# Newcomers



## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Hi all,

We found this website today, and are very excited to be able to discuss our journey with others and ask questions, so we thought we would introduce ourselves:

We are S (aged 2 and C (aged 30), civil partners, in the UK. We have been in a relationship for over 3 years and had our CP last November. Early in our relationship we both shared that we wanted children, as soon into the relationship we both knew we were 'the one' for each other and wanted to have a family together. Whilst planning our CP we decided that we would start trying for a family mid 2009, we would have started straight away, but needed to save some money! 

So for the last couple of months we have been saving money and discussing our plans, after lots of discussions about all our options we have decided to try to have a child through IUI, using anonymous sperm donor, with me S being the bio mother. With these decisions made we booked an appointment with my GP for today.

We were both nervous about the appointment, especially given this is the first time I have seen my new GP, so she has never met me or my partner before. However, we didnt need to be worried because she put us at ease straight away. She was so friendly and informative, and even appeared genuinely excited for us. So we came away armed with information about various clinics to choose the one we wish to use.
We both came out of the clinic so happy, as our journey suddenly became very real. It was an emotional moment. 

Tonight we have looked through all the information, and chosen a clinic to attend, so the next step is to let her know, so a referral letter can be sent and wait for a consultation appointment, as well as make some lifestyle changes e.g. healthy eating and lots of exercise in order to prepare my body to TTC.

Whilst researching the clinics we also found out the new law changes coming into force in the UK in April 2009, meaning my CP, C will automatically become the child's other legal parent! This news was such a pleasant shock to us, and also acted as a sign to us that we were doing the right thing. We also stumbled across this website and message boards and were very excited to be able to share our journey and ask questions (as we have not told ANYONE at all, apart from our GP) about our plans, and we have been jumping about wanting to share all our joyful news today, it has been eventful!

We have to come back down to earth now, and be ready for the possible long journey ahead of us. Do people know roughly how long it takes from referral to having the first IUI treatment?

Thanks for letting us share,
Love S & C (MandMtb)

x x x


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## magsandemma (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi there

Just wanted to say welcome to the group and wish you lots of luck on your journey, you will find this place a great source of info and of support, the people on here are fab, cant really help with how long it takes from ref to IUI as we self referred to our clinic and had IVF but it was only a few months of having initial tests before we oculd get started, its all so exciting and with the law changing next month too its even more exciting, anyhow must be off again, nice to meet you both!

Maggie
xx


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## leoaimee (Jun 3, 2008)

hay there!

nice to 'meet' you and CONGRATULATIONS on your CP and on your first amazing steps to being parents!!  soo great isnt!  im not suprised you are jumping with joy!!

you will get loads of great support and friendship on these messages boards!

i would say for us we paid for all the blood tests we needed pre our consultation at our clinic in maybe the september of 2007, we had the first consultation at LWC in december, and our first IUI in march ... was going to be Feb but i didnt detect a surge for ovulation in feb and missed that month.  and we were very lucky in that i was pregnant by september 2008!  very quick for us ... although that year certainly felt long and hard at times, just it all disolves when you find out your pregnant!

but we didnt get a GP referal so i dont know how that works ... is your GP gonna organise for your blood tests through the NHS?  that will be great for you and save you some money.

love aimeex


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## Damelottie (Jul 26, 2005)

Hello S&C

Welcome to FF   

Many congratulations on starting your having a family journey  . It is VERY exciting.

LL xx


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## rosypie (Feb 1, 2007)

welcome and congrats on the cp and getting started on the ttc rollercoaster!

1st time around we had all the tests done at the clinic and we were ready to go a month after initial consult (which luckily fell on the right day of my cycle to also have all the tests done on the spot).

we got a gp referral 2nd time around. our pct doesn't fund anything, not even blood tests so for us it didn't make any difference to the process, just that we were using a different clinic and they didn't take self referrals. ask your gp though, it might save you some money.


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

Hiya and welcome!!

I had my CP in november to my partner Lou.... we are now looking to start TTC end of this year at the Esperance in Eastborne and we also need to get a GP referal so are going to our GP in september... for now im just charting my BBT and cycle and becoming addicted to OPK's (just love peeing on sticks  ) also trying desperatly to lose weight as you can see from my signature below... im slowly getting there but OMG this year is sooooo...... dragging and im finding myself buying sofa's and far to many handbags to pass my time along with spending about 8 hours a day on FF!! im driving DP mad talking about babies and ttc... although i dont know who is the worst now because she is getting as bad as me  

Em x


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## PootleFlump (Jan 9, 2009)

Hello to you both, and welcome.  Congrats on the CP too!  

