Assisted Conceptions (and all the bits in-between) Volume 11

[vallinnapod]

I really hope I haven't missed someone else starting this!

prambo Just realised I haven't thought about the scans etc after conceiving though IVF abroad. If I had success with reprogenosis what happens about the early monitoring? Do you have to find a private clinic back in the uk who will undertake your scans? If so will uk IVF clinics take you back on to monitor this?

Lucky, good question. I have had six scans so far on the NHS. This is because I contacted my old consultant who prescribed Clomid to me late last year and performed my lap & dye this year and told him I was pregnant. I begged him to prescribe the £450 worth of drugs I needed post-BFP and he agreed! He also scans me now whenever I need reassurance. I'm incredibly fortunate because my IVF at RG was nowt to do with him and he effectively signed me off after my lap in February.

I would absolutely contact your network of health professionals here if you get your BFP abroad. You've paid a lot of money for their services so far and with the right begging angle I believe we can get pretty much what we want as women

Haha been there prambo my trust will not provide any drugs before 12 weeks and I just know they won't offer me any scans. At least I could def. not rely on either happening. So looks like I would need to check a private UK clinic would be prepared to take me back on. I guess this is another up side of Gennet having city fertilty linked to them in London. Guess I just need to check that any of my three uk clinics I've used would be happy to take on the after care. :-)

Any further in your decision-making, Lucky? How are you feeling? Not too stressed, I hope.

Hi prambo had a really detailed email back from dr Martin at RP actually suggesting we could still use my eggs as my levels in April were good and if they were the same again, which he suspects they will be there shouldn't be a reason not to use them! BUT we are still going to go ahead down the double donor route! As we'd still be taking such a leap of faith and can't keep facing yet more heart ache! Still feels a big decision but ndodnt believe the decision will get any easier until we take it!

Waves to all :-)

Blimey, Lucky! What an offer to use your own eggs. I think you're absolutely right not to gamble in this way though and to stick to your donor plan.

Hello Ladies
Sorry for the interruptions.
Lucky - how are you? I read your DD plan. Im also planning the same route. Today is my last day in Athens. i came here a few days ago for a hysteroscopy arranged by Serum clinic. I wanted this procedure done before i went ahead with the FET (in uk). Good job i did - the surgeons removed scar tissues in cervix, uterus and made an implantation cut to help with implantation.
Also - before I flew I made contact with an ivf coordinator British nurse Ruth directly through "[email protected]". she works for a clinic called Iakentro. i read up alot about this clinic. It does everything. Has high success rates for FET. i contacted her directly via email initially and then telephone. She asked for my photo and DH. I gave mine as i told her i probably be doing DD alone as DH is undecisive (she made me feel at ease and all of my Q & A were answered including costs for DD). DD is very costly in UK. The photo is to find donors that matches my looks etc. we met up in Marousi Athens is where the iakentro clinic is (the athen branch). She coordinates everything from beginning to finish. Pls note Ruth does the organisation stuff only if you contacted her directly. If you go through the clinic then the staff does it (not sure about language barrier issues). With Ruth i can communicate freely and she is fast with her responses. Her fee is inclusive in the package. You dont pay any extra for her services. As for cost- it wont break my bank. "ociwoman" on the ivf.ca fotum travelling abroad ivf thread posted a thorough breakdown of the cost of ivf for Iakentro clinic. Very helpful for me as im conscious of costs. pls feel free to ask me anything.
I hope this is helpful.
Take care now.

Oops. I dont know how i managed to pist the same message twice. Sorry ladies

Just wanted to say hi....no real progress her at the moment. Popped my first provera today. Not really sure why I need a bleed before going on the pill but who am I to argue?!

Hiya, Vall. I am very excited to read about your current plans and upcoming cycle - would you please keep us updated each step of the way so we can cheer you on? I often think of you and the horridness is all in the past, I am sure

How are you, Lucky?

Thanks lovely! Happy to share every dildocam, little prick and trouser dropping moment. May even update on the IVF

Where are you now, I think you were 2 weeks further on from me so I am guessing 16 weeks??

