Urologist in London

[beachbum85]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I just received our file back after our failed ICSI cycle and it turns out there was a huge drop in embryo quality between Day 3 and 5. We were told it could be a make factor issue and are looking to see an andrologist privately while we wait for the NHS follow-up.

Any recommendations either than Jonathan Ramsay in London? We've read that he's the best but he does have quite a long waiting list, so I was wondering if there's anyone else who's good and who you might have had success with.

Thanks!

@beachbum85 ivf consult was great. She’s going to write a letter for me to give to the nhs so I can challenge our bizarre (incorrect) unexplained classification, and she will meet with us again after Mr Ramsay’s test results are in, and also the results of my hycosy. If dh’s results are ok she thinks we should try letrozole + progesterone + a trigger shot to induce ovulation for a couple of months. If it’s still bad or worse she said we should move to short protocol ICSI, but hoping Mr Ramsay may have some suggestions that might help the quality in the meantime. So now we wait some more!

@thislittlebird I'm very glad for you! I think I saw on another thread that it was Dr Alison Taylor? We had also spoken to her before our NHS referral, and she was lovely and extremely helpful :)
Fingers crossed that you manage the first option - I know a lot of people say Mr Ramsay's suggestion were of great help so hopefully it'll be the same for you xx
Again, keep us posted!

@beachbum85 yes that’s right. She’s very helpful, and a world away from my other experiences to date. She was very pro helping us get nhs help as well, which makes a change. I’d seen a private doctor elsewhere and it was all about ivf. No other options mentioned. I accept we’ll likely need ivf but we could have tried these other options months ago, wish I’d gone to her earlier. Will do!

@thislittlebird Yes, she really encouraged us to move towards NHS as well, and made sure we had everything we needed to get support (such as thyroid medication through the GP for me). She suggested we don't wait too long to start IVF, so obviously different circumstances for everyone but I think it's great for you that she thinks these other options could work :) wishing you best of luck!

@beachbum85 sort of wish she’d said start straight away to us too because I’ve waited a long time now but hey ho, let’s see what happens. Thanks, you too!

Everyone who's seen Dr Ramsey, did he do the ultrasound himself or send you elsewhere for it? Where or can it be done anywhere? How much did it cost?
We have an appointment in 2 weeks and have results for dna frag, SFA and hormone panels. Don't want to have to pay another consult just for that.

@Delectable OH had his while we were there for the first consultation, it wasn’t done by Mr Ramsay though. He had it on the day but had to wait a couple of hours for an appointment. We had it in Beaconsfield just in case that makes a difference as I’m not sure what the clinic is like in London, Not sure how much it cost as we just landed the whole £890 bill for ultrasound, DNA frag, semen analysis and urine sample.
You could always just ask to see the written report perhaps? If nothing to note then no need for a consultation.

Thanks @Halftime23. I suspect the consultation fee is due for his medical opinion written or oral. We're meeting him in London

Hey everyone, how are you doing?
@thislittlebird and @Delectable I hope your partners' results were positive and Mr Ramsey was helpful!

@beachbum85 yes we did see him and DH had a medical exam. No varicocele, thank God.

@beachbum85 we’re still waiting to see him! It’s been a little ridiculous how long we’ve had to wait tbh, but we will be seeing him on Monday. What’s the latest with you?

@Delectable was there any advice for your partner?

@Delectable that's great to hear! what are your plans now?

@thislittlebird wow that is a long wait!! But Monday will be here soon :) let us know how it goes..

We'll be starting a new cycle of IVF/ICSI next week (it's a long protocol so egg collection won't be for another month or so). I swing between being excited and worried that things will go the same way since we still don't know what caused the issue last time. But we're being much more careful with our food and lifestyle so hoping to see better results... and wondering whether we should book an appt with Mr. Ramsey for Sept in case things don't go well this time either...

@thislittlebird my husband bakes every other week. He eats desserts after every lunch and dinner and a bit of chocolate with coffee most days. Drinks 3 cups of coffee down from 5. Eats a lot of bacon and sausages. I was hoping Dr Jr will desuade him from these things but he simply said we all know the Med diet is healthier etc and joked that he didn't want to get into any domestics. My DH was ofcourse very relieved
Hope your meeting goes well.

