Purchasing Medication

[Football61]

Hi,

I had my nurse consultation for my first IVF cycle yesterday (eeek) and need to purchase some Genotropin 0.4mg and DHEA 25mg as soon as possible.

If you had to take this medication too, really grateful if you could let me know the most cost-effective place to purchase it from? I’ve seen lots of people on this forum say that ASDA is a good choice - can you just ring their pharmacy direct?

Anywhere else?

Thanks so much ❤️

[Hidden]

Hi

I’m presuming your clinic has provided a prescription for genotropin (growth hormone). With a private script I presume you can take it anywhere. Your clinic will have knowledge of where to best source it. I begged my consultant to prescribe GH as I’ve read so many stories of a good day 3 to blastocyst conversion rate. My consultant has written a meta analysis looking at the impact of GH in IVF which concluded that there is no benefit but I think if you’re willing to pay for the treatment and the anecdotal evidence is there, there probably is no harm.

I purchased my DHEA from biovea online. It comes from abroad so could take a couple of weeks or so.

Good luck

[Football61 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much. Yep, my clinic have provided a prescription for Genotropin and DHEA. I needed to start taking it last night to ensure that I could start my treatment next month - so they arranged for their emergency pharmacy to courier me seven-days’ worth of the medication yesterday evening. But now I urgently need to purchase medication for the following few weeks (it will run out next Tuesday). The prescription is in the post (I hope), but I’m conscious that we have a Bank Holiday coming up, etc. Aaaargh.

I’ve also read online that there is no hard evidence for growth hormone during IVF. But the lead consultant at my clinic added it to my treatment plan, so I figured it was worth a shot (I’m 44, so need all the help I can get!).

[StarsAllAround]

I always found Asda the cheapest as they do not add profit they just charge the cost for the medication whereas other pharmacies add there own costs to medication. Yes you can ring any Asda pharmacy direct to find out if they have what you need in stock and if its not in stock how long it takes to get it. Just a note that they don't dispense needles you will need to get them direct from your clinic they shouldn't charge you for them.

[Football61 in reply to StarsAllAround]

Thanks v much ❤️

[Winniebear1]

not had this medication, but I always take my prescriptions from Asda, as they are non profit on medication so work out cheaper.

Hope this helps

[Football61]

Thanks all. Asda had the Genotropin - and at half the price that my clinic’s pharmacy charged me last night!! They had never heard of DHEA, so I’ll probably need to get that from my clinic. Thanks again 🙏

[happypupp]

Try also Fertility2u, my med was nearly half price of a local pharmacy which I checked just for reference. You can request a quote by uploading the prescription. They then need the clinic to directly email them before you can proceed.

[Anisha29]

I got my DHEA from uk.iherb.com/c/dhea. It takes about a week to arrive. Always get the micronized version. Apparently its better.

If you get it from a pharmacy in the UK using a private prescription, it's about £200 or so.

[Nakijo]

Hi Football61, this might be a bit late. But did genotropin work for you?

[Football61 in reply to Nakijo]

Hi. The Genotropin was one of the first meds I started taking during my first IVF cycle. I starting getting some really bad headaches, etc - so my consultant told me to stop taking it. Looking back, I think the headaches might have been due to stress/anxiety, rather than the meds. Anyway, I decided to give it another go during my second cycle - and it was absolutely fine. I had three blastocysts in my second cycle (compared to two in the first) - and they were better grades. Unfortunately all three came back abnormal after PGTA testing. I still think it’s worth a shot, though. As I recall, they’re only around £48 per box in Asda? Good luck x

[Nakijo]

Thanks for response. If you don't mind I do have a follow-up question. How were you talking Genotropin? Was it every day? How many vials did you take?

It's the only HGH available in my country and I want to my Dr. about it. Hope to start my Stims early next week