're nervous too. They're showing us a few days before we start them which I'm glad about. I think if they showed us at the very beginning I'd feel more nervous and like I'd forget lol. So where we live you have to see local fertility doctor at a surgery (not our normal surgery) who refers you for ivf and does final tests e.g. Amh and hiv and prolactin and arrange hycosy. we saw her in Jan. Ah thank you and to you too x
Hey. Really sorry for your loss first of all, it is so heartbreaking. Do you feel ready both emotionally and physically?
So we were referred straight to IVF, in England the NICE guidelines say straight to IVF if you’ve been trying ttc for 2+ years. So it was really intimidating at first.
Had one cycle failed. The wait time was so small here, I literally had a 3 months between the first appointment to starting IVF it was crazy! So you need to make sure you’re ready to start before. I don’t know about Wales to be fair the PCTs are so different just in England.
Next cycle was planned for 2 months later but I had a break as a choice of another 3 months. I had no embryos frozen or fertilised as I may have empty follicle syndrome (tbc this cycle)
How are you feeling about the IVF route, it’s a tough emotional rollercoaster. But this forum is amazing!!
The MC was hard for me but I am feeling ready now. I have tried to take positive from the situation, it was my first ever BFP but it does show me that maybe it is possible for me to get pregnant one day.
I am nervous about ivf, all the meds and appointments as i have choose to keep this all private from work etc.
I just really hope the waiting list isn’t too long in wales.
How long were you on the list before getting your first IVF appointment?
What side effects did the medication give you?
I responded well to clomid with no side noticeable side effects
So I was pregnant with my husband twice naturally within seven years (no children) but I had a bad first cycle, could be my age to be fair as my diet and alcohol intake have always not been the best. So IVF is just so crazy you never know, the more I see the more it's luck and numbers if you’re unexplained like me and husband.
I went to see my GP about it first of it in last February and was registered for the fertility clinic. Then several tests etc, by October we’d been referred and funded for IVF and by November we had the patient information event and from there we started the first cycle beginning of January. So literally not even 10 months of going the GPs. Mine was different as I was able to go straight to IVF with not much testing and or clomid so it may be different for you. The wasn’t a “waiting list” in My area so we went straight through the next month as soon as we saw our consultant.
My boss is one of my extremely good friends, we’ve been friends for over 10 years and celebrated weddings big birthdays etc so I was lucky in that respect. But I didn’t tell him until I was a month away from starting the cycle, I am so glad I did though because there’s no way I think you practically can’t. There’s frequent appointments, scans, tests, meetings all in work time and in the cycle they’re all at short notice.
First cycle I had side effects I was extremely bloated, big weight gain, I was very hormonal. However saying that it broke my heart as i didn’t expect it never to not work. We’re 30(me) and 33, both BMI under 30 and had been successfully pregnant. So when it didn’t it was just the worldest worse thing to me. This time around I think I knew what to expect so I’m less emotional as I can control my hormones a little more, Also the injecting is easier in the sense you have already done it. This time around I have increased dose and am experiencing a lot of cramping and fullness in my ovaries and think this is due to higher dose.
My experience-the immediate things are the tests(you’ve already had done?) for ivf, then you have a talk as a couple if you want to go through. Then you are put through for nhs eligibility (if you’re funded) then you go to the patient information event (takes about 1 month) you fill in lots of forms , bring them to your meeting - again about 1 month after. You then have another consultation where you begin the real journey of ivf and the protocols and the routes you’re going to go down. So from the October (when we said yes and were accepted ) it took to January when we had started the cycle.
For me there was a lot of delay in ivf thought i am doing it privately.
Before the treatment start, the clinic will ask you to get the blood test done for thyroid, AMH, HIV, hepB, Rubella blood screening and pelvic scan and they will ask the reports of smear test.
Once they receive all of the above then they will start the treatment.
For me each appointment for example a scan and that follows with the discussion with nurse and waiting in between and then waiting again for medicines. The process takes 2 hrs.
We also had the initial consultation with the doc and then with nurse which was 3 hrs long. Lots of paper work to sign.
They will explain about the injection, follicle chart, egg collection, transfer in the initial consultation appointment.
I have had a lot of the tests already. Lots of blood tests and internal Examinations. And also I am used to follicles tracking as they tracked it on my first cycle
Of clomid.
I just really hope I get a confirmation letter through soon.
Hi it’s all depends on the demand in your particular area and how many tests you need to determine infertility. As you are already diagnosed with PCOS then they may already suggest that is the reason and start treatment without many additional tests.
Our treatment didn’t start for nearly a year as we had to try and get appointments at particular times due to work. I think if we didn’t have this problem it would have started in about 9 months as we needed additional fertility tests and if we didn’t require additional tests it would have taken about 6 months. If funded by the nhs they will prob insists that both of you need to attend every appointment.
You obviously don’t have to tell work what your appointments are for but you will have to take a fair bit of time off work if you work full time. You will have consultations and blood and health checks as well as injection tutorials all before you start. Then once you start you will likely need 3-4 scans to monitor womb lining and follicle progress, egg collection which you will prob need 2-4 days off depending on discomfort after and then egg transfer day, then a follow up consultation if it’s unsuccessful, or another blood test/scan if you get a BFP. If you have any flexibility in your working hours maybe you could make up the hours, but I didn’t have the option. Because my work is quite rigid, I decided to tell them and they were a lot more sympathetic as to why I needed so much time off work.
It all sounds quite daunting when you list everything like that but the process isn’t too bad and all the staff Iv met along the way have been kind, supportive and genuinely wanting to help you succeed.
Good luck with your journey and I hope it’s not too long to wait in Wales xx
I’m based in wales and had ivf in January. Things moved pretty quickly when we got an appointment with the fertility clinic (I think that was about 6 months after referral by gynaecology). We were due to start 3 months later but due to an admin error we started in 4. We had all the necessary tests in that time (mainly bloods as we had had everything else by then). The ivf process was never as bad as I imagined. I nearly pulled out before we started but it was overall a very positive experience. We were offered counselling and I went to one session before we started. I would definitely recommend even though I spent the whole time crying. The clinic go through everything with you. There’s a lot of info but mine were great if I called to ask anything at all. The one thing I wasn’t prepared for was how long everything would take. It took me an extra 2 weeks on downregulation to shed my lining which put everything else out. My follicles were growing slowly on the stims so prepared for a long wait but suddenly they grew very fast and they booked me in for collection very quickly. It threw any planning out the window so just be prepared for that. I had approx 5 morning scans but my job is very flexible so generally wasn’t an issue. I made the excuse that I was having a cyst removed for the egg collection so that I could definitely get 2 days off. I would not hesitate to do the whole thing again if I needed to but luckily we fell pregnant first time. Really wish you all the best. Xx
No, my problem seems to be a blocked tube (unfortunately my dominant one). Everything else was ok but after nearly 3 years of trying I never once had a positive test. Wishing you all the best x
Nope my tubes were blocked, and had adhesions on the other one. I had been trying for 5 years then I had tests done and eventually resorted to IVF. The process for me didn’t seem to be complicated as I had anticipated. Just make sure you eat clean and exercise well. All the best xxx
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