@beachbum85Our clinic is closed in August so we can't cycle till Sept.
Now I'm demotivated, not using supplements, eating or drinking water like I should.
Hope your cycle goes well.

Thank you very much @Delectable
I'm sorry to hear you have to wait and I can totally understand the demotivation - I felt similarly until we had dates set and my partner seemed to find it even harder to get on board with the changes (decaf coffee especially) for a long time. It must be really hard.... Big hug and I hope September comes quickly for you and you have a good cycle.

@beachbum85 remind me what happened on your last cycle. Did nothing fertilise?

JR went on holiday for the whole of June so we were left in limbo, very annoying. Because of the delay we’ve missed our chance to do a cycle with our doctor of choice at the clinic, she’s retiring . So we have any old doctor now and her plan. I’ve had to have my MMR so won’t be able to start until late September or early October and just to add insult to injury my husband has got a job on the other side of the country. We would like to move but can’t do that until ivf is done, so need to live apart for months. 😩

@Delectable ugh, annoying he didn’t push him to change his ways a bit more. I’m trying to get my DH to lose weight by October when we think we’ll be starting. He’s pretty good tbh but we’re both short and I don’t think extra pounds are good for us.

@beachbum85 thanks. I hope all goes well for you.
@thislittlebird thanks. I hope your cycle goes well irrespective of doc. Must be hard that your DH has to be away for work. Hugs!

@Delectable thank you very much

@thislittlebird we had a very good fertilization rate but development of our embryos stopped/slowed after Day 3 and we only had early blasts and a 3CC on day 5...
Sorry to hear about your doctor and especially about your husband having to be away. That's a lot to deal with... sending you a big hug!

@beachbum85 @Delectable thanks, I need all these hugs 😩. Our “holiday” turned out to be very stressful with all this ongoing. I can’t move to join him or sell the house until ivf is done really. Sigh.

@beachbum85 what happened to you is what I worry will happen to us, will see what JR says today.

@thislittlebird it's crazy how IVF takes over our lives and everything else has to be put on hold... I'm really sorry you have to go through this.
Let us know what he says today and hopefully it will be good news!

@beachbum85 I hope so! And yeah, it really does put the life on hold. I would be happier if I could look for somewhere to live, I feel very discombobulated to say the least. The market is awful down there right now, high prices that I’m hoping will drop off come winter. Annoying.

Fingers crossed for today 😬

@thislittlebird I know what you mean on both fronts.
We're also house hunting. We're moving out of our central London flat. Prices are so high if you wish to be within 10mins of the M25. I come it levels out by winter.

Our embies stopped going after day 3 2 months ago. We're praying for a miracle.

@Delectable it truly sucks. how many did you have at the start/fertilised?

We currently have a 3 bed terrace in zone 4. If his job doesn’t work out, he doesn’t like it etc he’ll come home and we’re ok here, we can fit a baby in but the stuff that comes with them will be a squeeze because storage is tight. But if the job works out we’ll be selling up probably in the new year or when the ivf works and moving to Cornwall. I want somewhere bigger for my money there but the market is nutty right now and the (decent, spacious but not out of our budget) housing stock is few and far between. It’s going to take a while imo. We’d also like to live in Falmouth if we move which is very popular and thus pricier.

Just on our way home. It was good news, low motility has increased from 9% to 26% and morphology is now at 8% normal forms, before it was 4 or 3%. DNA frag results were really good for his age, 59% of his sample were normal and 0% had very high damage. Also low oxidative stress and no infection. I’m relieved, hopefully it will improve our chances but if it all goes wrong from here on in maybe my eggs will be dodgy lol

I think the impryl + ubiquinol + a few other supplants must have done the trick, that and daily ejaculation. He hasn’t changed an awful lot else.

@thislittlebird that's excellent news, I'm so glad for you! I'm no expert but those numbers look great :) Hopefully your eggs are doing just as well
Are you going to try ovulation induction then?

@beachbum85 no, because he’s moving away 🥴. We could have if not for that. Can’t try until mid September because rubella jab and he’ll be gone by then. It’s very annoying.