Belfast Fertility Clinics

[Sunshine180]

does anyone here have any experience with fertility clinics in Belfast. For background my husband and I have been TTC for 2 years now and my dr has referred me to gynae but the waitlist is currently 3 years. My husband has booked for his semen analysis and if it comes back ok I assume the nhs will just tell us we have to wait on my gynae appointment so I was going to look into going private.

I have seen In Ovo do an IVF package for £5k has anyone with experience of them experienced are there many hidden costs on top of this please?

Thank you!

Stims so far haven’t been too bad! I have been drinking lots of water- and have managed to avoid headaches.

I have however had bad bloating probably from day 7, but thankfully not sore and can still manage to go out for a walk.

I have actually been sleeping a lot better at night, probably because it’s making me more tired, but don’t notice being overlay tired during the day.

Ive had my first bruise ( day 10!) after a cetrotide injection.

How are you getting on?

@TTC12 glad to hear you’re not feeling too bad from your stims. Unfortunately the bloating seems to be the one side effect that is unavoidable! That’s good you’ve been able to get a good sleep too, that’s half the battle sometimes.

have they been able to give you an indication of how many eggs to expect from your scans?

I’m finally starting my stims this Friday! 150 gonal f then will be adding cetrotide too. A bit nervous for the injection but overall just really excited to get started (probably niave) and trying to stay positive.

@Sunshine180 they haven’t given me any indication as yet- I didn’t ask either. I’ve seen on lots of peoples threads where they have lots of follicles and then don’t get as many eggs and vice versa…. So I don’t want to give myself false hope.

Gonal I have found is very easy to sort- just turn the dial to your dosage and it’s sorted. Cetroride you have to mix yourself- which isn’t to bad- just takes longer and a bit of a faff. I ice the area for about a minute before injection and don’t seem to feel it. So maybe try that.

Im About 2 weeks ahead of you- so any other questions let me know! Although reading through this, I can’t believe how different everyone’s protocol is!

@TTC12 yeah that’s very true that’s a good way to look at it. Are you doing your trigger injection tonight then?

Yes I’m definitely more worried about the cetrotide but hopefully after the first one I’ll get the hang of it. Thanks for the tip about the icing! I need to get an ice pack.

yes it’s so interesting how different everyone’s is! Most people I’ve seen on here have been starting their injections on day 1 or 2 of their cycle but my period started on Sunday night and I’m not starting mine until Friday.

@Sunshine180 yes trigger tonight! I hadn’t realised but I also take the gonal and cetrotide aswell and then the trigger 2 hours later- just assumed I only had the 1 tonight!

yeah cetrotide just takes a couple minutes longer to prepare- but no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I took estorgen tablets from day 21 to the Friday they wanted me to start- which I was told so that they can time things on their end. They basically start everyone on a Friday, and everyone has scans on the following Friday and Monday, then egg collections done the Wed- Friday.

@TTC12 oh I didn’t realise you would still take your other injections with your trigger either. Do you take them tomorrow as well still?

ah ok that makes sense why they had me on northisterone to time my period but it ended up being at the same time it would have been without them anyway.

I start on Friday then have scans Wednesday and the following Monday, then collection scheduled for the Wednesday but obviously that could change.

are you expecting to do a fresh transfer?

@Sunshine180 yeah it was a surprise to me! Thankfully none tomorrow :)

No they confirmed on my last scan it would be frozen- but they had told me on the initial consultation I was high risk of this, so wasn’t surprised. Do you know what your doing yet, or similar to me- just wait and see how the scans go and how you respond?

@TTC12 at least that usually means you should get a good number of eggs! It’s frustrating when you want everything done quickly but hopefully it will be beneficial in the long run!

a freeze all hasn’t been mentioned to us but I think we may have to due to there being 30 follicles on a scan I had but I suppose it really depends on how I react to the stims. I hope we get a chance at a fresh transfer because I’m so impatient but also preparing myself for the possibility that we will have to do frozen.

will you have to wait long to do your transfer?

@Sunshine180 it is really different all the different protocols, I started nasal sprays on day 21 of my cycle then my injections started 7days into my following cycle. It’s baffling how it’s all so different.

we were prescribed cyclogest pessaries from ET onwards, seems we were given these as there was a shortage of crinone gel in the RFC pharmacy

@IVF2024 it is really interesting how everyone’s plan is a different!

I have pessaries but haven’t even checked what they are as they’re not on my calendar yet! are you currently in your Tww?

