Hi all.
We are after a bit of advice regarding having IVF privately. Bit of background - My partner (he is 44) and I (35) have had one round of unsuccessful IVF on the NHS with Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. I was on the pill for a 15 years and when I stopped the pill my period never returned. I had a pelvic ultrasound scan which showed I have PCOS but my bloods don’t reflect this. I have an underactive thyroid which is being treated with levothyroxine and my TSH is in range. My Gynaecology Consultant has also said I have hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which was most likely caused by being on the pill for long. My AMH level is good at 43. His semen analysis was normal.
During IVF, we had 17 follicles retrieved, of which 13 were fertilised. Out of the 13, 5 were over fertilised. We had 6 day 3 embryos but only 1 developed to the blastocyst stage which failed on fresh transfer.
I was asked to take Folic acid, vit D and Co Q10 as supplements and my partner took Proxeed for Men.
Should also mention that I was on a calorie deficit diet (I’m not overweight but was trying to get leaner) just before I started IVF. And my father passed away about a month prior to that so it was a very sad and stressful time. I’m not sure if those things affected our IVF cycle. But since then I have started eating a higher number of calories and I feel I’m not as stressed.
We are planning on going private for another round, but we are unsure of whether to stick with Chelsea and Westminster or move to another clinic. The clinic is convenient location wise (we are in West London) for having scans. I also like the consultant (Dr Kate MacLaren). We have looked online for other private clinics but it’s very difficult to pick one as there are many and lots of different consultants.
Does anyone have experience of having treatment privately with Chelsea and Westminster and Dr MacLaren? Would you recommend any clinic/consultant?
Any other advise around hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and or IVF in general greatly received.
Thanks in advance. 😊