We have been trying to conceive for over 3 years now. We have had the tests and our infertility is unexplained. We live in Oxfordshire and do not qualify for any treatment on the NHS (we never did as I was 36 when we started). We can't seem to get any advice about improving our chances naturally or trying anything other than IVF- our GP says she doesn't know about that sort of thing and Oxford Fertility Clinic basically said come back when you are ready to pay.
I am looking for finance options as we are on an average income and the prices just seem crazy.
Can anyone recommend someone to talk to? So much information comes up when I search online and I can't tell which ones are real/trust worthy.
Month after month it is getting harder and as I edge towards 40 I am desperate, terrified and outraged alternately.
Help!
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deborahclaire
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Hello, I’m not sure I have any practical help but our fertility clinic provided information about all costs (each procedure has an individual cost to can be difficult to know the total as each person will be unique). Is it worth having an initial appointment with the clinic to find out exactly what the costs are? X
Lots of women on the forum have done ivf abroad at half the costs it is over here. I’m sure they will be able to recommend good clinics they’ve used overseas xx
I had my lap through the subfertility clinic which I was referred to from my gp. It’s run by a gynaecologist and a fertility nurse. They later referred me on to the ivf clinic. The ivf clinic don’t do laps.
I agree with Lizzielizziwlizzie- I’d ask for further investigations such a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Laparoscopy can diagnose endometriosis and a hysteroscopy can determine any abnormalities inside the uterus that a scan may not be able to detect.
My story is long ( I’ll try to keep it sweet n short)
We had unexplained infertility for 5 years and 10 months until my fertility doctor last year did a laparoscopy and found endometriosis which he treated.
I conceived the month after ( this had never happened before the laparoscopy) but sadly I lost the baby. It still was a huge breakthrough 😊
My point is if I had gone ahead with the ivf as my ex fertility doctor had recommend years ago it would’ve failed- like you I couldn’t get funding.
I wish I fought harder further investigations and saved me trying for nearly 6 years before getting diagnosed- don’t make my mistake.
Having a diagnosis for the infertility has made it feel less stressful.
I also conceived the first month after a lap- miscarried but have been pregnant again since then, the lap with mild ablation of endometrial spots seems to have “fixed” my ability to get pregnant, unfortunately there are problems with a chromosome translocation on my husband’s side so I haven’t kept a pregnancy yet, but definitely recommend the lap!
I’m so sorry to hear that Lizzielizziizzie - I really hope that they can do something with the chromosome issue. My miscarriage they couldn’t tell me why it happened- I was told it was just “unlucky” tho I don’t think my endo helps. It does amaze me that so many women aren’t throughly investigated before being recommended IVF 🙄xoxo
I just don’t think I’d have grounds to request those tests. The fertility clinic said the only thing they would be able to do is IVF. They batted every question away.
My doctor was useless. Did you have your tests privately?
Hi lovely, I agree with the above about fighting for a laparoscopy- I’ve heard lots of womens stories who have conceived right after (unfortunately it wasn’t the case for me however)
We attended our local fertility clinics open evening, they have one once a month and honestly I’m so glad we did as they explained everything so clearly and you have the option to stay behind with your questions at the end. They also provided information on coatings and the finance options - may be worth looking at your clinics website or calling them to see if they hold such events??
Hi Deborah, you could have a look at Access Fertility financial plans. They do have age limit but might be worth of checking out. We have also been unexplained for 2,5 years and only IVF threw out some problems so I would definitely recommend giving it a go as being unexplained can play havoc with your life. Good luck.
hey! i am sorry that you are going through these troubles. i can relate so much to what you are saying, and i was in the same position as you. i went through three rounds of ivf, all of them failed, and i felt like all my chances of having a baby were gone. it made me so sad and so depressed for such a long while, and a big reason for that was because we weren't covered for ivf either, and we had to spend nearly all our savings on the three ivf cycles, and i the end, we didnt even get anything out of it. it was a really tough time, and my husband and i found it really hard to get through it. after while, my sister found a really great fertility clinic for us, and things started to go better. this time, i tried to go for surrogacy, and we had success! i was able to have a baby that was biologically ours, and a great lady carried the baby for us, and i feel so greatful for her and the clinic. the clinic wasnt covered by our insurance, but they did have some financial packages available for surrogacy, so that was a little bit of a help too. so if you are looking for a good clinic you should keep an eye out for ones that provide good financial packages and are willing to give you good advice! i hope that this is helpful, and i hope that you have better luck in the time to come. best wishes!
Hi deborahclaire. Have you had a look at the Fertility Fairness website. It tells you about funding and criteria for your area. Just click on the map and scroll down until you find your NHS trust. Good luck! Diane
Frustratingly if the NHS have completed their tests then there is often little more they will do, it is frustrating that the national guidelines suggest funding to 42 but local restrictions are often added to reduce or remove access to treatment.
fertilityfairness.co.uk/ provide information on NHS funding, the only private funding option I know are Access fertility, accessfertility.co.uk/ (I am in no way advertising the service and do not benefit directly from sharing the link, though do work with a clinic who works with Access.) Some hospitals have their own payment plans, such as BMI (bmihealthcare.co.uk/patient... ) (again no benefit in kind from sharing link)
Fertility Network UK provide an information page relating to funding fertilitynetworkuk.org/for-... including what a full cycle of IVF 'should' include.
It can be helpful to use this to compare clinic costs. Regards cost of medication Asda are one of the organisations who provide private prescriptions for IVF on a not for profit basis babyclub.asda.com/Articles/... (again no benefit in kind for sharing link)
We do always suggest visiting a few clinic open days and getting a fell for each clinic, the Fertility Show in March fertilityshow.co.uk/manchester can also be a great place to compare a number of clinics, get information and make more informed decisions.
I'm sorry i can't direct you to a site that compares costs as even if there was one, there are often different packages available so it is often case by case.
Warm wishes and good luck wherever you decide to try.
Tracey
Volunteer Counsellor and co-author of Making Friends with your Fertility
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