moving to the UK advice

[goodishka]

hello, I have a british husband and we are moving back to the UK soon and I have a few questions regarding healthcare and pregnancy.

I am polish and had a miscarriage 9 months ago. Firstly is it free for me to go and see a GP in the UK? I wont be working but imagine its free.

Secondly, we are now having problems getting pregnant, we have seen the doctors here in Poland and it seems i have some hormone issue which we arent sure how to fix (early stage, maybe hormone therapy needed) and will be coming to the UK in 2 months. Who can I go to and talk about this, do I just sign up and make an appointment with a GP? Will it be months on waiting lists or tests etc straight away? Will it be done through the NHS or will it have to be private?

I appreciate any advice on how everything works as we both have no idea.

[pinkie93]

It is always free to see a GP in the UK, you just sign up and they will refer you to a specialist. The wait time will vary depending on where you are, I'm not familiar with Somerset specifically but the wait shouldn't be longer than 3 months maximum for testing.

One of the most common hormone issues to affect fertility is polycystic ovarian syndrome, could that be it? If so then living a healthy lifestyle is the best thing you can do, if you are overweight then work towards steady weight loss. Eat a nutritious diet, no smoking, limited/no drinking, limit caffeine, exercise... Really just things a lot of people do when trying to conceive anyway. Also, if you're not already taking folic acid then I would recommend you start before getting pregnant as most people don't get enough in their diet. Good Luck!

[goodishka in reply to pinkie93]

thanks for the reply, i thought it would be fine to see a GP im surprised the wait might be 3 months though, that seems quite long, what about private, any idea on the costs then? it looks like its the LH hormone and it doesnt go high enough (or didnt this month).

[pinkie93 in reply to goodishka]

Sorry I have no idea how much going private will cost, to me 3 months doesn't seem too bad, I suppose I'm just used to the NHS. LH is Luteinizing Hormone right? I have had low reading of this before, it was during times of stress and when I was suffering from Anorexia Nervosa.

The doctor will probably want to check other related hormones, but LH can vary from month to month unless you have an issue with your pituitary gland. Were you particularly stressed at the time? Are you malnourished? If so this could be the reason for the low LH level.

[goodishka in reply to pinkie93]

here in poland the system works a bit different so at the moment i see a private doctor (have seen him 3 times the past 10 days for checks regarding hormones) and hes a specialist in pregnancy, it is private but only costs £10 each time, haha. so yes 3 months seems a bit worrying, but fingers crossed its less. Luteinizing Hormone is correct and yes i have been stressed the past month or more, i get stressed around kids since the miscarriage so its a never ending cycle.

[pinkie93 in reply to goodishka]

That's interesting, I never knew the health care system was so different! It should be less than 3 months for that kind of referral, I've waited up to a year for certain referrals in the past but that is very unusual.

Hopefully if you're able to reduce your stress things will happen naturally for you, maybe counselling could help you to process the trauma of the miscarriage. I hope you can work through it and feel better!

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitle...

The above link explains the rules for healthcare for migrants. As another poster has said, seeing a gp should be free and hopefully won’t be a three month wait.

[jessyjessy572]

Hi, it is free to see GP however get prepared that the healthcare is very different. Your starting point will always be GP, unless to Poland where you would see a specialist e.g for ladies issue you would go see gynaecologist, here you need to see first GP and they can refer you and they won’t do that lightly. You don’t really have the same option of seeing someone privately as even if we have a privite insurance from Bupa to see specialist you need a referral. I am from Poland so it is easy for me to compere what I would say if you are not in a critical position the healthcare is better in Poland however if something is not right and you need to stay in a hospital etc then Uk hospitals, staff etc are much much better. Also be prepared that they treat pregnancy very different even if you had a loss previous unless you 3 you won’t get any additional care I have fund this very difficult and felt very little support, my current pregnancy (3rd one after 2 losses) had lots of complications at the start and only by travelling back and forth to Poland I get support from polish gynaecologist and I believe this helped me to maintain this one. In regards to your hormonal imbalance even if you did some test in Poland and know there is an issue depending on how long you have been trying for a baby they might not refer you to the specialist straight away so I would recommend some natural methods to also learn your hormonal pattens (e.g tracing temperature BBT, ovulation test etc) to advance chances of getting pregnant. Good luck