IVF/ICSI at Guys? Anyone else?

[key24]

Vesper lovely to hear from you and i am so happy that you are pregnant with twins - i hope the next 20 wks fly by and you're little ones arrive all safely and soundly. I really am over the moon for you

Thanks Monkeyfeet for your thoughts

I called Guys on Weds and asked if a consultant could give me a quick call but still haven't heard anything back! Fortunately i have a direct dial to consultant who did hysteroscopy so i'm going to try and speak to him today

Kazza - hope it's going well at Lister

Serena - hope the scan went ok earlier this week

Hope everyone else is good and fighting on...

k xx

 

[kazzab25]

Hi ladies!

Key I'm sorry sorry to hear your news! It's heart breaking! Fingers crossed for egg sharing! Lister have been good for me so far! Hoping oh bloods back tomorrow so matching can begin! Keep that chin up, we will get there!

Vesper congrats on twins!nwas that via lister too? Guys offered me short protocol this time but dr thum at lister didn't want to he said Long protocol gets better results. He showed us stats comparing the two protocols! Key if you go lister ask for dr thum as he is the head of egg sharing and was great!

Serena how you feeling Hun?

Monkeyfeet how are you doing?

J honey not long nw! It's creeping up on you now!

Tinkerbell how's things? Any news?

 

[Tinkerbell3]

Hi all, havent been on in a while as been without internet

Key, sorry to hear your news, hugs your way.

I had a letter from Guys a couple of days after I was told the cycle was cancelled with a bill for the full treatment, I was not in the mood for that but all sorted now and just £250 to pay which I still feel like may have been avoided if I were listened to.

I have thought about changes clinics but part of me doesn't want to go into the unknown. I feel like I know Guy's, apart from the problems with them not listening until it's too late (I had similar issues during ivf cycle) I feel like the treamtment has otherwise been fine.

It does make me wonder if there is something not quite right with their labs, as after day 3 the embryos just don't seem to continue to grow perfectly from what I noticed from my IVF cycle and what some of you are saying.

 

[vesper21]

Kazza, no I live in NYC now but my first pg was conceived at the lister, which I lost at 23wks (see sig). My last 2 pg were conceived here in nyc.

I was also under dr thum and I loved him. He was so sure abt the protocol I should be on and he told me that the difficulty out of 10 to get me pg was just 3. This gave me so much confidence. Honestly, you can't go wrong with the lister. There's a fantastic board on fertilityfriend.co.uk dedicated on the lister.

Tinkerbell, I get the unknown thing but sometimes change is good. May be dip a toe and see how it goes? Lab is so so so important during an ivf cycle and unfortunately guys lab is not superior unless you have super embies. Just to give you an idea - at the lister I yielded just 6 eggs, 5 embryos. Lister insisted on taking these to day 5 because their their 5 day blast programme is excellent. At time of transfer I had just 2 embies left and they transferred one, which I got pg from.

There are so many things to consider when selecting next steps and you have to do the right thing for you and what makes you feel comfortable. Guys has its plus points and clearly they manage to get many many women pg. I, of course, am partial to lister because of my experience there vs. guys. I also know many other people who've had continued success at lister. Best thing to do is lots of research and check out clinic stats on the hfea website.

 

[key24]

I know you really rate Lister Vesper and have heard other good things, so if we are going to be opaying for treatment next time i'll definately consider it.

Tinkerbell - glad you don't have too much too pay this time, but still frustating after you pointed out your concerns.

Kazza - have you discussed with Lister any of the reasons for no success to date? One of my big concerns is that i don't want to keep doing the same things, which gives me good blasts but then nothing happens. I am hoping i can have some further investigations, maybe into immune issues etc. Have you discussed this with Guys or lister?

Hope everyone else is ok - Serena hope the scan went well and sickness has improved

k xx

 

[kazzab25]

Hiya,

Just a quickie!

Key, lister were very quick to discuss options, we didn't go into much detail as they think there s a chance it could still work so we will do one ound of egg sharing to if still nothing we can look into immune issues and there are ther chromosome tests they can do to see f theres anything degenerate about the chromosomes in the embies, it costs about 1500 for these tests. That's the extent of my knowledge but lister brought this all up at our initial consultation! Let me no what you decide!