It's really exciting to be starting ttc.  Think it took us about 3 months from our first appointment with our clinic to our first treatment, but it could probably have been sooner if we had wanted.  Good luck with it all, and look forward to hearing about how you are getting on via the various threads here.

Nicky x


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Thank you for making us feel welcome with all your welcome posts    and sharing with us about possible timescales from referral to treatment. We are assuming and planning it to take at least 3 months or more, so are looking around June/Juky 09 for our first IUI all being well. 

In respect of the blood tests etc our PCT wont pay for these so we will be having them done at the clinic, for a (what seems a large) cost! But hey ho we have been saving for this. From reading the clinic material we will have the blood tests done after are initial consultation.

Em, I was supposed to be loosing weight (again) after our honeymoon, but haven't done so well, it's so hard I just love food LOL. But I am definatley going to get back on track now so perhaps we could check in and support each other with this? In respect of you charting your BBT, does everyone have to do this before going to the clinic, as I am panicking now, as I've not. I've kept a dairy of my periods but nothing else, do you know whether this would affect us starting the IUI in the next few months?

Thank you again everyone for all the lovely posts, it has really made us happy to have other people in our situation to share it with. Can I ask do you lgb folk also use the other boards? I have had a look at some but most of the posts seemed from straight women in a relationship or married to a man.

Love S (and C) x x 

aka MandMtb


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

Hiya

i dont think you have to chart your BBT but because we are flying to new york the end of this year DP wont start treatment until when we are back as she doesnt want me to fly preggers im charting my BBT to fill up some time and stop myself from going insane  

about the weight lost this defo sounds like a plan we could start our own weight lost thread... there is a FF belly board but i didnt like it lol get yourselve a ticker like mine in my signature it keeps me going   my BMI was 43 before my CP but i lost a chunk of weight for that (about 3stone) and when i joined FF in december it was 37... i want to get it below 30 so have a way to go yet but im determined to do it  

One of the girls on this board Frinn had her first medicated IUI last month and got a BFP first time!! 

Em x


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

i've made a LGBT weight lose thread feel free to join me!

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=180755.0


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## leoaimee (Jun 3, 2008)

pootle flump - LOVE THE PIC !!  sooo cute!     

les mum - think your weight loss thread is fab ... may well be needing it in about 9 months!!

well done on your weight loss so far.     

mandmtb - i didnt chart bbt cos it was too complicated, and took just period chart to my first consultation, then started plotting the ovulations with opk after that.

i post on other areas of the board.  i post still in 'cycle' budies with the group that had treatment a the same time as me last summer ... we then split into a BFP thread and BFN thread, and there are lots of us still posting there.

i also have posted in the trimesters section of the preggie bit of the board, and lots of the preg lez girls have done, minty, dom, cuttie, pip girl.

but to be honest the LGB section is very busy right now so you may well find you have enough support right here.

aimeexxx


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

yeah i've posted on some of the other board also.. the IUI board, the IVF board, oh and my local board for hampshire but i find i get on best here everyone is really friendly... i posted once on the surrogacy board about using DP.s eggs and was basically told that what i was doing was a social surrogacy and very frowned upon and to be honest they made me feel a little bit bad... probably should have thought about posting on there before i actually did it... oops... i was only posting to ask some questions about being a host.. thought it would be the best place for answers!!


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## rosypie (Feb 1, 2007)

hey MandMtb - our pct wouldn't fund anything like i said already but our gp did refer us privately to the local hospital for the hiv/hep screening for us both and chlamydia testing for me (and if you know exactly what else you need to can request these too). check out the costs because it's very likely to be cheaper at your hospital than a fertility clinic where everything seems to carry a premium


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Em, I can understand you charting your BTT to pass time, I dont know how I am going to cope on this TTC journey, as since Friday it is ALL I can think about, I hope this eases, otherwise I dont know how I will function the next few months LOL! Thank you for starting the weight loss thread, I will certainly be posting on this regulary. WELL DONE so far on your weight loss, that's a huge achievement. I lost about 2 stone for our CP in Nov, but since then have put it all back on again, I am so annoyed with myself. BTW how do you get the weight loss ticker like yours? I'm sorry you were made to feel bad about posting on the surrogacy board, I suppose I was worried about posting on other boards, out of fear of having a similar reaction. I may have a little look about and post on a few others, but I think I will mainly use the LGB forum, as I have had great support so far.

