Fertility issues and the NHS

I was reading on the pregnancy/parenting boards and noticed someone mentioned with the NHS fertility issues are only dealt with after a year of trying to conceive.

However I have already been diagnosed with PCOS here in the states and was told basically the only way I will get pregnant is fertility meds. Will my medical records from the US stating that I do indeed have a condition be sufficient to begin fertility meds when we decide we are ready to start trying for a baby, or am I really going to have to start all over again in the UK when I know exactly whats wrong?

I know I am young but Ive been told the clock is ticking and the longer we wait the harder it will be.

I was reading on the pregnancy/parenting boards and noticed someone mentioned with the NHS fertility issues are only dealt with after a year of trying to conceive.

However I have already been diagnosed with PCOS here in the states and was told basically the only way I will get pregnant is fertility meds. Will my medical records from the US stating that I do indeed have a condition be sufficient to begin fertility meds when we decide we are ready to start trying for a baby, or am I really going to have to start all over again in the UK when I know exactly whats wrong?

I know I am young but Ive been told the clock is ticking and the longer we wait the harder it will be.

I think if you have been told you have PCOS and you tell your Dr here in the UK, you will be able to get the meds you need.  Can you get a perscription in the US?  Show it to your GP here and I'm pretty sure that is proof enough.  Also a letter from US Dr would help too I'm sure.

Fertility coverage varies by region.  Some Primary Care Trusts fund it more than others, opting instead to fund other things as the needs of the region vary.

Best to speak to a GP about it when you get here.

I will likely definitely be getting my prescriptions filled here before leaving, if I can get an appt with the dr...he goes to two other towns too so hes not around much

I guess my main concern is finding a dr willing to prescribe the fertility meds there...the cost of them isnt a worry for me, we will be able to afford them, its just getting someone to tell me I can have them.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure most people here who have been on the pill in the US and show the perscription to their GP get the perscription filled that way.  I just think that will be what you need to do in your case.  You are already diagnosed, I don't think they would have to do it again.  Plus once you are on the NHS system perscriptions are not expensive. (At least not as expensive as they are in the US)  I think the amount is the same for everything.  Am I right on that?  Anyone?

That is good to know...the dr I had to see in gatwick said he had never heard of the meds I was taking..Actos and Zoloft, maybe different names for the same drug in the UK?

I had to see the dr since I had the meds they had to make sure it was ok if I took them...then they asked me 50 times when it was time to take the meds...was a little much 

I was diagnosed with PCOS in the US and simply told my GP here about the diagnosis and we went from there.  You will probably find that any medications you're on will have different names in the UK.  Just try to bring as much info about the meds as possible in order to get the correct equivalent (i.e., the "chemical" sounding name on the packaging).

That is good to know...the dr I had to see in gatwick said he had never heard of the meds I was taking..Actos and Zoloft, maybe different names for the same drug in the UK?

I had to see the dr since I had the meds they had to make sure it was ok if I took them...then they asked me 50 times when it was time to take the meds...was a little much 

Don't know what Actos is, but Zoloft is 'sertraline' in the UK.

Don't know what Actos is, but Zoloft is 'sertraline' in the UK.

And sertraline is marketed as 'Lustral' here, i believe.

Can you make some calls before you come over to reassure yourself?

Actos is a med to regulate your blood sugar. The doctor said I am insulin resistant, and my sugar goes both high and low. The actos basically makes your body use the insulin it produces correctly instead of storing it right away as fat, which is what happens with me.

Metformin does the same thing but can cause stomach problems, which it did with me. Actos isnt supposed to, so thats why I was put on that instead.

Im going to ask my dr if he will write a letter explaining I do have this condition and what he prescribed. Also gonna have my history sent over.

Im going to ask my dr if he will write a letter explaining I do have this condition and what he prescribed. Also gonna have my history sent over.

::thread hijack::
You may want to get copies yourself and bring them over instead of having the doctor's office send them.  I was able to get my daughters records (and trust me my oldest has quite a bit) and my ob/gyn records.  The only ones I had to pay for were mine and it was $25.
::End of hijack:: 

Im glad you mentioned that..I will definitely get my own records, from my last ob/gyn it was free...who knows about this one. My ob/gyn from when I had my son was absolutely wonderful..then we moved away and shes too busy to take on new patients But Im moviing anyway

there's no way i'd travel without copies of all my medical files.

(i just got them from the medical group i went to throughout my childhood, and was stunned to see that i have not grown a fraction of an inch since i was 12. )

with my tmj problems, i'm paranoid about seeing anybody new. so i've got all the records to back up my history, just in case i need them.

I brought my medical records with me when I registred with a practice here.  At the first appointment, the practice nurse wouldn't touch them.  She told me to take them home and make a seperate copy to bring with me, as the NHS has a habit of losing paperwork.

In terms of getting prescriptions filled here, I have a medication that I take chronically.  I told the GP at my first appointment, showed him a copy of my record with my diagnosis, and he instantly wrote me out a new prescription for the British equivilant.  At my next appointment, he did do some bloodwork to see if the dosage needed to be adjusted (as it is a different brand than I had been taking), but it was no problem to get that initial prescription.