Clinic / treatments advice

[HiroshimaBaby]

I've had my first failed IVF cycle at 43 last month, with ARGC in London. Retrieved 3 eggs from 5 follicles, all 3 went on to become high grade embryos but none transplanted. Bleeding out has been difficult and now planning next steps as i turn 44 in 6 months. Looking at PrP and other Ovarian rejuvenation / reactivation procedures in Spain and Greece. Anyone has had any experience with :

1. Serum Athens
2. IVI Alicante
3. Instituto Barnabeu
4. IVF Alicante / Madrid

Or signpost me to anywhere i can find more information. I am doing this by myself after my long term partner and i split last year. And struggling to find credible information to help decide quickly.

Thanks. x

Hi,
Had a similar experience to you at ARGC and they recommended PRP abroad so i went to Serum. They were excellent but for some reason they couldn’t reach my right ovary so only could get one side done. In the end it made no difference to the number of quality of follicles.

You can get PRP in the UK now - think Dr Gorgy does it at his clinic so that could be an option. He recommends that you do it a few times.

Did ARGC say why they didn’t transfer them?

Wishing you all the best.

Bryony

Hi @Arundel8

Thanks so much for responding. ARGC transferred all three, but neither progressed.

Did you consider other clinics before deciding on Serum, and who was your doctor there?

My acupuncturist mentioned Dr Gorgy, but also this is new for him and i want to be treated by someone with experience in PrP and I know Dr Gorgy has credible reputation in IVF but is new to this.

How did your treatment go post PrP, any success at ARGC?

No problem. I looked at a couple in Cyprus but just felt that Serum was more established. I spoke with Penny - who was lovely. All the staff there are very good and set you at ease.

Sadly, the result at ARGC was my worst - but I put that down to the growth hormone.

Best of luck!

Hi, I am looking at Serum IVF in Greece for my IVF treatment. I am 45.
please advise if you recommend this clinic for donor egg treatment.
thanks

i am so glad serum is everywhere out there! Penny is an angel ! A fertility goddess with soul and love ! She helped me when i was ready to give up at 44 after numerous of failures in uk with my own eggs! Most important is the only clinic i felt everyone cared to succeed and not to get paid!!!
i am really happy Serum is full of people from all over the world is worth it!
They are doing Prp-gf a new prp wich is more clean and considerate with more growth factors! They run one of the biggest in house research for fertility!
Penny is not a doctor but she has a team of doctors and experts working for her and she is monitoring everything !
The key points to success for me was :
Hysteroscopy cuts
uterus microbioma test analysis
prp with growth factors ( endomitrium and uterus)
final but important they monitoring every step in house to check hormone levels and they chose the best timing for all the procedures!

I recommend them 100%

I've been receiving treatment at IVI, though not the Alicante clinic. I went to them at 41 with AFC of 4. My doctor there identified and treated the cause of my low AFC, something which the fertility specialists at my local hospital were unable to do. At 42 I just had an egg retrieval, got 13 eggs, 11 mature, 9 fertilised, 6 blasts. I'm waiting to see if any are euploid, and at 42 it's very possible none will be, but so far I've been very happy with IVI, and glad I chose them.

@HiroshimaBaby hope you don't mind me asking, but had all your blasts been PGT-A tested?

@KoraliaValentine okay wow, can you share more re the IVI root cause treatment? I have 5 AFC, but have a dermoid cyst in one ovary so two AFC do not respond well. My embryos were not PGTA tested, the clinic was not supportive as i had just three, and better chances to transfer on day 2. A friend had over 50 embryos tested and ended up with Molar pregnancy, so not sure what to think of PGTA testing.

Gosh amazing! Congratulations and thanks for sharing this. I am speaking with Dr Ioannis Douliotis there. Hadnt considered IVF itself, just looking at PRP and tests for now but may consider for IVF as I am hearing more and more about success in Europe vs UK.

@KoraliaValentine thank you so much for sharing. Which IVI clinic did you go to? I have heard good things on the one in Valencia and quite tempted to check it out as our last resort.
Also what did protocol did they recommend to you?
fingers crossed your eggs come back normal x

For me it was my blood sugar/insulin levels. I'd seen the fertility specialists at my local hospital and discussed my prediabetes but they only flagged it as a concern if I got pregnant, ie gestational diabetes, but waved that away as something that could be easily treated. In relation to my weight (BMI of 32 at that time) they said that it wouldn't hurt to lose a little but wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't til I went to IVI that my doctor there explained that the reason I had a low follicle count despite having a high AMH for my age was likely my insulin levels. She put me on diabetes medication and stressed how vital diet and exercise were, and three months later my AFC had risen from 4 to 9. By the time I started treatment it was 11.

I'm hugely surprised that any clinic transferred on day 2. I've never heard of that before. And they transferred them all at once? I didn't think clinics outside the US transferred multiple embryos any more, particularly in over 35s.

As for your friend, how many rounds of egg retrieval did she do to get over 50 embryos? Did she have PCOS? I was told by IVI that PGT-A testing was absolutely necessary at my age. They aren't prepared to transfer without it as the risk of miscarriage is so high. I think the molar pregnancy was either really bad luck or the lab screwing up very badly indeed. Where did this happen?

The clinic I went to is a small one and really not set up for international patients. It's a satellite clinic in a smaller city, so I had to travel to another clinic in a different city in the region for egg retrieval, but neither are very international and most English people that I know haven't heard of them. I'd never heard of them before I moved here, and I already lived in Spain. But you might be less ignorant than me lol! The doctors speak reasonable English but the admin staff and nurses don't and most of the materials they give you are in Spanish only. I live here and speak basic Spanish and am used to muddling along despite language difficulties and navigating the healthcare system, but if you don't speak Spanish you might be better off with Valencia. That said I've been really happy with the doctors, the care and the whole patient experience, so if you want more info I'm happy to PM you, just let me know.

I was on short protocol, 150 Gonal F and 150 Meriofert. It all went pretty smoothly apart from fatigue and feeling a bit emotional. It was all much quicker and easier than I expected it to be!

Hi @HiroshimaBaby did you go to any of these clinics? I just had a consultation with serum they seem really focused on finding the issues and treating them! I've also been advised to get prp too as I've had 2 failed cycles here in Ireland. Do you know the price of the prp in IB alicante? I do have a consultation with them in a few weeks