Starting IVF. How long on the NHS?

[Joy35]

Starting IVF. We have been trying for almost three years. Unexplained fertility which is just frustrating!!! We have our appointment tomorrow. Our doctor said last time that if we hadn’t conceived by this appointment we would start IVF. I was just wondering how long it takes on the NHS to actually start. Now that I’ve decided to go with the IVF I just want to get going with it.

[Luckyinlove]

Hey Joy, I'm the same... unexplained.. I'm about to start in Feb. NHS Scotland is 6 to 8 months... however I only waited 5. Not sure where you are but I assume England is the same xx

[Joy35 in reply to Luckyinlove]

Hi Luckyinlove,

Thanks for the reply. No I’m Scotland as well. I’m the Glasgow royal. Five months seems so long!!!

I was dreading getting to the point we had to get IVF and now I can’t wait to get started. So tired of waiting. I want our baby. Wishing you all the luck in the world. I hope your round in Feb goes perfectly for you xxx

[Luckyinlove in reply to Joy35]

Aww hun I know but I promise you, the time passes so fast! It feels like just yesterday that we had notification that we were on the list

Thank you ❤ I hope yours comes round as speedy as ours did and wishing you the best luck too 👶🏼

[Joy35 in reply to Luckyinlove]

Thanks luckyinlove.

They said 5 months but we may get the notification sooner.

Just telling myself maybe it’s meant to be and I’ll fall pregnant naturally before we even have too start IVF. Just need to keep moving forward and it will be here before we know it.

Hope that’s everything is going smoothly your end.

Joy xxx

[Cinderella5]

I had mine in Scotland, not in GRI....it took us from first IVF appt in December to starting meds in April although that was a couple of years ago. Good luck.xx

[Hidden]

I'm in England. From first appointment to when we were due to start it took 7 months. Before my first appointment I had already done 3 months of requested bloods and swabs and semen from husband. I think anything under a year is good for the NHS. Unfortunately it doesn't happen fast in most areas. Other things like your bmi, either partner being a recent smoker etc can delay it. You mu t be lucky but its best to expect quite a wait. Get reading, "It starts with the egg" is a good start. Research supplements, dietary changes etc. That book is a great starting point. Good luck!

[Joy35 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Endo,

Just downloaded the book to my kindle. Looks really good. I’ll let you know how I get in and may message you to ask if you have tried parts of it.

Thanks

Joy

[HopeIVFul]

Hi,

I am in England and got an appointment in June/July and was put on the IVF waiting list after being told if I don’t get pregnant before then that I would get put on... I started my ivf process properly last week after another 2-4 appointments/scans/bloods etc.

Good luck x

[Joy35 in reply to HopeIVFul]

Hi Hope,

They just said we were now on the waiting list. So now just need to wait for a letter. Hope your first round is going smoothly. I hope it works out for you 🤞🤞

Joy xx

[MumofaSpaniel]

Hi, I’m attending Glasgow Royal, I had similar thoughts to you but then once the process is explained out to you it’s about your cycles and the timing of them more than their waiting list. My first appointment was in June and started my IVF on Halloween x

[Joy35 in reply to MumofaSpaniel]

Hi mumofaspaniel (love a spaniel haha) We went today and they have said about 5 months. Much longer than I would like. However could also be a lot worse.

I hope everything is going well for you xx

[MumofaSpaniel in reply to Joy35]

Some days I thought I was fine with the wait and then others I would get myself so worked up and upset my cycle went all over the place.. I tried to focus on keeping my weight down but you could try find something else to help you get through the next few months x

[Joy35 in reply to MumofaSpaniel]

It’s so annoying when people say just don’t think about it and it will happen. You have too stop stressing out!!!

I’m just telling myself maybe in the time we’re waiting I’ll get super lucky and it will happen naturally. Gotta keep believing we will get there xx

[Hidden]

I've been really lucky with my clinic. I had my consultation in December and I'm now due to start on the 17th of this month! I did have a pre consultation in the summer though and they gave us all of the consent forms and told us what blood forms we needed at that point. I suspect I could have got started very soon after that one though.

