To be so worried about the costs of fertility treatment

[icsipixie]

At this rate, the desperately wanted baby will be going into full time childcare when he or she is 6 weeks :( that's if ever manage to conceive, I just feel so low about it today and just want to try normally.

[jennifer86]

Didn't want to leave your post unanswered. Do you want to share your journey so far? We went through fertility treatment but thankfully that worked for us. The unfairness of it all is so awful, the fertility problems in the first place and that different areas have different policies in terms of what you can get on the NHS. Have you looked on the infertility board? There may well be others going through similar feelings on there, as well.

[BipBippadotta]

I hear ya.



The other day I thought, 'maybe if I sold one of my kidneys on the black market I could afford IVF.' Did a bit of Googling, and discovered I'd need to flog at least 2 kidneys to cover the fees at my clinic.

Hugs. It's an awful experience.

[icsipixie]

It's so much and the drugs cost so much as well. It would be nice if just the drugs were available on the NHS to reduce the overall cost; have never used the NHS at all so seems rotten I can't access it now!

[Whatdoidohelp]

Why aren't you able to have treatment on the NHS?

[icsipixie]

I know; it's annoying isn't it!

[Scarydinosaurs]

Why can you not get funding on the NHS?

I hate the way fertility is treated as a privilege and not a health issue. I really feel for you.

[notquitehuman]

I'm sorry to hear that. Can you get any help from the NHS? I know some people can get the first round of IVF covered. I have a colleague who is undergoing fertility tests etc on the NHS. Although she lied about how long she had been with DP to get them, which obviously I don't approve of!

[icsipixie]

No not eligible for any help so needs to be funded privately

[Hillfarmer]

Have you asked your GP about drugs? For some reason my practice was able to prescribe the drugs for me for my first round of IVF. That was a while ago, and I expect money has become a lot more tight since then, but they might have some help for you. Worth asking at least.

[icsipixie]

Will definitely ask - thank you :)

[YoungGirlGrowingOld]

icsi we had IVF inLindon but we're also self-funded and I looked into doing it abroad. It's MUCH cheaper. Obviously you need to be careful and check out the clinics but even with flights it's about half the price IIRC.

[YoungGirlGrowingOld]

Lindon = London obv

[lokijet]

I sympathise - I funded privately though ultimately for me treatment cost less than a child (when you include loss of earnings, impact on career). It may help to discusd different routes for treatment iui, ivf etc depending on what your challenges are as they have different costs. Good luck whatever you decide

[Whatdoidohelp]

I sympathise but the NHS can only fund to a certain degree and the current criteria I think is fair. Have u looked into egg sharing to reduce costs?

[Cheesypop]

My heart goes out to you OP. We were so lucky to have successful funded treatment on the NHS, although if we want any further children we would need to pay for treatment. You can be stoical about the hand that is dealt to you but only to a certain extent. Sometimes it just seems so fecking unfair.

Have you looked into going abroad? From what I have read the clinics in Prague for example, seem to be numerous, modern and much cheaper than the UK, even taking into account travel and accommodation.

[icsipixie]

Have thought about treatment abroad but I don't know, I think I'd feel more comfortable in this country.

I don't want to discuss the rights and wrongs of the treatment and the NHS but it feels unfair if you see what I mean!

[Me624]

Friends of mine who went through IVF told me that Asda sells the drugs not for profit so it's much cheaper than getting them from your clinic. They got all of theirs from there, their clinic was happy to give them private prescriptions to be filled elsewhere. I think my friend said it saved them between £500-£1000 which I know is not huge compared to the cost of the treatment overall but still a saving worth having!

[icsipixie]

It definitely is!

[Jelliebabe1]

Icsi! We had treatment in Prague through their sister clinic on London for all pre treatment consults prescriptions etc. My 10 week old twins are downstairs with daddy while I'm supposed to be napping. The treatment was less than half and we had superb treatment. Better than anything we could get here.

[Jelliebabe1]

And YES got all drugs at asdas! I price checked and deffo cheaper!

[icsipixie]

Congratulations on your twins!

Undecided whether to do icsi or IUI x

[SorrelForbes]

This is one of the reasons we decided not to go ahead with IVF. We knew we'd keep spending and spending with the possibility of ending up in dire financial straits. We weren't legible for any NHS treatment as DH has children from his marriage.

[FuckingCrumbs]

Look abroad. My BF did IVF in Spain, great clinic and just under €5k incl drugs. ICSI is standard. She said the clinic was excellent, all spoke English and were very helpful. She has twin boys.

I can ask her the clinic name if you want?

[Whatdoidohelp]

You shouldn't be choosing between iui and I so. Both are for very different reason of infertility. What is your/your dp's issue?

[Whatdoidohelp]

Iui or icsi. Damn autocorrect