# 1st consultant appointment today!!



## star78 (Nov 24, 2011)

My wife and I have our 1st consultant appointment at CARE today. My wife is egg sharing as we wanted to help someone else out as well as reduce the cost of IVF. So far we've had the scan to check she was suitable to share, blood tests and counselling.

Not sure what today involves but really hope it'll give us some idea of when we'll have our first go at getting pregnant. Would love to chat to anyone else at a similar stage!


----------



## Coldilox (Mar 20, 2013)

Good luck! We have our counselling appointment today at MFS, first consultant appointment on Thursday. We were hoping to egg share but my AMH was too low, I think we wil be advised to try IUI but won't know til Thursday. Hope you get some clarity today!


----------



## star78 (Nov 24, 2011)

Thanks   Can I ask what AMH is? I feel there are still so many terms and abbreviations I don't know


----------



## Coldilox (Mar 20, 2013)

It's a hormone (can't remember exact name) that indicates your egg reserve level. Gives an indication of how well you will respond to IVF, ie how many eggs you might produce. For egg sharing it needs to be in a certain range (but if its outside that it doesn't mean there will be a problem with you conceiving, just that egg sharing is not suitable for you).


----------



## star78 (Nov 24, 2011)

Thanks  Hope we'll find out more today, feels like we've been waiting forever to get to this stage.


----------



## Hmd1987 (Mar 5, 2013)

Good luck! We have our first consult at MFS on may 1st, they are doing the screening tests, counselling and the docs bit all on the same day. We are hoping to do ivf with egg sharing...my Amh came back as 67


----------



## Jam&amp;Cream (Jan 27, 2013)

Amh, anti-mullerian hormone.


----------



## star78 (Nov 24, 2011)

Well our appointment yesterday went okay, didn't really get much new information though. Our blood tests came back clear. AMH wasn't mentioned and I forgot to ask, so I can only assume that was okay too. 

Hoping that it's just a case of getting matched now.


----------



## charvik12 (Sep 16, 2012)

Hi All,

This is the first time I have posted but feet that after many many months of reading the forums and different topics that it was time to contribute! We both feel that sharing our journey with others at a similar stage will support and enhance our journey. We have already found some what that others who are not experiencing similar find it difficult to understand the feelings and emotions that undertaking IVF involve, so hope that we can obtain support from here.

My wife and I have our first consultation at Care on 23rd April. We have attended an open evening, have had scans, initial appointment with nurses and counselling and have the injection training in a couple of weeks. We have been waiting for this appointment for around six weeks so are very excited to move things forward now. We do not know what to expect of our first consultation and to be honest I am abit apprehensive as we have had a few complications already, I had an abnormal smear result and my scan indicated a cyst on one ovary which has reduced the amount of follicles present. My wife is reasurring me that we would not have gotten to this stage of egg share if they did not think me suitable (and nurses have said similar) but I can't help but still be a little apprenhensive. Does anybody know the amount of eggs you need to be able to produce to share? I am donating half to my wife and half to an anonomous recipient (My AMH was fine).

Were you given any indication Star78 of how long it may take you to be matched? Did you not find the initial consultation overly helpful?


----------



## incywincy (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi charvik, I'm at Care.  I was first told that it would take 3-4 months to match me, but they didn't really tell me when that would start.  After all my bloods were done etc I saw the doctor and he said 3-6 months from that point, which really put me on a downer as it had taken 3 months to get from sending in the self referral to that point!  However, i found out from reading another forum that the match starts from when you first see the donation coordinator and it's usually 3 months from then.  I saw the donation nurse at the end of November and was matched at the end of February, so bang on 3 months for me.

When you say the initial consultation, do you mean with the doctor, or the donation coordinator?  I found in both cases, I knew most of what they were telling me, because I'd researched it all online anyway so they weren't massively helpful but that's only because I'd done my research.

As for eggs Care like you to have at least 8.  If you get an odd number the anon recipient will get the extra one.  If you get less than 8, you can give them all to her and then return in a couple of months for a free go at IVF just for yourself (or your partner in your case).  You can choose to just keep the 8 yourself, but you'll then have to pay the full IVF price and you'll not be allowed to try to egg share with them again.

Your wife is right regarding the suitability.  Care are inundated with donors at the moment, they have no desperate need to take you on (which is why there's a long wait to be matched).  Also, they won't take you on if you're too much of a risk of not producing as it affects their success rates.

Good luck with it all, it sounds like you probably don't hae much longer to wait, but it is frustrating to do the waiting.  I am a terrible waiter and have moaned on this forum plenty about having to do it!


----------



## charvik12 (Sep 16, 2012)

Thank you for your reply incywincy. We saw the donation coordinator at the beginning of January, so hopefully should be matched relatively quickly following consultation and injection training. Your at an exciting stage in the process, we look forward to seeing how you get on. 

Best of luck!


----------

