How did you choose your clinic?

[Chita77]

Hello everyone. This is my first time to post.

I’m 44 years old and I have tried to have a baby naturally for few years but never succeeded.
I know (Yes, I know...) majority of clinics mention that a woman who is over 43 is almost no chance to be pregnant even using IVF but I want to try it as a last chance with my budget £7,000 which I have
eventually managed to saved up.

There are many fertility clinics with some options for initial consultations options which makes me overwhelmed and thinking which is the best one for me. So here are some questions…

Can you please tell me how did you choose your clinic? It maybe location of a clinic or cost of treatments?

Did you have a simplest consultation with several clinics first then chose the best one to go ahead for treatments?

My friend recommends me Care Fertility and Women Clinic. Has anyone had treatments there before?

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend!

I did a research for clinics abroad, as I can't afford an ivf in my area, the cost is very high. I looked online for the success rates, I chose three, and Dunya ivf clinic in Cyprus seemed very good for the price it was offering.
I hope everything works out for you!

@TheInstructor can I ask which ones you picked and how you went about researching it?

@Chita77 there's so much to consider it's like a minefield lol. I was advised to visit clinics and get a feel for them but obviously during covid that's not easy. Have you had any blood tests or investigations? Your GP should be able to refer you for bloods and a scan. And sorry for asking personal questions, are you single or doing this with a partner and if so has your partner had any investigations.
Might be worth asking on the forums the area of the UK you are from and people's experiences of clinics there but remember one person's experience won't always be another persons!
Some clinics are part of access fertility packages where you can get multiple cycles at a slightly reduced rate. Location, ease to get to, flexibility with appointments and treatments offered are all worth considering too. You can check the hfea website to see what clinics are in your area. Success rates are on there too but I've always been advised to interpret this with caution.
I'm not recommending them as I have no experience whatsoever with them but create fertility clinics specialise in natural and mild IVF which is often suitable for women who have a lower egg reserve which can happen as you get older (that is a generalisation obviously and I know it's not the case in everyone) and may be worth looking into?xx

Hi, I chose a clinic abroad. I researched a lot and got tons of info and in the end went with a clinic that a friend of mine recommended. Praga Medica, Prague, Czech Republic. It is was much cheaper than over here. My consultant was wonderful, spoke very good English and the treatment was managed very well. The consultation was free and so were the scans. We went to Prague for 10 days, but could have chosen to come for a shorter time, if my scans could have been done here. Most importantly, the treatment worked :-)

First of all, Thanks so much for your comment ladies. You made me fell little bit calm down.

@TheInstructor apologies for a late reply and thanks for your advice! I agree the cost isn’t affordable for everyone…
I have thought to have a treatment in Japan where originally come from but it’s too far and it is difficult to have a long holiday from my work so I gave up the idea but your idea made me think having a treatment doesn’t have to be in the U.K.

@Roo45 Thanks so much for your information. Yes, exactly a minefield! Visiting clinic can be good idea but even having an initial consultation is cost a lot (more than £200in general) more than I thought.
I had a blood test though my GP in December so I will definitely try to get a copy of result of the test but never had a scan. Can I ask you what kind of scan have you had?
No problem for asking the question! I have been trying IVF with my boyfriend who is 45 years old and he has never had any test for fertility. That means me and he both will need to go to clinics soon…
I have just checked the hfea website and it seems to be really useful for newbie like me and I agree that success rate is not only the information which we need to focus on.
Fertility clinic specialize in natural and mild IVF sounds really suit me as I am little bit worrying about medications. So your advice really helps me to find the one.

@Ellybeee Thanks for your comment and I’m glad to hear your experience and the result! Having a treatment in Prague for 10 days sounds manageable! But little bit intensive(?) how did you feel during the treatment? Not stressful?