Aimee, thanks for your post, it reassured me about the BBT'ing, I cant even get my head around all the ovulation stuff, so was just hoping as long as I chart my periods they will tell me everything else I need to know at my consulation. Thanks also for your comments on the other boards, as said above I will give them a look, but agree with you I feel like I will get all the support I need from here  

Rosiepie, thanks for the info on funding/fee's much appreciated!

Love S (an C)
aka mandmtb x x


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

Hi

If you click on my ticker it will take you so you can make your own then all you need to do is copy and paste the URL into your signature section under profile.

Em x


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Thanks Em  

x x


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## rosypie (Feb 1, 2007)

lesbo_mum said:


> ... i posted once on the surrogacy board about using DP.s eggs and was basically told that what i was doing was a social surrogacy and very frowned upon and to be honest they made me feel a little bit bad...


don't feel bad about that - and they're wrong btw, what you'd be doing isn't surragacy at all since you're not having a baby FOR your DP, you're having a baby WITH your DP. you're not talking about carrying a child and not being its legal mother. it's much more like a donor egg situation. if you still have questions about it you might get better answers over on the donor egg thread...


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## TwoBumps (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi, welcome (sorry I'm a bit late!)
We initially used MFS for our 1st three inseminations back in 2007. We had our 1st appointment about 4 weeks after our GP referred us & treatment started about 4 weeks after that, once they'd got the blood tests results. We paid for my blood tests (about 350-ish) but later found out that our GP would have been happy to organise them. It hadn't even occured to us to ask!! All PCT's are different so its definately worth enquiring.
I had been charting my BBT for about 10 months prior to our consultation (we'd originally intended to do self-inseminations with a known donor so needed all the info about my cycle we could get!). I'd printed them all out on lovely charts, along with other fertile signs I'd noted for each cycle. The consultant glanced at them but didn't seem that interested so I wouldn't worry that you're not doing them. To be honest, they're really restrictive as you have to do them at the same time each morning, and things like alcohol & disturbed sleep can really affect them... I was glad to be able to stop!!
Well, nice to "meet" you & I hope you'll find these boards as supportive as we have!
Lottie x


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## Frinn (Nov 3, 2008)

Hey MandMtb!

Sorry I've only just read this post, I'm rarely on FF over the weekend as our laptop at home is so slow and I just can't bare the stress that it causes me!

My DW and I had our CP in September, knowing that we wanted to start TTC fairly soon afterwards. We self-refered to the London Women's Clinic in Cardiff (a fair drive for us, but we knew that they were very lesbian friendly and didn't have a waiting list for donor sperm). We had our first consultation session at the beginning of November (and had a compulsory 'counselling' session at the same time) and were given a list of blood tests that we would need doing. My GP was great and agreed to do them on the NHS for us, and then I had a hycosy at the LWC just because I had a ruptured ovarian cyst when I was younger and wanted to make sure everything was okay with my tubes (the hycosy cost £295 I think). 

At that first consultation we discussed with the consultant whether we wanted to try a natural or stimulated cycle, and as the stimulated cycle was both easier to predict (you know exactly when you will ovulate) and also the chances of conceiving were higher, we decided to go down that route. By the time all of my blood tests were back and I had had the hycosy, we were phoned by the clinic (having previously gone through donor forms with the donor bank nurse) to give us an option of a donor; we were only given one option at that point, but he was ideal for us (if he hadn't been, we wouldn't have accepted him and they would have done another search for us). So by mid December we had all of the blood test results in place, the hycosy done and the donor chosen and the sperm secured for us by the clinic. We would have begun the stimulated cycle then, but Christmas was approaching and we didn't want to be in the middle of it all over the Christmas period, so we waited until January.

On January 22nd, the first day of my last period, we went to the clinic for a baseline scan and on that day they gave me the two drugs that I would inject myself with daily. Each person is different, but I think the average time it takes to get two or three follicles stimulated is a week and a half to two weeks, but it took me two and a half weeks. Every other day for the second of these two weeks, I had to go in for a scan to check how the follicles were developing, and each time they upped my drugs a bit because my body was reacting slowly. Eventually on the 18th day of stimming, my follicles (I had three good ones) finally reached a good size (18mm+) and I was given a final injection to do which matures the eggs and makes you ovulate. A day and a half later we went back to the clinic and had the IUI done and we were told that the sperm sample was very good with 7.5 million sperm!

