Coronavirus and fertility clinics.

[mabel92]

Has anyone’s fertility clinic told them they will close due to Coronavirus? I’m due to start treatment and now confused as what to do or whether I’ll be able to start. Thanks.

I just heard that and can’t believe it! This made my day!

Amazing news! Was just coming on to let everyone know. I personally was stopped a couple of days before FET and this news has scared me more than anything but I know this will of brought so many people happiness 💕

@AnnaLCox I agree with you. I do not trust them whatsoever. I hate HFEA and I think after my Twitter campaign HFEA hates me. Also the BFS seems to have played a big part in getting the clinics to close and they have not released any information in favour of reopening. HFEA had to do something in response to cancelled surgery restarting- they had no choice. However there is a lot of positivity on Twitter especially after Hancock's announcement. I really hope it is good news but still... I'm only going to fully celebrate when I'm actually restarting my cancelled cycle. Xx

@Matilda128

Sorry if you've said before - are you with an NHS clinic or private?

If NHS it's right to be a bit more cautious about the announcement as I can't see NHS opening swiftly just because the clinics themselves tend to be inside the normal hospital and their staff are likely redeployed

I'm with Care. They say they have a plan they can submit on the 11th of May. The question is how long it takes HFEA to process these applications. Create sounds much more confident but then the director has done such an excellent job in campaigning for clinics to reopen as soon as possible. She really was the only voice in terms of clinics and official organisations to argue for patient access to medical treatment. Xx

@Matilda128

Care is one of the biggest IVF providers so I think you can be confidant that they will be pushing to open as close to the 11th date too x

I'm with Aberdeen and through NHS at the moment and they have announced they are putting in the application on 11th also and planning to open as soon as they are allowed

Not sure if it's because they also do self funding or not but seems like they are carrying on with NHS also

I know CARE were constantly lobbying the HFEA, BFS and ARCS behind the scenes even if they weren't as vocal online about it

That good to hear @Lauren83 I'm so curious at what has been going on in those organisations. Especially the BFS. Also really good news for you @willithappen!

Things have been very busy behind the scenes at CARE and plans are in place to restart ASAP. There's no anticipated wait once the HFEA are confident things can be managed for patients and staff safely.

This announcement today has massively lifted my spirits.

Such great news everyone.

Can’t believe it was tackled head on by Matt Hancock. I think all our messages must have gone through. Great to hear that he specifically mentioned the NHS as we were worried it would only be private clinics.

Saw some Twitter twat comments about how it was ridiculous IVF was restarting and it has further hit the nail home that unless people are going through this they do not get it....

I discovered this forum the day I was cancelled from my IVF cycle after starting stimulation and it has been such a great cushion during this journey. I have much more calm knowing I am not the only single person this is happening to.

Thankyou everyone for your comments.

@LondonIVF12

Ignore everyone else - unless they've been through it themselves they have no idea x

London I saw the twatty Twitter comments and thought 🙄.

Why are people so obsessed with comparing cancer with fertility treatment? Two separate things!

Thankyou @ivfgottostaypositive

@thefishthatcouldwish - so frustrating. Premature ovarian failure is a disease - through no fault of our own except our genetic make up. And cancer operations, services, and chemo are still going ahead - I don’t know why people don’t know that. Fertility preservation is also still going ahead at my NHS hospital for cancer patients....

Anyway breathe, and onwards and upwards in everyone’s journey. Good luck everyone.

I agree with the above comments - this thread has been such a great comfort in dark days . Thank you everyone .

It’s looking much more positive and the light IS at the end of the tunnel.

I contacted my clinic too (private ) and it appears that they are looking hopeful to starting up ASAP . I asked about what protocol they think I should recommence with when they open ( failed long protocol previously ) and the doc said he leant towards the long protocol but essentially he wouldn’t be against me trying a short protocol . Do any of you have experience with both and what you think I should choose when we can get going again ?

