Getting tubes checked

[Skittles11]

Hi all

I've seen a couple of posts on here lately that have made me want to check this out.

I have been through a few rounds of IVF treatment and never had my tubes checked. I never had NHS funded treatment as I was not eligible and I understand the NHS checking the tubes is standard. I asked about it before I embarked on my first private treatment and my clinic at that time said it was unnneccessary because I was doing IVF.

I have moved clinics this year and explained to my new clinic that I have never had my tubes checked. They also say I don't need to because I'm doing IVF. I have read about fluid leaking out of faulty tubes though.

I have had an early miscarriage in the past (natural pregnancy) and a pregnancy which ended through TFMR (IVF pregnancy) rather than through miscarriage. So I don't think any potential fluid affected the second pregnancy.

I have never really challenged this as took the word of two independent clinics that I don't need tubes checking. But sometimes I do wonder.

Is anyone in the same position where you have been told you don't need your tubes checked? And the reason for this. Or any other input?

Thank you all

Xx

[Ivfgotadream]

If you are regularly having IVF then fluid on your tubes would have definitely been seen before now on one of the scans (my clinic cancelled one of my egg collections and transfers due to suspected fluid) so I do agree it’s most likely unnecessary. It’s standard for the NHS to do a HSG to check tubes but only as part of infertility investigations and not once you start IVF. I had to fight to get one after I lost a tube to an ectopic and wanted to know if they were blocked or not. So I would say if you are planning more IVF then I wouldn’t worry about getting them checked x

[KiboXX]

Hey lovely,

I had exactly the same happen to me. I’ve never had mine checked. Most people get referred through their gp when having their basic fertility checks but mine was useless and never did it. Where I live had zero IVF funding so we went straight into private treatment. We used two different private clinics and I asked them both about my tubes and was told the same as you, it doesn’t matter for IVF. Any issues with fluid leaking would be picked up on one of your scans so don’t worry about that part. A friend of mine had her tubes checked and they were clear before starting treatment but fluid was spotted during a routine IVF scan and she was referred to her NHS hospital for them to be checked again x

[emmaemma5]

Hi, I have had one of my tubes clipped due to hydrosalpinx which causes the toxic fluid.

I have since had seven IVF transfers and the fluid has been seen on numerous scans (once I tell them the tube is clipped the treatment is continued with no problems).

So as the previous poster says I think if this was an issue it would have been picked up by now x

[Millbanks]

Hi Skittles,I had my tubes clipped before my first FET for that very reason. It was through the NHS so as you say, they did the test as standard. However it was inconclusive - they only actually said they needed clipping after my first egg collection where they said they’d seen a hydrosalpinx during the sedation….

So if you’ve already been through egg collections then they should potentially have noticed if you needed them clipping?

Worth asking anyway xx

[Skittles11 in reply to Millbanks]

Feel like I've been through that many egg collections that I've almost lost count, different doctors doing the collections too. Surely one of them would have flagged something if there was something to see. But I always have that doubt for things I haven't had checked or tests I haven't had done xx hope you are doing well x

[Seren0119]

After my first failed round I had an HSG (dye test) and they found a huge hydrosalpinx which needed removing. However, I had very painful periods for years (painful to the point I was sick) and dried brown blood before my period. Those were signs something was wrong, so I was glad I got it checked as otherwise embryo transfer would never have worked because of leaky fluid, like you say xx

[Boo718]

Is that a hysterocopy? Something like that?

[BettyBe]

Hi Skittles11,I paid private for my tubes to be checked after and ectopic. My clinic said I didn’t need to bother but the nhs consultant did say she saw a small growth in my left tube.

I didn’t want any more bad news an the Nhs waiting list was 9 months for just a consultation. Everything was fine in the end but I just wanted peace of mind, so worth it in my opinion xx

[Mahriya in reply to BettyBe]

Hey hun, do you mind me asking how you went about getting a private HSG? I don’t know where to start to do this privately and my GP is absolutely useless. xx

[BettyBe in reply to Mahriya]

No problem, I went to my GP first but the waiting list was ridiculous just for the initial telephone consultation so I went back to my private clinic. I was already under their care so I didn’t have to have another consultation, I think if you haven’t used a clinic before they may ask for a consultation first. I just rang and booked the appointment. I can’t remember for sure but I think it has to be during a certain point in your cycle…? But I’m not sure about this. I’ll DM you the clinic. It wasn’t cheap - £500 and I chose the water based scan not the ink, which I heard can interfere with transfers shortly after. It was an uncomfortable scan and they warned me to expect some light bleeding after. Hope this helps? Good luck xx

[Mahriya]

Hey hun. I’ve had 4 failed transfers in the UK and recently been abroad for a fresh egg collection. The consultant over there, asked me to do a HSG i the Uk or anywhere possible before she would transfer any embryos for me. I’m not really sure why she asked for this but she said considering 4 fails and having only 4 embryos on ice, she won’t be risking to waste any embryos we got in my last cycle. I can see UK doctors have a very different approach but they’ve been very thorough abroad and I don’t feel like they’re wasting my time. I’ll definitely try to find a private clinic to do this before going back for a transfer xxx

[Lergus]

My consultant told me that hydrosalpinx *must* be clipped before attempting ivf as it's well established that it halves the success of embryo transfer and live birth rate. So your concern about leaking toxic fluid is valid. As part of a baseline scan I would expect them to check for this, but it is operator dependent and something small could be missed. Mine (not small) was missed by ultrasound but caught by subsequent MRI. Why worry about unknowns, especially if you're paying. In your shoes I would insist they check the scan for any signs on either side and maybe even ask them to write on the notes that you're concerned about it and they've checked and confirm it is ruled out. Then they'll look hard and you'll have peace of mind. I say this as someone who discovered severe endo and hydrosalpinx age 43 during routine fertility investigations. Hope it may help.

[Skittles11]

Thank you so much everyone that commented. Its useful to have some sort of idea as to what others have experienced xx