3rd ivf cycle - your experience about clinics

[ivfcycle3]

I have had 2 failed IVF cycles

• 1st cycle NHS - BFN
• 2nd cycle private - BFP but mc at 6 weeks

I have also had 1 mc before embarking on ivf journey

We are considering a few clinics and wanted to know your experiences with any of them.

• Go back to ABC for 3rd cycle
• Create
• ARGC
• Gennete in Prague - really want to hear any experience of how this worked for you between 2 countries - travelling, scans, tests etc.
• Reprofit in Brno - really want to hear any experience of how this worked for you between 2 countries - travelling, scans, tests etc.

Only have experience of ABC... I think that the standard protocol may not work for us and we may need a package tailored to me..

The cause of infertility is unknown... The only condition I have that I am aware of is Hypothyroid.

Hey!
I don't have any exact experience to give you, however I don't know if it's a good idea to switch clinics so often unless a specific reason? Cycles may fail, and staying with the same clinic they will know you a bit better and be able to tweak things again for you, whereas going to a new clinic may put you back a step?

I disagree with @willithappen I moved clinic after one failed cycle and got much better care. Now two cycles further down and planning to move again as with 3 failed cycle the bog standard protocol is clearly not working for us. I had a consult with ARGC they seem very thorough but also very pricey. Consult planned with create for next week.

ARGC are horrendously expensive - you'll pay £20k minimum for one cycle. It's very much run like a boot camp - daily blood tests and scans and medication changes. If you don't live round the corner you cant work whilst having treatment with how much you are expected to be there

I did 5 rounds with Create Birmingham and now pregnant with twins. I really liked them but every branch is different and heard some no so great things about Create St Paul's.

I do agree with other poster though that constantly changing clinics doesn't always get you anywhere? I'd say it took at least 2 cycles with Create to get an understanding of how my body worked and reacted to stims and what my eggs were like. My twins are from my 3rd egg collection (cycles 3, 4 & 5 were last of a natural modified package so you don't transfer until after the last collection)

@ivfbeenbusy I’ve already spent €25k on 3 failed rounds so €20k on one that works sounds good to me. I think it is a selling point of ARGC that they have you in every day as I think not enough monitoring is done in a normal short protocol.

I don’t worry about them not having done a round with me before as I have my full medical notes including all blood tests and pictures of scans/ follicle counts for each ivf so any clinic worth their salt should be able to read the notes to see how I reacted and what they would do differently.

@Stilllightingcandles1
The ARGC’s success rates aren’t any better per embryo transferred than average www.hfea.gov.uk/choose-a-clinic/clinic-search/results/157/statistics/?age=ALL&treatment=ivf_icsi&year=2017&source=FSO#results

The reason their overall statistics APPPEAR better is because they more commonly transfer 2 or more embryos than other clinics, but their success rates per embryo are consistent with the national average so you’d be paying £20k for a cycle to give you no better results than the national average.

I think it depends on whether your clinic are willing to change protocol or keep doing the same thing over and over when it clearly isn't working (I moved for this reason). Before moving I'd perhaps ask them to check your thyroid levels and do some blood tests relating to clotting on the basis that you have had 2 MCs. See what they say after that and then decide whether or not to move

@EarlGreyT thanks for the link but most people have a better experience of ivf than me. I’m a poor responder with issues with progesterone - I want to try intense monitoring as my progesterone seems to drop mid TWW and ARGC monitor it every two days and it took me 3 rounds to make an embryos so I need a more tailored approach. While their success rates may not be better than average they seem to get a lot of women like me who have had multiple fails to pregnancy.

@willithappen @ivfbeenbusy @Weswoo @EarlGreyT @Stilllightingcandles1 - Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I am of 2 minds - whether stay with the same clininc (as they know me) or change.

I am still waiting for ABC to come back to me regarding the outcome of my treatment i.e. they said they will discuss in their team meeting and let me know the next steps... And whether they recommend any tests or not etc.
As @Weswoo suggested, will ask for blood tests for clotting. I did thyroid test in August and have to repeat next month... So that's sorted.

@ivfbeenbusy - May I ask what 3 cycle package did you select? Was it with PGS testing or without PGS testing? If you don't mind saying, how much did the 3 cycle package cost in total? I checked the prices on their website but it's not very clear as you need to add hfea fees etc... I attended a create seminar last week about natural modified cycle. And there Geeta Nargund said they focus on collecting just one egg for natural modified cycle too. In my last cycle, 4 eggs were collected but only 1 became embryo. So I am afraid that with 1 egg there won't be any chance of success... Did they collect 1 egg only for you in each cycle?

@ivfcycle3

I did a 3 cycle package of natural modified with ICSI - total cost including all drugs was £13.5k that includes the support package so no extra fees to pay at all .

I didn't do PGS with natural modified but I did do it last year when I did short protocol with Create - extra costs you need to factor in

£1000 embryo freezing as no fresh transfer
£1000 PGS initial testing
£500 per additional embryo you want tested
£850 for an FET as you have to freeze all
Plus medication
So you are looking at an extra cost of circa £3.5k to PGS per cycle If you get 2 blastocysts

I chose not to PGS again because I didn't get any normals (age 36!) only complex abnormal which not legally allowed to transfer and a mosaic which was after genetic counselling (ended in BFN)

I'm sceptical as on my next egg collection I got 2 blastocysts which I'm now 21 weeks with twins!

I think there is a discrepancy between individual branches of Create about natural modified and egg numbers. I was told (Birmingham) they don't just go after 1 egg. Otherwise they would have just recommended you do natural IVF and save you the money on drugs. Cycles 1 and 3 of natural modified I got 2 (did they for more but didn't grow) and cycle 3 I got 7. My Friend also
Doing natural modified got 7 eggs.

I got 4 top quality blastocysts - 2 each from cycles 1 and 2 (3rd cycle was a bust as had to swap back to more of a short protocol drug regime as tamoxifen makes my lining too thick and didn't get any blastocysts)

2 are my twins and 2 more frozen

The thing with ABC and why they are so cheap is that they are no consultant led they are nurse led so you don't necessarily get the service you'd get elsewhere (which pay a premium for). ABC is very much about one size fits all "easy" patients who fit a strict criteria x

@ivfbeenbusy - Thank you very much for your reply. It is very helpful.

ABC called me. They said in the next cycle they will stimulate for longer to get more mature eggs. As I had many follicles but only 4 eggs collected.

I asked about blood tests to find out root cause. They will come back next week.

I asked if they thought my egg quality was poor and if I should take any supplements. She said she doesn't think so. They only recommend eating fresh fruits, veges, reducing on caffeine and staying hydrated.