Hope they don't keep you waiting too long xx

[lablover5658]

Hiya Joy35,

We have just finished our first round of IVF unfortunately it was unsuccessful. It took only just over two weeks from the start to finish the treatment. From the first consultation at the clinic until treatment started it was 4 weeks . You decide when you start. It does depend where you are in your cycle. I unfortunately had a very long cycle just as we wanted to start. Make sure you prepare yourself with plenty of support and if you can take some time away from work. It’s full on and I didn’t quite expect how full on it is. Good luck and wish all the best

Xx

[Joy35 in reply to lablover5658]

Hi Lablover,

Thanks for that. I’m so sorry it was unsuccessful. I’ve actually told a few people as I know I’m gonna need the support. It’s crazy how much infertility consumes you.

Are you taking a break or are you going to go straight back for round two?

I wish you the best of luck in your next round xxx

[lablover5658 in reply to Joy35]

Hiya Joy35,

We are taking a break. I was so unprepared for how terrible it can make you feel. It really makes you look at things very differently this experience. We are taking a break, we had kinda given up before IVF, like you we have unexplained. Which is worse. I have 4 good quality embryo ‘s frozen so I guess as we are still at a reasonable age we should give it another go. Do not want to get into the cycle of wanting to keep trying! It’s hard to make the decisions sometimes.

Good luck 👍🤗

[Joy35 in reply to lablover5658]

Unexplained is horrible, for two years I kept thinking well there’s nothing really wrong so it will happen!! It’s just so draining and I haven’t even started with IVF yet. I watched a documentary on IVF and it looks horrific!! Then at the end none of the couples they followed were successful. I’m dreading how much it’s going to consume me. I think going in thinking the worst is my way of preparing myself.

If you have embryos frozen do you still need to inject as many hormones next time around?

You defo deserve a break and to have your body back without all those hormones.

Hope your feeling brighter soon and next time works out for you xxx

[lablover5658 in reply to Joy35]

Hiya Joy,

Recently discussed another round with the clinic. A frozen cycle is a lot shorter and dors not require the injections. Just hormones given orally. But it will cost

£ 2,000 which is I believe a lot less then a full fresh cycle but still is a consideration as if it doesn’t work will be hooked in as we have 4 frozen Embryos.

I just wish we could conceive naturally. 😔

There is always hope for us all. We just have to believe it might happen xx

[Joy35 in reply to lablover5658]

Wow lablover. The money would make things so much more stressful than they already are. We looked at going private and the money on top of everything else is so difficult.

I understand how the frozen embryos has you hooked.

I keep saying I know it won’t happen naturally. Doesn’t stop me thinking oh my boobs are sore and analysing everything single thing. I do it every single month!! Let’s just keep hoping and try our best to focus on other things xxx

[Lapinblanc88]

I'm in London and was referred by GP in March 2018 and started treatment in July 2019!!!

Total waste..had I known this I would have gone private...

[Joy35 in reply to Lapinblanc88]

That is shocking. I went to the hospital today and they said about 5 months! Which I was upset about and even considered going private because of that. However if you go private you then can’t go back to the NHS. So you are throwing away three free cycles!! The whole thing is frustrating and upsetting enough without it being so drawn out xxx

[Suzy86]

Hi we were unexplained and had our ivf appointment in January 2019 and started ivf in February 2019. We had an abandoned fresh transfer because of OHSS and then 2 failed FETS. After that I demanded some answers before we went through our final fresh round. We paid about £800 for a more in-depth analysis of my husbands sperm. Turns out the one on the NHS is pretty basic. We found out he had a hidden bacterial infection and high DNA fragmentation. He took antibiotics and we did ICSI and our final NHS round worked. If you are in a position to maybe in your wait to start you could see if there are any other tests you could run. If we had have known about these tests first it could have potentially saved as a lot of heartache. Good luck with everything xxx

[Joy35 in reply to Suzy86]

Hi Suzi,

Thank you so much for your message. Can I ask where you went for the more in depth tests? And what the tests where called?

I’d love too have a better idea of what’s going on. Unexplained is just so frustrating.

Thanks

Joyce

[Suzy86 in reply to Joy35]

Hi Joyce

We did them at our clinic as it was a private and NHS clinic but I’m not sure all places will offer that. What we had was just a screening bundle that my clinic offered which included DNA fragmentation, sperm binding, semen and urine analysis, oxidative stress and basic semen test. I know there are specific names for these kinds of tests but I’m not sure what they are. I’m sure if you asked on here there will be plenty of ladies that will be able to help you. I can tell you having some sort of diagnosis made all the difference to me. Being unexplained is just awful, like you we’d been trying for 3 years before we went through treatment so I fully understand how awful an unexplained diagnosis is, just want answers! Sorry I can’t be of more help but I hope it gives you something to think about though if you wanted to push for more tests. X