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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

Upcoming transfer at IVF Clinic- worried.

3 replies

Jennifer48 · 30/01/2025 16:19

Hello all, this is is my first time posting here and I hope I am doing it correctly and am posting in the right forum. I live in Paris and I froze my eggs a few years ago in a clinic in Madrid. They were then fertilized with sperm donor before the summer. The first transfer in the clinic was in October and it didn't work. I am now preparing for a second transfer. I am just worried about the organisation of the clinic and wanted to know if any of these worries seem founded, or what do you all think:
In 2021, when I froze my eggs, I was only informed at the last moment about a medication that I needed to take that very evening on a Friday. The medication is quite specific, not commonly available in pharmacies so I had to cancel work at the very last minute. Thankfully finally found the medication I needed, but not before a lot of tears. I was annoyed that the clinic had not given me advance notice that I MIGHT need the medication so i could at least have prepared for it, or scope out which pharmacies might stock it. Admittedly, that was years ago and I did not have any more contact with the person who told me I needed the medication at the eleventh hour, but I do worry about the organisation at this clinic. I had a polyp last year which needed to be removed. The assistant who works specifically with French clients told me I could have a hysteroscopy to remove the polyp at any time of my cycle; the gynaecologist I saw in Paris told me that is strictly not the case; the assistant at the clinic said that the hysteroscopy can be done at any time during your cycle in Spain which is why she had told me that . But she is specifically working with the French market, so although I got the polyp removed and it went fine, again, it made me worry about the organisation of the clinic.
For the next transfer- in February- I decided to go along with my natural cycle rather than the hormonal boost, which I had done last time, in October. My gynaecologist here in Paris suggested I follow a "semi-natural" means and wrote a memo which I forwarded the clinic, but they never gave me any comments about that memo. A treatment plan was prepared and sent to me but I was told to inform the clinic when I got my period in late January. Period started late last week- I panicked because I know the clinic is closed at the weekend and phoned the emergency number. The lady at the emergency number- Maria- asked me what I had taken in preparation for the last transfer and told me to take the same meds again. She said she phoned either that assistant or some other assistant who works regular hours.
When I phoned the clinic during normal working hours on Monday, I was told I should not have taken the hormones as I am trying to go along with my natural cycle this time. But as we can't go back in time, I am continuing to take the hormones and do it that way again but I was so annoyed that i hadn't been given the right information by the emergency contact. Lastly, one of my blood results- toxoplasmosis- came back inconclusive and the assistant told me on Monday that she would send me a new prescription to do the test for taxoplasmosis when she went back to her office; I never received it. Instead, I received a consent form and a bill for the next transfer. I am worried, as I approach the second transfer. I am on my own and my family are not aware.
I know it seems small but there are other things, such as, when I ask if I need to get certain blood tests taken on an empty stomach, the clinic in Madrid answered in the affirmative whereas the laboratory here in Paris told me not necessary, or the other way round; the assistant on Monday listed out the medication I now need to take when it was determined I will once again go down the hormonally boosted route for the next transfer, but she left Vitamin D off the list- I really want to be reassured and to have a clinic staff who I feel are on top of things!
Do these concerns about the organisation in the clinic - or lack thereof - seem reasonable to you?
Thank you

OP posts:
kiwifriend · 30/01/2025 17:20

Hi @Jennifer48 , sorry that your clinic is not doing better at communicating with you and being reassuring. All your concerns seem very valid to me. It's unsettling receiving contradictory information from different sources. I'm glad you didn't wait to do the hysterscopy during the transfer though. That seemed a very misleading piece of information that the coordinator gave about them being able to be done at the same time.

I don't have experience with Spanish clinics myself, but from what I read online communication may be an issue with some big IVF chains like IVI etc. Some of the things could be miscommunication due to the language barrier, others may be due to the clinics being too large. Either way, we don't know wherher such issues affect the outcome, as these clinics clearly still have high success rates. But it's certainly stressful when the communication is not good.

Do you mind sharing how many embryos you still have left? Have you considered moving them to France for transfer? I read that it takes some time to get approval to move embryos out of Spain, but it may be an option if you have a local clinic you trust?

Best of luck for your upcoming transfer!

Xx

Jennifer48 · 30/01/2025 18:13

Thank you for your quick answer, kiwifriend. I had the polyp removed just after the transfer in October.
I still have several embryos left.

It is not only that it would take time to move the embryos out of Slain, the last time I checked which was not long ago, it would not be legally possible to move them from Spain to France, for example. It would be very expensive to move them from Madrid to London.

OP posts:
kiwifriend · 31/01/2025 10:27

@Jennifer48 It's frustrating that there are so many constraints, isn't it? I saw IVI Bilbao has a lot of good reviews from French patients. It may be something you could consider in the future. If currently there isn't that much you can do to improve the situation, I would try to relax and follow the instructions given by the clinic. Spain does have a high success rate and a lot of IVF outcome seems ultimately down to luck. Of course we all want to maximize our chance as much as possible, but if you find yourself in a situation where you can't do much else, then try to take it easy and trust that you have done all you can.

Maybe try meditation and acupuncture, if you haven't already. I understand the anxiety. I just had a failed transfer in January and am preparing for the next transfer in March. My specialist is very kind and the communication has been good, but I still feel anxious and just don't think I have done everything I can and don't believe it will succeed. But thinking like this isn't helpful as there isn't really much I can do at this point. So I'm trying to relax, however difficult it is.

Xx

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