IVF vs IVF Lite

[Jacky83]

We are waiting to start IVF when everything reopens. My husband has a very low sperm count so we've been told we will have to have ICSI.

All my tests came back as normal so I'm wondering if we would be better off going for IVF lite or natural IVF rather than the standard IVF.

I'm very anxious about having to make big decisions about extra embryos so thought IVF Lite or natural IVF where there is likely to be fewer embryos might be a better option.

Has anyone had IVF Lite or Natural IVF? I can't find much information about them.

Also can anyone point me in the direction of a first person account of IVF? I don't know anyone who has had it so really don't know much about what the process is like.

My husband thinks I'm obsessing about the whole thing but while we're in lockdown I don't have a lot else to think about!

Hi Jacky83

I'm not familiar with ivf lite but I had my 1st round of natural ivf in Dec with a fresh embryo transfer, it was unfortunately unsuccessful but we have some in the freezer for a frozen transfer when we come out of lockdown. Im happy to answer any questions you have as it can feel very overwhelming and isolating. Xx

I have done both short protocol IVF (no down reg) and also natural modified IVF where you target much fewer eggs and take very very low dose drugs - I believe both are considered IVF "Lite" depending on who you ask

I've actually found that my egg quality and embryo quality has massively improved by doing a more natural IVF treatment

Here are my stats

2 cycles of short protocol IVF - 28 eggs in total - less than 30% fertilisation even with ICSI and ended up with 5 average quality blastocysts

2 cycles of natural modified IVF - 9 eggs in total - 100% fertilised - 4 top quality blastocysts currently frozen ready to transfer once I finish my final egg collection

@ivfgottostaypositive how much was your 3 cycle package with Create?

@twinkledag

It was £13,400 - that includes everything - 3 cycles of natural modified, 3 lots of ICSI and the support package including embryoscope, all
Blood tests and scans and all drugs (which has been tweaked a bit between the 3 cycles) plus freezing, storage and 1 transfer.

The only thing I'll need to pay extra for is if the first transfer doesn't work and I need a second or third FET but create is cheaper than most places I've seen (£1250)

In hindsight instead of doing a second mild protocol cycle last year I wish I'd signed up for the 6 cycle package as that included additional transfers but at the time we thought my crap egg quality and low fertilisation was a one off

We have just done one on NHS but any additional now will be private. I had 6 eggs retrieved in total 5 made it to day 5 blastocysts and grade A/B. 1 fresh transfer which failed and 4 in freezer 🤞

Thanks for all the replies. Have now asked our private clinic about starting IVF Lite/Naturally Modified IVF when they reopen.

We're waiting for NHS IVF but are considering having a private round of naturally modified IVF while we wait as I'm guessing the waiting lists are going to be quite long. I don't think that affects our NHS eligibility - we can afford one private round but not more than that.

Plus just been told by our local NHS clinic that re-opening will be phased as most of their staff have been redeployed to fight COVID-19 and they don't know when they will get them back.

@Jacky83

I'd check your local NHS trusts policy as the majority deduct any private treatment from your NHS entitlement - eg if you are entitled to 3 cycles on the NHS and do 1 private first then you'll only get 2 NHS and so on

No point in lying about it as you really want what was learnt on the private cycle to be used as a basis of the NHS as otherwise it was largely Pointless and most clinics use the first cycle as a bit of a "tester" to see how you respond etc

@ivfgottostaypositive

Thank you. I didn't know it would be deducted. We're only entitled to two cycles here on the NHS. And we ultimately want two children so aware that we could end up having quite a few cycles. Maybe best to wait for the NHS cycles. But I'm 37 and so worried that time is getting away from us.

@Jacky83

I guess it really depends on how long you think it will take for your NHS clinic to reopen and where you are in the process? Are you just starting out and haven't been through all the appointments/tests etc or were you ready to start injections when treatments were suspended? If it was the latter you'd think you would be top of the list to start x

Jacky83 I totally understand your need to get started. NHS can be a bit of a wait. Depends where you live. I'm only entitled 1 ivf cycle and 1 frozen embryo transfer. A friend of mine went private for her first round and was able to freeze 2 embryos from that and they had to pay for the frozen embryo transfer second time round as here in n.ireland you cant use eggs that were retrieved privately on NHS. Hope that makes sense. It could be worth ringing your private clinic and getting advice.

