Lister - success stories?

[rihanna4]

Hello - I'm considering Lister for IVF with donor sperm. Have read some reviews on here, but not many that say whether their treatments resulted in a live birth or failed. Can anybody share any experiences?

Thank you!

Hi,

I’ve had two rounds of ivf at the lister and both were successful (first gave me my son and am currently 10 weeks from ivf round 2)

I had had one previous failed round at guys (nhs)

my view of the lister overall is;

1. they do tailor your treatment and monitor you closely during cycles - this means they know the optimum time to trigger for egg collection which I think makes a big difference. overall they seem to have good results. Caring consultants and nurses and you can always get hold of someone if you need to (can’t say same from guys!!)
2. I would say the consultants are a bit hit and miss - despite our great results haven’t been that impressed by mine in terms of her knowledge (I ended up suggesting things to her like that I should try dual trigger etc rather than the other way round and I have had to really ask lots of questions and test the advice.) However, have seen other consultants there and they’ve been really great.
3. The fact they monitor you lots during the cycle does increase costs (esp as they charge for blood tests and start taking bloods very early on in cycle which I’m not convinced is necessary). Also, the waiting around at each appointment is maddening - you turn up for a scan then wait another 30 mins after that to get bloods done then another 30 mins after that to see nurse etc. they squeeze in so many people and I think over stretch themselves sometimes!

I would check the hfea website for success rates and do a comparison with other clinics you’re interested in.

overall I would say the lister seems to have good results - I know others who have been successful there and their results aren’t skewed like some clinics (who don’t treat older women etc).

@Blacksheep33 Thanks. How old were you when you had your egg collections with Lister and did you have low AMH/AFC or other issues, if you don't mind me asking?

Of course not - I had just turned 34 for my first round with them and had just turned 37 for my second.

i have low amh (due to having most of one ovary removed due to a cyst) so only grow follicles/eggs on one side but my afc was always not too bad given how low my amh measures. My partner has severe male factor - caused by a varicecole which he had embolised but wasn’t successful.

On my first round with them I had 10 eggs, 9 fertilised and only 1 made it to blast (they looked good up to day 3 so the embryology team thought it was the sperm which was the issue as I was still ‘young’ in ivf terms). The 1 that made it to blast was transferred and successful.

the second round I had 4 eggs but only 2 fertilised - 1 made it to day 5 and am currently 10 weeks pregnant.
I should say that I had started a round which I cancelled a few days in (I.e. after just a few days of meds) a few months before my 2bd cycle - hardly anything was growing and the lister were very supportive with my decision to abandon early (so having only lost the money of a couple of days of meds) rather than push - even though I think it affects their statistics. We then spoke through options for trying a new dosage etc.

I didn’t have my amh tested before round 2 but it must have decreased from 3 year prior. But as everyone says it only takes 1!

Both of my rounds we used IMSI (like icsi where they use a microscope to select the ‘best’ sperm for fertilisation). I do think that they have a good embryology team which I have heard can really make a difference - especially with a process like icsi where they are choosing the sperm and injecting it!

@Blacksheep33 Thanks for the detailed comments. Congratulations on having your son and a second pregnancy. All the best.

Hi @rihanna4 i know this is an old post but just wanted to ask how you got on? I’m trying to choose a clinic (low amh, disqualified from nhs funding due to this). I was thinking of Guy’s because i work in the hospital so know the staff. However also considering Lister due to the Access package. I’m preparing myself for potential multiple cycles due to low amh (3.5 pmol and I’m 36 y/o). Any tips I’d be so grateful x

Had success w/lister mediocre amh at 35 years old

Thank you so much @flowerdebate and congratulations on your success. May i ask how many cycles did you do and who your consultant was?

I saw a few consultants due to scheduling, but main one was Nandi
I did a cycle of frozen embryos and frozen transfer, which took then early loss
Did an additional cycle for frozen embryos and another frozen transfer

I had an NHS round at guys which was unsuccessful followed by a successful private round at the lister. Of course the difference in results could have just been luck (and so much of ivf is!) but I definitely found that the lister had a more personalised service which optimised the number of eggs I got by perfectly timing the trigger injection. I had some immature eggs in my cycle with Guys and the lister believed that was due to a poorly timed trigger.