@Sunshine180 no unfortunately our first round ended Sunday with a negative outcome :(

@IVF2024 im so sorry I’ve just realised you had said that already earlier on this thread. Sorry I’m so bad at keeping track of the user names.

have you been thinking what you’re going to do moving forward? I know it’s maybe too early to think about yet

@Sunshine180 youre grand it’s hard with all the odd usernames. So we are getting our notes from RFC and consulting with TFP instead, as the wait time to get a review on our failed round is approx 3 months, which we think is absolutely shocking to leave people that long without a conversation or advice on how to move forward. The process with RFC has been so efficient but the review time has been a bit disappointing to learn

@IVF2024 that is really poor the 3 month wait once you’re already in treatment, you’ve done enough waiting to get to this point!! I had an initial consultation with TFP and was impressed so hopefully you will be happy with their service too and they will be able to help you continue your journey

@Sunshine180 Yes we did too some time ago so we know the clinic, fingers crossed next time around. Good luck with your journey also. I am grateful for this forum as I wouldn’t have even known to contact TFP as quickly as I have to start moving forward

I hope you get a BFP very soon!xx

@IVF2024 yes I’ve gained so much knowledge on here too it’s so good!

thank you so much! I feel like I’m going into it very naively thinking it will all be over and done soon when in reality it takes a lot of people a lot longer but positivity is best for now I think

@TTC12 how did your collection go? Hope you’re feeling ok after it!

I did my first injection tonight. Didn’t push the plunger right down on the first go so had to do it again to get the full dose out but apart from that went well thankfully! Couldn’t even feel it going in

@Sunshine180 it went well thanks. Got 16 eggs, 14 mature and 13 fertilised…. So now it’s a waiting game to see how many if any get to day 5!

Thats great to get the first one out of the way, looking back now, I started two weeks ago, and it’s flown by! So I’m sure it will for you to! When did you say your first scan is?

@TTC12 theyre great numbers! I’m sure you’re delighted. Will you get a day 3 update? were you sore after the procedure?

yes glad it’s out of the way and hoping the next few weeks fly by for me too! Still a bit nervous about the first cetrotide on Monday morning but I’m sure it’ll be fine once it’s done. First scan is on Wednesday so will be interesting to see how it’s all working by then

@Sunshine180 I don’t think we do get an update until they have the final grading, although I have seen people message before for an update, so potentially may do that on Monday!

I actually didn’t feel bad at all after it! We were able to go get a McDonald’s. I fell asleep pretty much straight away, and don’t recall any of the collection. I have just been abit crampy, but nothing serious. I’ve been able to go for a 3 mile walk today, and feel absolutely fine ( although not pushing myself to hard!)

i was worried before my first scan as I hadn’t really felt any different, but thankfully they were growing nicely! So don’t worry if you’re not feeling much at the start!

@TTC12 yes I’ve seen people finding out on day 3 and people not wanting to in case there’s a drop off after that. I think I’d have to find out if I could tbh! I’m so impatient with it that I’ll want every update I can get haha.

Oh that was good you’ve recovered pretty quickly then. I think just going to sleep and not knowing it’s happening is the best outcome really, hoping I’ll be the same.

that’s good to know thanks for the tip! I actually do think I feel a bit bloated and swollen today but I honestly think that’s in my head because I doubt it after one day. Or could just be unrelated bloating haha. Have quite a bad headache though which wouldn’t be like me so hoping that doesn’t continue!

@Sunshine180 I actually went into it thinking I’d like to stay awake, as I’d never been sedated and was more frightened of the idea of not knowing what was happening…. But now having been through it, so glad I just went to sleep. The last thing I Remeber was the doctor saying, we are going to take good care of you…. my eyes closed and that was it lol! I think my husband said I was away for 18mins in total- so it’s really quick!

I did have the odd headache throughout, but I really upped my water intake, think I was drinking between 3-4l per day and then just took a paracetamol if it didn’t clear!

Also I’m with you in not knowing if side effects are in my head or actual lol, I think over the last month I’ve gone into over drive googling everything and following every ivf Instagram page.

@TTC12 oh that’s good to know it’s all over pretty quickly! How do they give you the sedation? Is it like a tube you breath in?

yes I’ve seen a lot of people saying make sure to drink enough water, I’m usually pretty good with drinking maybe 2 litres a day but have been trying to make sure I drink loads the past few days. Yes I ended up taking paracetamol for the headache yesterday and was fine after and isn’t there this morning so hopefully won’t be anything paracetamol won’t clear!

it’s so hard not to read every single thing on the internet about it isn’t it! I feel like I want to know everything but would probably be better off not knowing. I did an exercise class this morning but was definitely over aware of my ovaries so think that will be my last one during this.

what is the process for you now for your FET? Will you have to take more injections or is it just done with your natural cycle?

@TTC12 I'm sure you've probably said before on this thread, but I've forgotten, did you do your round with TFP?

@Sunshine180 so I think the sedation is through the IV ( mine was in arm) and it’s just an oxygen mask on your face.

yeah so if we get a day 5, we will transfer with our next cycle. I think I would start with oestrogen tablets, then start adding in progesterone….although haven’t looked in detail until I know i have something to transfer….😬

@Patientlywaiting37 i ended up going with Therapie! So had my 2 scans in Dundalk, and then egg collection in Dublin. Would defiantly recommend from my experience to date, although I know it’s not always feasible for people to travel!