I'm currently waiting on things getting up and running.. I was told that my infertility was due to blocked FT but I conceived naturally the next month after my failed ivf but unfortunately miscarrisd at 8weeks. I had seen a private consultant after who believes that my FT aren't the issue and I was due to go back for him to investigate when the lockdown hit. I'm left confused and disheartened and could be months before I can get speaking to a Dr.. Ttc still but nothing happening. Same as you anxious about all this time passing. My infertility journey has been ongoing for almost 4years now. It gets tiring and feel like I'm always living my life around each monthly cycle. It's hard and you are not alone 💛

@ivfgottostaypositive

We have had fertility tests done privately and had just got our referral to the NHS fertility clinic and told we'd be waiting around 10 weeks for an appointment when lockdown began. I'm assuming we'll now be waiting around 16 weeks when things get up and running again.

@Jacky83

Referral from the GP? It could then be months then before starting an NHS cycle as there loads of processes to go through - when we nearly did it on the NHS a few years ago it took almost a year but we did have to wait for tests to be done as well x

@ivfgottostaypositive

Shit. Yes it was our referral from the GP but I thought because we'd already had the fertility tests done privately and sent them over to the NHS clinic when they asked for them we'd be straight into an IVF cycle.

It depends @jacky83, I hadn't had a HSG so had to have that, and they repeated all my blood tests - first the fertility clinic did it, and then at the beginning of IVF consent signing I had to have them all done again and STI checks - that's pretty routine but meant I missed the November in take as my blood test results had not come back when my period started. My clinic was closed in December and full in January so it was February by the time I got started.

Thanks @ivfgottostaypositive and @Pinktruffle for the info. Those messages have been a real wake up call. I think I knew it was just the initial consultation then other things would have to happen when we were originally getting onto the waiting list but in lockdown I've overthought everything and got muddled. I was cruising along thinking we'd be discussing when to start treatment at that first meeting!

We started off having a private fertility MOT then when we found out there was a problem explored NHS expecting really long waiting lists. We were told 10 weeks so would have been having our initial consultation now which seemed ok.

Now with lockdown and our NHS clinic telling us today it would be weeks before they re-open and they don't know when they will get all their staff back so there could be many delays. Realistically I don't think we'll be having that initial consultation until September time given the backlog they will have to clear and delays with reopening.

They just clarified for me (they are amazing on email) that it would be about three months between our initial consultation and starting treatment. And that's assuming everything goes smoothly. Not even starting until December just seems like an unbearable wait. (I feel so ridiculous saying that when I know people in these forums have been waiting for so much longer, but we can only talk about our own experience. I REALLY feel for everyone on here.)

Spent this evening having lengthy discussions with DH about going private. Will have to borrow the money but all the uncertainty is getting to me. Just want to have a plan and something to focus on.

@Jacky83

If you are thinking about going for mild or natural modified IVF then Create have some great discounts at the moment for new patients - £2.5k per cycle - they also don't normally have waiting lists and because there is no down reg phase you start as soon as him get your period and the whole process is over in less than 2 weeks

@ivfgottostaypositive

Thank you for sharing. May I ask where did you go for your mild IVF treatment? Also, May I ask you age?

I did two cycles at CRGH. Got 25 eggs, but only 1 good embryo. My husband's sperm is not great. I am 38, so it is not easy!

Hi there

Fetilsan is a great way to improve spent count x. It’s hard not to obsess when doing Ivf I’ve done many cycles and I guess you both really have to be on board with it but it can take over. I’ve done short and long cycles but I did prefer the shorter cycles. Good luck with whatever you decide x

Sorry meant sperm not spent lol x

Has anyone’s IVF protocol changed from Meriofert to Ovaleap? Typically bought all the Meriofert and now need to buy Ovaleap instead! What do you do with unused Meriofert? Seems a waste to throw over £1k worth in the bin. :(

Also, anyone had any reactions to Ovaleap? Sensitive skin etc?