IVF in west London or Bucks/Berks? And varicocele surgery

[Cocksinsocks]

Hi everyone. Awaiting an appointment with the NHS about whether they'll give DP and I a round of IVF. Expecting them to say no (my test results were ok, DP results pretty bad, I'm v close to cut off age).

Just to plan ahead can anyone recommend a clinic to use? We're in Uxbridge west London. I've had a Google and Create in St Paul's seem recommended but I'm a bit bamboozled by it all! I've had friends doing IVF who have spent £30k and £20k on rounds one and two and I am also horrified by the cost!

We hope DP's fertility improves soon. He's having varicocele surgery later this week which we hope significantly improves his sperm quality in 3+ months. Has anyone gone through similar?

Thank you

Hopeful bump for any recommendations

DP had varicocele surgery in summer 2019 aged 33. It seemed to improve for a new months but ultimately failed and his sperm count is still very low. From memory the surgery has a 30-50% success rate, i.e. the man goes on to conceive naturally. So I wouldn't pin your hopes on that, although it is possible.

Just out of interest, how long did you wait for your referral? We're on week 4 now and NHS guidelines say it can take up to 18 weeks, which just make me want to weep. DP was a bit naughty when he had his surgery and exaggerated the pain and discomfort he was in, because he knew the NHS waiting times were ridiculous... But now it feels like we're back at square one.

I'm also horrified at the cost, although I'm in SW London and prices look to be c.£6-8k per round in Create, which is a bit less than your figures but it's still outrageous, especially when you consider that it's unlikely to work the first time. We're literally having to choose between funding IVF and buying a car/renovating the house before we hopefully fill it with babies, and yet there are people out there who get a baby for the low, low price of a few jagerbombs

We went with Kings Fertility who seem to be one of the far more reasonable clinics cost wise. Our round was about £5700 in total including meds costs (which were high as I was on a very high dose of a stims). The meds cost won't be included in clinics quotes so be mindful this can be 1-2k on too. Kings's price included use of their embryoscope to monitor embryo growth via video, which many clinics also charge extra for. We didn't have ICSI or any other additional stuff eg scratch/glue - these are all extras and prices are on their website. ICSI was an extra £1000 from recollection. Their price list is very transparent and we didn't have anything added to our bill along the way. They are a not for profit as well I believe and invest in their research activities with their profit. Some clinics pricing are frankly ludicrous and a total con - definitely shop around! I can't believe there is honestly that much difference in the actual clinical provision to warrant paying an extra 10-15k per round in some cases

The service was great. Quick and efficient with good appt flexibility. I did see different Drs for some of our scans which some people don't like but it enables them to be flexible with their appts and I didn't mind. I trusted their decision making and everyone we interacted with was lovely. We were very lucky that our round was uncomplicated and successful first time. We will definitely go back to them if/when we need to in the future.

Thank you both.

That's disappointing on the varicocele surgery. It was actually am embolization he's having and the consultant said it should improve quality by 90%!

I will look up the recommendations, thank you.

Hi,
My partner is due to have his embolisation in two days. Do you know if it made any difference to your husband yet?

Hi @Cece1908 - I hope you are well. I just wondered whether the embolisation improved things?

Hi - it showed a very slight increase at the follow up test three months later but unfortunately by the time we moved onto IVF (literally 6 weeks later) it was back to the original result. We’ve moved onto donor sperm now x

Hello, just thought I'd give an update as I see this thread was revived!

DP had a further surgery to embolise the off shoots which had cropped up and this time it was successful. His surgery was in October 2021 and I fell pregnant in August 2022. Baby is due May 2023 🥰

He doesn't seem to have any recurring issues this time.