Doctors....

[MelC2011]

How has everyone's experiences been when visiting the doctor for help with fertility?

We've been trying for 16 cycles now, which I know is not very long compared to some of you lovely ladies.

I've had day 21 bloods done - result was 25.
Had a lap & dye 4 weeks ago, although this was mainly due to continued tummy pain and suspected endo after having suffered for over 8 years.

Went back to the doctors this evening and was told by my doctor they won't offer any further help until we've been trying for 3 years!!

3 years - you've gotta be joking!!! I'm fuming. I had to practically beg him to organise a sperm analysis for my husband.

I feel like no-one is taking me seriously and really don't know what to do now.

Sorry for the long post- just need some help.

xx

 

[Misspooh123]

No way??

That's not right at all. At the very least they should offer your husband the SA. Our GP referred us after 14 cycles of trying but that was because they did actually find issues with my husband SA. However I would still question why you get no referral because we were told that even if my hubby's SA had came back ok, we were still getting referred because we had been ttc for over 12 month mark.
Ill be honest with you, I'm totally relieved to get away from our GPs in relation to our ttc troubles because they have done nothing but complicate matters and been thoroughly unhelpful and caused more stress than was necessary.
Ask for a second opinion if nothing else.
I had cycle day 21 and 3 bloodwork done. My hubby had 2 SA's and all his hormone bloods done through the GP before referral, so the very least you GP can make an informed decision and back up reasons for referral.
If you don't mind where a outs in the country are you? W are in Scotland so maybe referral criteria differs, but wouldn't have thought 3 years!! That's too long.
Definitely question it anyway.


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[Londongirl]

Fertility guidelines state you should be referred if you've been trying for 12 months (or after 6 if you have a known fertility problem). My gp showed some reluctance to refer me at first - I think you have to be a bit forceful sometimes unfortunately. I'd definitely go back to see a different gp if you can.

Anna x

 

[sunnyland27]

Go back and force them to do it or get a new doctor. Say you'll put on a complaint about him if he doesn't. My experience has been quite bad. They do roll their eyes and make you feel like a burden and I can't imagine how many mental health problems arise from GPs being insensitive and making it soooo difficult to get ANY kind of investigations. I was so traumatised after suspecting I had an ectopic that I had a breakdown. She refused to do any kind of tests and I sat in pain for 2 weeks worrying about losing my tubes or even dying if one ruptured. I was told not to come back because "if it was a miscarriage you've had it now". I recovered after about 2 weeks but I'll still never know if there is any possibility we can get pregnant. If they had done a scan or hcg blood test at least it would've given me a bit of peace of mind or helped with finding out what our fertility problems are. From now on I'm going in there fighting to be taken seriously. Hope you find the strength to do the same xxx

 

[Ann30]

Hi Hun, I'm in the same boat me and my hubby have been trying since aug 2011 and we had all the basic tests like bloods, sperm analysis, hsg, scans, etc and everything came back as "normal". Any way the fertility clinic at the hospital where we live said exactly the same- they won't do any thing til it's been 3 years argh!!!! Any way I couldn't sit that long so we paid privately it came to £600 in total but they did a few more tests on my and hubby and gave me clomid which the nhs refused as I was already ovulating. Any way we have 4 months supply and if that doesn't work we will go back for plan b whilst we wait for our 3 years to come up. I have to say, I left the private clinic feeling really positive so it was defiantly worth it ven if it doesn't work I feel back in charge.
My nhs wouldn't budge on the 3 year thing so if I was you I'd look into private if u possibly can cos 3 years is too long for any body to have to wait for help xxxx

 

[bubbea]

Dr's!!!..... my least fave subject!

 

[iWitch]

Ffs! It's back to the whole postcode NHS lottery, isn't it? There are so many things wrong with the NHS and this is one of them. 1 year of ttc is a long time - and it's not just the disappointment of it not happening. It's the stress both you and your partner are under, it could cause depression, relationship problems and now doubt if they start saying 3 years, people will end up in financial difficulty if they start funding things themselves. And don't get me started on what they do actually waste their money on.

If I was you, I'd ask to see a different GP. If there is no luck there, I'd put in a complaint with the Practice Manager and if still no joy, complain to the locals Patient Advisory Liaison Service (PALS). Fx you get somewhere with the next GP cx

 

[Misspooh123]

Going private for treatment would definitely rook a couple financially and emotionally, totally agree with above post. It's strenuous enough without the financial burden. My opinion is, why should we go private, I'm so stubborn I think that we have paid our Taxes why shouldn't infertile couples get treatment for fertility the same as any other condition and in the same times and criteria as anywhere else? In a lot of cases the treatments can be done by the same doctors in the same clinics for goodness sake! Yes it's a wait, but we couldn't afford the treatment we would require privately to conceive, so NHS is the only option for most. However NHS is frustrating, I should know, so I appreciate the underlying reasons on private treatment.
You need to find out why you are having trouble ttc first, your GP has a responsibility to you to investigate this by referring you to the people who can help you with this, i.e. a fertility clinic. Once they have narrowed down the causes of your possible infertility, they can advise on a course of action/ treatment as necessary. Yes it may very well be 3 years for some coupes between referral and successfully conceiving through assisted means, however I think that 3 years to wait for the initial fertility clinic referral without even knowing the causes is not fair on you and your partner and reckless on a GPs part.


