IVF drugs when treatment outside UK

[MimiArm]

Hi all

Myself and my husband live in NI but we've had bad experiences with the private clinics here (there only are two) and are now going to be seeking treatment in The Republic of Ireland.

I was at the clinic in ROI yesterday and the fertility nurse explained that we will receive a private prescription but we will need to find a doctor here in NI to effectively transpose that private prescription into an NI one.

From there, I think we then source the drugs ourself.

I'm a bit confused and would be grateful to hear how this works exactly from anyone that's done similar?

I'd like to try and line up a doctor soon. I'm going to be moving to a different GP as current one is useless and wondering if this something a new GP will be involved in. If so, that will impact on which GP I register with.

Any advice/experience would be gratefully received!

In similar position we are using clinic in ROI and got the prescription. We still used the private one we received from ROI clinic and found cheapest way to get drugs was online through the Fertility Pharmacy. They were much cheaper than any of the pharmacies here. We didn't need to get a Dr in NI to transfer to NI script. Can I ask which clinics in North you tried we are waiting on an appointment for clinic here as unsure about the one in ROI

@try9ng Thanks for replying.

So we've been to Belfast Fertility and In-Ovo in NI. Both were useless - forcing us into unnecessary scans and telling us there is no wait time only to then be ignored. I've been waiting on a call back from In-Ovo re treatment start date now for 4 weeks and have rang a few times. This has been going on for over a year so we are fed up (and I'm 40 and frustrated at the time that is being wasted).

We've just moved to Waterstone Clinic in Kildare and have been impressed so far.

Which clinics have you been to?

Awh OK good to hear about in-ovo we have been waiting on initial appointment but doesn't sound like they are very good at getting back to you. We are about to start with Sims Dublin. I was having doubts due to a lack of communication at times and wanted to check somewhere else to see if they were any better but it doesn't sound like it. We have such limited choice here don't we

It's terrible here, honestly.

We started with Belfast Fertility in June 2020 after trying for our first for a year with no luck. At that stage I knew I wasn't ovulating but that's all I knew. They did all the tests and turned out DH has poor morphology as well. They said I could try ovulation induction whilst on wait list for IVF with ICSI. Waited and waited and they kept saying there was a wait list (for a prescription?!). We felt they were just pushing us into IVF.

We then went to Mid Ulster Women's Clinic and were prescribed Clomid. Got pregnant on third round but had a MMC in February.

Then went to In-Ovo and told I'd need a HyFoSy scan before Ovulation induction or IVF could start. But then I had a bleed that lasted 50 odd days. The doctor at In-Ovo told me I likely had PCOS due to my high AMH (32) and seemed annoyed that Belfast Fertility Clinic hadn't told me the year before (which they hadn't)?!?

Then went to a private gynae about the 50 day bleed. She confirmed PCOS and put me on Metformin. She also confirmed that I do not need a HyFoSy as my tubes are clearly fine since I got pregnant! But that's the very reason In-Ovo are fobbing us off and holding us up.

So then a few weeks ago had a call from NHS after being on wait list for 2 years. Called me in for a scan, I gave them all of our previous test results and the nurse said we would be starting ovulation induction treatment within 2 weeks. 5 days later I get a call to say sorry, due to our previous tests and DHs morphology, they won't help as "it would ovulation induction wouldnt work". I argued that she was aware of our results and had told us we would deffo be getting the treatment and said "but it did work before, I got pregnant with it" and she literally said "the aim isn't to get pregnant, it's to have a live baby" ?!?

I then decided a week ago to look further afield as I'm just beyond fed up now. I rang Waterstone Clinic on Monday, was there for a repeat AMH test on Thursday, and we have our consultation to agree way forward on 6 October. They've confirmed they have no wait list at all. We are just going to go ahead with IVF with ICSI as it's probably our best chance.

Sorry, that was really long but just giving background!

What's your journey been so far?

Sorry to hear about your MMC. It's promising that you know you can get pregnant though. It's so frustrating when you can't trust the clinic to have your best interests at heart. I sometimes wonder are they most interested in earning extra fees. We got referred in the NHS about 2 years ago now but due to Covid delays decided to go private. My OH has very low count and tried different meds and vitamins but nothing has really worked. We've been told we will need ICSI. Went for our first cycle in August but couldn't go ahead as I had a cyst. We're booked in again for November so hoping everything goes to plan this time. I find we get told information but no one really takes the time to explain it to us. There is one nurse who has been great and if it hadn't been for her I think we would have left the clinic by now. The clinic has been good with regards to waiting times it's just trying to make arrangements for us to be able to take time off to go down etc. I got my appointment in Craigavon hospital about a month ago but they can't help us as they don't do ICSI so unfortunately we have to wait for belfast now, but it could take another year so we are definitely going ahead with the private treatment

I always wonder if they have your best interests at heart. The private gynae that I saw was not complimentary about private fertility clinics whatsoever and said that even the various governing medical bodies are not happy with them and their lack of ethics.

What a shame about your cyst. I'm sure you were gutted that it couldn't proceed then. Does that mean you'll have a frozen transfer or did you not get to the egg collection stage/embryo stage?

We both sound at very similar stages - I would guess our go should be Oct/Nov. I'm concerned that my full lining will slow things down. I already had progesterone to try to shed it and it was still full even after that (and the 50 day long bleed)!

I feel the same we just have to hope for the best. We took a package with access Fertility which covers 2 rounds and unlimited FET if we don't get lucky first time. Think it takes some of the pressure off.

We didn't even get to start. It was so disappointing I didn't realise it was going to even impact cycle until day we were due to starts meds.

That's an extra worry for you. Can they give you something to help you shed the lining? There are so many things I never knew about fertility difficulties until we started this. It's so hard isn't it.

Hey. The access fertility package sounds interesting. I've heard the name before but I thought it was a clinic name haha! I've looked it up and for over 40s there is a package which seems decent but it doesn't look like Waterstone clinic are on the list of participating clinics. I'm sure that really takes the pressure off.

It's amazing how much we didn't know until we started to try for a baby and most women are the same for sure. It's a complete minefield!

Fingers crossed for both of us we have luck on our side soon. I'm sure you're like me and feeling so worn down by it all. I've really struggled this year to cope with it alongside work. I feel much more hopeful though now that we at least have an appointment booked in.