Guys ACU experiences

[SamVan]

Hi all! l’m starting my ivf journey with guys ACU late June and am keen to connect with anyone else who has/is undergoing ivf at Guys too. I’m excited and hopeful but also terrified as it’s my first IVF round and I’m hoping I cope ok with the meds and the hospital doesn’t drop the ball. I’m concerned as the communication from guys isn’t amazing and I’m worried they won’t get things done on time and I’ll miss a month. Mentally, I just can’t miss another 😅 I’ve gone too crazy already!

anw I hope to meet some other ladies in the same process as me! ❤️

Hello 👋 I’m with Guys currently (IVF with ICSI, NHS), am now 6+6 weeks and have found them to be very good. Our first contact with them was end of September 2023, funding approved end of October 2023, they offered us a start of December cycle but we were on holiday so delayed to January.

My partner had a bad accident two days before egg collection and they were wonderful. Helped alter my funding to include egg freezing and once he was better we had them thawed and fertilised.

I had some spotting after getting my BFP and they got me in straight away for an early scan at 5+6 weeks - everything was well, last scan with them should be June 6!

@SamVan I am also with Guys and found communication (especially with the admin) slow. Once starting IVF with the nurses it has been much better.
I too am 6+4 following our first transfer and they have been good at arranging next steps and more medication. Can't fault them!

Also a Guys ACU patient. Currently waiting for test day after our third FET, but my first FET is now 16 months old and currently asleep upstairs! I was a pre-chemo fertility preservation patient who was then lucky enough to be able to come back after treatment, and have found them to be brilliant throughout. Yes, the admin sometimes lacks a little, but all of the actual medical staff are great.

Hi all, thanks so much for your comments and congratulations to you all!! I’m waiting for my meds to start later this month. So excited especially after hearing your positive stories!

could I please ask if you did freeze all cycles with them? I’m being told that I have a high risk of ohss due to high amh so I wonder if a freeze all would be better.

@SamVan I did a freeze all cycle. I have high AMH so was at risk. They didn't collect as many eggs as predicted so planned a fresh transfer on day 5. On day 5 I developed mild OHSS. Guys asked me to still come in for the transfer but scanned me beforehand and found too much fluid so embryo ended up going in the freezer. I'm glad I gave my body a chance to recover.

@DippyDuck19 thanks so much for your I’ll it! I spoke to the nurse today and they are shipping me two types of triggers just in case they are able to do fresh. I also saw in your previous message about issues with communication and I totally agree. The nurses and doctors are great when you actually talk to them but contacting them can be impossible I had to physically go to the clinic to speak to someone. That’s the most stressful part about this process!

@SamVan they did the same with me and prescribed 2 triggers. As I had under 20 follicles they asked me to trigger with the one that had a higher risk of OHSS. They collected 16 eggs so didn't expect me to develop it. I was later told
I should have been given cabergoline after egg collection to prevent OHSS but wasn't.

I have found emailing the nurses much easier and marking the email as urgent. They usually call or reply within 1-2 hours.

Good luck for your upcoming cycle!

@DippyDuck19 thank you!! I’m hoping for the best I don’t think my mental health can take much more. I’ve already burst into tears a couple times at the clinic. It always amazes me how most people seem fine in the waiting room! Thanks again for all your input :)

Hi @SamVan how are you getting on? Choosing between Guy’s and Lister at the moment. We can’t get nhs funding due to my low amh of 3.5. Wishing you the best of luck x

@Pep1952 Hello! Communication at guys was bad before starting the cycle but it’s been good since and the nurses have been very kind. I think you get better care in guys if you’re private (I’m nhs) as you have a direct line to the consultant whenever you need support. I did hear good things about James Nicopoulous at lister too. So I’m sure you can’t go wrong either way. I would probably pick based on location as they are quite far apart and the scans can be quite frequent. I’m going back every 1-2 days at the moment. Best of luck with your decision and feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

@SamVan thank you! I work at Guy’s so will be convenient, but equally I live fairly close to Lister Clinic in Chelsea (and they have a satellite at the Shard I think where scans can be done so also close to work). It looks like Lister is better value though as they offer the Access programme. I’ll speak to the nurse at Guy’s who I personally know this week for advice and take it from there. When is your retrieval if you don’t mind me asking? I hope you get a really good result! All fingers crossed x

good idea to shop around with prices especially as both sound convenient for you. I’m not sure what the access programme is but I know from speaking to friends that a lot of extras are not included in some clinic prices which means you then get a bigger bill than expected. What I liked about guys when I did my iui there is all the scans and bloods were included whereas in some clinics you pay extra. I don’t know when my retrieval is yet but I want it to be soon!! I’m so bloated and leaky and uncomfortable and the fyremadel jabs are honestly evil so I just want it to be over now.

