r/TTC_UK

We're waiting to start IVF, but long story short, I found out I was pregnant when we were about to start. My tests stayed very faint and then I started bleeding heavily at 5 weeks—this is our second chemical pregnancy in 6 months. It was a full, heavy, clotty period bleed.
So, we've been told no unprotected sex, I'm now waiting to start IVF again and my baseline scan is in 6 days. For some reason —WHY??—I did a pregnancy test yesterday (why am I like this) and it's positive. Super faint, as faint as before. My last chemical I tested negative the day I started bleeding. Is there any chance it's just leftover HCG? The bleeding started over 2 weeks ago but now I'm anxious it's a n ectopic. I know the answer is "ask a doc" but I just thought I'd post in case anyone had had similar experiences!

I can’t decide between these two clinics to transfer across our NHS funding for one cycle, and the comments I’ve seen on other posts seem to be fifty-fifty down the middle. One of my friends recommends Create; another friend recommends Care.

If you’ve used either of these clinics recently for IVF, and if you transferred your NHS cycle here, please can you share your experiences? I am looking for cohesive care, clear communication, empathy, a tailored IVF plan and kindness. Ideally with an awareness of trauma-informed care and neurodiversity.

Create Manchester
When I rang to get initial information, the woman who picked up was incredibly empathetic; she was kind, compassionate, and told me how sorry she was that my care under St Mary’s had been traumatic during an already stressful time. She explained the process of changing in detail, patiently repeating information when I needed her to. She told me that if you’ve already got one free cycle approved, it’s basically a straightforward swap with Right To Choose but if you want to try and get PGT-A testing and additional testing included with the NHS cycle, then get the GP to submit a new request and see if it gets accepted, and then they’ll do all that for free, cos they said they can’t add on things for us to pay for an NHS cycle, so you have to get it included already from the integrated care board or try on the next self-funded cycle. PGT-A Testing isn’t a hill to die on for me; I just want compassionate, tailored care for my endometriosis and adenomyosis. She explained that I need to book an appointment with my GP to get the referral started, and gave me an email address for them to use if they need help with the forms (I am not sure where to find these forms). She wasn’t sure how long the process takes between GP and Integrated Care Board, but once it’s approved, it takes 2-3 weeks for Create to process it; they book you in for a consultation and scan, prepare a treatment plan, and then you start IVF the next cycle. The lady was very patient with me and said to ring back or email if I needed anything else.

Create are slightly easier for me to travel to. When I was looking at websites, I wasn’t particularly drawn to them as a company, but the woman I spoke to on the phone really made me feel at ease. I am a bit worried and confused about ABC being their sister company/part of Create, but also a completely different clinic?  

HFEA Success Under 38: 34% based on 403 embryos
HFEA Inspection: 5 / 5 ⭐
HFEA Patient Reviews: 4.5 / 5 ⭐ Based on 27 Reviews
Google Reviews: 3.9 / 5 ⭐ Based on 91 Reviews
Trust Pilot Reviews: 4.6 / 5 ⭐ Based on 99 Reviews

Care Manchester
From the start, I was drawn to Care from their website, as their consultant team seems very tailored towards endometriosis. However, the phone call gave me a bad first impression, and I’m worried this is a sign of treatment to come.

I know this sounds really pedantic, but the woman didn’t pick up the phone properly (e.g. Care Fertility greeting, etc.); it was just silence… yeah? After a moment. She sounded quite bored, and when I asked questions, she just said, ‘go speak to your GP about being transferred’ a few times. I asked if I could please speak to someone else, and she put me on hold, then said there wasn’t anyone else to speak to, and I think she may have realised she wasn’t being very helpful, so to be fair to her, she did start to try.

She said the GP sends a referral straight to Care, not the Integrated Care Board. She said I can email the GP and just ask her to email them directly, asking to transfer my NHS care from St Mary’s because I’m unhappy with St Mary’s to Care, and then Care handles all the NHS funding. Once the email from the GP comes through, they send it to the clinic director. Once they’ve received the referral, it takes 7-10 working days for them to start the process; they will send over a checklist to make sure we are eligible, and it’ll be within six weeks for the first consultation. It's not a deal breaker, but I did get a little bit tearful briefly, and she ignored it. I think I expected slightly more from a company called Care?

HFEA Success Under 35: 35% based on 815 embryos transferred
HFEA Inspection: 5 / 5 ⭐
HFEA Patient Reviews: 5 / 5 ⭐Based on 6 Reviews
Google Reviews: 4.2 / 5 ⭐ Based on 92 Reviews
Trust Pilot Reviews: 4.48/ 5 ⭐Based on 2,205 Reviews

 

Today we had our appointment at the McNair Center at Guys St Thomas. We have severe male factor infertility.
I had anticipated that today’s appointment would be the first meeting with the ACU where funding (or next steps) was discussed/progressed.
Instead, it was like triage to then refer us on to the Guys St Thomas IVF unit.
This wasn’t made clear.
I thought the process was 1) GP referral (ours was in July), 2) meet with a consultant and progress with next steps/apply for funding. But this is a bit of an unexpected stop in the middle.

I’m wondering - does anyone have experience with this? What is the wait time between this triage appointment and actually meeting the IVF unit for funding to be applied for?!

Any help from those in the South London area would be great!

