I am due to have a telephone consultation with the fertility clinic in 2 weeks. This is the first appointment since we were referred. Is there anything that you think I should write down to ask when we speak to the Dr?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Amy! All the best for your consultant.You should relax.They will ask you questions in a systematic manner covering almost everything about you and your partner.You should fill them in about any missing details.Also keep your recent investigations ready...as they might book you you for some.In case you have already done them let them know as it would save your time.All the best! xx
Thanks for replying Sunflower. I will do. I have had a few tests done but dont have any letters or anything but hopefully they will have my file up when they ring me. I am concerned that they might not have my partners file though and his sperm count is part of the reason we have been referred. I guess we will see 🤞 the wait isnt too long. X
Hi 👋
I am chuffed to see your post & to read you've got your consultation! It feels like January has come around so quickly. Hope it's not felt too long a wait for you 🤞
Just wanted to say good luck with your appointment. They should definitely be able to give you a good idea of what the next steps are. My only advice would be do ask for a rough timescale for each stage, just so you have a rough idea of how long it might take once you reach top of the waiting list. I know there are never any guarantees but I defo found it a slight relief to have milestones to focus on.
Also, in case you've not already been asked, you'll be asked for proof from your GP of your most up-to-date smear which has to be within 3 years (even though they've pushed back smears to every 5 years now) and your last one has to have been clear. You will also be asked for proof of a rubella vaccine, which your GP should have on file. Don't worry as your clinic will usually provide you with a form for both the smear & vaccine, to get signed by your GP but I actually skipped the faff and just rang my GP surgery to request they print proof of both & they did. I took these to my appointment & they put them into my patients notes.
Keep me updated 🍍 xx
Hi Lizzie, hope youre keeping ok? Anything happening on your end?I have tried to put it to the back of my mind but as it is coming closer to the appointment date I am thinking about it more and more 🙄
I will ask them about waiting times as myself and my partner will be having a conversation about waiting for nhs or going private depending on the length of time we are advised we could be waiting.
I had a smear under 2 years ago I think but unsure on the rubella vaccine, is this one that you have as a child? I can call my doctors and ask for this information though 😊 I just want to give myself a head start and have any information available rather than having to go in search for it after the appointment.
Are these appointments normally at the hospital? Ours is just a telephone appointment due to covid-19 ☹️ my partner is a but upset about this and is worried we might get fobbed off! X
Doing well thanks. Just focused on recovering from my op at the moment and excited to finally get started later this month 💃
That makes complete sense to me. I totally get why you're keen to weigh up waiting vs going private so that's great you already have a plan to ask more about specific timescales.
Yes, that's right. The vaccine most people get when they're younger. I felt the exact same way at the time, was keen to have all the paperwork to hand so nothing could delay us getting started. Little did we know Covid era would strike, mind you 😅 uch we've got to laugh about this process sometimes, don't we 😆
All consultations have moved to telephone since Covid, that's defo standard at the moment and so is the consent appointment and appointments to discuss protocols and test results etc. We had our virology results and protocol appointment as video/facetime calls. Anything that doesn't require bloods, scans or physical exams won't be f2f for a while I'd imagine. I can totally understand your partner's feeling on that one. Hopefully you can reassure him it's standard practice at the moment & you'll still have plenty of time to ask what you need (we've never felt rushed). I think our shortest appointment on facetime was 1.25hrs. Xx
Glad youre on the mend and 🤞 for the end of the month.
Waiting seems like forever but laying out loads of money when we could get a couple of free rounds is something we will have to talk about. My partner is nearly 37 so we wpuld like to start sooner rather than later really.
Since you mentioned it, I have checked my online drs app that shows all my immunisations and i did the the mmr vaccine and booster when i was a child so i have written the dates down incase they ask but they should hopefully have them on record.
Thank you for the information, its good to know that most are telephone appointments. It also prepares us going forward to not be dissapointed by more telephone calls rather than f2f apps.
How long did you have to wait invetween appointments if you dont mind me asking? X
Hi Amy! Good luck on your consultation. I think that a list of questions will never fully be over. We'll always have more and more that come to mind. I think your main questions are the more medical ones that so far you've thought of. I think you should ask yourself what is the most important thing you need to know before moving forward. It could be a simple question, it could be a hard one.. But ask yourself what is something that's absolutely vital for you know. I think the rest will come then.
Thanks for replying 😊 There is always a long list of questions, even after you think you have asked them all, you still have another 🤣 I do have a couple of questions written down and with help from Lizzie above, I have just checked my immunisations from when i was younger in regards to the rubella vaccine and I have had it. I will speak with my partner and see if there is anything he wants to ask (he must be thinking about things and not telling me!) X
Hi Amy!
