Nhs Fertily referal

Just wow! Finally got a gp to talk to me about fertility and I’m absolutely livid! This doctor says the first port of call is to get a full blood test then i will get sent to gynaecology but we have to do those bloods first. I asked if that hinders any fertility referral because gynaecology (health and harmonie) said the gp has to refer for any fertility support and so just wondered why i would get sent back to them and i literally got told that my age is too old for a fertility referral and that I wouldn’t get any treatment on the nhs and that the cut off for my area is 35. That going back to gynaecology after having my bloods done would be for the dye test and thats it. I said i saw it saying 40-42 is the cut off on the nhs website and dependent on circumstances and he couldn’t stop repeating himself about the 35 cut off. I said i don’t think thats helpful keep telling me that and he said well I’m just telling you and repeated himself again and said he’s happy to do the blood test, (i had already accepted the blood test) i said yes i had already agreed to that, thats fine thank you, i just wanted to make sure there was nothing else to do/a referral to do as ive waited a while just for this phone call and I’m 39, so I’m conscious of not wasting anymore time and making sure everything can be put in place. He repeated this 35 treatment bs and that I can’t do anything until i have bloods and sperm report Just wow! Honestly can’t get over the ego of keep talking down to me and forcing hopelessness down my throat!🤯 Anyone else had this with starting fertility❓ I may of even minded less if i asked for treatment but all i asked for is a fertility referral for chat/tests. Can anyone share what nhs process they had please❓ Added the bloods form i got today, it doesn’t look right at all 🤯

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I wasn’t eligible for IVF on the NHS due to age (37 at the time), the cut off in my area was 35 - it does vary depending on where you are in the country, but for initial tests and screenings they would have done try is for me but I didn’t want to go on the long waiting list and went private as had to go private for my treatment anyway! Sorry you’ve had a bad start to this experience and hope it’s more positive moving forward x

@Rachel sorry you have gone through that too, thanks for the reply Rachel. Can i ask what tests you had?

Hi, I don’t know anything about the 35 referral thing, however they wouldn’t do anything until I had bloods and a sperm result too from my partner. Once we did this they did a referral for us. I was 25 at the time so unsure about the age thing but keep pushing it!

I moved districts and so I was just merely registering at a new GP and asked the question. Each catchment area has their own set of NHS rules I’ve found out. As a work colleague of mine had different experience and treatment living in different areas. I was told that if I was over 35 (which I was) and had been trying for at least 18 months (which I had) without success then I would be eligible for a referral. I didn’t have any blood tests done at my GP but everything was done at the clinic. Initially anyway before you are accepted for NHS as such. Male goes for sperm analysis and the female goes for a AMH (cycle oriented) blood test to test egg reserve. Personally this can be done via the GP. The only thing I would push for is a HyCoSy or hysteroscopy to see if you have issues with your ovaries/tubes as another person I knew had a cyst on her ovary and once that was removed she conceived naturally. I was eligible due to an undiagnosed thyroid disorder discovered by the clinic.

@Zara that sounds promising Zara thank you! Is there a way to find out about areas and ages? I told the gp both of those and he couldn’t stop telling me about 35 it was insane 🤯🙈 My husbands booked in for a sperm check in march that hes waited nearly 4 months for at this rate. So at least thats in progress. Are the hyc’ and hyst’ the dye test? Can i ask how they discovered the thyroid disorder? I believe i have a thyroid issue see but the gp only test one thing rather thsn the 5-6 recommended bloods for thyroid

@Courtney Davis thanks Courtney 🫂

hycosy is with the dye it’s consider the most advanced out of the two but personally should anything appear on the hycosy you would then need a hysteroscopy to confirm or rule out etc should needed. a thyroid function blood test can be done to find out if you have thyroid problem. That can also be done at the GP. Your GP along with your egg reserve blood test should be doing all blood test for every function would be the opportunity to have all your bloods done all in one go. I think I had about 3 vials taken for different bloods at the time. Now I’m on synthetic hormone replacement that I have to take to stabilise my hormones. But it took me 8 months to get my levels right initially. Now I just get checked every year or before starting treatment just to make sure I am still on the right dose.

@Zara thank you for all that zara! 🤞🏼

Sorry I can’t help more! Thankfully I got pregnant the month before I had an appointment after waiting 1.5 years for it, typical really. Good luck x

@Courtney Davis I’ve heard this a few times to be honest, its unreal. Thanks lovely, and so glad you got there 💖

I did have a chemical just before though but least I got my rainbow baby! Thank you!! Tbh the whole words ‘it happens when you relax are forbidden’ though now we’re trying for number 2! You can’t relax even if you think you’re relaxing!! Keep pushing!!! I hope you get there🫶

With my GP I had quite a few blood tests to check for PCOS, that I was ovulating, thyroid, full blood count etc and my husband had a sperm analysis. He was then referred to urology but they wouldn’t do any further tests like AMH or a transvaginal scan for me until they had run the course on any issues for hubby because low morphology came up for him. This is when I went for a scan at our nearest private clinic and got the ball rolling for me there which was good as turns out I had low AMH and follicle count and fibroids!

Gosh 35 cut off!! That’s way too early! Most women are still building/ finding relationships at that age!

Hi I’m sorry to hear about your treatment on the Nhs. Have you looked at fertility mapper they have an NHS eligibility calculator ? Hope that’s some help, good luck :)

@Julie I’ll have a look thanks julie! 🙂

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