IVF clinic in London for oldies like me?

[user1488564523]

I have 2 boys conceived naturally (4 and 6 years ago) but we have been struggling for a third baby for some time. At the age of 42, we decided to do IVF to maximize success. We have done 2 cycles in USA with good success in terms of response to medication but the embryos were abnormal each time (due to my age, according to the drs). We are moving to London from California next month. I am now 43. Can anyone recommend a good clinic for older women with poor egg quality due to age? We will try one or two more times and put this to rest. We have decided that cost is not an issue. Thanks so much.

[Fishface199]

I think ARGC has the best succes rate but it is very very intense. Just google "ARGC" for more details.

Check put this page for clinics near your new address and when you click on the links you can find individual success rates for age groups:

guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide/SearchResults.aspx

[Fishface199]

*check out

[user1488564523]

Thanks so much. I will do.

[sparechange]

Argc has the best results but may not treat you if you have low AMH (ovarian reserve)

Get your AMH tested and if it is below the ARGC threshhold, look at natural cycles at Create

Good luck

[laurelstar]

We've had excellent care from the Bridge Centre at London Bridge. Mr Summers is their consultant for pre-Implantation genetic screening and IVF. Good luck!

[Landy10]

Argc don't treat dependent on amh. They like you to have fsh lower than 10 on cycling month (although I know of people who have cycled with higher). They will recommend natural ivf if fsh consistently above 10.

[madrid9575]

Hi there, I just came across your post. In the hope that you see this, may I ask if you found the right clinic for you In London? My situation is similar to yours though I’m even older now! Thanks in advance for replying.

[ivfgottostaypositive]

Create has the best record for older women

BUT chances of success with own eggs over 43 is still really low

[madrid9575]

Thanks so much for responding!

[fool11]

I had an ivf in Oct at the Guys in london, with dr grace, was very happy with them, we were very lucky, first and only try, I’m 45 and currently 39w preg. Good luck.

[Ladybug06]

@fool11 Amazing it worked first time. I’m 42 (43 in a few months) & starting to look into fertility clinics & costs. Was you able to use your own eggs by any chance x

[fool11]

Hi @Ladybug06, I did use my own eggs. We contacted a few clinics but many of them would not consider my own eggs as their cut off age for own eggs is 42. Many don’t do ivf for older women as successful rates are very low so they don’t have experience or not willing to mess up their success rates. We went to Guys and their were honest, said it’s very low, about 1% success rate but it’s not impossible. Our friends friend had a successful Ivf there a year earlier, at 45, which gave us some hope. It was about £7-8k per one treatment. Wish you all the best. Good luck.

[Ladybug06]

Hi @fool11, thanks so much for your feedback, it’s really useful knowing that it can/does happen. Great to know the expected costs for a cycle too.
Did you make any changes to your diet or take any particular supplements to increase your chances?

[fool11]

Hi @Ladybug06,
I didn’t make any changes, this was kind of last minute decision, we went to few clinics and was basically told that I’m too old and should get a dog, kind of..then my friend told me about her friend who just had a baby at 45, so I contacted Dr Grace and book a consultation, I had my blood tests and scan done prior ( my results were good for an old women I was told), had appointment on Monday, had 3 days to decide if we want to try it as my period was due 3d later..we confirmed on Thursday, ordered drugs on Friday and started jabs next Wednesday..it happened all so quickly I had no time to change anything, was drinking 4-5 coffees a day, no vitamins, supplements , eating lots of carbs, chocolates. I dont really drink any alcohol or smoke. I only took vit d and folic acid. I was very new to ivf, to be honest I didn’t even know about the supplements many women take, specials diets etc to improve chances, only found out about it later here on mumsnet,

[Ladybug06]

Hi @fool11, I really appreciate your advice it’s really insightful. As the NHS has cancelled my appt this month to start fertility investigations (been waiting since March) I’m thinking Guys would be the better option based upon your experience.
I notice they have two options, self funded or personalised & was wondering which option you went with.
I was also wondering how often you need to visit during treatment for monitoring/tests, as I’m totally clueless X

[fool11]

Hi @Ladybug06, sorry to hear about your cancelled treatment. We went with personalised care, both are self funded but with personalised care you can pick your consultant and see that consultant all the time, also does your egg collection and transfer. Just self funded is similar to nhs, yiu have to pay but you see whoever is available..so for each appointment it can be somebody else. We went with Dr Grace, she was recommended to us by friends friend who had a successful ivf with her at 45 which gave us hope. DecGrace is not very chatty, straight to the point , but very professional. We attended one of the open evenings to meet the team which was helpful, they might be doing it via zoom now. She was very honest from the beginning with us. I was on short protocol with gonal f, we got 16follicals, retrieved 11eggs , 10 fertilised , on 5th day 2best were put back, the rest didn’t make it after day 6...we only wanted to try once so we would have no regrets, also financially would not do another cycle and mainly because of the age..against all odds I have now an amazing little boy, little miracle. We were very lucky. If yiu have some blood test and scan take them with yiu, she used my scans abs blood tests which I had done whee we n I went to a different clinic. Yiu will go for a scan on day 2 or 3 of your period, if I remember correctly , that’s when you will have first jab, then I only went back on day 9 for scan, follicles were not right size so did extra two days of jabs and then the trigger jab. Then went for a scan and all looked fine so was booked for egg collection two days later. In a weird way it felt like I’m not having enough scans , being private, as some clinics want to see you every two three days so they can adjust meds. But I could not take so much time off to go so often for check ups so it actually worked well for me and I could have my scans before I went to work in the morning. If yiu can, try to do an open evening, with any clinic. I remember one lady who went to Guys and went with a different doc, dr Kopejka I think, and told me that she was very negative and told her that they don’t have any successful ivf for this age group , which is not true, but it was not great experience for her. So try to meet them, even online might be helpful. Good luck.

[Delectable]

Congratulations @fool11

[Ladybug06]

@fool11 you truly are a wealth of information & hearing about your experience is really useful. I think it’s amazing that you beat the odds & now have your son. It was meant to be.
Guys it seems have temporarily cancelled open evenings due to Covid but I intend to contact them to get fertility tests carried out, so at least then I’ll know what the state of play is. Thanks for the heads up about the negative doctor, will want to avoid that one :-)

[Pippinpomp37]

Congratulations @fool11may I ask what your Amh and fsh was ?

[Pippinpomp37]

Congratulations @fool11 . May I ask what your Amh and fsh was ?

[Ladybug06]

Hi @fool11 I wanted to update you. I ended up doing an IVF cycle Nov-Dec with Dr Grace when I turned 43. My AMH was good apparently (9.6) with 10 follicles. I was put on the long protocol with 8 eggs retrieved but only 2 fertilised which surprised them as they said my husbands sample was good but his swimmers struggled sticking to the eggs. As a result I ended up having a 2-day transfer but both embryos failed to implant.
i was contemplating trying again one last time with ICSI in the spring but to my surprise I conceived naturally the next month after my failed cycle. I’m now 24+2 weeks pregnant with a boy. I think having IVF helped as it’s too much of a coincidence.