Finally got my NHS appointment booked in - next steps?

[ttcjourney]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is doing well and surviving this heat!!

So after waiting for months, i've finally received my NHS appointment slot for my first consultation at the fertility clinic @ C&W (chelsea & westminster) - woop woop - finally! Even if it is scheduled for 2 months time, at least it's progress.

Does anyone know from experience what the process is after that first appointment and also time lines? Are we talking months from 1st appointment to treatment?? Just wanting to try and manage my expectations and also maybe think of a plan B if possible (i.e going private again).

Thanks

[Judy18]

Hi TTC. Congratulations on getting your appointment slot. It is sometimes just nice knowing that you have it booked in and have a date to work towards. So exciting!

When we got referred our doctor sent off the referral in end of July/ beginning of August and our first appointment was in September and finally did my first round and egg collection the following January. For us we had lots of appointments for scans and blood tests where they confirmed PCOS and hubbys low sperm count. Some of the blood tests were to check past immunisations and others for hormone levels. You also have an injection appointment where they teach you how to do it.

Obviously this was pre covid and they may be able to try different methods first (clomid, IUIs etc). For us we were told it was IVF as other things wouldn’t work.

Hope that helps and that it all goes well!

Sending hugs xxxx

[ttcjourney in reply to Judy18]

Thanks Judy Exactly, it's good to know at least we are in the system now. We already had 2 private rounds of ICSI last year. Obviously i know there will be a massive difference in timings between private and NHS, but just hoping i don't have to wait too long!

That's good to know about your experience though , 4 months is a bit of a wait but not too bad given they had to do lots of tests/scans.

I am hoping that we won't have to do so many as i've already had quite a few done privately last year. Hopefully they will still be valid.

It's all just one big waiting game (not great for an impatient person like me!)

xx

[Judy18 in reply to ttcjourney]

We also had to do ICSI. Hopefully they will be able to use your tests from earlier. That will save some time. I also kept a folder of all of the results in case i needed them.

I have a consultation appointment next Friday to discuss recent treatment and hopefully they will give me an idea about the next round so i may have a better idea of timescales after that . Will let you know if i do.

Good luck xxx

[ttcjourney in reply to Judy18]

That would be great, thanks so much!

Good luck for your consultation next week x

[Sas1101]

Hi that's great you've got your appointment 😊 I had my first appointment in July 2019 and started IVF in November 2019. My hubby had to provide another sample and have genetic blood work and ultrasound completed. I wish you lots of luck on your journey 🤞🏻💕

[ttcjourney in reply to Sas1101]

Thanks so much for your reply.

Good to know in terms of timelines.

I actually just received an email earlier saying they had moved my appointment forward by almost 2 months, which is great!

Good luck to you too xx

[TracyGx]

Hi ttcjourney, hope you're well!

Just wondering how long the wait time ended up being with c&w? We were referred recently and are waiting for the initial consultation.

Thanks!

[ttcjourney in reply to TracyGx]

Hi there, sorry for the delay. I rarely check this account these days!My wait time with C&W wasn’t too long at all. I had an appointment to discuss fertility treatment end of September and started my down regulation by end of October.. egg collection beginning of Dec (it was a super long down reg!)

And this was all on the NHS not private, during pandemic. Needless to say I was pretty impressed!

Have you started the process with C&W yet?

[TracyGx in reply to ttcjourney]

No need to be sorry! Thanks for your reply We have just been referred from our gp and we’ve got our first telephone appointment in 5 months time which feels forever away. We’re tempted to look at private options in the meantime but it’s obviously such a huge cost!

[ttcjourney]

Yes that does sound like quite some time to wait - how frustrating. I do remember the wait time from my referral from GP being a few months though (it didn't help that they forgot to refer me first time round, so had to put in another referral a few months later!) from memory, i got referred (2nd time round) in June, and had my first call with C&W in September. I just kept on chasing them tbh! Private is super expensive i know

Wishing you tons of luck

🍀🍀🍀