We then had an awful 2ww, but fantastic news at the end - a positive on our first cycle! We were incredibly lucky, and I've discovered the worry doesn't end there - now I'm worried about the pregnancy continuously!

Anyway, we began our journey on 6th November with the initial consultation and then had our IUI on 11th February, but like I say, we could have knocked a month off of that if it hadn't been Christmas.

Oh and by the way, because I had a stimulated cycle, they weren't particularly interested in my ovulation cycle, but it did help to know generally how long your cycle lasts and roughly when you usually ovulate. If you're doing a natural cycle I think it helps alot more if you have a more accurate knowledge of your body.

I'm so sorry, I've just waffled on for ages! I hope I haven't bored you to tears! I know that when we first stared TTC we wanted to know all the details though, so I hope this helps!

The VERY best of luck with everything, keep us posted! Frinn xxxx


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Hi Lottie, its nice to 'meet' you too. Thanks for your information, it seems that you didnt have to wait long for treatment at MFS which is reassuring. Do you know what their donor list is like, in terms of no.'s and availability? Also what info are you given? Are you from the Manchester area?

Frinn, thank you so much for sharing your story with me, it was amazing to read, Congratulations!!! I certainly hope we may be as lucky, but I have resigned myself that it may take a bit longer, in order to try and avoid dissapointment! I am not sure if I will be having a stimulated IUI, so may need to learn to get to know my body a bit more.

At the weekly shop today I couldnt resist buying some ovulation tests. I am going to have a go at using them in advance to see if I can start to learn when my surge is. Can I ask a dumb question, I know you count your cycle from the first day of period but does it end, the day before your next period or the day of your next period? Also, if your cycle varies each month, mine can be from 27-31, what length of cycle should I choose to chart when I should start using the ovulation tests?

Thanks in advance, as you can tell I am certainly not clued up on all this fully yet, biology was never my strongest subject  

Love S x

aka mandmtb


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

Hiya

your cycle ends on the last day of your period so the day before your AF shows up which is day 1... my cycle is normally 31 days long but this month it was 35 days and i had my surge on day 20....

Em x


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## rosypie (Feb 1, 2007)

the last day of your cycle would be the day before day 1 of the next cycle, so the day before your next period. most places have a cut off point; CARE called it day 1 if you had established bleeding before 3pm.


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Rosypie thanks for clearing that up for me


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

oops was i wrong!


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

LOL Em   This whole ovulation thing is so confusing!


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

i think i had it right but didnt word it right lol


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## TwoBumps (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi MandMtb,
The donor numbers at MFS are quite good, they're one of the very few clinics to have their own bank so there's usually no wait. At your consultation you give them details of your preferred hair/ eye colour & build type. They then post you a sheet with details of 3 donors on for you to choose from, sign against your 1st choice & post back. It has details of his hair/ eye colour, height, weight, occupation, hobbies & whether or not he has proven fertility (ie. already has children of his own or from his donations).

We're in Leeds but surprisingly (for a so-called cosmopolitan city) there are no private fertility clinics in Leeds! There are two NHS clinics (at St James Hospital - aka "Jimmy's" - & Leeds General Infirmary) but they don't have any sperm.   You can pay for private treatment there but it's not much good to us without the sperm! So that's what led us on our journey to Manchester!

In terms of trying to detect your ovulation, it's best to start testing around day 10. My cycle lengths seem very similar to yours & in the past my surges have been anywhere between day 12 to day 17. It can get very expensive using the Clearblue tests (although they do give a definate answer) so most people buy the cheapie tests off eBay & use them until they see a faint line starting to appear & then switch to using the Clearblue ones once they know their surge is imminent. You can get about 50 of the eBay ones for a few quid.

Regarding "day one" of your cycle, Rosie is right in that clinics usually have a cut-off point. MFS class your first day as the day in which you have full, red blood flow starting before 10am. If it starts any later in the day, they class the following day as day one.

All this info probably sounds really confusing right now, but you'll be experts in no time... promise! 

Lottie


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## Misspie (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi there

Sorry for the delay in posting....welcome to the board!!!