 

[Briss]

Ladies, I hope you do not mind me joining. I have not started IVF yet but it looks like we are running out of options so that's the plan for 2013. My DH has low sperm count but I have high FSH so we may have to fund the treatment ourselves.

Guy's is one of the clinics that we are considering but I have doubts and reading through your posts I can see that Guy's has its issues. From my own research I noticed that Guy's dealing with twice as many patients as any other London clinic so it's very popular but the success rate is not higher than for example for UCH. Would you generally recommend going to Guy's for your first ever IVF?

Kazza, have you considered going to ARGC? I have head that is the best in the UK, particularly for immune issues

 

[kazzab25]

Hi brss whole to the thread!

I did really like guys, but after going to the lister I think I'm going to prefer it there. My oh has a low count Nd I have pco and our primary care funded 2 cycles. Have you spoken to your local pct?

I don't thinking have immune issues but if this cycle ails we will look into that!

 

[jhoney]

Hi ladies hope you are all well.

Hi Briss I agree with kazza you really should go to your gp and push to have your case looked at by your local pct my husband and I are the same as kazza low sperm count and pco for me and we were granted 2 rounds on the NHS at guys, I think it's worth a try I know the cut off age for the NHS is 37.
Personally we really liked guys and felt very comfortable there, we felt we had a very personal well cared for experience in an extremly clean clinic. I think it's a real individual thing and you have to go with where you feel will work best for you. We were extremely lucky and am now 38 weeks pregnant after our first round at guys.
I have a couple of patients who have had success at ARGC under Dr Taranissi one of whom was 46yrs old I know they get great results because they really do push the boundries but I also know its one of the most expensive clinics to go to.
One of my patients did comment that she felt like she was in a bit of a cattle market at ARGC lots of women and they never actually got to meet the main man himself dr taranissi but it still worked there for them, I guess it depends how personal you need the treatment to feel!!!!
But have also heard fantastic things about the lister.
Afm all well at this end am now on maternity leave bubby due any day now so it's just a waiting game I guess.

Hope your all managing to stay nice a warm in this horrible Icey weather we're having.X.

 

[Serena80]

Hello, hope everyone is well. Welcome Briss!

key - I'm so sorry to hear that this round didn't work. Did you get to speak to a consultant at Guys about further tests they could run? and are you still funded for the FET of the embryo you have or would you have to pay? If they don't think anything else is wrong will you go ahead with FET? I really hope you're ok and getting the answers you need either from Guys or through Lister.

Kazza - how is it going with the egg sharing? Did your OH get his results back? what's the next stage - looking for a match? when do you think you'll be able to start the cycle? Hope you're good and all the wedding plans are coming along!

Monkeyfeet - how are you getting on? are you still suffering from the pelvic pain? only a few more weeks of work left x

Tinkerbell - So sorry to hear your IUI was cancelled, how frustrating when you knew it was a possibility and they didn't listen. are you starting again soon?

Vesper - Congratulations on your twins, that's amazing news! Sorry to hear you're on bedrest, that must be really difficult. Fingers crossed it all goes well over the next few weeks.

jhoney - enjoy the last few days of pregnancy - after this you're a mum! so excited for you.

Briss - I would tend to agree with what Kazza and Jhoney have said. The best thing would be to push your GP into a referral. if you have been trying for so long and have unexplained infertility then you should be able to qualify for treatment, and Guys is a perfectly good place to begin treatment, even if later you feel you'd like to move on to a private hospital. Guys is very professional, the nurses and staff all seem well trained and informed, and the doctors have always been very positive. The Assisted Conception Unit is very impressive and generally it is hard to fault their facilities. The only factor I would say they fall down on is their communication via phone, but being NHS and heavily used I would say that it is likely due to lack of staffing. But overall I would recommend it, particularly if it is cheaper than other places. But I haven't been to other hospitals so I can't compare. Good luck, let us know what you decide!

afm - 10 weeks today. The sickness has got a lot better but I still have nausea each day - hopefully this should go off in the next 2 weeks. My scan at nearly 8 weeks was fine and I am now not a Guys patient any more - they have discharged me into the wild. feels a bit strange to not be going up there anymore! I have my checking in appt on the 17th and my 12 week scan on Christmas Eve. Hopefully it'll all be fine and i'll be able to relax a bit over Christmas.