@SamVan bless you and you got this!! Good luck!

@Pep1952 thank you! Good luck to you too in finding the right clinic :)

Hello, I'm due to go in for my first FET treatment at guys. Does anyone know if they include scans in the FET package or what makes up the package?
I'm panicking about the potential ever increasing costs when I look at the price list...
Any info most appreciated in advance

@HeartsMum I’m sorry but I’m not sure! They didn’t charge extra for scans for my iui. I assume it is included unless stated.

Thanks @SamVan I found out, initial consultation is an hour and includes uterus scan.

Hi, I'm having ivf at Guys too. I had my egg collection a few moths ago and I'm hoping to start my FET this cycle. I'm due my period any second now but I'm praying it isn't today as I have a holiday in July and need my appointments to work around it. That only works if my period starts tomorrow... At the earliest. With polycystic ovaries I'd be so grateful if that helps for once by my period being a bit late.

@Becky105 are you doing a medicated cycle? I understand the dates are flexible for the transfer if you’re doing a medicated transfer so you should be fine! I’m getting my collection on Monday then fet month after!

Hi @SamVan I am doing a medicated cycle. I spoke to one of the nurses last week and my holiday is at exactly the wrong time (it's for a friend's wedding so we thought we'd make a holiday out of it) from 15th to 22nd July. The nurse said if you start your period on the 7th a scan on the 23rd is fine. So naturally, I've started my period tonight... Ffs.

So, I've emailed the nurses to ask if because it is the evening I count tomorrow as day 1 and can still go ahead. Been stressing all bloody day at I had really bad cramps and I knew it was coming. Even tried to lounge laying down as much as possible to stop gravity doing it's thing. I'm a crazy woman lying to myself wherever possible 😂😂😂 we shall see what they say.

@Becky105 ahhh that’s so shit about the timing. Tbh I think it should be fine as it’s evening now so probably counts as starting tomorrow!

How was your experience with guys so far? I’ve got my collection on Monday and I’m freaking out that I’ll ovulate early. It’s annoying they don’t do collections on the weekend as mine should have been Saturday really.

@SamVan when I saw Dr White I just fell in love with her. She's so knowledge and caring and just an all round good egg that you would want to be looking after you. A couple of small hiccups (like they should have sent me both trigger options as I have PCOS so was potential to get over stimulated... But they only sent one. When I went for a scan I mentioned that I only had one and they then arranged for the other one to be delivered... But it meant I had to be available for a second delivery date). The emails are not always on point with answering what I've actually asked and calling can be a nightmare being on hold for an hour. But the actual medical care is very good.

I was previously with abc ivf and they were AWFUL. In all aspects. So Guys has been a welcome relief.

That's exciting, collection on Monday. Mine went really well, lovely view of the London skyline from my bay. Flattering gown and socks provided 😂😂😂

@Becky105 oh I’ve not come across her before is she still there? Yeah I agree that the communication has not been great. I think the nhs rounds are particularly bad compared to private too. My collection ran very late but thankfully they still got the eggs :)

@SamVan She is still there but I think she's part-time. Congratulations on your egg collection, were you happy with how many you got?

I've started my prognova tablets and already feel quite nauseous just a couple of days in. And yesterday I was overly full of energy... Kinda anxious energy and a restless mind. Today I feel so tired. I forgot from my last cycles how much the drugs affect me. I think my brain just blocks it all out 🤣🤣🤣

Yeah, I'm on their NHS funded side of things. We're a same sex couple but I've got PCOS, underactive thyroid and we've had 3 failed implantations.

Thank you! Yes I got 15 and 11 fertilized which is number I’m happy with. Hard to predict how it’ll go from here though!

I didn’t realize you got to see a consultant during an nhs round. I haven’t seen anyone so far which has been quite stressful.

i assume since you’ve started your tablets they allowed you to do your fet this cycle? That’s great news! How long till you do the transfer then? I’m sorry about the three failed implantations, that must be so rough.

could I please ask what the process was for the fet cycle? I heard from some nurses it can start straight away and from another that I’ll need a doctors appointment and then need to be on the waitlist so it might be awhile. It’s so frustrating as it’s impossible to make plans!