I am also in Northern Ireland and used stork for mine. I did buy in Spain (where I did my treatment) where possible as it is soooo much cheaper but if I needed a top up or anything additional then Stork were fantastic. You will need to get your clinic to liaise and send your script but you can cc both into an email and they take it from there. Delivery to ni is twice a week so order ahead of time!! Especially for cold storage stuff as the customs is now different andone failed on one trip here. Luckily I had enough to keep me going.Is this your first cycle?
This is our second cycle, our first was at home NHS…it was an early loss. Have since had tests & DNA frag in Greece (I will have steroids & clexane this time round and hubby on a protocol for dna frag).
The clinic have provided me with all the scripts. That’s really good to know that it’s cheaper in Europe, they did give me a Greek contact that will deliver here so I think I’ll go with that then.
Yes definitely. I have my son out of our second transfer. I would love a sibling for him but our last at the end of Feb ended in bfn after a very faint positive. I am deciding whether to go again.It's expensive with all the travel and accommodation on top of the ivf costs but alicante flights go all year and it's two and a half hours rather than four!
What made you choose Greece? I also looked at Czech clinics this time but I know alicante so well now it feels easy! How many times do you have to fly?
Awww that’s lovely you have your wee boy 💙 Yes it’s so hard weighing up all the costs, but also so hard not to go again and this time we really are taking it as a wee holiday, more so for hubby 🤣 no swimming or alcohol for me which kinda interrupts the holiday vibes 🤣
We had a few early losses and by chance my sister had been following a girl on Instagram from NI and she went to this clinic in Greece and had been really positive about the tests/insights she had gained from moving her treatment there, she had spent quite a lot on treatments at home.
So after reading some great reviews we gave it a go in October, I had a hysteroscopy with implantation cuts and they had hoped we may conceive naturally but we’ve given it a good few months and are ready to go ahead now with more IVF. Just hoping we have more success with some wee embryos to freeze as we didn’t on our last cycle.
Yes I flew back and forth. Sometimes three or four times in the month. It was cheaper than staying the whole time. Flights from Belfast were reasonable and it just made sense to do a night or two and come home.When do you start your next cycle? I really hope we can go again. I just don't feel done yet but I know I have been really lucky to get my son.
Yaz from Q radio has a great podcast and while I know she hasn't had much luck so far she is also at a clinic in Greece. I had a chat to her after her last failed transfer and she was very positive about her experience even though it didn't work. If the clinic is right you just know it in yourself. I'm waiting on amh results and then we can talk about going again!
Can I just say that it’s comforting to see other NI women on here who have embarked on treatment abroad. I’ve had three failed private cycles locally so now looking at abroad options in more advanced centres to give us the best chance before moving to DE or bowing out.
Thank you for your lovely positive response Emceesquared.
I thought it would be so scary going abroad…but quite a few people in my work chose going abroad because treatment at home didn’t offer them a specific/bespoke approach, it seems to be a one size fits all.
The main decider for us was going to what was advertised as a recurrent miscarriage clinic appointment in a private clinic in Belfast…the consultant who we actually had in our NHS round basically poo pooed every suggestion we had to explain our recurrent losses, he didn’t rate any tests/evidence for dna frag, killer cells, microbiome etc. he didn’t offer any suggestions for our losses at this supposed recurrent miscarriage clinic he just pushed us for another round with testing of the embryos in a clinic in London owned by his colleague. IMO European clinics offer so much more in the way of testing and tweaking treatments to suit individual needs, they seem to be so much more forward thinking and they listen.
I hope you have a positive experience abroad and you find a clinic which suits your needs ❤️ good luck with your journey
Private care here still feels like a conveyor belt with no consultant continuity - and I say this as a doctor myself. I’ve been astounded at the basic care provided despite the serious money changing hands, in comparison to what I strive to deliver in my NHS job.
There have been minimal adjustments between cycles with my recurrent failure now just being blamed on egg quality due to age (I’ve just turned 40). My questions regarding other options have fallen on deaf ears so, like you, I feel like our best hopes lie elsewhere.
You have clearly had to advocate for yourself and I wish you all the luck with it.x
I’m nearly 39 and my consultant in Greece hasn’t been too heavily focused on age at all, he’s more solution focused than dwelling on the problems, being open, realistic and offering options and they are also very kind…he has been the only consultant to ever acknowledge the emotional strain and asked us how we found the journey as a couple and listened, that was a first for us.
Regardless of whether it works or not for us I do feel we’ve been really well looked after.
I really hope you find a clinic you love and are well looked after too ❤️
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