Really hope you are all doing well and looking forward to hearing how's it's going for each of you x

 

[Briss]

Ladies, thank you very much for your responses and sharing your opinions about the clinic.

I went to GP about two years ago and they did the tests: mine came back normal hubby's low count, they referred us to FS at st Marry's (paddington) where I went though every known procedures including lap (they would not refer for IVF without lap) over the course of one year and did not find anything but after taking me through all of this they told me that my FSH has increased since last year so we are no longer illegible for funding. I begged to refer my DH to urologist cos clearly it was sperm issue not mine but FS refused. I am now supposed to try and decrease my FSH and hubby is trying to improve his sperm count (without any professional advice cos his insurance does not cover fertility) but I think we are looking into self funding

 

[jhoney]

Hi Serena so pleased your 8week scan went well and that you are getting over the morning sickness am really looking forward to hearing all about your 12 week scan.

Briss so sorry to hear about your treatment from your gp its such ashame that they wont at least try and ref you and see what the pct say as ultimately it is the pct decision. Bloody Dr's they can be so frustrating!!!!!!

 

[kazzab25]

Briss I would deffo contact your local pct and see what they say!!!

How is everyone?

Serena! Glad the scan went well. How's the sickness now??

Hi to key, tinkerbell, j honey, monkey feet, ! Hope your all well !

 

[key24]

Gross welcome to the thread! I agree with everyone I think you should find out who your pct is and give them a call. I had to speak to mine a couple of times when paperwork went missing, so definitely worth a shot. I really hope you can get at least 1 cycle covered as it's bad enough having to go through all this without the financial pressure. Good luck

Serena great to here morning sickness is improving and not long til 12 week scan when I'm sure you'll be able to relax a bit more and hopefully the pregnancy gets a bit easier.

Honey - can't believe your on maternity leave already or you may even be a mum by now. Come back and let us know that you're all OK

Tinkerbell - any news from your end hun?

Monkeyfeet / vesper - hope your keeping happy and well

Kazza- how's it going at Lister. When will they see if they can find a match? I'm so excited for you hopefully a fresh start here will bring you the luck you Ned to get that bfp - you deserve it. I'm thinking of booking into meeting re. Egg sharing for the new year, if I don't get accepted at least I thought it would be good chance to visit clinic and have initial chat.

AFM went for follow up meeting on Monday and I am going to get tested for a couple of immune things - just by standard blood test, also we need to decided if we want to do kyro something test to see if either of us has chromosome issues (cost about £250 per person)but doc thought it very unlikely that it is the case. He said he was absolutely amazed it didn't work as really thought that everything looked perfect and he was really disappointed (I thought that makes 3 then!!) Also as on frsh cycles i keep bleeding before OTD maybe I'm not getting enough progesterone so they will probably increase for next cycle. I think we will prob try with the 1 frozen but of course there is no guarantee it will survive defrosting and we might not have anything to transfer which would be tough. New cycle I think I'd like to try elsewhere and prob Lister.

Anyway glad to hear tat everyone's OK and I'm looking forward to holiday me and eh promised ourselves if it failed again - so we're off to Mexico for a week Jan 1st to get the strength to start again in 2913!!

Kxx

 

[kazzab25]

Hey key,

I deffo think you should give lister a shot, if for nothing else you get the consultation the scans and bloods all free! Check out the eligibility criteria on there website. Lister mentioned that Kypto thingy to us we might try that but I'm sure they said 1500 for that.
Keep me posted key. My one frosty survived! Perhaps have you immune issues checked first then put it back.

Key how long after you put your consent firms in for h scopy dud you hear back, I'm going to put mine this week I think. We've had to wait for dans bloods to be sorted which I emailed off yesterday, so I'm not sure how long the matching process takes, I hope to hear tomorrow.