Everyone here is wonderful and very helpful, I've posted a couple of posts on some of the other sites on here, and don't seem to get the same helpful responses or support etc, but generally you get the answers you need. I think it's just easier to relate to everyone here on G&L as we are all in more or less the same boat and after the sme thing - a family!!!

Want to ish you lots of luck on your journey, I'm still ont the starting block and having blood tests and finding out ovulation dates etc......but there are plenty of people that can help and if you have a read around the board you will find many others!!

Congrats on your CP, me and my DW finally took the plunge after 8yrs in Oct 08. And it was one of the best days so far! 

Look forward to catching you along the way and haring your story..

L
xx


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Misspie, thanks for the post and welcome. I have decided to stick to this board as I agree everyone is so friendly and support, and can relate to each other. Plus I dont think I have enough time in the day to also keep up to date with the other boards LOL. Congrates on your CP too, and good luck with your journey, it will be fun to go along it the same time with you!

Lottie, a BIG thank you for all the info about MFS and about ovulation, it was really helpful. Told my DP about your feedback and info, and we feel reassured MFS will hopefully be good for us. 

Love S x x x
aka mandmtb


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## rosypie (Feb 1, 2007)

lesbo_mum said:


> oops was i wrong!


i think we said pretty much the same thing at the same time


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## lesbo_mum (Dec 22, 2008)

phew thats ok then thought i was going mad


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## Battenberry (Mar 18, 2009)

Hi MandMtb,
I've just joined too so thought it was a good place to say "Hi" here. It only took a couple of months for all our initial blood tests (my GP was fantastic in arranging a couple of them so we didn't have to pay for the whole lot but still had some done at the clinic) and our counselling session, it's been the waiting to be matched to a donor that has slowed it down for us but I just think we've been unlucky with that. Hopefully things will move along smoothly for you..
Lottiemaz - I noticed that you're in Leeds. We are not far from Leeds and work there, but found the lack of sperm led us up north to Darlington, although we did consider Manchester but never got round to checking it out. Be interested to hear your experience, good luck! For such a decent sized city we have to travel quite a way to other clinics don't we?!
Lots of luck to everyone, B x


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Hi B, thanks for the post. Welcome to FF  
Good luck on your journey 
S x x


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## TwoBumps (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi Battenberry,
Hmm, what to say about LWC Darlington?? To be honest, we're not too impressed with them at the moment! We've just had our 3rd IVF & unfortunately I had a terrible egg collection (the sedation failed) that was then abandoned part-way through & some of my eggs had to be left behind. They're not willing to take responsibilty for it and we're currently in talks with them about an acceptable resolution, to which they're not really offering anything suitable. 
We don't find them particularly professional (although the nurses are lovely) & you have to chase everything up & remind the consultant of your treatment needs constantly. He has a 'one size fits all' approach to treatment, but if you know your stuff he'll usually go along with what you've suggested. In our opinion though, we shouldn't be having to make the suggestions... that's what we pay them to do!! On a good note though, as it's a small clinic, the staff do all remember you by name & are always very welcoming.
We may be a bit biased because of what's happened recently, but when I've checked their most recent results they are among the worst in the country. For all those reasons, we'd been thinking of moving clinics after the 3rd cycle anyway.

We also have experience of MFS in Manchester as we had our 1st 3 IUI's there. In hindsight, I wish we'd stayed there but hindsight is a wonderful thing!! We'd switched because we felt we were just another number as MFS is not a very 'touchy feely' clinic, but ultimately their professionalism shows in their results!

Can I ask, have you had a consultation at LGI or Jimmy's? They also do private treatment in addition to the NHS stuff so it's worth being referred to them too via your GP. Their problem is that they do have a waiting list for donor sperm, but if you can be treated elsewhere in the meantime, it's something to think about. We just got our phone call on Thursday to say we've reached the top of the LGI list for private IVF with donor sperm (our consultation with them was in June 2007!) so we'll definately be switching to them now. It will be fantastic not to have to make 120 mile round trips 3 times a week for a month when we have IVF! And their results are good too!

Well, I bet you weren't expecting such a long reply but I think "knowledge is power" so if I can share what we've learned with someone else then it might make their journey smoother! Good luck & if you have any more questions, just holler.

