ARGC? ZITA WEST IVF CLINIC? ADVICE PLEASE!

[ivfnewbe]

I'm looking into ivf. I'm 30, and have unexplained infertility. no DC but previous miscarriages. now can't get preg (cherry on the shit cake) live in leeds.

Im very confused as who to go to! wondering if someone can help.

Firstly ARGC figures look amazing. so obv that tempts me. I'm fortunate i have some savings i can use to pay for this. However it sounds a bit mad and stressful! I'm wondering if its a lot to put myself through for my 1st cycle when I'm young, may respond well and also don't live nearby so would have to quit work/live in london! But on other hand I'm very stressed/sad as have been TTC for 2 years with only miscarriages to show and I'm not sure how much more my poor heart can take :(

If anyone has had IVF with ARGC could they tell me
1 - when get a bfp how closely are u monitored? and until when? obvious concerns are i'll get preg and then miscarry as before. so keen to have bloods/scans and intense monitoring with pred etc thrown at me when and if needed.

Has anyone been to the zita west clinic? any opinions?and also if someone could tell me about the monitoring?

from my understanding most iVF clinics say bye bye once u get a bfp (apart from the 6 week scan). do argc and zits west monitor past this? esp given my history?

i def need to go somewhere that buy into the NK cells / immune side of things. also why the above 2 tempt me.

thanks to anyone who replies. sorry its all jumbled. I'm confused right now!

Hi newbe I am so sorry to hear about your previous miscarriages and difficulties TTC.

The ARGC managed to get me successfully pregnant with my second son after our most local IVF unit told me it wasn't possible! So I am hugely pro ARGC and also pro immune investigations/treatment as that made all the difference for me and other friends who had similar unexplained issues.

I will try to answer your questions. I lived in London when we had the treatment so won't be much help on the travelling/staying in London part but Fertility Friends has a specific ARGC board which has loads of info as many many women do travel for treatment there from all over the world.

It's known by patients as IVF 'bootcamp' at ARGC as it's so intense (lots of blood tests etc. during treatment) but that's because they are tailoring your treatment for you and being so rigorous. This does also impact the cost of a cycle of treatment which ends up costing more than elsewhere, again because of the monitoring during and post treatment

-They take the post pregnancy monitoring very seriously. I had blood tests every other day post BFP where they monitored the HCG hormone to check it was doubling in line with expectations. I think this went on for 2 weeks (so from 4 weeks when you get the BFP to 6 weeks). After that they do a weekly scan from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. I was lucky that it went smoothly for me post BFP so I am not sure what action they take if things don't look too good. However I did have some treatment in early pregnancy (intrallipids) which was related to my immune issues and with the aim of sustaining the pregnancy

-I took pred I think it was from around the embryo transfer until approximately 10-12 weeks pregnant, again for immune issues.

-In your situation with miscarriages and also difficulties conceiving I would at the very least go down for a consultation and discuss whether they would recommend the immune investigations for you. I would strongly recommend they do the test (called the Chicago test) - it's a blood test that's sent to Chicago and costs several hundred £s but worth it in my case and others I know as it diagnosed my underlying immune issues

-I don't know much about Zita West I am afraid - sorry about that - but again I expect there is some chat about that clinic on the Fertility Friends forum which may help you

We're up in Harrogate now - happy to talk further via PM if this would help or if you have other questions

All the very best of luck x

Another one here who is hugely pro ARGC. We had our third cycle there and have a beautiful DS to show for it.

I also had a previous history of miscarriage (and two failed IVF cycles) and so wanted the close pregnancy monitoring. I also had immune issues - which weren't so bad during the cycle but flared up significantly during pregnancy (which I now strongly believe were responsible for my previous miscarriages).

From memory I had weekly scans until 12 weeks and continued monitoring for immune and thyroid issues (NB : I hadn't previously been diagnosed with thyroid problems - this was something ARGC picked up on). During my pregnancy I had three rounds of IVIG (at approximately 8, 12 and 16 weeks). I continued to take prgesterone and clexane during the pregnancy and this continued to be monitored monthly by ARGC. My last appointment with them was in the November and I had DS in late December (albeit a bit early). So monitoring with them went on until around week 32 (or so).

Really don't want to put you off but it was actually the post pregnancy monitoring that cost the £££ (specifically, the IVIG). Our costs to BFP were around £9k (this includes not just their fees but medication and some travel). Our final costs were a few pence over £20k ...... I must admit we were as the costs kept mounting up but by this time we had a BFP and would (and did) do anything to have maintained it ......

I would go back to ARGC in a heartbeat to try for DC2. Just need to convince DP and remortgage .....

I second looking at fertility friends. There are some VERY knowledgeable and altruistic ladies on there. That site is a godsend. I looked at it recently and what used to be a separate ARGC forum is now in a more general 'London' forum if you are looking for it.

Good luck to you OP.

xx

The ARGC are a fantastic clinic, my first round failed and I plan to go back for round 2 soon. They are very thorough and monitor you very closely which I find more reassuring than stressful. However, if you are choosing them for stats alone you should be aware that they do massage their figures somewhat. They have another clinic, the RGI which no one signs up to but a lot of women end of having their transfers there. If you have your transfer there then your stats are NOT included in the ARGC stats. Their stats are still very impressive but not in the 80% for under 35s category. ARGC claim that transfer location is completely random but I think they 'hide' their tougher cases there (lower responses, older ladies) as if you look at the transfers in each age group the over 40s are mostly happening at RGI.

Sorry meant to add, they are very good at monitoring post BFP and will do immune testing which is worth it if you have had previous MCs. Best of luck!

Hi girls
Thanks so much for ur advice. I'm thinking of doing a cycle near home
For no 1-to try minimise disruption to my life! I think argc
Will mean moving to london and renting or if not that at least a major disruption in my life etc....They do immune stuff at my local place too and the rates are pretty good (although not as good as argc). They are about 38ish which is slightly higher than national average. Although its not great compared to some London clinics I'm
Aware...

If I fail (positive thinking??!) then argc will most def be my first Port of call!

Farfall-sorry last cycle wasnt a sucess but hopefully they will have learnt how u body responded etc and u will be lucky second time around! Good luck!

Allthenames and Danny-congrats on ur little ones!

Thanks so much for replying

Not sure if anyone checks this but ivfnewbe did you try ARGC?