X

 

[key24]

Thanks Kazza - I forgot you had 1 frozen too that gives me a bit more hope.

We didn't have to wait for hysterocopy I just called up 1st day of cycle and they scheduled me in. I think we filled in consent forms when we went for the consultation so that was all done.

Tried lister today but didn't get through then forgot to call back so will hopefully speak to them tomorrow

K xx

 

[Serena80]

Hello,

Just a quick one as on the train but will write a proper post later -

I have to stop to pills/pessiaries today (12 weeks) just feeling a bit nervous going cold turkey & wondered what it was like for anyone else? I've read some miscarriage horror stories on the Internet (of course) but just wanted to check if any of you felt any different or had any spotting etc?

Hope you're all well,

S x

 

[Monkeyfeet81]

Hi all,

Serena, good to hear from you and glad sickness has subsided. I was never physically sick just constantly nauseous up until about 13 wks. Re pessaries, I too stopped at 12wks and was very nervous about doing so but all was fine. Tbh, was very pleased to be over with them! How're you feeling otherwise? I hope well. When is your 12 wk scan? You must be very excited.

Kazza/key hope all is going well with you guys. I read often just rubbish at replying.

Jhoney, you are due about now I think? Thinking of you and looking forward to hearing news of your arrival.

Tinkerbell/vesper, hope you too are doing ok.

Really sorry if I've missed anyone... I'm useless currently.

Afm, finished work last Friday and moved into our new home in Suffolk. Not quite sunk in yet and still very much in denial! Still struggling with spd but def better now st home and can rest. Looking forward to relaxing Christmas &new years, then starting our nct and preg yoga in January.

Much love to all and apologies again if I've missed anyone and that I don't get on mich.
Xx

 

[Serena80]

Hello and Happy Christmas! Hope you are all having a lovely day with family x

Jhoney - how's it going? Have you had your baby now? Very excited to hear your news x

Key - Mexico sounds great & much needed sun & relaxation. I think it's good you're going to use your frozen embryo. If the doctor thinks you're unlikely to have any chromosome issues then it may just be a case of luck - if you think the odds of each round working are 40-50% it may just be chance as to why it's failed so far and the next round might be the one that works for you. I always bled before OTD during fresh cycles too but didn't during frozen round and the difference was that with the frozen I took estrogen as well as the pessiaries - is this what you will do to? Hope everything goes well & you get your BFP early in 2013 x

Kazza - have you heard back about a match yet? Are you starting treatment soon if there is a viable match at Lister? From everything you've said Lister sounds excellent and their success rates are so good, it'll be interesting to hear all the differences between your new round there & the old one at Guys. You always respond so well to the drugs I bet they are able to tailor the process to you and get a lot more embryos than they ended with at Guys.

Monkeyfeet - thank you so much for replying to my slightly frantic message the other day. I ended up having cramps & spotting coming off the drugs & thought the worst but the scan yesterday showed baby is fine so I can relax at last! Congratulations on moving house - what a lot to do whilst pregnant and suffering SPD. Sounds tough. Hope things are going to keep getting better now you can rest more at home. I'm going to start preg yoga in Jan too even though I barely look pregnant & just look like I've eaten a big meal, but my friends have said it's good for cramps & ligament pain which I've had quite a lot - also they said it's good for relaxation so I thought it'd be worth a shot. I've been swimming 3 or 4 times a week which has def helped - I wonder if swimming would help SPD or just make it worse? X

Briss - sorry to hear your FS is so unhelpful. If you are going to self-fund then Guys might be a good first option if you want to see how the process works & if it's a bit cheaper than other places (I'm not sure how they compare). Jhoney & Monkeyfeet had success first time at Guys so they definitely get good results for some people. Keep in touch and let us know how it's going x

Tinkerbell - how are you hon?

Sorry to anyone I've missed - the list is getting long now!

I hope you are all well and have a wonderful Christmas and hopefully next year will be good for us all x

 

[Briss]

Happy Christmas, ladies!

we are still TTC naturally with my DH cos he needs time to come to turns with the idea of IVF but something tells me 2013 will be the year of IVF for us. I would like to stat with a natural cycle IVF but I am not sure if Guy's do that.