PGT-A advice and clinic recommendations

[RMCx3]

Hi - looking for some advice. After going through 4 miscarriages and seeing a private RM specialist (I was on RM meds in 4th pregnancy), I was referred to have a MRI. The MRI showed I have very small fibroids ( I have always known I have them but wasn't too sure on how close they were to the lining). 2 fibroids are just barely touching the lining and are considered too small, and could not be removed the traditional way. So in a nutshell it's not safe to remove, they are too small and hardly indenting the lining. The advice is now PGT-A.

Im still trying to process this. Will be 40 next year so I don't have time to waste. I have been told I have low AFC ( below average to my age ).

I'm just heartbroken. I'm petrified going through IVF ( as the tests I've undergone as a result of the RMCs has given me anxiety).

Has anyone been through anything similar? Do you do PGT-A? Are there any clinics in London recommended with rough costs?

My consultant said she will give me some recommendations and has initially suggested ARGC but from ive read going for daily tests, the wait for blood tests each morning, seems very stressful.

Any help will be appreciated. I don't have any children and yearn to be a mum.

Hi @RMCx3 - so sorry you're going through this stressful time.

I'm a little confused about the link between the fibroids and PGT-A testing. I have also had recurrent miscarriages, but no suggestion that this was linked to anything uterine that might have caused it - are they saying that's what the fibroids are doing? Causing the miscarriages?

For us, PGT testing offered the opportunity to make sure that any embryos we transferred were healthy and therefore lessened the risk of miscarriage for the embryos that had made it to blast stage but had chromosomal issues. This was a big weight off my mind because I didn't want to go through another miscarriage. The first euploid embryo we transferred (after miscarriages, a chemical pregnancy and a failed transfer) resulted in our daughter.

IVF can seem daunting but there are multiple threads on here where you will find wonderful support and unfortunately, it may be the path that you need to take to achieve the motherhood you desire. I know how unfair and awful it feels.

Not sure if you are eligible for NHS funding? perhaps not given your age. The UK is very expensive in terms of IVF. I would suggest you also look to Europe where it's a lot cheaper.

I'm very happy (as I know others will be) to answer any questions you have.

Hi - thanks for your message and support.

Apologies- it was suspected that the fibroids could be the cause. It's not been entirely dismissed but suggested it's unlikely to be the reason. I may need to have surgery if after having PGT-A, I miscarry.

I'm so happy you had success and have your daughter ❤️.

What clinic did you go to?

I see. I wonder if you could get a second opinion about the fibroids. That might be what I would do myself - just to rule it out. A lot to think about and again, so sorry you are in this situation.

I'm afraid I can't help with UK clinics because we were living in Cape Town when we started IVF. We moved back to the UK in 2021 and have been trying for sibling for over a year now but with Reprofit in the Czech Republic, just because they were so much cheaper.

I think there will be loads of women on here with experience of London clinics though, so you could even start a new thread with that as the specific question.

Good luck! and like I said, happy to answer any questions about the IVF process generally.

I had a successful pregnancy with IVF and PGT-A following five miscarriages. I actually found the IVF process much less stressful than my naturally conceived miscarriages and recurrent miscarriage testing.

Though it was nerve wracking waiting for the results of the PGT-A, to see if there were any normal embryos, it gave me so much more confidence in my pregnancy, knowing that the embryo was chromosomally normal. ’Emma the embryologist’ on Instagram has quite a few posts explaining the benefits of PGT-A, and how safe and reliable it is.

I was with the Lister Clinic in Chelsea, and I had a really good experience. I think the PGT-A was £500 per embryo. This was on top of about £4K for the IVF and £1K (approx) for meds and blood tests. An embryo transfer costs £2K, so PGT-A is likely to actually save you money spent transferring abnormal embryos, as well as minimising the risk of further miscarriages.

Let me know if you have any further questions for me and I wish you all the best with your next steps.

Im so sorry to hear about your losses. I know your pain. I'm so glad to read PGT-A was successful for you.

Thank you for your message and providing so much info on the costs, thats really helpful. I feel very stressed about the decision and my anxiety is going crazy.

How did you decide on going with Lister? How often were your appointments?

Did you both continue to work when going through your plans?

@RMCx3 my husband’s andrologist recommended The Lister or CRGH for us. We had an introductory consultation at the Lister first and our consultant was so thorough and reassuring that we both felt it was the right place for us. I’ve heard really good things about CRGH as well though, and when I enquired with them, the costs were about the same.

The amount of appointments per cycle will depend on your protocol and how long it takes. I was on a short protocol, so I had a pre-cycle assessment in advance of each cycle, then four to five visits for scans and blood tests ahead of the egg collection. Each cycle took about two weeks, but you don’t know in advance which days you’ll need time off.

I was working throughout - I didn’t want to tell my manager about the treatment but just said I was having some monitoring and tests done. I moved things around in my calendar and made up the time to avoid having to notify work about the treatment, but I actually think they would have let me have the time off officially if I’d been willing to ask.

Your partner only needs to come for the pre-cycle assessment (which is flexible) and then on the day of the egg collection.