Do you know about FS?

[laustiredttc]

Hi im fairly new to this site, joined i think end of june beginning of july. me and DH have been ttc one year. im due 17/18th july and that will be our 13th cycle.

my question is, we have the FS in september. I have had my bloods and ultrasound done, DH SA checked, all normal.

Can anyone tell me what i would expect from a first visit?

im kind of nervous about going and im not sure what route they will send me down. Has anyone experienced something similar?

All answers welcome. Thank you everyone

 

[laustiredttc]

Please, please girls really need some help with this. Anyone been and can tell what their experience was?

 

[StephieB]

Howdy!

Sorry you've had to join us over in the deep dark depths of LTTTC, hopefully you wont be here long!

Where abouts are you? I'm in England so I can only tell you what happened with me when we first went to our fertility specialisy a year ago. (God I've only just realised it's been that long )

Anyway, me and Dh were referred to our FS in June an got an appointment the following September. I had had all of my bloods one and a TV ultrasound carried out, which showed there were no problems, and DH had his SA results ready.

When we first went, the doctor spent a good 15minutes or so going through our history, how long we had been trying, were we temping, were we using OPKs, how often were we having sex etc... and taking lots of notes! He then took swabs from me to check for any STIs or Rubella (so be prepared for having to have your feet round your ears!)

He said the next port of call would be an HSG, and I had to wait for my next cycle to do this, and I would call them and they would set up an appointment. HSGs are done between CD6-10 and as I was CD13 when I went for the appointment, it was a 3 week wait before I could make the appointment.

HSG was done and results came back fine, these were sent back to my FS who made a follow up appointment for DH and I in March. 29th March we strolled up to the hospital, an has there had been no problems found during my barrage of tests, I wasn't sure what the next move would be. The doctor prescribes me 4 months of clomid, to try and strengthern ovulation, as she said although I am ovulating, this will just give it a bit of a kick start if I have lazy eggs, if that didn't work she'd see me back in August.

I took a month away from TTC so am now on round 3 of clomid with no yet. unfortunately we moved house during our clomid cycles so I'm not waiting for my referral to a new FS at our new hospital, which may put us back a few months.

I imagine, by the time we get another appointment it will be October ish, and I think IUI will be the next thing suggested, but I'm not 100%.

Your FS could be completely different, but be prepared for things to move slower than you would have hoped. I was hoping my first appointment would give me drugs and I would have a baby then and there, but sadly that was not the case. 12 months down the line we've had 3 appointments and still no BFP, BUT by being proactive with treatment you're only getting closer to that sticky bean

 

[laustiredttc]

thank you hun i really appreciate you posting with your experience. Im from england also, surrey. i thought it would probably move slow. Im hoping that i also get to have a lap done as i think i might have endo but not sure whether they will offer that to me? i think i will defo have the hsg done though hopefully tubes are ok? I have heard clomid is meant to be good but if im honest i dont want to have it as i am sick of pumping stuff into my system. But no doubt by the time i get there i will be begging on my hands and knees to have it. i will have a smear before then as last one came back as borderline abnormal? hope that doesnt hinder anything? i will be moving house in dec so no doubt i will have to change fs again as well. its such a pain all of this!

Thank you hun i really appreciate the heads up and keep me posted on how your getting on

 

[RKW]

Hi, I was offered a lap, dye and hys all on the nhs but the wait was 44 weeks (Oxfordshire) so I went through my works private medical cover. You should be offered a lap on nhs but may have a long wait. Then they will offer clomid.
Main piece of advise from me would be to take a notebook with some questions prepared to your appointment, and don't be shy to wait until you have got all the info you need before leaving. After I left I felt I had tons of questions unanswered and the 15 min appointment was not long enough. Xxx

 

[laustiredttc]

thanks hun starting to realise that this is going to be one looooooooooooooong wait. cheers ladies

 

[sue_88]

Howdy!

Sorry you've had to join us over in the deep dark depths of LTTTC, hopefully you wont be here long!

Where abouts are you? I'm in England so I can only tell you what happened with me when we first went to our fertility specialisy a year ago. (God I've only just realised it's been that long )

Anyway, me and Dh were referred to our FS in June an got an appointment the following September. I had had all of my bloods one and a TV ultrasound carried out, which showed there were no problems, and DH had his SA results ready.

When we first went, the doctor spent a good 15minutes or so going through our history, how long we had been trying, were we temping, were we using OPKs, how often were we having sex etc... and taking lots of notes! He then took swabs from me to check for any STIs or Rubella (so be prepared for having to have your feet round your ears!)

He said the next port of call would be an HSG, and I had to wait for my next cycle to do this, and I would call them and they would set up an appointment. HSGs are done between CD6-10 and as I was CD13 when I went for the appointment, it was a 3 week wait before I could make the appointment.

HSG was done and results came back fine, these were sent back to my FS who made a follow up appointment for DH and I in March. 29th March we strolled up to the hospital, an has there had been no problems found during my barrage of tests, I wasn't sure what the next move would be. The doctor prescribes me 4 months of clomid, to try and strengthern ovulation, as she said although I am ovulating, this will just give it a bit of a kick start if I have lazy eggs, if that didn't work she'd see me back in August.

I took a month away from TTC so am now on round 3 of clomid with no yet. unfortunately we moved house during our clomid cycles so I'm not waiting for my referral to a new FS at our new hospital, which may put us back a few months.

I imagine, by the time we get another appointment it will be October ish, and I think IUI will be the next thing suggested, but I'm not 100%.

Your FS could be completely different, but be prepared for things to move slower than you would have hoped. I was hoping my first appointment would give me drugs and I would have a baby then and there, but sadly that was not the case. 12 months down the line we've had 3 appointments and still no BFP, BUT by being proactive with treatment you're only getting closer to that sticky bean

This has been pretty much my expierence too.....although you're a little further along than I am. I am currently waiting for my cycle to start so I can book my HSG.

