IVF Abroad...

[PeachTiger]

I wonder I'd anyone has done IVF abroad? It would be lovely to talk to someone who has been through it and maybe suggest clinics, we were looking at Cyprus but happy to look anywhere. We have previously had ivf with icsi (male factor) back in 2015 through the NHS which resulted in our wonderful daughter and we would love to extend our family as we know fertility treatment is our only option.

@RoseannesMamma Hello! Sounds like you've been very busy. Does that feel like a good plan from Fertility Port? What did they say their basis was for recommending PGTA? Prague Fertility Centre recommended PGTA for us on the basis of my 2 previous failed cycles, same with Europe IVF. I'm finding that it's quite difficult to work out whether the clinics are recommending things because they recommend them to everyone or whether they actually think they're specific to you and will help your case.

We're trying to get a consultation with Pronatal too- did you notice on their list of what's included in the IVF cycles they've put an 'all inclusive snack'?! That made me giggle, and I'm a bit intrigued. Pricewise they seem quite good though, and they're the only one I've seen who offer a cycle with medication included.

We're speaking to Gennet next week and hopefully Pronatal at some point, but Pronatal Sanitorium rather than Pronatal Plus. Is there a specific reason you've gone for Pronatal Plus? I've been trying to figure out the difference but not getting very far.

Hi again @FireFireBurningBright
So PGT-A I think has been suggested to us due to recurrent losses, I guess incase our losses have been caused by genetic abnormalities with the embryos. So the PGT-A could identify that then we wouldn’t be wasting transfers. I’m sure there are other reasons they recommend PGT-A though.

I do know what you mean about them recommending things just for the money… I also felt like this at the beginning so I’ve had to have a good Google of everything suggested and a scour of social media for other people’s experiences too!

We spoke to Pronatal today and finally it feels like doctors are saying similar things! So that’s a relief. Suddenly feels a bit clearer! Obviously with him being the 5th consult there was the advantage that I could question him on what the others have all said and see what he thought. He agrees with hysteroscopy (suggested by Gennet) and endometrial biopsy (suggested by Fertility Port). And said our prognosis is good for IVF. I do like the little part about the snack! Wonder what it is! I also love that they have accommodation and it seems reasonably priced too! Not too sure why I picked Plus over Sanatorium. Think they were recommended on a Facebook group maybe. But no real reason for the preference. The coordinator has been incredibly efficient communicating so far though. As have Gennet to be fair! Think it’s between Gennet and Pronatal Plus.

I feel a bit bad for the ones we don’t choose that they’ve put the effort into organising things for us and then we go elsewhere! Suppose that’s probably normal to them though!

How are things for you?!

I'm currently doing ivf with Ark in Athens, can't fault them. Had my egg collection last week and will be doing a frozen transfer.

@RoseannesMamma Do you think you'll go down the PGT-A route? We're still in two minds. On paper it seems like a great idea and hopefully a way to minimise transfers that would never work, but even if the embryo is euploid it doesn't automatically mean success so I'm worried that we'll pin all our hopes on something and end up disappointed. And we both agreed we wouldn't choose antenatal screening (combined screening or NIPT) if I ever did get pregnant as it wouldn't change our thoughts about the pregnancy. So hard! Both Gennet and Pronatal have said to decide when we know how many embryos we have so maybe that will make the decision easier.

That's really good news! Have you had any of those investigations done already or will this be the first time for everything? The prices do seem really good. We're speaking to Pronatal on Monday but spoke to Gennet this week. We really liked them and they've already sent over the stimulation protocol which is interesting and helpful. Pronatal also did that having reviewed our bloods etc. So I think we're between those two, too! Maybe still considering Europe IVF for cost reasons.

I know what you mean about feeling bad! I feel the same but I think you're right, it's part of what they expect. When are you hoping to do your treatment? I think we're on hold until May...I started a new job in October and we're trying to time it right for the enhanced maternity pay. Which is another confusing aspect- trying to work out when the end of your 15th week before your EWC is! Hope you're doing ok and managing to not go down too many Internet rabbit holes about fertility...I know I'm not!

@Lja100 Thanks for your input and got everything crossed for your frozen transfer! What did you like about them? Are you able to say how much the treatment was? I had a quick look on their website and couldn't see any prices.

Thankyou! I'd already decided I wanted to go with them after doing some research but Dr George is so lovely, all the midwives there are really nice too. I think the total is about 3600euros for treatment, not including the medication x

@FireFireBurningBright Great to hear from you. We may well go down the PGT-A route but we want to do the hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy first. It might depend if they find something wrong or not.

