Consulting at a private clinic while waiting for NHS

[Ccsmi]

Hello Everybody, First time posting here! Just for background, my partner and I have been trying to concieve for 1 year and half - I initially had no period after stopping the pill and now my cycles are very long with short luteal phase. My partner also did a semen analysis which came back with low morphology, so really not ideal.

I have just got a referral by my NHS gp to the fertility clinic but they said it will take 6 months to 1 year to even get an appointment.

I am conscious not to lose time, and would like to consult at a private client, to see if for a start, I could for exampleo, take medications to optimise my cycles and fix my luteal phase (I heard Clomid could help for example?).

However, I don't want to be rejected by the NHS clinic or interfere with the process by going private.

Does anybody have experience with it? Is it possible to start private and then move on to the NHS for IVF?

Any piece of advice would be appreciated, thank you!

[Tnthketnf]

It depends on where in the UK you are. In Scotland previous private treatment does not exclude you from NHS treatment. If you had one ivf cycle privately it is not going to be deducted from your "entitlement"-that's usually 3 cycles if you are under 40- as long as the NHS consultant thinks it is worth having more treatment. Something that could affect your NHS treatment is if you have embryos stored privately or you are in the middle of private treatment when your NHS turn comes up. They would push you at the back of the list. It's not that long ago I had treatment but things might have changed. In any case It is worth speaking to your health board or the Fertility Network charity to confirm what is the case in your area.

[StarsAllAround]

You need to check your CCG to see what the requirements are for IVF as every CCG is different, in my area its not a problem having private treatment first however the next CCG to me literally 3 Streets away you were not eligible for NHS treatment if you had had private treatment first both areas you only get 1 half funded cycle. You should be able to Google your CCG. Also I believe clomid can be prescribed by your GP so I would go back to them and ask what they can do for you while you wait. What you can do is look into what lifestyle changes and vitamins you and your partner can do to increase your chances. Things like wearing jogging bottoms and lose boxers instead of Jeans can help improve sperm and taking a pre conception vitamin and coenzyme q10 can also help both sperm and egg quality. Good luck

[Ccsmi in reply to StarsAllAround]

Thank you! My gp didn't offer to prescribe me anything and told me the fertility clinic would do it, but it's good to know they can, I'll ask again next time.

[SpanielsFamily]

I'm based in Suffolk and get two cycles free on the NHS and I'm under 40. NICE provide the guidelines but it's up to local ICB (once known as CCG) In regards to how that money is spent in your local hospitals.

I was told if I went private including abroad the NHS would deduct that from then number of cycles I was entitled too.

Locally I had my first IVF appointment very quickly within a few weeks.

[Eloquentia]

Hi! In my area, having a private IVF round disqualifies you from NHS funding. Have you read 'It all starts with the egg'? It has some really good dietary and lifestyle advice for couples trying to conceive. My husband has low morphology too. Did they tell you what is the reason for your long cycles and short luteal phase? It sounds like PCOS but I am sure there could be other reasons. I have PCOS and took Inositol that really helped regulate my cycles. Our clinic recommended we both take Proxeed to optimise egg and sperm quality. We added extra Ubuquinol too. I know the waiting and not knowing part is one of the most challenging aspects of the IVF journey but there are a lot of things you could do to boost your chances whilst waiting. Very best of luck!

[Ccsmi]

Thank you all for your responses, very helpful!I have googled the rules for my CCG, and it looks like in my area, they deduct the number of IVF done in private, which is not too bad. I will try and call to check further.

My partner and I have both started to take supplements and he switch to loose boxers, so we can hopefully see some improvements in the next few months.

[Christianbaby in reply to Ccsmi]

It's good that you have already checked. In my opinion though I think it is best to wait for the NHS. They might differ in treatment than the private.

[Kaylon]

Hiya, just saying we did 3 rounds privately while waiting for NHS which took 2 years! We never told them we had had private treatment already, it didn't work anyway. I was super conscious of my age as well as I was 35 when we found out we needed help and I didn't feel I had time to lose. Bit of a gamble but we honestly thought the NHS funding would never come through! X

[Chiefy]

We were supposed to have our 1st nhs appointment the day after the country went into lockdown in 2020 (great timing) so it never happened and all fertility clinics were shut down. When they started to re-open we had a private appointment as our nhs clinic hadn't reopened. Having an initial consultation, a scan and a couple of blood tests shouldn't affect your nhs funding and at least you are armed with more information.

It turned out that we could get nhs funding through our private clinic, which I wasn't aware of, so it may be worth checking whether a local private clinic carries out nhs work. It still isn't as quick as paying privately, but may be quicker than the hospital.

[Ccsmi in reply to Chiefy]

Thanks, that's very good to know, I will check!

[CarlottaD27]

Hello! I am in a simliar situation and have recently paid for some private treatment whilst following up with the NHS to apply for IVF. I also have a short luteal phase and going private is not a huge expense for the medication i'm on to treat this (letrozole + progesterone pessaries) and from a mental health point of view, it's been good to feel proactive about treatment rather than wait 6 months to a year. In addition, due to confidentiality reasons, the clinic are not allowed to disclose the details of your treatment, so this should be fine to do whilst applying for IVF via the NHS too, especially as it's of course not IVF which is what disqualifies. However, of course it's a personal choice for you to make about how long you're willing to wait and the potential that the NHS may not put you at the front of the queue for IVF if they find out / you share that your have had private treatment - i'm not sure if that's how it works but one GP did warn me that could be the case! Good luck x

[CarlottaD27 in reply to CarlottaD27]

Another thought - do you or a partner have private health insurance with AXA or BUPA? I'm aware some companies offer up to £15k to cover IVF expenseses, and some people aren't aware of it!

[Ccsmi in reply to CarlottaD27]

Thank you so much, it's good to know people have asked themselves the same questions! Good luck with your treatment. I think based on people's answers, I will try and go private while waiting. It's as you said, for my mental health, I need to do something otherwise I will get depressed, because it's becoming harder every month.

[CarlottaD27 in reply to Ccsmi]

Good luck! I did the same for my mental health, it’s hard watching time tick by and other people getting pregnant, so at least feel like I’m making some progress now x