Advice needed.

[Kenny75]

Can anyone advise me on how to even begin the ivf journey please. I’m so all over the shop I just can’t take anything in online. The more i read the more confused I am.

Also, how does going abroad work with appointments etc? Please feel free to message me with suggestions of great clinics etc too for us to research

I’m 44 in June. Never been pregnant and Had endo removed last summer but for some reason she left my blocked tube in situ despite being told they would take it if defo blocked.

Any level of advice and support gratefully received for me and my husband who on looking online feel so overwhelmed. Thank you xx

[Cinderella5]

It really depends on whether you are doing own egg cycles or donor egg cycles. I'm having DE cycle abroad and I'd be happy to share or help in any way I can if you want to PM me or reply here.xx

[Kenny75 in reply to Cinderella5]

Yes please do send me info. I’d really appreciate that.

I guess I’d need DE being almost 44?

[Cinderella5 in reply to Kenny75]

If you are doing DE it is a bit easier. You have 2 options really. Once you decide on a clinic they have coordinators that keep you right. You will give them I do on yourselves, like height, weight, eye colour, hair colour, blood type and send picture of You both. The clinic match you to a donor with similar details to You or whatever specifics you have requested. You can either go it to the clinic and have you hubby leave a sperm sample there and have you bloods done - you both need to be checked for various things like hepatitis, HIV etc and go home. Once your donor has done egg collection they can fertilise the embryos and freeze them once they get to blastocysts stage (day 5). You can then be prepped with medication (usually estradiol tablets which is like HRT) for when it's convenient for you to start treatment....you would fly over for embryo transfer for a few days. OR you can travel out there and be prepped to cycle at the same time as your donor to do a fresh cycle, you need to be over there for around 10 days. You can have your endometrial thickness checked in this country and send reports and images over by email. You have to have bloods done in this country too and send over result. I hope this makes sense. I will PM you who we are using. We are having treatment in Athens but our coordinator works for a few clinic.xx

[Kenny75 in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you for the info. Makes more sense to read it in everyday speak etc.

Yes please,send over your clinic details too. Thank you so much.

Had you tried in the UK first out of interest?

I really appreciate your support as I’ve really hit a wall. I think today beingMothers Day is proving difficult and I am convinced I’m too old and we’re too poor! Thanks again xx

[Cinderella5 in reply to Kenny75]

You're welcome! We had treatment in the UK when I did my own egg cycles. We we costed up DE in this country it was so much cheaper to go abroad and do to paying for treatment holidays were likely out so we get a break at the same time when we do treatment.xx

[Cinderella5 in reply to Kenny75]

Just be careful when choosing clinics that you are comparing the same things. What is included, embryo freezing, medication costs for you and donor, frozen embryo transfer costs. We choose Greece as it was reasonably priced, good success rates and flights all year to our destination. Like I said, if you have any specific questions PM me.xx

[Caroliono4]

Hi Kenny75

Yes the decision to move to ivf is really overwhelming. We had 4 natural miscarriages over 3 years and finally went to a fertility clinic to see whether to move on to DE aged 42. I found I received much clearer answers from our clinic than I ever did from the recurrent miscarriage clinic where I had previously had a load of tests. They did initial tests to see how I was fairing for my age; FSH and AMH hormones and an Antral Follicle Count via internal ultrasound. This gives an idea whether it is worth giving it a go with your own eggs. Unfortunately the %s quoted for conception over 42 is very low, however I had the tests done for my own peace of mind. I've ended up having DE treatment in the UK .

Dependent on your husband's age it might also be worth him getting sperm tested before you start ivf, to get a better idea of the baseline, so to speak!

Many UK clinics do free open evenings where you can speak to patient advisors and get a feel for the place, so the concept of ivf starts to feel less strange. If you are keen to go abroad I know there are some that are linked to UK clinics so you can have all the tests done there and minimise travel.

Hope that helps

[Kenny75 in reply to Caroliono4]

Thank you for your words. It’s great hearing first hand from people who are already on their journey.

Our trouble is living so far in the ‘sticks’ there a few clinics nearby to visit but I shall investigate as didn’t realise they did that. Thank you.

My husband is 40 so a few years younger than me but worth knowing. Thanks so much xxx

[Ropa19 in reply to Kenny75]

Hi, this is my first post as just recently joined this site!

Where in the uk are you? Do you know if you are entitled to nhs treatment? It might be worth speaking to your GP first as they can refer you to an nhs clinic where they often have open evenings where they give u loads of information. We started our treatment in London then moved back to the north where we are both from as we could get 3 rounds on the nhs up here but only 1 in London. We are just preparing for our 3rd cycle so was def worth the move for us as we would of had to pay by now! It’s still all baffling to me now even after 3 transfers 🤯 xx

[Caroliono4 in reply to Kenny75]

P.S If you need information on specific clinics/costs abroad then the Fertility Friends website is a really good resource

[AmbK]

I was supposed to start my IVF journey in Jan this year. But I'm not covered by NHS so I had to postpone it as we'll need a few more months to manage the funds. We're looking for the assisted reproduction process abroad parallelly. Just in case we could find something that suits us both accessibility and affordability wise. TBH I'm at same boat as you are no real experience with IVF really but I can share whatever I got to know from other women and online digging. Firstly, you got to adapt to a healthy lifestyle... not only pick your diet properly but also make sure your sleep cycle is optimum. Keep your stress level low, do meditation and take spa sessions maybe but you got to fight stress. Besides stuck to the medication regime your clinic prescribes you. These are in general preparation, considering DE there you could need a bit of counselling or at least contemplating on DE to get free of any resentment. I'd say what you need most is to stay optimistic over the whole process and it will definitely help. Good Luck!