HI Bottomley
No problem, we are all in the same boat and it’s very confusing, especially when you are given little or conflicting advice.
With all the consultations they went through an in depth review of all the test/scan results I sent them. I asked questions at this point if I didn’t understand what it meant for us: our consultant here in the U.K. didn’t explain anything about my test results so this was a good opportunity for me to find out what all the numbers meant for us, DH is azoospermic and nearly all the clinics recommended Micro TESE, so my questions were around what we would do if they retrieved no sperm.
They then went on to tell us what test results we were missing and they required from us, most explained the costs of getting them done, I asked why they needed the tests done. Some came up with answers that it would help with the success rates, I even asked other clinics if they required the same tests.
We then moved onto the clinics recommendations and were able to discuss the best treatment option for us, prices etc. Each clinic had their own variations of a protocol, we were able to discuss when we needed to attend the clinic and for how long, Newlife told us the best time of year to go out there, prices of accommodation nearby and places of interest to help us make it a relaxing holiday rather than just an IVF journey.
We were then sent follow up emails of the discussions with various clinics which outlined everything.
With Newlife they asked that we have a 3D gynaecological scan approx 1-2 months before we wanted to commence treatment, this was used to decide which medication I required. They also needed a testosterone profile within 2 months of treatment commencement. In terms of the actually treatment, I need to have 3 follicle tracking scans - day 2/5/7-8. These can be done at the clinic for free or here in the U.K. (we would pay). We would then go out to Greece for egg collection and sperm retrieval, stay whilst they culture a 5 day blastocyst, implantation then we could continue to do whatever we wanted.
Reprofit sent us a protocol without the need for an AFC scan which pretty much followed the same pattern as Newlife. Reprofit were also amazing in responding to all my queries over email
We plan to start in May, it’s nice and warm but not peak season so the costs are still fairly low and flights between the islands are also cheap.
We have had as many Skype meetings as we needed with them so didn’t feel the need to go there before commencing our treatment, they put us in touch with other U.K. couples who also shared their experiences. Chrysa always responds to all my emails despite me asking the same questions over and over.
Happy to answer any more questions
A