Lottie x


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## Battenberry (Mar 18, 2009)

Hi Lottie,
Thanks so much for that, you have re-inforced what we thought of Darlington, but without anyone else's opinion, or anything else to compare it to (it's the only clinic we've been treated at) it's difficult to know if our expectations are too high or if it actually is the clinic!
I'm so sorry you had an awful experience with the sedation failing. I imagine the process of IVF and the travelling to and fro is stressful enough without a medical error on their part. I hope you get a resolution that suits you, not them, not to mention an apology, and hopefully you will have prevented them from making the same mistake again with someone else. Keep strong and be persistent..
I posted a thread on FF to ask how long the wait for donor sperm was at LWC as I felt that we were waiting longer than other clinics ie London LWC, and that does seem to be the case. We waited 6 months for our first IUI (the receptionist told us we were on the waiting list evey time we rang to chase it, but when I eventually got through to the embryologist she seemed genuinely surprised we had been waiting that long so I think we got lost in the system), now we are back to waiting for another match as they didn't ask us if we wanted to reserve the donor for next time!
The consultant seems to have given us slightly conflicting advice re: our treatment as well which we found a bit confusing, and I agree you have to know your stuff! The nurses were nice but we found on the whole we had to chase them and remind them what treatment we were having. I haven't looked at their results recently but that doesn't surprise me!
At the moment we are considering IVF as I don't seem to be ovulating, and was considering moving clinics but obviously don't want to be in the position of a long wait for donor sperm again! We both work at LGI and Jimmys so that puts us off going there as we feel it will be a bit odd being treated at work and I'm concerned about bumping into someone in the corridor who has just been looking at my bits! DW says it wouldn't bother her but it does me. I have heard some very good reports from them though so hopefully it willgo well for you. Can't beleive you first went in 2007! The timing is just right for you though isn't it?
Can I ask how long you waited for donor sperm at MFS Manchester? Have booked us on an information evening in April so we can go and see what we think, but obviously don't want to be back to square one! It also seems you need a GP referral for them so we better get cracking if that's the case..
Thanks for sharing your experience, it helps knowing how other people have found things as I thought we were being a bit picky, but it seems not! Good luck to you, look forward to hearing how you went at LGI.
B xxx


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## TwoBumps (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi,
It's interesting to hear about your instincts of Darlington. I wish we'd paid more attention to ours, instead of getting sucked in to the nicey-nicey side of the clinic. Not long after we started treatment there, a nurse & manager both left unexpectedly at the same time & whenever we asked about them the other staff got really cagey & embarrassed. We think they were either knocking each other off or there was something underhand going on. Either way, that was our 1st 'hint' of their lack of professionalism at times.

We only waited a month at both clinics for sperm. I'm surprised at your 6 month wait though, the consultant at Darlington actually asked us to phone them if we'd not heard anything as "sometimes peoples files go missing"!!!! Sounds about right!?!
As you know, LWC give you the details of one donor, whereas MFS give you the choice of three. They post out a form to you with the basic characteristics of 3 donors on & you sign at the side of the donor you select & return it to them.

If I were you, I would definately consider MFS before you get much further with your treatment. You could get your referral letter sent from the GP before you go to the info evening, then you're in their system already if you decide to switch. 

You're not being picky at all, you're right to investigate all your options as we only get a limited few shots at this!

We're delighted about the timing of our invitation to LGI, you're right that it couldn't have been better!

Lottie


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## Battenberry (Mar 18, 2009)

Hi Lottie,
Hmm seems strange about the nurse and the manager doesn't it?! Sounds like they were indeed up to something! I think it's really difficult to go with your instincts, because whenever we went to the clinic I was generally a little anxious and didn't really know what to expect, so you tend to put any doubts to the back of your mind and just trust that they know best. It's only really through FF I've now realised I'm not being paranoid!
I like the sound of MFS giving you the choice of 3 donors, not that we're choosy but it would make us feel like we had more of a say in the process I think. Your suggestion of going to the GP for a referral letter before the info evening is great, I'd not thought of that! Am off work this week as well so that would be a positve thing to do. Definately help speed the process up if we decide to switch. 
Thank you so much for your help and suggestions. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.  
B x


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## MandMtb (Mar 6, 2009)

Battenberry, we might see you about at MFS if you choose to go there   

S x x


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## Battenberry (Mar 18, 2009)

Hi MandMtb,
Brilliant! I'll be looking out for how your first appointment goes   Bet you're too excited to sleep! We're going to go to the next info evening to get a feel  for the clinic. Be nice to have someone at a similar stage of treatment to chivvy along! Good luck!
B x


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