I was diagnosed with PCOS last year and was told by a gynecologist that I'd need to have a fallopian tube test (HyCoSy) prior to starting ovulation medication (Clomid I believe). I've been waiting 4 months for the test and this month is yet another cycle they're unable to fit me in for! They seem to be allowing people to pre-book their test in advance so people with regular cycles have an advantage. I have to wait until day 1 of my cycle to book the test and it has to be done between day 11-14 of my cycle, by which point there are no slots left month after month. I'm unable to pre-book as my cycles vary from 26 to 42 days currently.
I'm getting really fed up of constantly being let down and getting no closer to the prescription. Has anyone been given ovulation medication prior to their fallopian tubes being checked? I understand if the ovulation medication works and my fallopian tubes are blocked it can get lodged which is dangerous so perhaps this is the standard procedure? I'm thinking of going back to my GP and asking if I can be referred elsewhere as I seem to be getting nowhere with this gynecologist. I was first referred in November and I'm still no closer than I was back then! Any advice on where you got your Clomid prescription would be helpful i.e. NHS GP, privately etc. Thank you!
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So sorry to hear how this is going for you. Personally I didn’t need that done before I tried clomid. But I did have to have it done prior to starting IVF. I hope you get what you need soon.
Thank you. It does seem odd that they're saying I need my fallopian tubes tested first. Especially when they know what's wrong (PCOS). Perhaps it's the standard process in my area or just with this gynaecologist?
Hi no I had to ring on my 1st day of cycle I had regular cycles then they gave me an appointment I didn’t need clomid or anything just checking my tubes.
Hi lovely, I can't give any advice about whether you need the hycosy before starting clomid, but I just wanted to say to I can totally commiserate about the pre-booking of hycosys!
The NHS in my area was booking appointments 3-4 months out, and wanted me to be able to predict where in my cycle I'd be in 3 months! I have pretty regular periods but they might vary anywhere between 25 and 29 days, and it just struck me as totally unrealistic that they were scheduling this type of procedure so far in advance.
I also find it a bit weird that your clinic is saying the test needs to be done between days 11 and 14. The test can actually be done on any day of your cycle (as long as you're not bleeding). A lot of clinics want you to have it done before day 14 because they don't want to do the test if you've already ovulated and tried to conceive (in case they accidentally flush an embryo away during the procedure), but as long as you don't try to conceive in the cycle leading up to the procedure, you'll be fine. My recommendation would be to just choose the first available slot and pre-book. You can always call up and cancel if your period happens to fall at the same time as your appointment.
Finally, are you taking myo-inositol for the PCOS? It can do wonders for regulating your cycle length and making you ovulate, though you need quite a high dose (2000mg twice per day). I've found Inofolic Alpha to be excellent. Good luck! xx
It seems to be a process the NHS follow then! The booklet says to call on day 1 of your cycle and then they're fully booked every month! Yes, even with a regular cycle it would be hard to pinpoint so far in advance.
I asked if they could do the test at any point in my cycle and we'd just not TTC that month but they've said no, it has to be in the first 14 days of my cycle, but after my period. My period lasts 10 days so for me this only leaves day 11-14, which is impossible to book in advance when my cycles vary so much.
My partner's saying to just take their next available slot but it seems pointless as there's no way it'll fall within that 4 day window.
Yes, I was taking myo-inositol for about 6 months but it didn't help unfortunately. So now I've stopped taking any supplements and I'm just taking Folic Acid as nothing seemed to help
Yeah, the scheduling process is a bit broken so I think you just need to disregard their instructions and book in a slot. I ended up doing my hycosy in the second half of my cycle and even though the clinic had said to book in during the first half of my cycle, at my appointment they didn't care and they just wanted to make sure that I hadn't had unprotected sex that month. It may be worth just trying and seeing what happens.
I was just having a read through your previous posts and you'd mentioned that you were taking a multivitamin that contained inositol. Not sure which one you were taking but if it was pregnacare, it only contains 50mg of inositol. You need 4,000mg/day to make a difference with PCOS, so you might want to consider looking into it again. If you were already taking a high dose though, please do ignore me!
I didn't have my tubes checked until after I had 4+ failed cycles of clomid (to see why it hadn't worked). I don't think it's dangerous as clomid just makes you ovulate as most women do every month. I went to a private clinic though.
I also have PCOS with irregular cycles, they can prescribe you a medication to take to bring on a period (Provera), and then maybe it would be easier for you to book it in? Best of luck xx
I personally would say it's worth getting them checked. It's a pain and I had the same - had to call on day 1...which would either be a saturday or sunday for 3 months which was very frustrating and then ended up not having any space.
