what are the chances?! nhs ivf

[try2020]

Hi lovely people 👋 we just did our first stims injection for a private icsi cycle this morning and this afternoon I got my outpatient appointment in June for the NHS round 🤯 I'll be 40 in October so we didn't want to wait for possibly another 6 months to get to the top of the list hence we went private. Now I'm thinking maybe we might just get there before I turn 40 and be eligible for a round on the NHS!? working on the assumption that the first round is often a bit experimental 🤷‍♀️ would love to hear your timelines from outpatient appointment to start of treatment (I'm in Glasgow) if you don't mind sharing? thank you! 🧡

[Beanybeanz]

Ahh what a lovely back up to have - it’s win win - another go if it doesn’t work OR it works and you get a little baby 👶 I guess if you get a couple of embryos and have one or two to freeze could you still go for your nhs round and get some more banked?? xx

[try2020 in reply to Beanybeanz]

Thanks Beany! We are doing a freeze all as we decided to pgt-a test. Would be a real bonus if we could do another round xx

[BECIO]

Hey I’m in London snd had first appointment in September snd started this month. There were massive delays because of Covid but even with the lockdowns and clinic being shut for two months they managed to catch up and still started in April. Not sure what it’s like up in Glasgow, good luck for this round x

[try2020 in reply to BECIO]

Thanks Becio, how is your cycle going? good luck to you too 🧡🤞

[Ivfgotadream]

You’d need to check that you haven’t lost your entitlement to the NHS round because you’ve done a private one?

[try2020 in reply to Ivfgotadream]

Thanks Ivfgotadream, yes once I turn 40 our private round will cost us the 1 round we'd be eligible for at that age, but if I'm still 39 I should be able to get more than 1.... think the odds are against it though timewise!

[ChisChis]

Good luck with this round - fingers crossed it’ll work out and you won’t even need an NHS round 😊

I’m in London too. We had our first NHS fertility clinic video appointment in October, got confirmation that we’re on the list in January, and first treatment cycle started this week. However I’d say that it was only so quick because I kept chasing them every step of the way and did some tests privately to speed up the process (and they accepted results).

Good luck xx

[try2020 in reply to ChisChis]

Thanks ChisChis! that's great that you got started so quickly! We went on the list in Nov/Dec last year, same as you we have already done our tests privately. Yes, it'd be incredible to not need a second round..... how are you going with your cycle? good luck too 🧡 xx

[ChisChis in reply to try2020]

Hi again 😊 I just started taking Norethisterone at the beginning of the week - I was told to take it for 16 days and then stop and wait for my period to come. So nothing much has happened yet but I’m excited for the actual stimulation to start in May. And you, how are you getting on?

[try2020 in reply to ChisChis]

yeah the last stretch before starting seems to go on forever then suddenly it all kicks off! we are on day 2 of stims, getting my husband to do the injecting, I know I'd be fine doing them myself but I feel like he is physically invested too (in some way) by doing them. hopefully doing retrieval early may!

[thetallgirl]

Im in Nottinghamshire, got my NHS referral at the end of November and started treatment in January. I’m now 10 weeks pregnant. I think we were really lucky that in our area all referrals go to 2 private clinics and neither had a waiting list. We basically started straight away, subject to waiting for my next cycle to start after our consultation in Mid-Dec. If there are different options for NHS funded clinics in your area I’d recommend ringing them to find out waiting times from consultation to starting treatment.

[try2020 in reply to thetallgirl]

hey congratulations! thanks for that tip 🧡 that's amazingly quick and gives me hope 🤞

[thetallgirl in reply to try2020]

You’re welcome - good luck! I hope your cycle goes well. Hopefully you won’t need the second one 🤞🏽

[Edk0]

Hi, my story is quite convoluted as I had to lose weight prior to my cycle then the second wave paused my cycle. I'm based in London and, if my weight were withing range, the wait would have been roughly 2 months but they do generally try to fit everyone in. I turned 40 when I stated my first cycle which unfortunately was unsuccessful. I thought that was my NHS entitlement done but, looking at my CCG guidelines, a full cycle starts with stims and ends with the implantation of a fresh or frozen transfer. So since that didn't happen, under the policy that was an abandoned cycle. My policy allows for 2 abandoned/cancelled cycles before it counts towards your funded cycles. Additionally, I'm permitted one fresh and one frozen transfer so, if the first implantation was successful I could go back and have a frozen transfer. I believe this entitlement is better than treatment allowed for 39 year olds. Definitely check what YOUR CCG guidance says additionally guidelines were updated to compensate for covid so in most cases the upper age limit is now 43 instead of 42.

Also, as someone else mentioned check your private treatment doesn't hinder your NHS entitlement, if you're unsure email your CCG so you have it in writing. I'm currently waiting to start again and my partner had already given a sample to freeze. Good luck and remember just because you're older doesn't mean your eggs are automatically poor quality, just means we need to support their growth whilst they mature and it may take a little longer for them to come out. Xx

[try2020 in reply to Edk0]

Thanks Edk! that sounds like your CCG are really good, thanks for the tips, I will definitely email them. Thanks also about the eggs, hopefully I have a couple of good ones left 🤞🧡

[try2020 in reply to Edk0]

And good luck with your cycle! x