Hi all

miu thanks for sharing this info. So sorry to hear you may have to take the double donor route alone. That can't be easy to have in the back of your mind whilst FETing. Thinking of you and sending you plenty of positive vibes.

val good luck huni - boy do you deserve success and some trouble free days.

AFM - enjoying abit of IVF down time. So important to have some care free time again with my hubby. Start some counseling today (inline) with a counsellor that comes highly recommended for donor counselling.
Not putting any pressure on ourselves about next steps. We are lined up for our mock DD round in Czech Reprogensis next month and so we cycle November. However still light consider using my eggs. We shall see how this next month or so goes and if a decision comes to light - we will go with it!

How's everyone else getting on?

Xxx

Hi,
Please may I join you? I am a 39 year old TTC #2 for over 12 months now. I’ve been diagnosed with secondary infertility and it seems that my only solution is to have IVF……... And sadly time is not on my side as I’ll be 40 in November. Unfortunately my DH & I have cannot afford to have IVF right now (we are not entitled to IVF on the NHS). We’ve calculated that we may be able to save for one cycle of IVF by the time I’m almost 42
So it was with great interest when I read further up the thread of the possibility of having IVF abroad. I know one of the ladies here has done it and she is now pregnant – Congratulations Prambo. How would I go on about finding out the best clinics, prices etc? Would it involve one long trip for the initial consultation and treatment or several trips abroad? Will it really work out cheaper than having it in the UK? I’ve been told that one cycle for IVF for me will cost between £5-7K.
So please please if you can help me with the above I will be very grateful. Looking forward to getting to know you all x

Vall, I'm 17 wks now! Flippin' amazing. It's a miracle, for sure I am very interested in any trouser-dropping shenanigans - IVF-related or not..

Lucky, yes, yes to down-time with hubby. I'm also excited for your plans - however they pan out.

London, you're very welcome here but I beseech you not to panic. You may feel that time has almost run out but it hasn't. I started TTC when I was 40 and got pregnant immediately. I lost the baby (11 wk scan showed only sac and placenta), had the operation to remove the remnants and never got pregnant again. We borrowed £5k from my dad and in Hune this year flew to Reprogenesis in the Czech Republic for IVF using donor eggs. It worked first time and here I am..17 wks pregnant. Donor egg IVF in the UK can cost between £7-9k and the donor can be traced. Where we went the donor remains anonymous.

You really have to decide whether you want to risk such an amount of money using your own eggs. We had that one sum of money from my dad and there was no more if this didn't work. Ergo we were not prepared to gamble on my own eggs. There is a 62% chance of success for over-40s using donor eggs at Reprogenesis. Using my own eggs in the UK gave us a 11% chance of success. It was a no-brainer for us. I turned 42 last month and this is my first baby.

If you wish to have more details of donor egg IVF at Reprogenesis then please PM me. You will also find a fantastic forum for women currently cycling at ReproG on this Fertility Friends website

Also, you can join these lovely ladies who are all TTC over 40. They are all getting pregnant at 40, 43 & 45 after having been told they were unlikely to conceive. Do join them for support. Good luck, and DON'T PANIC!

*Not Hune..June!

Prambo that's a really lovely post. Just the kind of thing that kept me going during my donor ivf cycles.

Welcome London - I'm in my 40s and have a LO care of donor egg ivf. It really is possible.

Lucky best of luck to you hon. You too dearcVallina.

Waves to anyone Ive missed.

Sending a tonne of positive vibes to each and every one of you. May you soon all know the sleepless nights, huge nappies, cuddles and smiles that I have with DD who is 12 weeks tomorrow.

Please don't stop believing

Pocket! 12 wks today! What a joy and a blessing. Erm...exactly how big are these bleddy nappies??

Don't Stop Believing: IVF can and does work!

Prambo, it's not the size really (although some are big) more the frequency! Apparently they get worse when you wean onto solids. But it's all in a days work

Pocket, I knew what you meant Have you got a little girl who sleeps well? (Are we allowed to talk about babies on here or is it inappropriate, do you think?)

Hi all

Gosh no - not inappropriate in my view, we've all been here through Lucky's journey and for me personally it does give me hope that this can happen!!

