Feeling hopeless and losing all confidence...

@Leentje I have that problem too, working around 50 hours a week. On top of that, since the beginning of last month I've had a 125m2 vegetable garden in a village nearby, which is super fun but also takes quite a bit of time. And then there's the gym at least twice a week, plus household chores and social contacts. Busy busy busy Haha
Yes, I did read that it's annoying for you, but hopefully it's a positive sign so at least you're not suffering for nothing

@Leentje Haha yeah, super busy sometimes I can't keep track anymore so I ask my fiancé if I'm available on a certain day when someone asks to make plans Haha
Well, super exciting, lots of success and keep us posted

Leetje, it's so frustrating that you're having such a weird feeling in your tummy, girl. Hopefully, you'll get some clarity with the ultrasound.

Leetje, luckily there was nothing weird to see, girl.

Glad everything looked so good, Leentje

@Leentje exciting We did this in November, and it's best to go together, which we did then, and our GP also recommended that.
You tell the GP what your wish is and how long you've been trying, it's also good to mention which aids you've used, e.g., ovulation tests or the temperature method.
The GP will probably ask both of you if you've had previous relationships and if there are children from any of those relationships.
Then you'll have to do an STI test (probably only at a follow-up appointment) if there are no indications (symptoms) that the doctor suspects an STI, then you can often use a self-test (that's what we did), you get that from the GP anyway and then you send it by post to the hospital (you both have to do that test).
Two weeks later you get the result of the test and if the results are good, you're often referred to the hospital, at least for a sperm analysis.
If the sperm analysis is good, there will probably also be an examination for you where they'll look at the ovaries and an internal ultrasound to check the uterus and the existing eggs.
If nothing abnormal is seen here, you'll be sent home again for 6 months to try it yourself.
So it's a very long road, beforehand I also expected that if we took the step to the GP, it would all go quite smoothly, but in reality, we go from waiting list to waiting list.
End of November step to GP (referral letter to hospital requested)
First week of January STI test
Third week of January STI test result (everything good)
Last week of January hospital appointment for internal examination and sperm analysis
Normally 14 Feb result but because all previous appointments had run out, we already got the result of the sperm test right away, it wasn't good so make an appointment with a urologist.
End of April we could go to the urologist (more than 8 weeks waiting list)
It's a minor procedure on July 9th, for this he has to stick to strict lifestyle rules like taking food supplements, no more baths, max 1 glass of drink and no phone in his pocket.
July 9th is the procedure, we hope they'll be able to collect sperm here so we can continue with the process.
The expectation is that we'll really start with the injection and harvesting of the eggs in October/November (for ICSI) and that the first transfer will take place then.
So a year after we took the step to the GP ;-)
Wishing you lots of success, hopefully, you find my experiences helpful.

@Leentje glad that the appointment went well I don't know which region you're from, but we live in a village near Uden/Oss and are with the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen

I also called my health insurer myself because I thought waiting 8 weeks for an ultrasound was ridiculously long. My insurer told me there were hospitals where we could get an ultrasound much faster, but very few hospitals actually do reproductive medicine (I think four or five in the NL). And if we switched hospitals, we'd have to move the entire process to the other hospital.

In our case, we would have had to go to UMC Utrecht, which is an hour's drive from our house. That's not too bad for tests, but if you have to come in for just an ultrasound, it's not convenient, especially not with work. So we chose to wait, however difficult that was.

After the GP referral, we had to fill out a 6-page questionnaire from the hospital. It asked questions about your family, e.g., if there are more people in your family who are involuntarily childless, and if there are any disorders, etc.

Then there was another digital questionnaire, independent of your partner, about your mental health and how you think about wanting children, how important the desire is.

These questionnaires were all before our first appointment. It seems they use these questionnaires to determine if you even get an appointment ;-)

In our case, there was no reason to suspect either of us had an STI. We've been together for almost 4 years and never had any symptoms. First, I had to do a self-test, which was completely fine. To my surprise, my fiancé also had to do one afterwards, even though he never had unsafe sex with me and I don't have an STI, so honestly, I found that nonsense. His test was also completely fine

So now we're waiting until the procedure on July 9th and hope they can find sperm cells then, which they will then freeze

After that, it's my turn for the ICSI process. For this, I first have to take the pill for a month again, and then I can start injecting to produce extra eggs, which will later be retrieved and fertilized with the (hopefully) retrieved sperm.

We're getting married on August 10th, so I expect we can only start injecting in September or maybe even October, depending on how quickly the hospital has a spot So I hope we can get pregnant this year

We've been trying since October 2016, so it would be wonderful if it works out this year and our biggest wish comes true

I hope for you that clarity comes soon too, hopefully, my story was helpful

And of course, I also hope that everyone in this group gets pregnant this year

Hi ladies, unfortunately... this past Sunday, my period came . My 3rd IUI attempt failed.
Starting injections again tonight and heading towards round 4. Meanwhile, we have our first IVF consultation on June 4th. They're already setting things in motion since there's a waiting period and they don't want us to just sit around.

@Leentje yes, it's indeed a really exhausting journey ;-) but I'm glad July 9th is getting closer now

We're already living quite healthily anyway, so that's not the problem. The hospital also prescribed nutritional supplements that contain vitamins and folic acid; it's forbidden to take other vitamin pills on top of those because they already contain all the necessary vitamins So you have to stick to the lifestyle rules for three months first before the procedure to get the best possible result Luckily, it's almost time for the procedure now, so I finally feel like something is going to happen

I completely understand your feelings; I had the same thing at the end of last year. I wanted to know if I was hoping for something that could actually happen, so I also wanted to know if everything was okay.

By the way, everything was fine with me too. I had an internal ultrasound and saw a lot of vesicles, which was quite special haha.

Glad you can get in more quickly now IVF or ICSI are indeed done in several hospitals, but there are only 5 in the Netherlands that can/perform PESA. I'm glad we ended up in the right hospital right away, as the waiting lists are long enough already hihi.

Wishing you lots of luck next month. Let me know if you know more And if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message anytime.

Leetje, thank you so much, dear girl.
I did indeed have an HSG before we started the treatments. Luckily, it was completely fine. In principle, we could have 6 IUIs, but because of my age, they wanted to start with 3 and then switch to IVF. Now we're getting a 4th IUI, and meanwhile, we're starting IVF. There's a waiting period for that, and they don't want to keep us waiting unnecessarily, which is why we're just continuing with IUI.

Which hospital are you going to, actually?

Hi girls,
Tomorrow is our 4th IUI... still pretty nerve-wracking!!
Are you all rooting for me?

We're at the Radboud UMC in Nijmegen I'll definitely be rooting for you, good luck!