London Women’s Clinic Donor IUI/IVF

[sunshinexdreams]

Hi everyone!

I’m 28 and single so looking to embark on this journey by myself. I’ve taken the plunge and booked my first clinic appointment for next month at my local LWC so thought I’d post a thread on here so I’m fully prepared when I go!

I was originally torn between IUI/IVF and I thought I may have PCOS as my periods are quite irregular and can be anything from 23-37 days however other than a borderline testosterone level which is going down as I lose weight my other hormones and scan were fine. I also paid to have my AMH done privately and this came back as 49.9. From my tracking, I don’t ovulate regularly it would seem (once in the last few months) I’ve been using OvuSense to track this but I’m assuming medicated IUI could solve this problem.

My rough plan in my head right now would be try the three cycle stimulated IUI package then move onto IVF with an access fertility package if this didn’t work. I’d love to hear people’s experiences on whether they went for IUI or IVF using donor sperm and how long it took you to get a BFP. Another thing I’m wondering is how you managed scheduling appointments around a full time job (my clinic would be an hour travel or so each way). From what I read the scans are quite regular for both IUI and IVF

Thank you!

Hey @sunshinexdreams - it's an exciting time! I can't offer much in the way of advice re getting a BFP but I am with LWC (in Canterbury) and I've just started my first cycle of stimulated IUI.

I'm on day 4 now - it took a while to get used to the injections (I'm being stimulated) but it's fine now. Re your full time job, I think you'd probably have to be transparent with them as there can be a lot of appointments! We went for our baseline scan on Monday, then have to go back next Wednesday for another and then every two days to be scanned after that. Then we have to go to London for the procedure itself when the time comes. I imagine we'll have at least 48 hours notice on that, but that's not much when you're working full time!

I'm 29 and in a same-sex relationship, so reckon our treatment will be pretty similar! We've chosen to just have one punt at IUI before moving on to IVF. Many of our same sex couple friends have had no success with IUI and I don't want to waste money (or more importantly, expensive donor sperm!) on it when we could create more embryos using less sperm. It's all a bit of a landline.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply @BananaHammock23 and good luck for your IUI cycle!

I think you’re right about being transparent, it wouldn’t be too bad if the clinic was closer but I’m going to need a half day off for each appointment (best get stocking up my flexi time ).

That was my thinking too, especially when it’s so expensive. I know a few people who have had more success with stimulated IUI rather than natural IUI as I suppose there’s less room for error on timings etc... did you use the sperm bank attached to the LWC? I know some people have ordered elsewhere but I think I’d be more inclined to pay a bit extra and not have to worry about deliveries etc...

Can I ask, did you have much of a wait between your consultation and starting treatment?

I’ll keep my fingers crossed you get your BFP on your first cycle

Thank you @sunshinexdreams - it's exciting but also very draining. Finding it hard to keep my expectations in line with the 29% success rate at the moment. I seem to go from hyper positive to gravely pessimistic about 10 times a day.

I only went for stimulated IUI because the success rates were 10% higher and it wasn't much more expensive!

So we actually got sperm from the European Sperm Bank in Denmark which is a bit more expensive than the one associated with LWC with shipping etc but we chose it for a variety of reasons. Mainly it was because of choice. We have a lot of friends in same sex relationships and because of where we live it's likely we'll all use LWC and we didn't like the idea of having limited choice and worrying our friends might pick the same donor!! The likelihood is so slim but it's something we couldn't stop thinking about! The other thing was that you can see photographs of the donors as children, which I really liked. It helped us to connect a bit more and find the donor who was a good fit for us!

We had our consultation in February and could've started treatment straight away if it wasn't for lockdown! I think it can be pretty quick if you want it to be :)

Good luck

Hi @sunshinexdreams and everyone else. I’m 32 and single and started the process in July. I went with IUI since I had no known health problems or barriers to conceiving beyond being single. My first round worked and I got a positive test this week. I followed the advice of the doctor in my initial consultation who suggested the stimulated cycle iui. I was all set for three rounds so slightly surprised it happened so quickly!

Have you chosen a treatment route yet?

Hi @Gidget19 congratulations! That’s amazing news, you must be so excited!

Not officially, I was all set to bypass the IUI route and go straight to IVF when I thought I had PCOS but all my NHS tests have indicated that everything’s fine and despite having a slightly longer cycle usually I’m still ovulating normally. With this in mind I think I’d be inclined to give IUI a shot which my GP thinks is what the fertility specialist will recommend (I have my consultation on the 7th September). I think I’d probably only be willing to try 3 cycles before moving onto IVF though. I’d also like them to be stimulated as I don’t trust myself to get the timings right on a natural cycle 😂

Did you use London women’s clinic too?

Thanks. To be honest I’m in shock still! Yes I’m with LWC too and had no problems. That’s great news for you that everything was ok and that you don’t PCOS. I know the stimulated cycle costs a little extra because of medication but I felt better knowing I had some control of what was happening. My intention was to only do the three rounds of IUI and move onto IVF if it didn’t work.

