Create Fertility - Experiences

[Sunflower360]

Hi 👋

I was hoping for people's experiences and thoughts on Create Fertility? I am considering them, so any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I am currently going through a short protocol with high stims with another clinic, baseline scan showed 4-5 follicles (expected that as I have low AMH/low ovarian reserves) but through my high stimulation am only showing 1, maybe 2 follicles that are growing...so cycle is not looking great.

So I wanted to consider Create as they specialise in natural modified and mild IVF, but would appreciate feedback on people's experiences as we would be going in multi cycle with my low AFC/AMH and want to ensure it's the best decision in those circumstances.

Thanks!

Thanks @Bubblemachine0 , can imagine that would have been frustrating

I can’t quite remember exactly but basically they were quite dismissive of it. A “Don’t bother, there’s no evidence for it” kind of response. Interestingly I had the opposite of @Bubblemachine0 in that I was advised to start it after a cycle with empty follicles and have never had that again. Obviously there’s no evidence that was due to the DHEA so I’m not saying they’re connected in any way.

Thanks @GreyZebra I have decided not to take DHEA, do not want to delay starting with Create when it comes to it and I have to say I am not 100% sure about it either

What is montioring like with Create? Scans, blood tests, other tests during the cycle, etc. Is the care package worth getting that includes tests?

I personally found the support package better value than pay as you go. There were blood tests at virtually every appointment and scans were as often as every other day. I can't remember if it included anesthetist fees when I did it, I think it might have

Hi @Sunflower360, I got the full support package, never really considered not getting it to be honest. Like bubblemachine, I had scans and blood tests every other day. And mine definitely covered anaesthetic. The only unforeseen costs I had was when I needed more medication. I got a private prescription and sourced most of my medication separately but when I needed more at short notice, I just got from Create which was significantly more expensive. Other than that the support package covered everything so would definitely recommend.

Thanks @GreyZebra @Bubblemachine0 where did you source your medication from?

@Sunflower360 I went via whoever the clinic provider was anf had it delivered but I think you can ask for a private prescription and source yourself

I found Lloyds and Asda to be cheapest. Lloyds had more in stock, Asda needed to order in but both were fine.

@Bubblemachine0 @GreyZebra thanks. How do you go about ordering them? Never had private meds before as my 1st cycle was NHS, just want to be as prepared as possible to buy everything I need after the consultation as I would want to start the following cycle after that meeting

If you go via the clinic provider the clinic put the order in for you and it gets delivered to you at home, it's very quick. They also have some in stock themselves if you need it immediately

Just take your private prescription to a pharmacy and get a quote. Probably worth getting a few quotes if you’ve got time to shop around. I’ve never used an online pharmacy but worth looking into that too, particularly if there’s one your clinic partner with as that should make it more straightforward.

Thanks @Bubblemachine0 @GreyZebra I was wondering, how long after consultation are you likely to start treatment? I understand there is a treatment consultation after the initial one?

@Sunflower360 I started the month after my initial consultation and I think there was a nurse's consultation in between to go through the protocol/how to do the injections etc

My experience was with ABC, their partner clinic but I went to Create for several parts of the process, they are lovely and provide really good care, the egg collection/transfer process felt seamless. However, as the approach is mild IVF it doesn’t work for everyone. It really didn’t work for us, and we went for conventional IVF in our second round which did work thankfully.

Thanks, @Bubblemachine0. I am hoping to start the cycle after the consultation, so I'm hoping timings work out as I'm usually a 28-29 day cycle.

@TwoWaits interesting about your experience with mild IVF, would it be possible to know a bit more? My reason to go to Create is the low ovarian reserve aspect, so be good to know about different experiences! I understand there is natural modified too but understand the aim in that is 1 or most 2 eggs per cycle (which may be all I get anyway in all hoensty!) I got 4 eggs in my 1st high stimulation cycle but 2 were immature and 1 abnormally fertilised whilst the other did not fertilise at all (ICSI for next time). So I am curious to know how mild IVF would work, would it stimulate the follicles enough?

Hi @Sunflower360 So don’t want to put you off mild IVF it as it’s all I can say about situation is very anecdotal and I have no idea if my inferences are right or not but I can tell you my thoughts and background if any of it is relatable.

So for us, DH had poor morphology (2%) all other parameters were good, DNA fragmentation borderline at 28%. So IVF was indicated on his side.

My problems were mild adenomyosis, low (ish) AMH for my age, think it was 8pmol L at 33 yo.

So both of us were ‘subfertile’ on paper.

