IVF where to start

[strawberrysummer19]

Hi everyone

Complete newbie to the IVF world and after 5 yrs with no pregnancy and in the unexplained we are looking into IVF for the new year

We are funding it as I have a daughter from a previous relationship and not eligible for nhs

So where do we start?

I'm 38 yrs so know that's a factor for some clinics

Abroad / uk ?

Don't really have a budget in mind, we are just exploring options as have no idea of costs

Any info on this 50% refund I've seen ?

Starting to make enquiries for a round in January / feb

Thanks for reading
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Hi there! I am actually going to start in January / February too and am also 38 we are in Kent so are going with Care Fertility.

We had had the main tests done at one clinic in Sussex - amh, tsh, prolactin, afc etc and then ovaries and womb checked on ultra sound. Plus sperm analysis.

We carried on trying naturally for a couple of months, but no joy and have since arranged a private consultation over thee phone, and have said we want to go ahead. The consultation was good as explained everything in detail to us. The nurse will be in touch in a couple of weeks to start planning in the dates.

You can you Access Fertility to 'bulk buy' several rounds. They have a multi cycle package no refunds - 2 fresh cycles and unlimited FET, but you can't use it to bank stuff eg do fresh cycles back to back, you do one cycle and the FETs until run out, then the next (obv ideally it would work first time!). It's about £8k plus meds and some extras where I am. There is a refund option for 38 year old women but initial commitment is £15k for 3 cycles and it offers 50% refund if they don't work.

I'm currently on a health kick, cleaned up my diet and started exercising for first time in my life! DH almost the same but is very attached to coffee and beer lol.

Hi there, sorry to hear you need IVF. We started with finding clinics nearby (witching 2-3h drive) based on their success rates. I can't remember but there is an official site that measures success rates. We then did a fertility MOT to see what's going on, plus dr explained how IVF works in great detail. Then a rushed failed cycle at that clinic. After we decided to investigate underlying issue a bit more in our case it was make factor and through MN we discovered male fertility guru Mr Ramsey. Again through MN realized treatment abroad is often cheaper and better and this suited our personality, so chose 2-3 clinics and had free calls/doctors appointment to discuss the course of action. We chose clinic that offered more for less money (Reprofit), easy to travel from where we are, cheap Airbnb, etc, plus they were happy for us to have all tests done in the UK with Skype consultations prior to the IVF, so a didn't have to travel there for an initial consultation. Another thing to look at is fertility insurance like ABC I think. In terms of money it's about £6000 per round in the UK depending on the clinic/protocol. We paid £3000 in Reprofit and about £1000 for travel expenses. Some clinics abroad as as expensive as the UK but better. Once you start researching it gets easier. Good luck!

@farfromperfect82 oh wow sounds similar to us ! How exciting for you

We got prices today for the exact same clinic 😊we are in south Kent so have a little way to travel to T. Wells but I like the thought of it being closer to home at this time so I think abroad is out for us with the little research I have done

Do you mind me asking if the consultation is free ? We've done no other research with any other clinics atm but this one sounds like it ticks the boxes

We think we are going to start in March so we may be a little behind you

I think we are going to go for the 3 rounds 50% refund

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@farfromperfect82 and us too! We've stayed eating healthy, cutting back caffeine and alcohol not that we drink loads but diet isn't great! We thought we'd start now to give us the best possible chance x

@Villetta thanks for the advice

I did think about abroad and it's much cheaper but what with little one at school, my work it would just be an added stress for us so think it's the uk for us

Thanks for posting and sharing to ur experience
So nice and almost comforting to know there are others in similar situations

Xxx

@strawberrysummer19 oh wow same clinic! That's awesome. They do seem great and yes I don't think I couldn't handle being away from home and my dog tbh.

Yes they do charge £220 for consultation but it is worthwhile as they tell you everything and answer any questions.

You can also start the process through the NHS too which we are doing. Just in case the rounds don't work and we can get free treatment later down the line. There are a lot of tests with NHS and it's causing me a bit of stress tbh so jury's out whether it's worth it. If you want some fertility diagnostics and ultrasound scan tho they can do it all for free and are actually way more detailed than private clinics.

I saw your note about supplements on the other board. Have a read of It Starts With An Egg, I follow the authors protocol plus some super greens (spirulina, algae, wheatgrass, chlorella) and milk thistle to detox liver, and I am following an anti inflammation Mediterranean diet. I'm trying to get my weight down a bit as 30 BMI... going to be tricky at Xmas!

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@farfromperfect82 I've just spoken to them and they were really helpful

Once we've spoken to access and can make sure we fit the criteria we shall be booking in a consultation

I've had every test under the sun lol
Pelvic scan, hycosy, cd3 bloods, AMH, fsh and they said they would accept them all so that's good

Just literally seeing if any other clinics around as there's a couple closer to home for us

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So it looks as if we are going with care fertility as there aren't any closer. There is a sister clinic in sittingbourne that we can do to for scans etc but the main part will be at tunbridge wells. We've booked our consultation so it's starting to feel a bit real now
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