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[sunnyland27]

Yep this ^
You may not be able to get IVF but you are definitely, definitely entitled to all the basic tests, including the sperm analysis. Why don't they realise if they do all necessary tests early (not just with ttcers) they'd save thousands per person by not having to do big procedures later on!? x

 

[Katkin72]

Hi Mel I've had very little support from my GP since I started TTC nearly 17 months ago so I know how frustrating it is I am so angry with my GP and surgery that I'm thinking of changing to another practice. This is my experience:

In May 2012 I went to my surgery to ask for some advice as it was coming up to 6 months of trying without getting pregnant (as I was soon to turn 40, I had heard that they will start to investigate after 6 months of trying). The only GP at my surgery is a man so I asked to see the female practice nurse instead. She was nice, but didn't have a clue and I knew more than her about NHS guidelines and support. She said she would make some enquiries and get back to me the next week. She never phoned, and I had to do the chasing to get any answers. Basically I was told they wouldn't do anything to help me. Then a month later I got my 1st BFP which sadly ended very traumatically when I miscarried and needed a D&C. I went back to my surgery to go through the test results after my operation - the GP was off, and the locum they booked me in with didn't turn up. We were kept waiting for over half an hour before they told us what was happening and when my OH asked if he could look at the results, they weren't able to find them. I was almost hysterical by this point. We were told to ring the EPU to get our results, so nobody actually went through them with me in person or gave us any advice on what to do next. In November I had my 2nd mc - went to the GP who did nothing and refused to refer me till I'd had 3mcs. I left the surgery heart broken and in tears. Then in February, I went in for a smear test - I spoke to the nurse and told her how unhelpful my GP had been. She advised me to push for day 3 and day 21 bloods. My GP reluctantly agreed to this. Each time I got my results back I was told over the phone by the receptionist that everything was fine and no follow up appt was needed, even though there was clearly an issue. My progesterone level was very high which indicated I was actually pregnant again, but then a week later I had a 3rd suspected mc So, I then marched back to the surgery with my OH to demand a referral to the recurrent mc clinic which he finally agreed to do. I was told I would be seen in 6 weeks. To cut an already very long story short, my surgery screwed up big time - all the staff handed in their notice and left at the same time (I have no idea what happened!), and my referral sat waiting to be sent off for over 5 weeks. I was livid. Anyway, my appt finally came through for the RMC and I go tomorrow - unfortunately I had another mc over the weekend, which perhaps could have been prevented if I had been seen sooner. I will never know......... So let the journey begin, I just bloody hope I finally get some support with all this now as I've had enough of being messed around. If we had the money we would definitely be going private!!!

Oops, so sorry for the rant and the uber long message.

I really hope they agree to give you some more help and you don't have to wait 3 years - that really sucks Sending you lots of love and hugs xxxxx

 

[flisstebbs]

I'm clearly going against the grain here, but i've had a fab experience with both my local hospital and gp. RMC is a different problem to infertility i guess but the outcome is largely the same, its taken me nearly 3 years to get to tri2.

There are really strict guidelines in each locality about what they can and can't do for both rmc and for infertility, so GPs are often very tied by this. Like the others say, i can't understand what the prob was with doing a simple SA. Its not right for any GP to make someone feel belittled for coming in with a problem, even if they do have constraints or are having a bad day.

Its worth going to see another GP, and go forearmed with the information about your local guidelines, i found mine by googling "Surrey PCT fertility guidelines". There is a 3 year wait here for IVF, but NOT for going to fertility clinic.

 

[Moley]

If you''re under 35 you have to be trying for 3 years if you''re over 35 its 12 months. Best thing to do when you see your GP I'd tell them you've Bern trying on your own for some time. My GP was quite good in that she did the blood tests straight away and also put me on a referral lust but I was reffered to another hospital first before going to the actual fertility clinic. It takes ages on the NHS that's for sure.

 

[iWitch]

The NHS website recommends you see a GP after a year of TTC and if you're over 35 then see them sooner. I suggest you show your GP this when you go again: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Fertility/Pages/Getpregnant.aspx

 

[MelC2011]

Hi Ladies - just wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for responding.
Will read through your replies properly this evening.
xx