Fertility clinic experiences please

BrokenBetty_2

We have our first fertility clinic appointment tomorrow morning. And we have no clue what to expect. Hoping to hear other folk's experiences?

We are both 34, my husband and I have had fertility tests done through our GP. His contribution is working normally. I have regular light periods, blood tests show I'm ovulating normally, the womb dye text show all is normal. All the signs / tests so far show we're both working normally.

Neither of us have any children, no pregnancies so far, no miscarriges. No immediate family history of fertility - our parents and my sisters have proven themselves extremely fertile!

tea_lover

First appointment will probably be a lot of form filling and repeating things you've already told other doctors They'll go through history for both of you - how long you've been trying, any previous pg, any relevant medical condition, previous test results...

They might want to repeat some of the tests you've already had, or may suggest some additional ones. If so, you'll be told how to arrange these (either given appointments dates, or told to call on a certain CD, etc).

They'll probably run through the various options - clomid, IUI, IVF, etc. and be given some information about these (or pointed to their website). if relevant, you may be given price information. You may be told about counselling options or local support groups.

Chances are your next step will be clomid. NICE recommendations are that it shouldn't be tried for unexplained fertility, but a lot of clinics ignore this and like to give it a go for a few months.

The TTC 12m+ thread on here is great (if it's still going?), definitely worth looking out for.

Good luck with it all x.

BucksLady

I hope everything goes well for you

Mum had problems conceiving - it took her 9 years to have a child. Baby number 2 (me) arrived shortly afterwards:). Try to stay positive and keep hope in your heart. xx

Beans27

Hi BrokenBetty, we were in a very similar situation to yourself - me 34, partner 37, all tests normal but nothing happening after 18 months of trying.


Went to the clinic, who did a couple more tests (took about 4 months in total), then the consultant advised a course of Clomid (interesting to read that tea love says that's not really what's meant to happen - so maybe depends on your area?)


Took the Clomid for 6 months - and am now 18 weeks pregnant :T from what I understand the Clomid just gives everything a bit of a kick start, so good starting point if there's nothing actually wrong.


Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want any more details.

tea_lover

It is odd that so many clinics ignore the NICE recommendations, kind of makes you wonder what the point of NICE is! Especially as most of their recommendations in terms of IVF funding are also ignored, as are a lot of the ET recommendations.

NICE guidelines [CG156] Published date: February 2013

Unexplained infertility

• Do not offer oral ovarian stimulation agents (such as clomifene citrate, anastrozole or letrozole) to women with unexplained infertility.
• Offer IVF treatment (see recommendations 1.11.1.3–4) to women with unexplained infertility who have not conceived after 2 years (this can include up to 1 year before their fertility investigations) of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.

Nicki

Don't forget health is a devolved issue though and the OP lives in Northern Ireland so what happens in England will be less relevant.

My first fertility clinic appointment soap which was in England was giving my medical history to the consultant, checking BMI, having bloods and sperm count tests repeated and a pelvic exam and ultrasound. I think we were then sent off with clomid too for unexplained infertility but this was about 20 years ago now. We definitely didn't go straight to IVF but progressed via IUI and from first appointment to IVF took at least a year for us, but these things are very fact dependent.

BrokenBetty_2

Apologies for my delay in response.

Update, They are sending off samples for further analysis, bloods, sperm, and an internal swap from me.

The consultant queried my thyriod - thanks to a local fertility consultant, before this referral, this was previously tested with a blood test and ruled out. This time they are doing an anti-body test. If its my thyroid it seems to be a relatively simple solution, just a wee pill a day to resolve my supposedly underactive thyroid, and my fertility should improve. If not, I just have a fat neck. Good job it was never my fav feature.

We will have another appointment in 3 months time, and we have the option of one round of fertility treatment on the NHS.

Slinky_Selina

Just a quick one regarding your thyroid. If you levels are above 2 ask for an Endocrinologist appointment, they will tell you that the optimum levels for conceiving are 1-2. Many other consultants and especially GP's are quite happy that below 5 means you have no problems and do not require treatment. Thyroid anti-bodies should be below 200 to be causing no problems. If you do have anti-bodies higher than this and have symptoms of hypothyroidism, then you should question whether there is the possible of Hashimotos Hypothyroidism (simply put it can make your TSH levels swing all over the place) and ask for that consultant appointment.

I started off the whole fertility quest with high TSH and Anti-bodies, having a dodgy thyroid was found during all the initial testing and it was only with getting down to around 1 and with Clomid that I successfully conceived.
And sorry, it actually ended up being a long one!

BrokenBetty_2

Thank you Selena.

The thyroid had never occurred to me until the previous consultant suggested it, and I had put the idea to rest when the last blood test came back as normal. I am a bit unsettled it has been suggested again. I am planning a GP appointment to look at this in more depth, and your experience Selena will be a great help.

According to Google, I do match the symptoms of having an underactive thyroid. Although I am aware that the symptoms are vague and could be attributed to a combination of my sweet tooth, stressful job, overactive imagination.

I am feeling rather disheartened at present - infertility is unexplained, so there isn't much to work on. I do need to work on my weight, as my BMI is 29. I almost want to have an underactive thyroid - feels like a solution. Time to move over to the TTC thread I think.