I’m glad to hear you had a good experience with LWC. Mind you, they were pretty much the only option where I live and even then it’s a good hour or so each way. Were work pretty understanding about you taking time off for appointments if that applies to you?

I totally agree re: control. I feel like it’s one less thing to worry about in that case. Three cycles seems sensible, it’s just so much money. The access fertility plans seem good so I think that will be my go to if IUI doesn’t work and I need to move onto IVF. I’m hoping I’ll be able to start treatment sometime in the new year which gives me time to try and lower my BMI 😂 I’ve had quite a few tests on the NHS so I’m hoping I’m not going to have to fork out for a load more come September 🤞🏻

That sounds like a really good plan. I’m lucky in that I haven’t had to tell work yet, there were two appointments while I was working and I passed them off as blood tests and booked them close to the end of the working day. The insemination was on a Saturday so no one needed to know about that. I would have told them though if I’d have gone into more cycles.

Ah that’s reassuring, I’m hoping I’ll be able to do that as well since it’ll be easier to take time off in the afternoon than the morning. Thankfully we work on flexi time so it’s fairly easy to accrue hours to take here and there. I have a lovely team but I worry slightly what people will think about me going it alone

Do you have a scan booked in now following your positive test? It’s really lovely to hear stories about IUI working on the first attempt

Oh I think you’ll be absolutely fine if you have flexi time.

I have a scan in a few weeks which will be three weeks since the positive test and they will hopefully be able to tell me if I’ve got one or two embryos! There were two eggs.

I’m doing this alone too and I’m already preparing myself for the questions from people at work since they all know I’m single. I’ll be the last person they expect to turn up pregnant!

That’s so exciting- I do know a few people who have had twins following IUI so that could be an extra surprise at your scan for you!

I’m terribly impatient so I dread to think what I’ll be like during the 2ww and waiting for scans if it succeeds

I had a friend that did it alone a few years ago and she said once she started talking about it people always seemed to know someone who has done it too so maybe it’s a lot more common than I thought. Then again, if I had a pound for every time someone said “oh but I’m sure you’ll meet someone lovely if you just give it time” I think I could have funded my treatment by now 😂

Hello all! Good luck, how exciting for you all and congratulations @Gidget19!!
I just wanted to join the thread and ask your advice as I am wanting to start the process too and wondering if I should book the fertility Mot with the LWC or if it’s possible to get similar tests on the NHS.. Have any of you had much success there? I have been hesitating in speaking to my GP as it’s quite a sensitive subject and I’m slightly worried that they will be reluctant to offer me anything as I’m a single woman. I know this is silly but can’t help it.
If any of you have some advice and tips that would be really helpful.
It’s so nice to find this thread as it’s not easy finding people to talk to who’ve been through or are going through this

I had x6 IUI treatments with my first DS (now 17!) and x4 with the second. Some stimulated and some not. For both successful ones it was the natural cycles that worked with x2 inseminations - they split the samples in half and did one before ovulation and one after. I had to fight for that as the clinic were adamant that it did not increase chances. I always felt that the insemination was too late after ovulation - I knew when I was ovulating due to pains. There are a lot of scans and stress but if it works you soon forget about it. If it does work, I would recommend banking sperm from the same donor for a possible second child so they are full siblings. Best of luck!

Hi Skybluecloud,

I had the MOT done with the clinic but when I went we were still pretty locked down. My doctors surgery still aren’t seeing people face to face. While I did it through the clinic I know that a friend of mine saved a few hundred on blood tests going through her GP. They were a heterosexual couple though and had been trying for a while whereas I’m obviously on my own so don’t know how that would have affected the situation. Maybe call the doctor to ask before giving your name and details to see what they can offer?

Hi @Skybluecloud

I have my fertility consultation coming up at the beginning of September, I spoke to my GP and they were fine to do the common ones (LH/FSH, TFT, Testosterone, Prolactin etc..) The only one I wasn’t able to get via my GP was the AMH level- the clinic offered this for £85 but I got it done elsewhere for £55 and the clinic said they were fine for me to do this and bring them to my appointment providing the results were within 6 months. I think it’s definitely worth asking your GP, if you don’t feel comfortable telling them why you could always say you’d like to check up on your cycle as these would be the same tests for that too, although for what’s it’s worth my GP’s were lovely For things like your AMH level it’s worth shopping around, there may be other private clinics near you that can offer it at a slightly cheaper price than LWC then you can just take the report to your consultation. I’m sure there’ll be more tests I need but I’m hoping this will have sorted the bulk of them out!

Good Luck!

Lovely to hear your success story @RainBow725

Follow the hashtag #solomotherstories on Instagram, there are loads of anecdotes from women who have gone it alone. As for IUI, in my experience, 3rd time lucky on an unmedicated cycle

Thanks so much that’s really helpful! 🙏 I will contact my GP I think, you’ve given me hope they will be supportive and would be good to save some money if possible at this stage