We were about to pretty much tell Pronatal to go ahead today and then I realised the pre-op assessments aren’t included like they are with Gennet! I’ve asked if they can be done with them because I still think it’d be easier than finding a private GP over here to sort it (I doubt my NHS GP will oblige!!) So now I’m awaiting a response! We were considering starting on my mid-March cycle but it might be a bit of a push. When I started looking at clinics it seemed like plenty of time and now it feels really soon!! If not then May for us too. My April cycle clashes with a holiday we have booked. Working out when you’d be eligible for enhanced mat pay sounds like a headache so I wish you luck with that!

Let me know how you get on with Pronatal!

Hope you’re doing ok @FireFireBurningBright ! Just wanted to share that we’ve come to a decision! We’re going with Pronatal, hopefully having a hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy in April at Sanatorium as long as it doesn’t clash with Easter weekend! Then it depends on the results but possibly will start stims mid May with Pronatal Plus!

My NHS GPs have actually offered an appointment to discuss the pre-op but I didn’t mention the clinic was abroad, just said it was private! So I’m quite worried they’ll say no and I’ll have wasted an appointment!

Hi @RoseannesMamma that's all very exciting! When's your GP appointment? Fingers crossed you get an understanding GP or at least someone who can point you in the right direction of someone who'll be able to do them privately. What do you need doing? Is there the possibility of flying over for the day or so to have them done? Hope you're feeling ok about it all.

I thought we'd pretty much decided on going for Gennet- the Pronatal consultation was good and they've written up a different stimulation protocol than I expected which was interesting but it felt like we got better vibes from Gennet. However, we had a consultation with New Life in Thessaloniki this morning and they were so good, we really liked them. It's really thrown a spanner in the works- they're more expensive and I think flights there would cost more too so I hadn't really considered them as an option beforehand. They've advised against PGT-A testing and just going for karyotyping and anti phospholipid blood tests before treatment. According to them, PGT-A testing for our age group doesn't have any statistical difference to the live birth rate but the bloods are worth doing in view of our (very long!) time of TTC without getting anywhere. So now we're back to square one. I'm really not sure what we're going to decide, we need to have a proper sit down and sort out. But very glad to hear you've made your choice, and it all sounds very positive!

Hey @FireFireBurningBright
My GP appointment is Friday so hopefully they can do it. It seems to be a load of blood tests and a urine test to check I’m ok to have a general anaesthetic. The clinic have said they need it from my local GP (I guess if I can’t get it from the NHS I can try private or go back to them and ask if it can be done in Prague). Or else we switch back and see if we can use Gennet. We did like them too!

Oh wow that’s good to hear about Greece! Yeah I think I ruled out Greece based on the logistics of travel but I’ve heard positive things about some of the clinics there! I don’t envy you making a decision!!

@RoseannesMamma How did the GP appointment go? I'm fairly sure most of the clinics offer the pre op at their clinic from what I've been reading so maybe that's a good back up if you didn't get anywhere with the GP.

Still haven't made a decision! We've actually just booked a wedding date for April 7th so have been caught up with that more than the IVF planning. But we definitely need to commit to a clinic. I think it will probably be Gennet. I think the stress of the going to Greece in high season with the inflated flight and accommodation prices on top of the higher treatment costs make NewLife unfeasible for us.

Hope everything is going OK your end!

Hey @FireFireBurningBright I was just thinking about you and coming to update this thread! We’ve swung back to Gennet. The GP said she could do the blood tests but said no one would be able to sign to say I could have the anaesthetic. She was lovely, I said I was surprised to even be offered an appointment given the circumstances but she gave some good advice which has put us off Pronatal. She basically said the clinic should be doing the pre-op themselves!

So I’ve emailed Gennet this afternoon to clarify if we can have some or all of the same investigations there then proceed with IVF. Gennet definitely do the pre-op at the clinic! Fertility Port keep emailing me though asking if we’ve decided yet…

Oooh congratulations on the wedding! That’s so soon, I bet you’re getting excited, plus have a load to do!! That’s a shame about Greece but it’s pretty much the same reasoning we had for not choosing Greece. I also heard the clinics there close over August…

fingers crossed and all the best on your journey

congrats on the wedding

Thank you @blacksnow !

Hope you’re getting on ok @FireFireBurningBright ! Little update from over here, provided my cycle plays ball and I’m not pregnant (although I think that’d take a miracle to happen at this point!!) we’re hoping to be in Prague by the end of the month for a diagnostic hysteroscopy. We feel quite happy with Gennet now! Just booked the hotels, hanging off booking flights for as long as possible as they’re non refundable! Next job will be to look at insurance!