I found the lister annoying at times re: appointments as they never kept to time but I really can’t fault the clinical care they gave.

my results were:
age 33, amh 5.1pmol and male factor infertility:
guys - 6 eggs, only 2 growing on day 3, both put in - bfn.
lister - 10 eggs. 1 day 5 (4bb) - successful. None frozen.

3 years later I went back for another round at the lister. I was 36 nearly 37 and we didn’t bother re testing my amh as we already knew it would be very low! Scans showed I had few eggs growing.

i went ahead and had 4 collected. 1 day 5 embryo (5bb) - successful.

good luck!!

Over two egg collection cycles and two frozen transfer cycles i was treated 100% of the time by all staff with compassion, patience, respect

Hi @Blacksheep33 success stories like yours give me so much hope. Thank you! Do you mind if I ask who your consultant was at Lister?

My consultant was Dr Anupa Nandi but I also had some appointments with Dr Gavin Kemball. I think they (the consultants) tend to discuss cases too when making decisions on trigger timing, medication dose etc.
Another thing to maybe consider if looking/comparing stats etc is that the lister seems to treat a lot of ‘older’ patients/those with amh whereas other clinics often don’t so they are excluded from their stats.

Really am wishing you all the best xx

Thanks @Blacksheep33, i think we’ll be going with Lister. I’ll call them tomorrow to book an appointment. I have low amh too and I am hopeful i will have the same success. Thanks for sharing positivity on here.

Hey @Pep1952, I hope you don’t mind me jumping on this thread! I am in a similar position and thinking to book with Lister but will be via Bupa. How has your experience been so far? What consultant are you using and what are the wait times like? I’m really excited but also so scared it won’t work the first time which I know is so common x

Hi @Bonniexx we went ahead w Lister Chelsea and saw Dr Gavin Kemball. We don’t have complaints although we originally wanted to see Dr. Parikh because of v good reviews on google but she did not have availability at the time for another two weeks. We decided to try monitored letrozole cycles for 3-6 months and then we move to IVF if still no luck. The wait times could vary, the longest time i waited for a scan was 20 minutes. It’s difficult to get through the phone lines sometimes but they’re quite good at replying to emails and Dr Kemball replies to inquiries too. The nurses are a bit of a mix though. Some i could tell have a lot of experience and know what they’re talking about, but some seem very unsure which didn’t fill me w a lot of confidence. I’ve only done 1 cycle so far of letrozole but I feel like my period is about to drop any time soon so gearing for the second cycle. I hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks for your feedback! We have just booked our first consultation for Wednesday next week, very very excited! We are seeing Dr Anupa Nandi, I’ve seen most of the consultants have good reviews online. Trying to stay calm and be realistic about success rate but can’t help feeling hopeful. Good luck on your journey too! 🤞🏼

@Pep1952 please may I ask how did your first letrozole cycle at the lister go? And please can I ask what was the rationale for trying letrozole first? Was this suggested by you or the consultant? We’re TTC number 2 for 2 years now with unexplained infertility (no issues with our first) so we are exploring going private at the Lister. I was keen to try letrozole as my cycles can vary (27-37 days). NHS St George’s won’t prescribe letrozole for unexplained but I understand private clinics sometimes do. Thank you for reading

Hi @nodnol87 . Letrozole was suggested by our consultant as we have only been trying since January this year. Unfortunately we were not successful on first cycle, although it looks like I ovulated (based on the scans, OPKs and progesterone blood test). We will try 2 more cycles and then do IVF. I’ve read that letrozole is usually more effective for PCOS or those who do not ovulate in an unmedicated cycle but we were willing to try a few times because there are also a few success stories in those who have unexplained fertility. Good luck!

We had our consultation at Lister last week and so far everything has been amazing. We are going to have PGT-A testing, has anyone else had this done and was it successful?? We had our consultation with Dr Nandi 😊