When we did our first cycle with ABC. I was on Bemfola 125iu. My eggs were REALLY slow to grow, on day 6 of the cycle they were all less than 6mm. The doctor discussed increasing the dosage but it was decided to stay at 125iu. They continued to grow slowly. I stimmed for 12 days. At my last stimulation scan, I only had 2 eggs above 16mm. I had about 10 more eggs 14mm and under. I was expecting just to get the two. BUT I was very pleasantly surprised that after collection the doctor said 14 eggs had been collected. 8 fertilised which was good. At day 3 though only 1 was above 5 cells so it wasn’t looking good. At day 5 we had 1 4AA so were delighted but it ended in a miscarriage.

In our second cycle (Lister) I was on 225 iu Meriofert. The same thing happened again and at our day 6 scan no follicles were above 6mm. The doctors decided to increase the dosage to 300 iu. Things started to look a lot better and at our last stimulation scan I had about 8 or 9 follicles above 16mm. On collection we got 15 eggs, 9 fertilised. On day 3, 6 were above 6 cells so a much better outcome. On day 5 only 1 became a blastocyst (4BB). I was really disappointed at this stage because it seemed like the same outcome basically. One blastocyst out of 15 eggs in second round. One blastocyst out of 14 eggs in first round. BUT and I don’t know if it was purely luck, the 4BB worked…I can’t help but think that having 6 embryos on day 3 rather than 1 gave us a better chance 🤷🏻‍♀️ I might be wrong, it might be pure luck…but there was definitely a huge problem with my eggs not growing, and that was something I only realised once we did IVF, it seemed like the eggs not growing was the main factor in the first cycle and that the blastocyst conversion (sperm quality) was the main factor in the second cycle. But I do wonder if the higher Meriofert gave us more options at day 3 in the second cycle and therefore ultimately we ended up with one healthy blastocyst 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s very hard to know.

Thanks @TwoWaits that is really helpful! Really difficult to tell, each situation is so unique in it's own way but it is great you got a good result! Will see what Create advise in the consultation and take it from there I think

Hi All, was wondering did anyone have any advice on what costings to expect from Create? I am not expecting high numbers embryo wise (if at all) so FET is likely to be low...would PGTA be worth it in that instance? Be good to just have an idea of what a multi cycle could look like cost wise realistically

@Sunflower360 I’ve just (today) paid for a 3 cycle natural modified package with Create. It was £9.4K (incl support package) + £700 for meds (which they supply and bill monthly). They said meds are supplied like this rather than upfront so you only pay for what you use, and top up what you need. So total cost assuming same meds each cycle ~£12,500.
I have (very) low AMH and found it hard to decide. I went through scans and consultations with another clinic (Care) but felt better about Create and ultimately after lots of reading, decided natural modified would be best (fingers crossed). It’s so hard to know what would be best!
July will be our first cycle. No MF issues.
Very early stage but happy to answer anything I can - wishing you lots of luck x

Thanks @HopefulElle that is really helpful. If you don't mind me asking, what are your circumstances? I'm 37, AMH 6 pmol and 1 cycle only got to egg collection stage through NHS on max stims (we had failed fertilisation so next time ICSI has been recommended)

Sure. I’m 35 and had considered myself fit and healthy. Husband is also 35, fit, healthy and no sperm issues. Both exercise 5x a week, healthy diet, BMI etc and no health issues at all. I was absolutely devastated to recently learn my AMH is 0.4pmol - which the doctor described as “borderline undetectable” and “shockingly low” for my age. My AFC is 5-6, FSH is 4.8. It’s strange that my numbers don’t correlate (ie AFC/FSH not as bad as AMH would indicate) - and Dr said that they can’t really assess our chances any further without seeing my eggs, but hope egg quality will be good based on age and lifestyle - who knows. Thyroid testing done and all clear.

We’ve been given 5-10% success rate, so very low - and I’m trying to keep hopes in check. But have to at least give it a go.

Thanks for sharing @HopefulElle Your AFC is a similar number to mine and I got 2 mature eggs in my first round of IVF which was high stims (there were another 2 on top but they were immature), so hopefully you get a good result with your cycles.

I have a consultation coming up with Create in the coming weeks, and hope to start my cycle in August. Would it be possible to know about the cost breakdown they have given you and how soon it takes to get meds in place/start treatment from consultation?

I'm watching this thread with interest. I'm 39, AMH of 3.6, currently doing my second round of IVF on max stims, but my response so far is half that of my first round on half the stims dose! It's impossible to know if this is just what my body would have done anyway this round, or if the max stims are negatively affecting my response. We got 2 blastocysts on our first round on the lower dose.

We did consider Create for this round. I think if this round doesn't work we'll go with them next time. I've read some interesting stuff about mild IVF.

Best of luck to everyone here.

Sorry @HopefulElle you mentioned about costs, that was really helpful!