But was worth doing as they found one side was blocked. The nhs said it's fine you've got another 🙄 but the fluid is harmful to a embryo and I ended up needing the tube removed before could start IVF and to give the chance for it to happen naturally.
It would reassure you all is tip top so more chance of success when you do start clomid and more info is better. Oh and think the reason for day 11-14 is so there is no chance you are pregnant....but you could hold off having sex and hope they'll allow you day 15/16
Wish you so much luck and all I can say is hang in there. It's a long and tough journey but you'll get there and it'll be so worth it when your little miracle happens. Lots of hugs and positive thoughts xx
Yes, it'll be peace of mind to have it done and know there's no other issues, although I think what are the chances of having both PCOS and blocked tubes. Hopefully I can get it booked in for my next cycle in June! xx
My clinic gave me the choice to start Clomid or do a HyCoSy. As we were unexplained I decided to do the HyCoSy first.
I just looked back at my information leaflet and they did the procedure at any point in your cycle after you had stopped bleeding as long as you used condoms or abstained from the start of your period.
Seems like they are very distrustful if they think the only way you can guarantee you could not be pregnant is to try and squeeze it in before you ovulate 🤦♀️. xxx
I had this exact issue! I’ll be honest the only reason I got round it was I ended up having to have a laparoscopy! I really hope you get it sorted, I guess the reason behind it was that they want to make sure there’s no other underlying issues before they commence what seems to be reasonably expensive medication 🙈 best of luck hunny xx
Yes, it'd be good to rule out blocked tubes - hopefully I can get booked in for next month! I was going to ask to be referred somewhere else but it seems to be a national issue! xx
For me they just sent out a letter for the hycosy test and said we aren’t allowed to have unprotected sex that month (and you had to bring a negative pregnancy test).
You can also try to ask doctor for medication to bring on your period so you’re more in control over when it comes. It’s like the mini pill.
I tried letrozole (similar to clomid) through a private prescription at a fertility clinic for one cycle. I didn’t ovulate and it was expensive. Fast forward to getting my hsg done and my tubes were blocked, so letrozole was a waste of money and time in my case, and I’m glad I didn’t pay for any more.
Mine was a bit of a pain to get booked because they were so strict about when they’ll do it during your cycle. My periods last 30 days and they would only do it between days 8-12, so I just had to hope for the best and thankfully I wasn’t bleeding too heavily and I was able to get it done! I’m glad that I got it done, otherwise I might have forked out £300 a month for letrozole that would never have worked!
I had my tubes checked and wasn’t given clomid until afterwards. I’m not sure that they would want to give you any meds before doing this as I think clomid is something you can only use for a certain time period - maximum of 12 months or something like that
You could always pay to go private and have this procedure done and then go back to the NHS with the result - that might be a quicker option for you
Thank you. I've looked into having the test done privately and it's very expensive. I'll see if I can get booked in next month and then I might have no choice but to go private!
Hi, It's definately worth doing, just to rule things out. Things you can try, my NHS trust (frimley) said they could do it later in the cycle but i then just couldn't have unprotected sex before it, they essentially want to do it early in the cycle so thats there's no risk they "flush out" a pregnancy from the tubes. So possibly talk to them to say you're willing to do it later, and you promise you wont try that month? You could also mention you have highly irregular cycles and ask for medication for that, some doctors will give you something to bring on the cycle, an some apparently could recommend clomid/letrozole as it makes you ovulate and therefore regulates the cycle that way. It's a long shot. I got so frustrated with the waiting, i went private for the hycosy, had a horrible experience and fainted as they got the catheter in through my cervix, and ended up going NHS for the second time in a hospital- which was then absolutely fine.
I really hope something works for you, as the waiting is horrible!
Thank you. I've said to them a couple of times that I'm happy not TTC in the month I have the test but they're adamant it has to be done on day 6-12 of a cycle.
I think they're not starting my period through medication as I do eventually come on my period
Oh no! I'm so nervous about this test as I really struggle with having smear tests :(
I am so sorry! apparently me fainting was such a low likelihood side effect they didn't even warn me about it, so it may not be that bad for you, and i am sorry if i worried you. Have you considered going on birth control for a month and then you can get a predictable withdrawal bleed and schedule on that, since its not a hormonal test, it shouldn't impact anything? Obviously the ideal here is they just do the test, but finding ways to jump through hoops seems to be part of this journey.
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