NHS guidelines for patients, TTC and fertility issues

[glitzyglamgirl]

This is invaluable reading for anyone TTC, wether your just starting or are at the point of seeing your GP or futher along the testing process.

It tells you everything you need to know from what to avoid when TTC, how to improve your chances, what criteria you need to meet for fertility testing, what those tests will be etc etc.

Its a PDF document and when you click the link below it will ask you to save or open, just hit open for now and then you can save it afterwards if you wish to. (quicker lol)

http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG11/publicinfo/pdf/English/download.dspx

If you cant view it, you probably dont have acrobat reader which you can download for free from here http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

 

[happy-chick]

Great info chick

 

[A&J]

Cheers for the great info very helpful.

 

[Alicebabe]

*error*

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

*error*

huh?

 

[Alicebabe]

Sorry I was reading this thread on one page I had open and then replied to another thread I had open on another page but of course being a donut that I am, I replied on this one so had to go back and delete it!

Numpty

But thought the article was extremely useful!

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

Sorry I was reading this thread on one page I had open and then replied to another thread I had open on another page but of course being a donut that I am, I replied on this one so had to go back and delete it!

Numpty

But thought the article was extremely useful!

lol easy to do, ive done it myself

Glad you like the article, ive found the information invaluable for getting what I want out of the NHS!

 

[pixielou]

Thank you for the info it was interesting, I have been refered to a fertility clinic by my GP and have no idea what they will do so this was good.

 

[trigger]

Wow, this is fab! I wish I has seen this before finally being referred for IVF as it was such a slow process (5 years!!). Definitely a good find.

Trigger,
xx

 

[Pamela Lee]

I just recently got my test results back from the fertility clinic....not good...I have a low ovarian reserve:-

FSH: 10
AMH: 3.86 pmol/L

I am 36 and a half years old...the only option I have been given is IVF....time is running out. We have 6 weeks to make up our minds, that’s on the NHS. We want to book privately for a second opinion. I also would like a HSG dye test to check my tubes are clear and not blocked.

I am taking 200mg of co-q10, folic acid and vitamin D. I have been going to acupuncture for 2 months now every week.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or heard of anything similar?

Pam x x

 

[Mar_15]

Thanks for this link - the info is so clear. I've just done my third medicated IUI and in the tww now. Diagnosis has gone between unexplained and MFI. IUI was done for free on the public health system here in Spain, but if I was in the UK I don't think we'd have been offered it, and it definitely shouldn't have been medicated according to these guidelines.

I'm not sure what the best strategy is here - NHS or Spanish health service? On the one hand, for our situation IUI is statistically as likely to work as just continuing to try naturally, and emotionally it's been pretty hellish. We've been trying for 5.5 years so "statistically as likely" equals very unlikely to work.

On the other hand, after so many years of trying to get help, I think it's been good for us to have some kind of medical follow up and monitoring. The regular sperm checks mean that we've been able to see actual progress and connect this to lifestyle changes we've made (COQ10, zinc, no drinking, no smoking, looser pants). OH has steadily improved and is back in the "good" zone now. Before we tried some of these changes but it was hard to commit when you don't know if it's even affecting anything.

I wish there had been more effort put into the testing etc. before though. It feels like sperm tests are just done to see what kind of treatment I was going to get lumped with. Why did I have to do IUI for a doctor to follow up and see steady sustained improvement in OH's sperm health? Why can't OH even see the andrologist without referral from my gynaecologist?

There's hardly anything in here about how to actually treat MFI, so I imagine the NHS is as weak as the Spanish system when it comes to treating male factor infertility. It just seems like extremely entrenched sexism is causing a lot of unnecessary suffering and expense. What do you think?