First IVF appointment

DH and I have our first appointment with Dr Bob Watson on 10th April, to begin discussing IVF. Originally, when the gynae made the referral, I had intended on going along, talking to him, and maybe considering IVF in 12 months or so. But DH and I have decided that we would rather get the ball rolling sooner (so that I at least have age on my side), and we'll worry about the money later (thanks for the heads-up Sue ;) ).

So now I'm starting to feel impatient LOL. What happens at the first appointment? And what happens after? And how long might it take to get everything up and running? Are there months in between your first appointment, and getting started, or is it pretty much straight away?

All advice appreciated :D

Cherie, I don't know what IVF involves, but I just wanted to wish you luck for your first appointment and hope that the ball gets rolling for you soon.

Im amazed they are starting ivf so soon. I mean we have been ttc for 18 months now and they are still trying different things with us and leaving ivf as the last resort.

good luck and just relax....go there with an open mind and take in all the information. fingers crossed for that big ball to start rolling asap

Cherie,
Good on ya first of all, the decision to make the appointment is often the hardest.
At my clinic and yours may differ we had our first appointment and talked to your IVF doctor he will take your history as well as any tests and discuss your options and future treatment. You then have to go and see a counsellor and discuss options after IVF and legal jargon, this is either done one on one or in a group format.
You then have to see a nurse re injections and learning how to do them or DH learns how to do them. Then depending on which kind of cycle you are doing you will either wait for AF and then start the pill ( as silly as that seems) or start sniffing your synarel.
All up it takes probably at the most 3 months at the least lol we did ours all on one day depending on the availabilty of the people.
Good luch Cherie...as you said worry about the finer details later
Bec

Goodluck Cherie!!Have everything crossed for you hun.

*psssttt...I hope the clomid works this cycle for you*

Cherie,

good luck hunny. If you haven't yet had any tests, you'll find you'll probably have to do those before actually doing an IVF cycle. But if, like me, you have already had the tests prior your first appt, you'll only have to wait on AF to get started.

Danni, when you get referred to IVF depends very much on your age. If you're 20, you'll find that most GPs will not refer you unless you've been trying to conceive for longer than 2 or more years. And even then, other methods of AC will be trialed first. And that's because, rightly or wrongly, they believe you have time on your side.

Only if you're in your thirties do they refer you after 12 months of TTC. Earlier than that even if your cause of infertility is known (like mine: blocked tubes) and nothing but IVF would work for you.

Cherie, I wish you all the luck in the world.

love
sushee

Hey, Cherie, glad to see you kicking off IYKWIM.
Just do it! :smt023

Cherie just wanted to pop in & send you the very best of warm wishes as you embark on this journey.

Good on you & Gareth for taking that leap & making your first appt, here's hoping that you get good news & it all starts soon for you.

Wishing you nothing but success wonderful lady.

lotsalove
Kirsty
xoxoxox

Cherie,

Nothing much to add to what Sushee said because she explained it very well. Just wanted to wish you all the best. I hope you hit it on the first cycle!

Mel

Cherie, good luck in taking the step. But hopefully the clomid will work first

Thanks so much girls for the support and info. I'm having a bit of a rough day, and you've all cheered me up immensely. Your positivity was just what I needed!

BecG - wow - all in one day. You must have had lady luck on yours side :) Three months at the most doesn't sound too bad either.

Sushee - I've already had all the hormone tests, tests for STD's, all the usual bloodwork, GTT, a vaginal ultrasound and HSG. DH has had two sperm analyses and DAZ gene testing. Are there other tests that are usually done?

Danni - my gynae referred me to IVF this early as she said that she felt we had minimal to none chances of falling pregnant, even with the clomid, as DH has virtually no sperm, and the ones he does have are either abnormal or not swimming anywhere. IVF is not something that I would want to do if I felt that other options would be successful, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do hey ;)

Hi Cherie... As you know I too go to Bob. I went to see him when I was first diagnosed with PCOS. Intially he did bloods on me and a scan and then seeing as I hadn't had a period in 6 months I started progesterone to bring on AF for clomid. DH did SA in this time too. Being that our problem seems to "only" be my PCOS and subsequent anovulation we tried clomid for 4 cycles then AIH for 3 and then IVF. Bob is lovely and so is his resident midwife Chris. I wish you all the best of luck with this journey. Feel free to email me on mrstodo@hotmail.com

Cherie,

The only tests I did were the vaginal u/s, the HSG, the SA, the STD tests and the blood tracking to see when I O'ed and if I had regular cycles. If you've done all these (and it sounds like you have) you should be good to go straight away.

Just make sure that all your medical records are forwarded to your new IVF doctor prior to that first appt! You'll be surprised how often this doesn't happen, so definitely worth making sure it's all there before you go in!

Good luck, my sweet. So excited for you!

love
sushee