How to order meds?

[FluentTealGuide]

Hi,

I’ve seen a lot of messages over the years of people shopping around for their IVF meds but how does everyone actually order them? No websites seem to have an actual ‘order’ button except Better Chemist (which looks a bit dodge, TBH).

This is what I need:
Gonal F – 3 x 900iu + 1 x 300iu
Fyramdel – 6 x 250mcg
Ovitrelle – 1 x 250mcg
Cyclogest – 3 packs of 15 x 400mg
Progynova – 1 pack 2mg

The Gonal F and Fyramdel are proving most tricksy.

These are the ones I’ve tried so far:
Stork (emailed) – said they only supply if your clinic is a partner
Fertility2U (emailed) – not yet heard back
Superdrug (called) – said they don’t do private prescriptions)
Boots (in-store) – said they couldn’t supply Fyramdel at all and originally said they couldn’t supply Gonal F because they can only order 450iu or 1050iu, when I need 300iu (the prescription actually says 300 per injection and requested 3 x 900iu and 1 x 300iu pens), though when I pointed out they could just order me 3 x 1050 and 1 x 450 pens and I just swizzle the nob to the correct dose they begrudgingly agreed they could supply it, but I’m not confident they would uphold that if I returned to actually order it.

I’m going to try ASDA next, though I couldn’t find any of the meds on their pharmacy website and they say if it’s not on there it’s not in stock, so I’m not holding out much hope…
If I can get them from ASDA, would they deliver? It’s a good 1.5-hours on 2–3 buses to my nearest pharmacy ASDA so I’m worried about keeping them cool on the way back home if I have to pick them up in-store.

Any suggestions for where else to find them? Anyone used Better Chemist and can recommend?

I must say I wasn’t expecting this part to be the most difficult so far.

Hi, I have used Fertility2U before as that's what my clinics used. I would like to suggest another pharmacy for fertility meds- Zen. They have been really helpful and you can get a quote if you send them an email/use the online form and attach the prescription. If you decide to buy from them then your clinic needs to email them the prescription directly. They also deliver.

www.zenhealthcare.co.uk/ivf-medications-at-zen-london/

You can't just order like adding items to the cart. You need an orignal private prescription from your clinic posted to you. I scanned that and uploaded it to a number of different fertility pharmacies websites and most were quick to reply with a quote. I ended up going with The fertility medication centre (the delivery was through stork). Once you accept the quote they send you a payment link and then arrange delivery. For me it was 2/3 the cost of what I used to pay through my clinics pharmacy partner so really regretting not asking for a private prescription until now... once you receive the medication you need to post the original prescription to them. So a bit more hassle than just letting your clinic arrange everything, but definitely worth the effort.

@Serendipity24 Thank you. Hopefully Fertility 2 U comes back to me soon. I've also just sent a request to Zen, so thanks for suggesting!

@bubu24 Thank you for your recommendation – I have reached out to The Fertility Medication Centre for a quote.

It seemed like there was all the time in the world when I got my prescription yesterday but now the weekend (and half term) approaches and I'm stressing over whether I'll get my meds in time to take them in 2 weeks and whether we'll be paying an arm and a leg for them or just the arm!

@FluentTealGuide I wouldn't worry. I started sending the enquires on the Saturday and got my medication on Thursday. I would just say, Zen were the only ones to respond on Saturday but glad I waited until the Monday as the ones I ended up going with were cheaper and also I found them more professional. From Zen I received replies with spelling mistakes that made me think the whole thing was a scam. Then a separate quote for a different amount from another Zen branch (althoughI had only sent 1 enquiry via their website). Not saying they are not good but worth waiting for at least 2 quotes before making a decision. And also you can try and negotiate as well. Since I got 2 different quotes for the same medication from Zen, it's clear that there's room for some negotiation.

We used fertility to U. Just upload the prescription and they send the quote. Pay, choose delivery date and that's it. If you do this on Monday or Tue as bank hol you should get them next week.

You could also try a pharmacy attached to a clinic in a hospital? I got mine at the pharmacy in the Lister at the Portland Hospital. Took about 30-40 mins for it to filled I think. I’m also taking a similar dose of Gonal F and Fyremadel. I’m also on Menopur. Haven’t been asked to get the post-transfer stuff yet though

Update:

We went to ASDA and ordered the meds from there in the end. They were super friendly, clearly familiar with all the meds and went to go price everything up for us to decide. Generally felt much better taken care of and more trustworthy than Boots. It’s a slog to get there but I’ll take a cool box with me to keep everything chilled for the return journey.

Here are the prices/updates on other places, in case helpful for others in future who find this thread:
Zen – £1920
Fertility2U – TBC (asked for copy of prescription before quoting; this was late Friday so won’t get a quote til next week)
Fertility IVF (supplier quoted by The Fertility Medication Centre) – £1237.78 minus Cyclogest (out of stock)
ASDA – £1327.94
Boots – around £1400 minus Fyramedel (unavailable to order)

Update: Fertility2U just got back to me – quoted £1503.85, if anyone is interested for comparison.