NHS or Private

[beauty1984]

Can anyone on here give me a bit of advice on whether NHS or private is better? I've been thinking that maybe private is better as you can have PGS done, but will cost more money, or is it worth staying with the NHS?

Please share you experiences x

[Hidden]

From my experience NHS where great but usually have longer waits, I found private more detailed to us and could start most things straight away xx

[beauty1984 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Button, I had a funded cycle last year and since then have heard of some extras that could have been done like PGS and embryo glue that weren't offered on the NHS. I just want to do what I can to make this happen x

[Hollibob]

Having used my NHS rounds and now private funding, I'd say if you qualify for NHS rounds then use them to save money for what you might need later.

If you go to a clinic that offers PGS if you want it then you can always pay the extra?

Have a look on the clinic's on the HEFA website as it will gives approx waiting times for NHS patients.

Going back to 2014...we were approved in late sept and did our first injection on Xmas day...

[beauty1984 in reply to Hollibob]

I had a funded cycle last year on the NHS which failed, I had my tube unblocked and was started on clomid for 6 months. I go back to the hospital in June to talk about ivf/icsi but I've been considering going to a private clinic as I don't want to wait, my cycle failed in July last year and I feel like I've already wasted 9 months as nothing has happened. I just want to start ivf again as soon as possible and want to do as much as I can to make it successful, if going private and getting a better 'service' and being offered more options like PGS or embryo glue etc then maybe private is better. X

[Hollibob in reply to beauty1984]

Any time waiting I know feels like time wasted...I know what you mean.

My clinic deals with NHS and private patients. They use the glue for everyone as part of their normal process. We paid to have the scratch.

See what they said on your next appointment...it doesn't hurt to know what your other options are...a look of clinic offer open evenings so that you can get a feel of what they are like

[beauty1984 in reply to Hollibob]

Thank you Hollibob can I ask what the scratch is? I haven't heard of this before?

[Hollibob in reply to beauty1984]

It's a endometrial scratch.

They say it can help with implantation as they scratch the womb lining and it regenerates itself...there will be lots on the net to read. We paid £120, so not too bad in the grand scheme of things. Some clinics only suggest if there have been a certain amount of failed cycles...

[Hidden]

Hi Beauty

I would go with your next NHS cycle and see how that goes, fingers crossed it works for you and you dont need to think about private.

If for any reason it does not work you can take invaluable information to your chosen private clinic and gives them more info on you.

Best of luck to you xx

[beauty1984 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you LBM1979, I think from what everyone is saying to go with NHS as planned originally and if that round doesn't work I'll think about private. It's cleared so much stuff going on in my head and I feel so much better, thank you ☺️ counting down the days till June 1st x

[Hidden in reply to beauty1984]

Will be here before you know it, good luck xx

[Hannah143]

Hey beauty1984 it totally depends on your circumstances really.

You could do both, have a private one first and then your funded one later?

It's worth checking the free/private rules before you do it as they keep changing, I think that you can now have unlimited private rounds and still quality for funding on NHS. Before last August you were only allowed 1 private and if you had more it disqualified you from further NHS cycles. (In Surrey anyway).

I've personally found that my private cycles were much more personalised rather than the NHS cookie cutter approach. But then I'm nearly 40 and have an AMH of 5.5 so so cookie cutter isn't going to work for me. Saying that none of them worked so I can only share my view based on experience rather than outcome.

PGS is v expensive and is really only applicable if you have a large harvest and they all make it to blastocyst. Which is a nice problem to have!

No point doing it on smaller amounts of eggs as natural selection will take over anyway. In my opinion Its something worth doing if you are a carrier of a genetic disease of some description.

And I guess it all comes down to money, time and stress. It's what you guys can manage. I know what you mean about NHS waiting times! Mine were so ridiculous!

