# New & Feeling Shy



## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Good afternoon all, 
Hope everyone is well and enjoying the sunshine  

Just joined the site and am feeling really nervous and for what I’m not actually sure!!!! We, (me and DH) have been TTC for what seems forever!!! After working through and analysing LOTS and LOTS of information from various different clinics we have made an appointment and decided to go with the Chiltern in Hertfordshire. 

I am so new to this that the though of the next step sends butterflies through my stomach! 

Can anyone give me any advice on the type of questions I need to ask on my first appointment which is in 3 weeks and counting!!

J


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Franklin1983, welcome to Fertility Friends. 

What questions you will need to ask will very much depend on what issues you have preventing you from conceiving and what diagnosis you have been given. There is a list of questions here though, which you can look at and pick out the ones you feel most suited to your situation (and you can certainly ask for some more support and advice around that too if needs be).

*Questions for your first cycle consultation ~ (use the ones that apply) *CLICK HERE

Here are some more links you might find helpful at the moment. Please do have a look around and explore and start posting around the boards and making friends. FF is a wonderfully supportive community and you can only get the best out of it if you start posting and joining in so, please do so.

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*A Rough Guide To IVF ~*   CLICK HERE

While undergoing treatment, you might find it useful to join other ladies having treatment at the same time. The Cycle Buddies threads are just for that. You will fnd a thread, usually with a funny/inspiring name for this year's buddies. Just pop along to the appropriate month and say "Hi" when you are ready to start treatment.

*Cycle buddies ~ *CLICK HERE

You can have a bit of fun or just gossip while you are on FF too so check out the general chit chat / jokes / hobbies area:

*Girl & Boy talk - Community & Fun Board ~ *CLICK HERE

You can also chat live in our excellent chat room. We have a newbie day in the chat room every Wednesday where you can meet one of our mods for support, meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

You can also "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the *Location boards*. This is especially useful to find people who may be using the same clinic and or in the same PCT area.

Wishing you lots of luck! 

C~x


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

Hi Franklin1983,

Welcome to FertilityFriends  ,

I have been a patient at The BMI Chiltern for a few years now they are great, you will be just fine there. 

Feel free to ask me any questions you like about them (or anything else for the matter) and i will be happy to help, its always nice to chat with ladies that go to the same clinic   

Emma.


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi, 
Thank you for your reply I have been on here all afternoon!!!    naughty I know but so much information!!

I am 26 and SF is 48 he had a vasectomy many years ago which was reversed in December 2008! We have been for 3 sperm analysis since and all come back negative! The surgeon who performed the reversal for us has been a god send for us as he has been putting us in contact with fellow professionals and advising us on possible opportunities! 

I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the information and different procedures as only 26 and I already have a daughter and guess I was really ignorant or blind to fertility issues (sorry just needed to get that off my chest, sorry)!! 

Anyway we have booked an appointment at the Chiltern to talk to a consultant about ICIS   1, this is what our reversal surgeon told us to do as from his analysis of SF’s reversal and 2, no NHS fertility unit will help us as I’m 26 and already have a child and SF has 2 children from a previous relationship, I totally respect that the NHS will not help as their are people out their who need and deserve it more than I do.

Not sure why I blurted all that out but if you read this "thanks for listening"

Any advice on anything would be greatly appreciated 

J


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## Twopence (Dec 14, 2008)

with everything J.

I would be interested to see how you get on at the Chilterns as that is one of the places I would consider going.

I have blown you some bubbles for luck.

I hope everything goes well for you xx


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Shrimper, 
Hope all is well and you are enjoying the sunshine  

I will let you know how I get on throughout with clinic  

So far so good! I requested some information online and within a few days I had it! when my BH phoned up to check appointment availability and mentioned my name they knew who I was and asked if I had received the information they had sent (info was very informative) 
When I called to make appointment she remembered me again and did everything possible to accommodate me with an appointment as I work full time and it's a little away from home.........21 days till appointment!!! I’ll let you know


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## Twopence (Dec 14, 2008)

Oh wow!! That is very good, I am impressed. 

21 days isn't long at all. DH and I are seeing the NHS man next week and if there is a long wait then I think we will look to go private as we don't really want to wait. We are also looking at the Lister and Herts and Essex (where at the moment if you donate eggs then you don't have to pay for treatment and we had already duscussed we would do this anyway). The Herts and Essex are in the top ten and we visited them a while ago and they were very friendly and efficient. 

A friend of mine used the Chilterns and she was really pleased with it. She has two Positive results from there after having very bad endo.

Good luck and would love to hear how you get on xx


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

hi Ladies,

I have done a clinic review for the chiltern which you may be interested in reading. Its in the clinic reviews board, on the second page 8 from the top.

It just details my experiences over the last 3 years with the clinic.

Emma


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Emma, 
Sorry to be a pain but I can't find the board 

Can you give me some direction?

Tx

J


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

Hi Franklin1983,

Sure no problem, I know there is a way to put a link in here, but I don't know how to do it    

But if you go to the main index page you will see all the boards in a big long list, if you move almost to the bottom of that page you will see a board named 'Clinic Reviews' its got a grey heart next to it on the left of the page (most of them seem to have a pink heart).
If you click on clinic reviews it will take you into the list of reviews, at the top you will see page numbers, click on 'page 2' and scan down to the eighth review, it says BMI chiltern.

I hope thats helped let me know if you find it, if you still struggle I'll see if I can help you another way  

Emma.


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Thank you Emma,  
I found it   sounds like they are really really good

I will let you know how I get on ...........20 days to go  

Tx

J


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Good afternoon Emma, 
Hope all is well and you are having a good day

Can I pick your brain!? 

Can you give me an idea of how things happen?

What will happen in our first appointment and what happens next?