X

So pleased it all looking up before today I didn't think we would hear anything till the end of the year. I truly hope you all get that BFP soon xxxx

Has everyone seen the HFEA update about clinics being able to apply to open from May 11th? Depends on the protocols they have in place but this looks promising!

Very promising news today indeed.

@Xx40yearsyoungxx I've done long and short protocol, or more accurately tried long protocol but it was very bad for me and egg collection was cancelled. The clinic said the down regging had possibly worked too well and shut down my ovaries too much. I don't know if that's true but I had another cycle at that clinic and they changed to short protocol, and have had further egg collections with short protocol at my current clinic. I have low AMH and will never get a big haul of eggs but definitely for me short protocol is better, and it is so much quicker too.
What kind of results did you have with long protocol? From what I've heard it seems to be the go-to with a lot of NHS clinics and less so with private clinics.

Thanks @JeNeBaguetteRien

I managed to get 5 eggs / 2 very poor blasts from long protocol . BFN.

My AMH is ok for my age (15) so I think they expected more ...... so I’m a poor responder to the drugs (?) with unexplained infertility.

I’m trying to read / research on the different protocols depending on your specific circumstances but there’s no clear answers - it seems it’s literally personal choice of clinic? ( or can anyone advise further ?) . My clinic says they get better results from long protocol.

My Dr also said with short protocol it could lead to problems with lining thickness.

I also asked if you could over suppress the ovaries with down reg/long protocol and he said that that wasn’t possible ( which seems to contradict what your clinic told you after your long protocol ?)

Did your new clinic go for short protocol first due to your low AMH?

What I find confusing is that short protocol seems to be for low AMH/poor responders and also over responders - the 2 extremes which seems counterintuitive?

Confused 😐

X

@Xx40yearsyoungxx

Most clinics prefer long protocol because they have more control over it - by switching off the ovaries they then expect all new follicles to grow at the same rate so they are all the same size and easier to manage

Short protocol you can end up with one or two which get bigger than the rest. But it's over in less than 2 weeks and periods come back straight away so you can cycle much quicker than long protocol

I've never had an issue with lining thickness on short protocol - it did get a bit thick on the natural modified but only because you take tamoxifen as part of that one which is estrogen based. To avoid this on my final egg collection I'm not taking tamoxifen

Short is used for PCOS as usually lower dose so OHSS unlikely as targeting fewer follicles compared to long protocol where the aim is to get as many as possible. It's also better for low AMH/ovarian reserve because there is no point in forcing those bodies to produce loads of eggs which will lower quality better to focus on 1 or 2 which are better quality

My consultant explained it slightly differently. Long protocol is often used for convenience, ie the NHS uses it to help schedule egg collections.

Short protocol isn’t a lower dose of stimulation drugs - that’s mild or modified IVF. The reason it helps avoid overstimulation is because a different trigger drug is used that helps avoid OHSS. Both long & short aim for 10 ish good eggs.

On the poor responder point, my first cycle was short protocol and not particularly successful with follicles containing immature eggs, so I asked if we could do a long protocol next time. My consultant said no because he worries that down regulation can switch ovaries off too effectively for lower AMH patients which is why short is preferred in that scenario.

I did speak to our clinic this week and we are tentatively booked in for round 2 in mid-May when my next cycle starts. They are aiming to open on the 11th & have been working really hard to ensure it’s possible. I’m so happy as I assumed I wouldn’t be able to start again until at least June. Keeping my fingers crossed everyone gets a similar outcome x

@jcurve and @ivfgottostaypositive
Thanks so much.

Do you mind me asking what your AMH is? I know mine isn’t low low but it’s not great, and I did not respond to the drugs so worried with the LP that this will suppress ovaries again too much ( although doc says this is not possible ?) ........Perhaps he was meaning with my AMH not being in the low low category the long protocol was more suited ?

Great news that ivf clinic reopenings are in the news papers etc today

X

Mine is on the lower end - around 5