Good luck lovely xx

[beauty1984 in reply to Hannah143]

Hi Hannah, thank you for your reply, it's put so much into perspective for me. I'm 32 and my AMH was good last year so hopefully it hasn't dropped too much for my next cycle. I will stick with my appointment in June and see what happens

I think the postcode lottery on cycles is so cruel and unfair. How can they decide which couples deserve more then others. X

[Cinderella5]

I have been doing NHS treatment with the choice of a private round if we were unsuccessful. My NHS consutlant said to think of our first round as a "practice round" and it was very hit or miss as they didnt know how I would respond to drugs etc. I feel that the Dr's doing my NHS rounds have learned from my failures and been able to tweak my cycles which of course would have cost me each time if I was private. You are right though, its all time consuming but Im glad I didnt waste my money straight off as my first cycle was a disaster! Good luck for what you decide!xx

[beauty1984 in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you Cinderella. My doctor did say the next time round they will increase my dosages etc so maybe staying with the NHS is good for now x

[Aleelilook]

I've had 2 NHS rounds but in a private clinic, so best of both worlds, as there wasn't a waiting list either! So check to see if you can be referred that way?! They've offered me everything paying customers get, and if I had wanted any extras that they felt were necessary then they have prescribed them. Xxx

[beauty1984 in reply to Aleelilook]

Thanks Aleeilook, my worry is that the NHS won't offer me something that going private would, I want to have every possible option available to me to give me the best chance. I'll see what my appointment in June brings and go from there ☺️ x

[Aleelilook in reply to beauty1984]

Have you watched the panorama on ivf clinics? It's still on the iplayer, might help?! Good luck 😉 xxx

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

The rules about whether you can have a private cycle and still be entitled to an nhs one are different depending where you live so check carefully for your postcode.

Also, bear in mind that the rules change fairly frequently so if you are entitled to a cycle now that might not be the case later. Personally I'd be tempted to take the nhs one whilst it is on offer... time is on your side compared to lots of us on here!

[Leesalou]

Private is quicker, I did my first cycle privately unfortunately it was unsuccessful,

Then when I was ready I went back to the doctors who advised me to go through ivf NHS. The NHS has taken me a year and I've not got my start date yet (hopefully should have it with in the next week) but I did have to have an operation, so that May of slowed it down.

The only thing is if you go private it reduces you goes on the NHS well it did mine. I'm only allowed 2 not 3 as I lost one going private.

Obviously there's the cost with private mine was £7,500 inc drugs,

Where as if your on the NHS it's funded.

Xx

[skatty]

I think it totally depends on your ccg (local nhs funding body) and the clinics you have available. I could choose to use my nhs funding at any clinic and had my cycle in less than 4 months from getting funding approved - and that gap included getting married + honeymoon. My clinic lets you pay for add-ons which nhs wouldn't cover but it's worth checking out yournclinic's policy as another one near me wouldn't do that. Going thru my 2nd cycle privately now I can honestly say my treatment and options have been identical both times. But it's so individual. Also consider finances: my cycle is now upwards of £6k. Every penny counts and I would stick with the nhs one if you're happy with them. Out of interest how do their success rates compare with other clinics near you?

[bibi_16]

I have had 3 rounds of clomid all failed. Now have app in few weeks to discuss ivf. I called cli ic today to find out if i have ref for ivf or will i be ref when i attened my app. She said we r fully vooked untell end of june and if i do vet ref in my next app in few weeks i have to wait tell nov dec. My clomid finished in feb so i have to wait tell nov dec to start ivf. I had a chat with hubby and decided that we should do iui becuz the wait is just to much. Is there any clinics u could recommed i would have to go private for iui amd would have to go to london for iui.xx

[happydaysahead]

We were advised to take all NHS treatment and then go privet. Once you have privet you can't go back to NHS.. I know waiting can be a pain but more attempts is better and it saves you money!

[nicknick]

A friend of my sister picked a private clinic in Gdansk, Poland. She has been refused treatment on the NHS, so they decided to undergo ivf abroad, cs of affordability without sacrificing service and quality. She paid about 2500 Euros for ivf pgs ngs with meds.