How’s everything with you? Getting excited for the wedding?!

Hi ladies, after 3 failed transfers using NHS funding I'm looking at alternative options abroad (Prague specifically). For those with experience, can I ask how many days you needed to be in the country for each cycle/transfer? x

@blacksnow Thank you! All a bit last minute but we're very excited.

@linzi1989 I can update you properly in a couple of months when we actually do the treatment but from the free consultations (very handy, I'd recommend booking as many as possible), the consensus seems to be 10-14 days for a fresh transfer. Less if you're planning to freeze all and go back for a transfer at a later date. All the clinics we spoke to were very good at giving us a timeline about being there.

@RoseannesMamma That's so exciting! How are you feeling about the hysteroscopy? Is it under GA or sedation? Glad you're feeling happy with Gennet, they have been really good so far. It's a pain trying to organise everything around cycles isn't it?! Let me know what insurance you go for, I didn't even think about that until I saw it recommended on some fertility website.

I think we're swaying towards Gennet, too. Interesting update from Pronatal though- they said they thought we were committed to coming to them because the doctor had written up the drug protocol and the co-ordinator had sent me step by step instructions, and the charge for that is 200 euros! Which doesn't really make sense to me...the doctor had written the protocol before we'd had our consultation and we said at the end of speaking to them we were still awaiting consultations from other clinics. So it seems like there's been a bit of a miscommunication! Yes definitely getting excited for the wedding! It's a tiny thing, just us and 2 witnesses with a family meal afterwards but we're both really looking forward to it. Hope you're doing ok! Will you fly out the day before the hysteroscopy and back the day after? I think we'll end up doing 2 trips too, one for meds/bloods/pre op and then for the actual IVF bit.

@FireFireBurningBright The hysteroscopy would’ve been under GA but it’s currently on hold because by some miracle… over the weekend I got a BFP!! We’re extremely nervous at the moment given the history and don’t want to think too far ahead but trying to be hopeful at the same time!

I was looking at Medical Travel Shield for insurance, plus taking out an annual policy to cover everything not related to IVF.

Oooh that’s strange from Pronatal… I didn’t think there would be a charge until you wanted to start! Have you managed to resolve it with them?

@RoseannesMamma Ohmygoodness, congratulations!! That's such exciting and amazing news. I can definitely understand the mixed feelings, it must be such a nerve wracking time but I really really hope this is it for you. Sending you all the positive and healthy vibes.

I just haven't replied tbh! Definitely need to get our act together though, we're hoping to start treatment in May and that's coming up pretty quickly.

Hi I heard you were thinking about going to Cyprus for treatment since most of the doctors and people there are turkish anyway, you might as well go straight to turkey for ıvf turkish doctors and the healthcare system are really popular and ıvf treatments in particular get a lot of attention. It’s not too expensive either. You could check out guven hospital they do ıvf and have a lot of international patients The hospital even works with a guide company for foreign patients celık health tourism I know all this because my sister had her nose done in turkey, and we worked with that guide company there were people there for every kind of treatment have a nice day.

@sharon1619 north Cyprus (TRNC) offers different packages to mainland turkey, they offer to same sex couples, non married couples, single IVF people, surrogate pregnancies, gender selection, they offer egg and sperm donation IVF, what is illegal in turkey and on top of that fresh transfers all of these that Mainland Turkey do not. They also can transfer up to 4 embryos I believe turkey is up to 2

So there is quite a few reasons why people choose Cyprus over Turkey

Hello everyone,

Not sure if anyone that used Gynem clinic in Prague is still on this thread. But I've had my consultation with them today and we are considering starting our first cycle with them in October.

Is anyone able to update me on how their treatment went with Gynem? Also how you made it work logistically?

Any tips would be very much appreciated 😊

Hi, it really depends on the clinic. Leading clinics usually optimize the length of stay for international patients. In my case, I visited my clinic three times, and the longest stay was 7 days.

@camelinastorm hi hun! I am debating going with Dr. Firdevs I just wondered how your experience was and how you found them and got on?did you find the process easy etc ? Xxx

@Meg310532 yes the process was very easy I ordered my stims and other meds, I booked my own hotel and flights, have a car and yes very easy the staff are lovely, the coordinators are great they will guide you through everything and they will answer questions at anytime, you also get a dedicated coordinator unlike many places where it is a team