Tough PCOS

[birdiebird]

Hi, ladies. I’ve decided to write here because I need someone to help me understand what to do further. I’m 37 years old, and now I’m having a very tough PCOS. I was diagnosed when I was in my early twenties. When I was 28, I underwent a successful treatment and gave birth to my lovely son. However, it was the only time I got pregnant. Now I’m married for the second time. My second husband is 5 years younger than me, and he dreams about having a baby son or a baby daughter. We’ve been trying to TTC for nearly 3 years, but our result was BFN. I had already consulted my gyny and passed all necessary tests. She advises us to IVF with donor egg to get better results because of my bad anti-muller test.

My husband and I are German, and egg donation is forbidden here, so we went to Ukraine to ask a Ukrainian reproductive clinic to assist us.

Actually, we’ve contacted Biotexcom. It’s situated in Kiev, the capital city. We’ve chosen this clinic because it we found loads of favorable feedbacks about its services in other sites.

However, after our first visit to it, I had more questions than answers. Firstly, the clinic turned to be very tiny. It’s situated in a small private mansion. It was a little bit surprising, because I thought that the clinic would be much bigger.

Secondly, we visited it several times, and both times I was extremely overcrowded. When we paid our first visit, the clinic’s administrator told us that they had too many visitors that day. She offered us either to wait nearly three hours or come the following day. She added that it would be nice if we came early in the morning, because we would have more chances to visit a fertility specialist then…

They do have so many patients, but why don’t they organize their work properly??? Maybe, it’s a peculiarity of the Ukrainian NHS….

We visited Biotexcom for the second time the following day, and again it was overcrowded, although we came at 8 a,m.

The clinic’s administrator told us that they were going to open three more branch offices to organize the clinic’s work properly, but she didn’t tell us the time when these offices would be open.

Overall, we liked the fertility specialist, we’ve consulted. She looked very positive, but, unfortunately, we didn’t get the opportunity to talk with her in a relaxed atmosphere. When entered the doctor’s office and started to talk with the doctor, the door opened several times and the junior medical staff came in to ask the doctor about something. The doctor also had several phone calls, and she answered to them!!!

Now I have question: if the clinic has so many patients but can’t organize its work properly, does it mean that it’s a good one???

[springgirl]

Hi, very sorry to hear about those bad things that happened to you. The fact that they have so many patients sounds nice. If they were scammers, I don’t think that people would visit this clinic. Maybe, this clinic is rather cheap and effective at the same time. I reckon they had too many patients that day. The most important thing is that you’ve liked the doctor who is going to conduct your program because it’s extremely important to build a trust between the patient and the doctor.

At the same time, you have the right to be served in a proper way. If you don’t like something, why don’t you contact them one more time???

[sweetcheesecake in reply to springgirl]

I was their

patient two years ago. I asked them to find a surro mum for our baby, and they

found a nice Ukrainian girl to carry and give birth to our little angel. All in

all, we liked the way Biotexcom serves its patients. Everything is done

according to the contract. The surro mum is provided with all necessary things

including medical checkups, insurance delivery expenses. The only thing we didn’t

like about the clinic was large queues. We had to wait nearly an hour or so

before the fertility specialist was ready to speak with us. In addition, my

husband had to wait up to 2 hours before he could collect his sperm… It made

him a little bit nervous, but all other things were ok.

[birdiebird]

Hi, sweetcheesecake! Really glad for you. Finding a good surro mum isn’t a simple task, and I’m really glad that bitexcom have found a nice a surro mummie for you. I need a donor egg to conceive. When I came to visit them in Kiev and saw those long queues, I was a little bit frustrated. I thought if they can’t organize their patients’ receiving well, they aren’t professionals. All in all, I need a good donor egg and a doctor who will do his work well to conceive… and I want to get this!!! Even if the doctors will be formal and the nurses rude, I’m ready to deal with them to become a mum again!!!

[springgirl]

Dear, I

think you are on the right way! You are the one who has to decide what to do

further. Noone else will do it except you!!! Sweetcheesecake has already left

her positive feedback about this clinic here. It’s great!!! Have you spoken

with anyone else? I mean have you visited another fertility forum to get more

information about this clinic? I reckon some additional feedbacks about

Biotexcom would help you make the right decision.

[birdiebird]

I’ve found quite a lot of feedbacks about it on various forums. It seems

that this clinic is really popular among infertile couples around the world.

One lady wrote me that she had chosen it cause they had very reasonable prices.

Her hubby doesn’t earn much so they couldn’t get a good donor egg in the USA.