What kind of rough timings am I looking at from stage to stage and what are the stages? (Think I asked that already)

Thanks in advance

Tx

J



emms said:


> Hi Franklin1983,
> 
> Welcome to FertilityFriends ,
> 
> ...


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

Hi there,

How are you?

Id be happy to help,  

Well my first appointment was slightly different from yours, as we didn't know what the problem was, DH was tested he was fine, my hormones were fine too, so I then had to have a HSG to check my tubes, thats when we realised they were blocked, so the consultant gave me an option of, IVF of trying to unblock the tubes, we went for the IVF option. 

So when we were ready we went for the consultation to find out how it all worked, we saw the consultant first, who ran through our test results again, blood tests for me and semen analysis for DH, he also done a quick internal scan to see how things were down stairs, like your womb lining, any eggies just about to release nothing to worry about . 
He then told us to ensure we were taking a good multivitamin, including folic acid for me. 

Next we had a chat with the nurse who ran through how the treatment works. I had IVF rather than ICSI, so maybe slightly different, I'm not sure, but basically you can start on your next period, (as long as they can fit you in, you may have to wait a month). you go in for a scan on day 21 of your cycle to see if you have ovulated, and check that alls where it should be with your cycle, then they start you on the down regulation drugs, (to stop your ovaries working basically), this drug i sniffed 6 times (i think!) a day up one nostril, but this could vary with each patient. Then you wait for your AF to arrive, once it arrives you call the clinic and tell them, they arrange a scan about 5 Days later to check your ovaries are quiet,  If all is well you can start the stimming drugs. The down regulation normally take me about 2 weeks, this again can differ. 

You start injecting the drugs to stimulate your ovaries to produce follicles, then you go in around day 8 for a scan to see how things are going, blood tests to check your hormones are often taken at the same time. Then you go in every other day for more scans to follow the growth of your follicles, when they get to around 20mm they tell you to take your trigger shot, (which helps to ripen the eggs) and egg collection is booked for 36 hours later, so its really nice as the next day you get a drug free day yippee!  You normally inject for about 12 days.

Egg collection day is fine, you get a private room, the nurse will come and take your blood pressure and that type of thing, and you wait for Mr Norman-Taylor to come around and see you, (sometimes he doesn't) but the anaesthetist will, to tell you about the sedation, but don't worry its fine, you walk down to theatre with one of the nurses from the unit, and they collect your eggs, once there through they write the number on your hand, so when you wake up you can see how many they have collected. You stay in recovery for a while and then go back to your room for some lovely food you get to choose from the menu. After a few hours the nurses will let you go home. 

That afternoon they mix the eggs with the sperm, in the case of ICSI they inject the sperm into the eggs I think (I have not a lot of knowledge of ICSI). The next day they call you to tell you how many have fertilised, and book the day to have them put back, usually the following day. 

When you have your embryo/s put back, its similar to a smear test, but they pass a catheter through your cervix, and then introduce the embryo/s through it, using ultrasound to guide them. You need to have a full bladder for this but they will tell you what to do. Your DH can also be with you during this procedure if you like. Then they give you cyclogest pessaries that need to go up the back door    twice per day, you test two weeks later to see if its worked,    pray it does. 

hope that has helped, please ask if you need to know anything else.

Regards

Emma.


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

WOW WOW WOW!!!! Thank you so much!!! you have no idea how much that email has helped me! I cried (sad)  

Just a quick question, I will have my period this week tomorrow or Thursday! Does this mean I will have to wait for a whole month as my appointment to start treatment as my first appointment is on 13th May?

Thank you, Thank you again for info!

Tx

J


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

Hiya,

Its a difficult one to answer, with regards to the treatment, yes, you could start it this month, as you don't have the scan until day 21 of your cycle, you would only be on day 15 when you have your first appointment, so you would be in time to start down regulating on day 21. 

However it will depend on a few things, how booked up the clinic are, sometimes you have to wait to be fitted into the diary, also, the consultant may want you to do some bloods tests, like hormone profiles, these have to be done on day 3 of your cycle, and 7 days before your period starts, he may also have things to look into for your DH first. So all these things could delay when you can start, really you need to ask when you go for your appointment. 

Hope thats helped, its so exiting isn't it, you just want to get started as soon as possible  

Emma.


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## Twopence (Dec 14, 2008)

Emms  I had a read of what you had written and it what was really interesting. Very succinct but with all the detail us ladies who have no idea need.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

xx


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## emms (Feb 6, 2006)

Your more than welcome Shrimper, Im glad you found it helpful  

Emma.


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## Franklin1983 (Apr 20, 2009)

Good morning all, 
Went for my appointment at the Chiltern and unfortunately didn’t go to well 

You were all right in what you said about the nurses! They are amazing! 

The Doctor advised that I was over weight and needed to lose 5 stone before I can start treatment!! 

I don’t diet well and not sure how long this is going to take me but I don’t think it will be 2009!!! Really disheartening as wasn’t aware weight played such a major part in treatment 

Any advise anyone could give me about how to lose weight quickly would be fantastic! 

Thanks 

J


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## Twopence (Dec 14, 2008)

Be careful about losing weight to quickly as it will all pile straight back on again as soon as you start eating properly again (speaking from experience).

My DH's uncle has just done the lighter life. Quite radical but it also teaches you about your relationship with food as well and how not to go back to over eating after the diet ends.

I am a personal advocate of weight watchers though and think slow and steady wins the race. You can pace yourself and start to change your eating habits. 

Also more exercise. Burn off more calories than go in. Sounds so simple eh but we all know reality is very different. 

Good  luck to you though, a friend of mine was told her chances of conceiving would increase by 80% if she lost the same amount of weight as you!!

xx


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