{"id":8939,"date":"2016-08-16T23:08:35","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T22:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamap.accessfertility.com\/ie\/2016\/08\/16\/first-appointment\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T13:56:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T12:56:26","slug":"first-appointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/ie\/first-appointment\/","title":{"rendered":"What to ask in your first IVF appointment?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>With the average fertility consultation setting patients back a couple of hundred pounds it\u2019s important to ensure you get value for your money. \u00a0We\u2019ve put together some information to help you prepare for your first IVF appointment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First thing is first, you should consider what you want out of the consultation. If you\u2019ve been trying for a baby for longer than the \u2018normal\u2019 time based on your age there is a chance you will need some form of treatment. To find out what the medical time periods are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/blog\/how-long-should-i-keep-trying-for-a-baby\"><strong>click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you have been trying for longer you many want to do the investigative tests <strong>before <\/strong>your first appointment so the 30 to 60 minutes spent with the doctor can be focused solely on your circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>These include<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Female hormone tests (ask your clinic which they prefer)<\/li>\n<li>Female ultrasound scan<\/li>\n<li>Male Semen Analysis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you don\u2019t, and the doctor decides you have been trying for a reasonable amount of time, they will ask you have the tests done and return for a follow up appointment. This will be an additional cost.<\/p>\n<p>There is no right or wrong answer. Some people prefer more face time with their doctor and therefore may prefer two appointments regardless of the additional cost. \u00a0It\u2019s up to you to decide.<\/p>\n<p>Once you are in the appointment here are our top tips. You should also ask if you would benefit from our\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/programmes\">Access Fertility programmes<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We offer 2 and 3 Cycle Refund Programmes as well as our Multi-Cycle Programme.\u00a0To find out more about our programmes\u00a0<span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-72bad1f7-e59a-4c7e-bfef-23e3a57dacfa\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-72bad1f7-e59a-4c7e-bfef-23e3a57dacfa\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-72bad1f7-e59a-4c7e-bfef-23e3a57dacfa\" data-hs-drop=\"true\"><a id=\"cta_button_2057201_dd8d6f65-8454-4a90-9741-aa46d50d79c1\" class=\"cta_button \" title=\"Click here\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/contact-us\">Click here<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>How many patients do you treat like me?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to know how many women the clinic treats every year. You should also ask them how many women your age have had the same or similar treatment protocol to you. And lastly you should ask them how many of those patients gave birth. We have more advice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/blog\/ivf-clinic-success-rates-actually-mean\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a> about success rates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How long does the process take the average patient?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some clinics are able to accommodate patients starting treatment based on their next menstrual cycle dates. \u00a0Others require several visits before treatment can start or have a waiting list. The answer could impact when you decide to start IVF.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there anything I can do to improve my chances?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are lots of small lifestyle tweaks some patients can do to increase their chance of IVF treatment working. Some of these include losing or gaining weight to ensure you are in a healthy weight category, quitting smoking, cutting alcohol and reducing stress. This can make a significant difference to things like sperm quality, saving you the cost of ICSI. However, that is not always the case so you should talk about it with your doctor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are all of these treatment options evidence based?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>IVF treatment is constantly evolving and there are many new techniques, treatment options and supportive services. Some of them come about as a result of extensive scientific research, others from smaller studies and others from a general belief that anything that helps a patient be in a \u2018good space\u2019 during treatment. It\u2019s good to know the difference as it can impact your decision \u2013 and the IVF cost.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many visits will I need to make to the clinic?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s good to have an accurate idea about what treatment entails and what sort of time commitment is needed. It\u2019s also good to ask them how early\/late they do treatment scans as this might impact where and when you have treatment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you circle everything I will likely need?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is important, you are going to hear a lot of abbreviations and words you will likely not have encountered. Don\u2019t be scared to ask the doctor or someone at the clinic to identify everything at the start. When I worked in clinics in London I would sit down with the patient and go through the price list with them identifying everything they will definitely need and anything they might need. Get a clear financial picture from the start so there are no surprises down the road.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re proud to partner with some of the best clinics across the UK.\u00a0 <span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-f6200444-bec8-45c1-9e20-c724496211fa\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-f6200444-bec8-45c1-9e20-c724496211fa\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-f6200444-bec8-45c1-9e20-c724496211fa\" data-hs-drop=\"true\"><a id=\"cta_button_2057201_1660a019-5cd3-4f2a-bfd8-12bf27419ab3\" class=\"cta_button \" title=\"Discover\u00a0our Partner Clinics\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/partner-clinics\">Discover\u00a0our Partner Clinics<\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0to find out which one is the right clinic for you.<\/p>\n<p>Our team are on hand to chat things through if you\u2019d like to know more about our programmes. You can contact us Monday to Friday 9am \u2013 5pm <span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-3d4a7e64-04ee-46ba-ab5c-97680d029e5e\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-3d4a7e64-04ee-46ba-ab5c-97680d029e5e\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-3d4a7e64-04ee-46ba-ab5c-97680d029e5e\" data-hs-drop=\"true\"><a id=\"cta_button_2057201_09d44205-286a-4335-bd01-a65b3854cee5\" class=\"cta_button \" title=\"Get in Touch\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accessfertility.com\/contact-us\">Get in Touch <\/a><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0As always, we wish you the very best of luck in your fertility journey.<\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/accessfertility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the average fertility consultation setting patients back a couple of hundred pounds it\u2019s important to ensure you get value for your money. \u00a0We\u2019ve put together some information to help you prepare for your first IVF appointment. First thing is first, you should consider what you want out of the consultation. If you\u2019ve been trying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ivf"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Questions To Ask In Your First IVF Appointment | Access Fertility<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019ve put together some information to help you prepare for your first IVF appointment. Do you have anything else you would add?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pamap.accessfertility.com\/ie\/2016\/08\/16\/first-appointment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to ask in your first IVF appointment?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019ve put together some information to help you prepare for your first IVF appointment. 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