Hi all! I just wondered if there's anyone else out there waiting for IVF in Wales through the NHS? We've been on the waiting list since July 2023 and I've read it can take a minimum of 12 months just for an initial consultation! I've been really struggling the last few months, I feel quite guilty as we're only 20 months into our fertility journey but I cry all the time, and I just feel sad to my core..I don't think the festive period is helping! I haven't told anyone what we are going through. I'm a very private person and I don't want the daily check in's (as much as I know it's from a good place) I guess I'm just worried people won't understand.
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone has been in the same boat and how long the wait was? And did it help telling family/friends whilst waiting? Really appreciate I found this supportive group!
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Mystic_meg
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This is a very stressful time - make sure you have people around you for support Take a look at our website fertilitynetworkuk.org for help and support Main page click menu then select Access to support to find a regional group near you There is an all Wales Evening Peer Group the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7pm [Zoom meeting ]
Hello 😊 we live in Wales. We had our first consultation in May this year with our fertility clinic, having been referred by our local health board in February.
So when we had our initial consultation we were excited as we thought "this is it, the process is starting" however the fertility clinic told us that the Welsh government have this stupid policy that says unless there are aggravating factors ( low ovarian reserve, age etc) then you can't start treatment until 12 months after the clinic received your referral from your local hospital. This was devastating to us as we had already been under the local hospital having tests for a year and had been TTC naturally for a year before that, so it would have been 3 years trying before we could even start treatment.
Fortunately I don't think a lot of the clinics agree with the government policy, so seem to try and find any excuse to expedite treatment. For me, my ovarian reserve was "on the low end of normal" and I only have one fallopian tube after losing one after an ectopic, so they combined both of these reasons as an excuse to speed up my treatment. Had our first transfer last week, so from consultation to transfer was six months.
Hi 😊 thank you so much for your helpful reply! It's such a stressful time, adding unnecessary months of waiting as part of a policy just makes you feel more anxious and disheartened.
It's really good to know that a lot of clinics are not in agreement and you've not had to wait the minimum 12 months. My partner has very low sperm motility, my AMH is also on the low end of normal, and we're both late 30's so fingers crossed things move a bit quicker 🤞
Really wishing you all the best with the rest of your journey and hope everything goes smoothly xx
Totally understandable to be feeling all the emotions! We were TTC for 2 years and had an infertility diagnosis before we told family/friends as I didn’t want to share. When there is a long waiting time I think it’s helpful to tell people you trust. Fertility Network support groups are great too as people just get it. We’re in South Wales and wait times are long (we’re under 35 so also not high priority, might be taking longer for us) the hardest part is the lack of communication about how far you are away from treatment as we thought we were close and turns out we’re not. So having a support network is important and for me I find it helpful to tell people if I want to chat about stuff or just be a bit of a grinch and watch a movie and eat snacks and not get super Christmassy if it’s too much x
Hi Orange Bear. Thanks for your reply! It's good to know we're not alone in how we're feeling! The waiting and the not knowing is the worst, I feel like my life is almost on hold waiting for something that might or might not happen. We have no choice but to wait for NHS as we're not in the position to self fund sadly which would speed things along. You're right, I think it's probably time I share the load a little with the right people too. I think I underestimated how painful December could be. Wishing you all the best on your journey xx
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