Buying my post IVF meds

[Rememberallball]

Hi all.

Off to Cyprus in 2 weeks time for DE IVF and been given the list of meds I need to take from egg collection day to wk12.

I have been told I need 2 things
Clexane 40mg injections x1 daily
Crinone 8% gel x2 daily

I have looked at a couple of online pharmacies as I will need to get these meds before we go (or at least a 28 day supply to cover me from EC on cd13 to BFP blood test day on cd30 and a few days beyond allowing for collecting the next supply)

My question is where do people get their IVF meds from? The 2 quotes I've had so far come out between £599 and £924. Obviously I have to have these drugs and can't have them on the NHS so need to look at the most cost effective way of getting them.

Thanks in advance x

Fertility2u, highly recommended. Quote and order online or over the phone. They need a scan of your prescription. Worked out much cheaper than Asda for me.

Thank you. Waiting to see my gp next week about what they can prescribe (if anything) or to get the private prescriptions written so I can order the meds.

Asda worked out the cheapest for me :) worth getting a couple of quotes.

I'm confused, if you're having private ivf your GP won't prescribe you anything. You'll need to get prescriptions from your clinic in Cyprus. Good luck

As scottishgirl says. You'll need to get the original prescriptions from your clinic and then send them onto the pharmacy you're using (or otherwise get your clinic to send the prescription directly to whichever pharmacy you choose to use). Your NHS GP cannot prescribe privately for you and as your IVF is private they're unlikely to prescribe the medication on the NHS.

I've used several different pharmacies for ivf meds. Price often varies a lot and if one pharmacy is cheapest for one med, it doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the cheapest place for them all. I've used: healthcare at home, stork and pharmasure. The one thing I've learnt is that it definitely pays to shop around.

Good luck.

Sorry if I’m confusing. My GP has said they will prescribe any medications they can because, by the time they decided donor egg ivf was the recommended way forward for us, I was over 42 so was refused any nhs treatment. My GP is fully supportive and has asked me to let him know what meds we are told to get and, he will prescribe any that he can. As it is DE treatment I don’t have to go through down regging only some supportive meds.

I emailed him asking the cost of the private prescriptions and the reply I got was they can do all the meds (only 3 things I don’t already take for other medical conditions) for me but not including details of cost of prescriptions so I’ve booked to see him before we go to Cyprus. I’m prepared to pay for private scripts from him using the drug schedule sent by the clinic in Cyprus so was just looking for where we can get them most cost effectively.

If your GP is doing the prescription for you as a NHS one then it'll be the standard prescription charge (£8.60) per item. Unless you're exempt from prescription charges or you have a prepayment certificate in which case it'll be free.

Thanks EarlGreyT, I have a prepayment certificate as take 5 drugs regularly every month so it’s a no brainer to spend £10:40 a month for 10 months rather than minimum £43!!

Thanks for all the replies. Just got to hold on till the 25th for appointment with GP (and blood test on cd2) and then I’ll know for sure.

Go to Asda super cheap at cost price- I’ve saved 600 per cycle by sourcing myself. But you need to get the prescription list from the clinic to take to the pharmacy - do not take the clinics offer to provide the drugs you need per cycle go and get your own.

We finally got sorted out the day before we flew. My GP did give us an NHS prescription for everything but there have been supply issues for Clexane injections and everywhere we tried was either unable to get it or was going to take 3-5 days before they could confirm whether they could get it. However, one local pharmacy were successful in getting them and, the day before we flew out, we picked up the filled prescriptions. We are now waiting for ET on Thursday so enjoying Cyprus as tourists today!!

Your GP had better hope that no one finds out as technically he/she has just defrauded the NHS and could be asked to personally pay for the meds. As a GP myself, why are some of my colleagues so naive? Good luck with your treatment OP.