London welcome - I've been considering Reprogenisis who Prambo has had success with. We are looking at a double donor round after 5 failed ICSI rounds here in the Uk. For us its the fact that they are guaranteed to achieve two grade A embryos to put back and at least 2 to freeze. In 5 cycles we have never achieved embryos to freeze! So it is truly tempting. If you are not using your own eggs, you can go out and back in the same day I understand. If you DH is providing Sperm he needs to be there at egg collection time too. Flights to Brno seem to cost less than me getting train to London! But still I completely understand what a big decision it is for you both. All these lovely ladies here will offer you great support.

Val Mui any news?

Sunny if you are reading this at all - we would love to know that you are doing ok sweetie.

Hugs to all xx

Hi all,

Thanks for the welcome ladies, much appreciated.

Prambo, thanks but I slowly panicking away! My situation is exacerbated by our lack of funds. My lovely parents offered me the money to pay for one IVF cycle. My worry is is that £7k is a heck a lot of money and I’m not fancying my chances with only a 13% success rate! Hence I am willing to consider donor eggs but my DH is ot comfortable with the idea. Plus, I will only consider the donor egg route once all other avenues have been exhausted…. And I do noy feel that I at that stage just yet. Ask me again in 6 months and I’m sure that it wilol be a completely different story!
Just out of interest what is your history, why did you go down the door egg route? Thanks for the offer of a PM regarding your clinic, I will take you up on that! I will send you a PM at lunchtime.

Pocket congratulations on your LO. Where did you have your IVF? And what about your donor egg? This is probably a stupid question, but how do you choose a donor?

Lucky I am interested in the double donor route too. Does this mean they you will have two embryos put back in? Or are you putting in one and freezing the other? I really need to look in to this further just in case things do not pan out with my knackered eggs!

Prambo I think it's ok to talk about babies a bit - I always loved hearing about the success of others using AC.

Lucky, hello to you my lovely. Sending you a hug x

London, I had my treatment with the lovely Dr Venkat at hsfc.org.uk/fertility/?gclid=CIDzvqvq6bkCFeSWtAodHGsApg

I had two rounds with donor found by clinic. And was matched by physical characteristics. Got bfp but mc for round one. And bfn round two.

We then had a third round, still with Dr Venkat, but I found my own donor through a post on fertility friends. Again matched by physical characteristics.

It's also key to ensure donor has proven fertility, ie has had her own kids, so that you know things work.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

Don't stop believing

two rounds with first donor who

Ignore the bit at the bottom if that post. On mobile so a bit clumsy!

Hi ladies

Pocket - How are you and How is motherhood ?

Lucky: I'm going to have my DR injection on 4th Oct. Once my period comes I'll start lining prep for FET.

London - Welcome. You are not alone. I'm in my mid 40s and still try for my first baby. I had one failed Donor Egg IVF in the UK. I got 2 frozen embryos left which I will use before going abroad. If you go to the website fertilityfriendsforum you will get lots of information about donor eggs etc. Ging down the donor route abroad is definately cheaper than UK. The price you paid for in the UK does not include other charges like medications freezing of left over embryos etc. Youu can have consultation on the phone or skype the clinic abroad before you decide to check the clinic out. Itmight safe you some money if you get the baseline bloods done at your GP. Like Lucky said - the traceability of the donor is not available if you go abroad. In the UK the donor child can trace its biological parent once it reaches its 18th birthday. I don't mind either way - I'm more concerned about cost, waiting list and and not too much about filling out forms etc (red tape) I found a clinic in Greece called Iakentro (in Marousi area) does provide proven donor eggs or double donor for couples and single women. It's cost is reasonable. I just came back from Greece after a hysteroscopy. While I was there I visited this clinic and spoke to the IVF nurse coordinator Ruth ( a British nurse)- i will definately go there for future IVF. I going for my FET in the UK (hoping it will work). If it doesn't i will go down the DD route alone as DH is undecisive about using donor sperm. Please feel free to ask anything. I find these ladies here are very supportive.

Hi Mui, the penny had just dropped and I recognise your name. Hope you're well. Wow you've made loads is progress you've got a clear plan ahead. I have everything crossed for your next cycle which isn't too far away.

Motherhood is lovely thank you - a good mix of extremely hard work and brilliant fun. Which you'll get to experience very soon I'm sure