@Chita77 where I am based the NHS fertility clinic ask for GP to arrange ultrasound scan prior to seeing them but I don't know if that's standard practice everywhere. However in a private clinic I don't think it matters as much as they will want to repeat it anyway.
I only asked because your partner can get a semen analysis done via NHS however if you wanted to do that it's worth checking the waiting time for this especially with covid. It might be quicker to do at a private clinic but obviously will cost more.
Good luck with your decision xx

@Room45 Thanks for your advice!
As I know a woman who is over 42 years old is not eligible to have any fertility treatments from NHS so I have completely given up for them but it would be a good idea to ask them a possibility to have a ultra sounds and a semen analysis with them although I don’t have a much time…but again thanks very much for your advice which help me a lot and good luck to you too!

@Chita77 Well, I started the injections at home and only went to Prague to have the scans, egg collection and embryo transfer during those 10 days. All went well, I felt great support from the clinic, everyove was nice and expalined things and steps of the treatment patiently :-). We tried to make a little holiday out of it too, Prague is a lovely city. So, I was a bit nervous being abroad, but after my experience I would recommend it.

@Roo45 I checked also on gcr.org because it's a site that assesses clinics and I wanted to find one that has a good GCR score. I also send an e-mail to every clinic I was interested in, asking several questions around IVF, and actually Dunya had the most professional and fast reply. Furthermore, it was important to me that the personnel is fluent in English, because I was insecure about them being able to explain to me properly any questions that I might have. Of course the price was a big plus because it's quite affordable.

@Roo45 sorry for the second reply. I couldn't edit my post. Apart from Dunya, I was initially considering IVF Spain and IVF serum in Greece.

@Chita77 I know it feels better to have your IVF at home, it's better for family reasons if someone has already kids, or your work because there might be complications if you take time off, but we should not forget that there are many clinics abroad that have a very good reputation. After all medical travelling is booming because of this reason. I'm wishing you the best of luck!

Thank you @TheInstructor and good luck xx

Thank you @Roo45 good luck to you as well!

Hi ladies, if anyone is still considering treatment abroad then feel free to pm me. I'm a Patients Coordinator for a number of different clinics and will be happy to give you a helping hand

@theInstructor I am on my way to this clinic as well! In fact, I have my appointment in 11 days! Have you already travelled to Cyprus? How was your experience so far with Dunya?

Hello ladies! I just found this thread and it's really helpful for us in the "choosing clinic" stage of our journey!

@Ellybeee was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. I am considering IVF through Praga medica but was wondering a few things first that maybe you could answer?

I am just beginnning to research IVF abroad and it is very overwhelming. Its a scary thought to go abroad and do it. This thread has been very useful.

@Ellybeee sorry for very late reply! I have not check the website for a while! Thanks for telling your experience. Your clinic sounds much nicer that clinics in the U.K. I was researching any potential clinics in London but they seems to be really money oriented which makes me feel really fed up so I restart to research EU clinics again...

@TheInstructor apologies for very late reply! yes I totally agree. After researching some clinics in London, I started thinking having the treatment abroad seems to be potential because of price! I am currently searching some clinics in Czech...wishing you the best of luck too! xx

@IsabelHerna I really thank ladies who gave me tips too! I hope you will (already have found ?) find the best clinic!

Hello again ladies.
It about preparation for having a treatment abroad.
I have heard that having a scan and blood test in the U.K before having a treatment abroad but I am thinking where can we have the tests and scans in the U.K? Can we have tests in any private clinics here? Is it possible to get test result from U.K clinics without consultation which I don't need?

@Chita77 I had a couples fertility mot which did not require a consult. That included a blood test to check various things and amh. A ultrasound scan to count antral follicles and hycosy and sperm analysis for DH.

@Chita77 thanks for your reply, I had to pause my research for one month, as I was dealing with another personal issue, but now that I feel stronger (both physically and mentally), I am picking up my clinic search again. I have an online appointment later this week with a clinic, I really hope I like them.

@Moocher90Thanks for your response. Can I ask you what is fertility mot? Is this a self kit to check hormone balance?

@IsabelHerna we know our life is not only about fertility treatments and have to deal with many tasks all the time. But glad you feel stronger! Good luck! xx