I am going to Thornbury, in Sheffield for my HSG...I notice you are in Sheffield, did you go there? I am being sent there from Barnsley.

It's been quite slow, however really informative appointments & helpful advice has made this journey a little more bareable. My follow up is in October, and I will hopefully be coming away with my clomid!

 

[StephieB]

This has been pretty much my expierence too.....although you're a little further along than I am. I am currently waiting for my cycle to start so I can book my HSG.

I am going to Thornbury, in Sheffield for my HSG...I notice you are in Sheffield, did you go there? I am being sent there from Barnsley.

It's been quite slow, however really informative appointments & helpful advice has made this journey a little more bareable. My follow up is in October, and I will hopefully be coming away with my clomid!

Yay for getting closer to clomid, fingers crossed it'll do great things for you! AF arrived for my this morning, so onto my final clomid cycle

I didn't go to Sheffield for my appointments as I have just moved back home after living down south for 2 years, we've just had our referral to Sheffield PCT sent off so I think our next appointment will be with Jessops Hospital, but I won't know until I get the letter. I've just been on the Thornbury site though and noticed they take NHS patients, so who knows, maybe I will be sent there

 

[Bump2B]

Thanks for all the info on this thread. We have our first FS appt (on NHS) in October.
Like you ladies it frustrates me the wait time there is for everything I just thought my GP would give me clomid and we'd have a chance to start TTC right away (I dont O at all, so kinda in limbo right now).
Are GP's not allowed to prescribe Clomid or would they just rather leave it to the experts?

 

[laustiredttc]

hey bump2b, i'm so very sorry to hear your not O. I'm not sure whether the gp surgery can give you clomid? i have my fs in sep, i'm a little anxious, how bout you?

 

[Bump2B]

Mines 9th October, I had blood tests and an internal scan which revealed Polycystic Ovaries. Not sure whether i have PCOS yet though.
My DH already had SA which revealed low sperm count, my GP said they might investigate this and see if he has blocked tubes or something causing it. (I blame the drinking and smoking personally lol)
StephieB - you said they asked you if you temp. I don't, do you think they'll send me away to do so if I tell them I don't?

I'm not nervous as much as I am worried that they wont be helpful to me S

 

[laustiredttc]

hey hun, i has the same, bloods, ultrasound and vaginal exam, dh sa checked and evrything has came back normal. I have heard that they ask if you temp as well. I do but i dont it strictly every month

 

[timeforababy]

Thanks for all the info on this thread. We have our first FS appt (on NHS) in October.
Like you ladies it frustrates me the wait time there is for everything I just thought my GP would give me clomid and we'd have a chance to start TTC right away (I dont O at all, so kinda in limbo right now).
Are GP's not allowed to prescribe Clomid or would they just rather leave it to the experts?

everything depends on the pct that you're at. With my pct, you get referred to a specialist gp who will prescribe you clomid and put you down further treatment pathways. However, the rules at our pct means that you can't get that bit unless you've been trying for 2 years and have no living children from either partners.

So the best thing to do is to ask the gp for advice and mooch around the pct website.

 

[Bump2B]

I'm glad you got everything back normal.
I might have to start temping then, just incase. It'd be awful if they told me to go away and temp for 3 months or something!!!

 

[timeforababy]

NHS guidelines don't recommend temping and OPKs at the GP stage but many of the FS will be happy to see charts/OPKs if you are using them

 

[laustiredttc]

lol you would think 13 cycles in i woud know a bit by now. I have only recently started using ff to chart. I previously wrote on paper charts and then would throw away oh the irony

 

[Bump2B]

Thanks for all the info on this thread. We have our first FS appt (on NHS) in October.
Like you ladies it frustrates me the wait time there is for everything I just thought my GP would give me clomid and we'd have a chance to start TTC right away (I dont O at all, so kinda in limbo right now).
Are GP's not allowed to prescribe Clomid or would they just rather leave it to the experts?

everything depends on the pct that you're at. With my pct, you get referred to a specialist gp who will prescribe you clomid and put you down further treatment pathways. However, the rules at our pct means that you can't get that bit unless you've been trying for 2 years and have no living children from either partners.

So the best thing to do is to ask the gp for advice and mooch around the pct website.

I cant find anything about fertility testing in my PCT (Westminster)
That's so unfair that if you have children from previous relationships you cant get help

 

[Bump2B]

i use FF to keep track of my cycle days too. I haven't recorded any temps on there though.

I have used tons of OPK test strips though. I've never even had a second line, let alone a positive OPK. My body doesn't produce LH hormone

 

[laustiredttc]

i agree hun

 

[timeforababy]

Thanks for all the info on this thread. We have our first FS appt (on NHS) in October.
Like you ladies it frustrates me the wait time there is for everything I just thought my GP would give me clomid and we'd have a chance to start TTC right away (I dont O at all, so kinda in limbo right now).
Are GP's not allowed to prescribe Clomid or would they just rather leave it to the experts?

everything depends on the pct that you're at. With my pct, you get referred to a specialist gp who will prescribe you clomid and put you down further treatment pathways. However, the rules at our pct means that you can't get that bit unless you've been trying for 2 years and have no living children from either partners.

So the best thing to do is to ask the gp for advice and mooch around the pct website.

I cant find anything about fertility testing in my PCT (Westminster)
That's so unfair that if you have children from previous relationships you cant get help

A quick google brings up this referral form

NHS NorthWest London policy (NHS Westminster seems to be part of them

They are changing the policies currently so some things might be in flux. If in doubt, ring your GP and they should ring you back for a chat