However, they managed to do this in Ukraine. The clinic proposed them to see 3D

photos of women who agreed to donate their eggs. In addition, the program is

100% anonymous. None will know about it. I live in the UK where ED isn’t

anonymous. It means if the baby was conceived with the help of a donor egg, he

will get an opportunity to get to know about this when he is 18. I don’t like

it much cause I worry that my baby son or daughter will consider another woman

his true mum.

[springgirl]

I also

think so, hun! If you have an opportunity to get a donor egg anonymously, you

should certainly give a try to it. I just want to ask you how you are going to

choose a donor. Will you be provided with a short description of the donor or

meet the woman who will donate her egg to you? How will the procedure of egg

donation be conducted? Will you take special drugs to enhance your chances to

conceive? Does your husband also have to pass a medical checkup?

[birdiebird]

The clinic uses fresh eggs for their egg donation programs. Before visiting Kiev for the first time, we’ve sent a short description of the woman whom we want to become an egg donor for our program. The program manager told us that they used a special software to choose the appropriate donors for us. If we sign up a contract with them, we’ll be able to see 3D photos of the donors. When the donor is chosen, the doctors will prescribe me birth control pills to synchronize my periods with the donor’s ones. The next visit to Kiev will be made, to pick up my hubby’s sperm, fertilize the donor’s eggs and transfer embryos into my uterus. Before doing anything, we’ll have to pass through a medical checkup: both me and my hubby. I have already passed through several ultrasound checks and did some blood tests. My hubby has also passed several blood tests and spermogram.

[springgirl]

The things you’ve written about in your post seem to prove that they might treat their patients professionally. Especially, I like the fact that you’ll be able to see a donors’ photos. It’s really good as you’ll be able to choose a woman who resembles you greatly. Nevertheless, I would also like to ask you about the money you’re going to pay for the clinic’s services. Will it be a bank transfer or cash?

P.S. As far as I know, some fertility clinics like to charge additional fees from their clients. Does biotexcom do the same?

[birdiebird]

They don’t do so. According to the contract published on their official website, the clinic charges only a fixed sum of money. It includes all payments for the medical d services provided by the clinic. You may make the payment either via a bank transfer or in cash. A fixed sum is also divided into several installments. I think it’s really handy. The only thing that I don’t like about them is that you won’t be able to quit the clinic without a money loss. The clinic charges up to €1.000 from your first installment. Do you think it’s fair?

[springgirl]

Maybe, in some way it’s fair, as they may start preparing for your program. If you quit it at the beginning, you may just ruin their plans for giving service to other patients. Don’t you think so? Birdiebird, I would also like to ask about your visit to Kiev. Where did you live? Did you hire an interpreter to help you communicate with the clinic’s doctors? Is Kiev a cheap or expensive city?

[AmyC71]

I know its hard do hold up get you gotta be patient, you dont need to stress right at this point. I truly trust you get BFP and will have cute kids running around house joyfully. So good you dont need to face infertility, it's so crushingly discouraging. Fingers crossed for you girl!xx

[TeapartyAlice]

Oh my! That is so sad! Just wanted to send you a reply with lots of good wishes. Unfortunately these feelings and sense of loss seems to be part of the infertility journey. It''s OK to feel rubbish after hearing baby news and pretending all is fine when it''s not. Just believe in yourself and do everything you can to be a parent. xx

[RosyFL]

So sad to hear that. I hope you will receive some help there, pcos is truly a grieving disaster that can be very hard to handle. Can you tall me how is overall situation in Ukraine? I heard some controversial stuff about that.

[springgirl]

Hi, ladies! Thanks for your messages! They’re so supportive!!! I also hope that everything will be OK. I simply believe in it! When we visited Kiev for the first time, it seemed to be a calm place. It looked really modern and old at the same time. The prices are really cheap there. We lived in the apartment not far from the city center provided by the clinic. We even did a small sightseeing tour around the city when we had a free time. The clinic also provided us with the interpreter and free food. These things were really nice. However, they’ve spoilt everything by making us wait in a long queue… I’ve found quite a lot of favorable feedbacks about this clinic, and I hesitate. Why do they make their patients wait in the queues? Why don’t they organize their work properly?

[birdiebird]

I don’t know, dear, why they do their business in such way. At least, they may have quite a lot of patients that’s they make them wait in the queue. I would recommend you to get as much information as possible about this clinic before you actually go there. Even if you make your mind to go there, it will be nice if you call them and try to arrange everything beforehand. Just phone your program manager and ask her organize your visit to the clinic better. She may ask you to visit the clinic at exact time. I wish you good luck, dear! Xxx