We 33F and 38M have been TTC for just over 1 year. I've finally started the referral pathway on the NHS and had my first blood test this week (day 21 progesterone)

I have an appointment for a transvaginal ultrasound in a month, obviously by then I will know if I'm pregnant or not, but my delusional and hopeful mind is still hoping for a successful cycle this month.

My question is, should I carry on with the blood tests and more specifically the ultrasound if I do get a positive test before the appointment?

Looking for some advice on my next steps to conceive. I’ve been hoping to do a FET for a few months but keep retesting positive for BV despite taking two rounds of antibiotics and probiotics. I’ve eliminated one strain of bacteria but Gardenella in particular seems to be increasing monthly even with the antibiotics. My doctor is now recommending more antibiotics, a nutritionist and potentially PRP in Spain - does anyone have experience with clearing BV after multiple failed antibiotic attempts? Or any success through diet or PRP? I also had a transfer attempt cancelled because of fluid before the BV so feeling quite deflated that I’ve got two issues to solve

Cycle 38, and my period keeps showing up! We have gone back and forth with trying, keeping our minds off it, but this month we timed things again and had hope, specially because we were told nothing was wrong with either of us, and there’s no reason we can’t conceive. Nobody is agreeing to do a Hycosy for me, and last year they sent us straight to IVF with no testing, and it failed, with no explanation.

I feel so defeated, angry, and disappointed. We have done every test under the sun, and they keep saying “everything’s fine”

I literally felt my ovulation cramps this cycle, and still, it didn’t work. It’s so unfair and it really sucks. I don’t understand why we can’t get pregnant

Thank you if you read this far

I’m not really sure what the purpose of this post is. My husband and I (both 30) are now into the sixth cycle TTC. I understand this is early in the grand scheme of things. However, two years ago we conceived unexpectedly, which ended in a termination. My father was extremely unwell at the time and my mental health was in a terrible place, but it was an extremely hard decision for us as we both knew we wanted children, and not in the too distant future. Ultimately I think it is now something we regret. Given this history, we thought we would have no trouble conceiving naturally. We did a lot of prep too, I lost two stone with a GLP-1 and my partner gave up drinking for three months. We’ve both been taking Proceive supplements and eating a healthy diet, limiting red meat and processed food etc. I’m controlling everything I can but I am extremely stressed. My work is very full-on with several crises happening at once. My dad also died last year so I’m very much still in the pits of grief, and realistically am very depressed. The stress of failing at this every month is adding to the pile. 

I can’t help but feel like having an abortion has caused some kind of issue with me (I’ve also been experiencing shorter than ideal luteal phases of 9-11 days since I started tracking) or that it’s some kind of twisted fate punishing me for what I did. This cycle I’ve given up alcohol (so has my partner) and caffeine, been drinking pomegranate juice and wearing fluffy socks, using conception lube and I’ve bought a fertility cup. I also picked up Mucinex when I was in the states last month although that obviously didn’t help with the cycle just gone. I am doing everything I can to not feel stressed. When I’m at home with my partner and dog on the weekend, I actually feel relaxed, it’s my safe space. But then the week starts up and it all goes to shit again. I feel so alone in this and can’t talk about it with my friends. All of them who have kids or are pregnant had success on the first try or got there within five months. There is one person I know struggling with infertility but that’s on the other extreme - two years of trying, ridiculous waiting lists and a serious diagnosis meaning IVF is the only option. I don’t know what more I can do and I don’t know how I can carry on like this for another six months before getting things checked out. Sending solidarity to everyone else out there. 

Hi all! Please can I get some recommendations of IVF clinics in London? I am self funded. Would be helpful to know the pros and cons of the ones people always mention (e.g. CRGH, Lister, Evewell, ARGC, Aria)...

Also should I consider PGT? HFEA seem to say it has no benefit...

Thanks for all your help!

Hi everyone,

I am ttc no1 and had 6 cycles of nothing.

I know it's not long AT ALL, and I feel for all those people doing this for years as I do not know how you do it.

I'm 33F and would like a couple children. I can't help that 'running out of time' feeling that comes with being a woman. I had my coil out with the GP so it is very obvious how long I have been trying, plus I do not want to lie and take that away from another person who has been trying longer.

My lingering concern is that my partner (33M) has Type 1 diabetes and Hyperthyroidism, would this qualify us for a bit of early testing on NHS if nothing is happening after a few more months?

Anyone had general experience with a male partner with those conditions?

Anyone paid privately for initial testing and have any experience they would be willing to share?

Has anybody had to have their thyroid rechecked before starting letrozole. My consultant said that my thyroid was boarder line at 3 when ideally it should be 2.5 or below when TTC or if pregnant. I had my bloods done last week to have the levels rechecked in case I need to have more meds to bring it down. Has anyone been through this? What would I expect? How long did you wait before you received results? I already waited 12 months to be seen by a consultant and so nervous I’ll have another long wait 😢

I got 3 positive tests 2 days ago. So happy and excited. Since last night I’ve been spotting lightly pinkish red blood and very mild cramps.
I stupidly did another test this afternoon with midday urine and it was negative. Now I’m worried and wish I’d have waited until tomorrow mornings urine. I’m 18dpo today.
Anyone else had similar and still stayed pregnant?