First shocking fertility appointment anyone had similar?

[Honeyblossom]

Hello ive just got back from my first appointment with a doctor at barts fertity unit. Im abit shocked. I only went to my gp less than 1 month ago and barts are offering me ivf- icsi starting in 1 months time! No hsg no hystoscopy no repeat sperm tests , just wham bam! Is this normal??? Id like to know if my tubes are patent etc. Also the doctor wouldnt give me the exact numbers of dh sa which i thought was odd. She just said "low" and some" dont look good" dh says im being ungreatful but i was secretely hoping that a hsg would kick start things into a natural bfp even tho sperm is thin on the ground.has anyone bin offered ivf without hsg ???? What do you think i should do?
Also im nervous why doesnt barts have a waiting list??? That makes me suspicious
Id value your opinion thanks!

 

[Kaylakin]

This definitely sounds very odd..Why would a doctor recommend the most invasive treatment option first? They should do a thorough evaluation at least of the uterus,tubes,bloodwork, etc and then go from there. I would get a second opinion or ask why they are jumping straight to IVF? Sounds very fishy...

 

[Honeyblossom]

They dont even want my day 21 bloods. Im not ready to COMPLETLY give up on a natural bfp. i think i will ask for a second opinion

 

[camilitary]

i just started this assisted conception road. my 1st visit my husband and I went and we talked and went over our history, and did a pelvic exam on me with some testing. i went last friday(2 days after my cycle started) to do bloodwork and a sonogram of my overies. i go in tomorrow to get an hsg. everything is looking good and clear so far but i have to do testing ass well as my hubby so we not what all is "against" us... good luck and i would look into a second opinion.

 

[cranberry987]

I would go back to your GP and see what they say. You'll probably have to wait ages to get in with anyone else. It does seem a bit like theyre jumping about 50 steps tho. You dont want to have to go through IVF just to find out that your tubes are blocked.

 

[Nadri]

You absolutely need to get everything checked out even if you end up doing ivf. There is no point in having ivf if there are issues which will be a problem, as then the ivf will not work.

 

[LizzB]

Hi Honeyblossom,

I've just started out on my 2nd shot at IVF, I first visited the doc about the lack of BFP's in September 2009....the worst thing for me has been the waiting.
If i were you I would take up the opportunity of IVF at barts so that you get the wheels in motion and then go back immediately to your GP and get them to book you in for a HSG and bloods. This way you'll be on the road to IVF (if you should need it) but if your tubes come back blocked or bloods wrong you can always stop the process.
When you start on the IVF it takes ages to reach the point where you start to inject (usually day 21, but they might do it with the pill and this would start a month before), so if you can take control of it, it might be to your advantage.
I had my first appointment at the IVF clinic in October 2010 and didn't start injecting until December.
Also, funding is being cut left right and centre for NHS treatment - you would kick yourself if you delayed this IVF only to find you needed it, and then they turned round and said that there was no budget left. You never know, they may have some budget left over which they need to spend quickly.....

Liz x

 

[Honeyblossom]

LizzB that must have been so frustrating being made to wait! There doesnt seem to be any middle ground in this game does there? I think your right i dont want to slow up the ivf cogs if thats what i need but i also need to know if my plumbing is ok. I think we will give the ivf one go then i will ask for an hsg after via my gp.dumb question but do you gat rerefered after a failed cycle or just start another? Did you have to wat between.

 

[LizzB]

Hi HoneyBlossom,

We've been really really lucky with our clinic, so the second we were referred it has all been totally out of the NHS's hands.
As soon as we found out we had the BFN we had an appointment with the consultant within 10 days (15th Feb). We then discussed next steps which were to repeat the process with a couple of tweaks (they asked if we wanted to wait but i wanted to get on with it as soon as). On the day they booked me in for my next appointment (15th March) to get the drugs ordered etc and then said start injecting on day 21 (2nd April -i had 2 periods since the BFN), so all pretty quick - but completely in the hands of the clinic.
It seems to me that once you are referred then you're entitled to whatever policy the PCT has. In sussex we are allowed 2 fresh cycles and if they're not successful (and providing you have the frosties) 2 frozen cycles.

Liz x

 

[roma]

Hi,

This does all sound very quick - you need to ask if you can why it's all happening so quickly and tell them how you feel if you havent done so already. If it helps its taken us a year to do all the prelim tests and finally get to the stage where we're now doing our Iui. I suppose it depends which area you are in too. They are the specialists so we trust them but it is your body so i would say just ask and say how concerned you are.

best wishes and good luck with it all , roma xx

 

[Starbright]

Hi hon

I had IVF last year without having a hcg or any tests really other than 21 day bloods. But ... that is because they were already aware of my gynae history. Long story short - after having one ovary removed and the other ovary operated on, my gynae referred me to the CRM a few years ago to talk about fertility. But we didn't go ahead with anything at the time.
So I assume that mine only happened that way because they already felt that they had a fair idea of what was going on.

Good luck hon xxx

 

[Jesusloveme]

Hello ive just got back from my first appointment with a doctor at barts fertity unit. Im abit shocked. I only went to my gp less than 1 month ago and barts are offering me ivf- icsi starting in 1 months time! No hsg no hystoscopy no repeat sperm tests , just wham bam! Is this normal??? Id like to know if my tubes are patent etc. Also the doctor wouldnt give me the exact numbers of dh sa which i thought was odd. She just said "low" and some" dont look good" dh says im being ungreatful but i was secretely hoping that a hsg would kick start things into a natural bfp even tho sperm is thin on the ground.has anyone bin offered ivf without hsg ???? What do you think i should do?
Also im nervous why doesnt barts have a waiting list??? That makes me suspicious
Id value your opinion thanks!

Hi
Am with Barts as well and things are different with me ,I ve been referaerd to Barts since 2009 and I ve been trough one blood test to another obe operation after another too many blood work and at the end of the day ivf/ icsi am going in tommorow AT LAST to collect my drugs , may be you should speak to your culsuntsnt and check with them to run some test first, we had to do HIV and all that sought of test again as they only valid for six month, I wish they were that quick on me as I know my problems anyway. From my first ivf experience good luck darling xxxx

 

[lizlemon]

I have to say we had the exact same response at Guys, London. We decided it was due to funding being cut left right and center and the hospitals wanting to give people treatment before its withdrawn.

We too were shocked as I had only had day 21 blood done and dh had sperm test which was low. Our PCT has stopped all funding, so we have gone private at the Bridge in London, there they have been really good, only do tests they think we need, let me get diagnostic tests done via the GP. Our Dr said it is important to check out my parts as that is what does the job for 9 months!!!!

I am so grateful we have the money to fund IVF as the treatment has been sooo much better than the NHS experience. We are individuals not items on a conveyer belt!

Good Luck