We recently had our initial consultation, or it does not feel that long ago 😇 It was all video/telephone appointments. They normally have a teaching day on IVF at my clinic they want you to attend prior to consent signing, but that was all online now too. It was quite funny actually. Both me and my partner had to watch these videos and then we got a little exam each at the end 😂🥰 but it was useful even though it made us laugh 😇
My clinic wanted proof of varicella immunity, not just the vaccine. And I was actually not immune, despite having the vaccine and several boosters more recently. I have also had chickenpox, so it was quite surprising. I finally got a result that showed I was immune however this time for the clinic 😅
They also wanted recent hormone tests within 3 months, so I repeated those. But perhaps wait for your timescales and see what they say first, you might not need this.
I also needed the triple swab to prove I did not have chlamydia/STD’s and proof of this result. My partner actually had to do this too (urine test to his relief).
I wish you all the best and hopefully it won’t be a long wait for you!! 🥰😂
Hi Sparklylife, thanks for the info.
Have you had to wait long from your initial appointment to your next one? (If you have had another that is).
I suppose its good to get a bit of knowledge lol.
I have had a lot of tests done already by my gp in late october so 🤞 I dont have to have them re done. I have had the vaccination but like you, i might not be immune so may need to have that re done 🤷
I will see what they say in regards to any swabs and do them if needs be.
Thanks, hopefully not a long wait ahead but i guess we will see lol. X
My waiting time was all obscured as I needed surgery. Fibroid was found on a scan, initially I was told it would not need treatment, but fertility clinic advised something else. So I kind of had two initial consultations. My second one was in April. We reached top of IVF wait list in September (for NHS), but we missed cycle start in October as I needed another baseline scan to check everything was ok still, so had to wait till November to start, but we have been so lucky once we started 🥰🤞 Hoping little one will be ok till the end, currently 8 weeks pregnant. Got my fingers and toes crossed! I wish you all the best!!
Doesnt sound like a major wait from the 2nd app then. I would be happy with 12 months but anything longer i think i would consider going private.
Thats excellent news!! I bet you felt so happy with it being your first round. Did you freeze any embies? Congratulations hope everything goes well for you in the next 7 months. Xx
We got one frozen! 🥰❄️ Yes, our wait was not bad at all compared to other stories I have heard! Normal wait for my clinic said it was 6 weeks, but covid pushed it to 6 months, but I still think that is pretty good! So hopefully similar for you!
Sorry, I should have read your profile before asking! Plonker i am!! 6 weeks! Thats insane. I hope it isnt too long for us. I hav wanted this for so long so 🤞 its not too long.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, i look forward to seeing updates from you 😆 xx
I probs will need the same but atleast i can say it was this date ect. I will ask my dr for that information if needed but thanks for the heads up, its good to know these things before hand.
Covid really has put a hold on a lot of things hasnt it ☹️ Its difficult at the best of times but I do worry that we will have a much longer wait than we would have had pre covid but it the way it is and we shall deal with it.
You got to the top of the list reasonably quickly its just a shame that everything else happend and stopped the process.
I bet you are kind of glad that they did a mock transfer, that wont go against the rounds you are entitled to will it?
Dont worry about the long messages, i dont mind 😊
I do hope that we can be one of those lucky couples but I have my doubts because the dr said my partners sperm count was less than 1% which is worrying. X
Only natural that you'd feel concerned about the wait lovely, every one of us here is right alongside you so with that so definitely do everything you can to advocate for yourselves and get the best possible treatment as quickly as you can within reason 🙂
No, a mock embryo transfer is standard "testing" for women who have had pre cancer cells removed from their cervix as there's higher chance scar tissue can block the catheter access. Luckily all went well so hopefully the real thing will be just as straightforward. I did bleed lightly after into pantyliner & spotted for a few days after (sorry if tmi). I've shared that with as many women as I can going through this as I've seen a few posts from women experiencing spotting or light bleeding after the real embryo transfer & I feel glad to have had the experience of the mock thing so at least I know it's normal (was told it's common & nothing to worry about) 😁
Everyone hates the saying try not to worry as it's silly but there are so many things professionals can do to help. I don't know enough about sperm issues but I have learned from being on here a while that there are also many success stories from ICSI and similar. You'll feel much better once you have your appointment, I am sure 💪🍍 xx
The appointment will soon be here and it will hopefully be good news. Its nice to have other people to talk to that are facing similar challenges.
Oh I didnt realise they did that. Im glad it went well and hopefully your transfer will go the same way. No problem about sharing info about that kind of thing. I think its a good thing as it give people an insight on what they can expect.
I have read a few posts about it myself so i do have my fingers crossed that it works for us as it does for others. I am sure i will feel better once i have spoken with them because we will know where we are at with everything hopefully. Xx
Very best of luck! There are a lot of women here who have been through a few IVF cycles themselves, with sperm issues as their main factor for infertility so as you say lots of opportunity to chat to others & gain some insight. Let me know how you get on 😁 xx
Thanks hun. I will do. Good luck for later this month. Take care Xx
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