Cotswold fertility clinic ?.

[lillith112]

Just wondering if anyone on here has used Cotswold fertility clinic and what they thought of it, apparently its a satellite clinic for Oxford and somewhere else.
Ive been ttc over 2yrs and one mc last September, I've just rang them and booked a private appointment for the 16th of May. I need to know the reason why I can't catch pregnant or hold a pregnancy. I don't have time left to wait for an nhs referral so have bitten the bullet and got the ball rolling. xx

 

[DeeDeeAbi]

Hope you get your answers Lillith xxx

 

[Syd43]

Lil, I had a good experience with Oxford (despite the bfn) but don't know about Cotswolds I'm afraid. It may be worth looking on fertility friends as they have sections for all different regions so likely a thread for your clinic.

 

[lillith112]

Lil, I had a good experience with Oxford (despite the bfn) but don't know about Cotswolds I'm afraid. It may be worth looking on fertility friends as they have sections for all different regions so likely a thread for your clinic.

Aww thanks Deedee.

Syd, I've seen really good reviews about the clinic on another pregnancy group so I hopefully I might get an answer to why I'm not catching. I have a feeling I have polycystic and don't ovulate every month, we shall see. I've read that if you have ivf they send you to Oxford. xx

 

[Syd43]

Be interesting to see what they say Lil. For me I'm sure it's just egg quality due to age, by the time you get to this age over 90% of your eggs are chromosonally abnormal so in theory that means you have max one or two "normal" ovulations a year. I think the egg survives a much shorter time when you're older too so your timing has to be pretty much spot on.

Are you prepared to go the ivf route if necessary? Or perhaps even iui could work for you, OH can have his sample frozen then the months you don't see him you could go for an unmediated iui. I've just had one and it cost £950 plus £60-odd for the trigger shot (that was the only medication I had). Very very simple, just 3 scans, trigger then procedure.

Good luck!

 

[lillith112]

Be interesting to see what they say Lil. For me I'm sure it's just egg quality due to age, by the time you get to this age over 90% of your eggs are chromosonally abnormal so in theory that means you have max one or two "normal" ovulations a year. I think the egg survives a much shorter time when you're older too so your timing has to be pretty much spot on.

Are you prepared to go the ivf route if necessary? Or perhaps even iui could work for you, OH can have his sample frozen then the months you don't see him you could go for an unmediated iui. I've just had one and it cost £950 plus £60-odd for the trigger shot (that was the only medication I had). Very very simple, just 3 scans, trigger then procedure.

Good luck!

Syd I think its more than egg quality for me as I had a scan done around 10yrs ago and was told I had polycystic ovaries, but when I had a blood test they said I didn't have pcos but you can have lots of cysts without having the syndrome, all very confusing to me. I definitely think I don't ovulate each month even though I get positive opks and af is always on time. I think when I caught last September that was pure luck but unfortunately I didn't hold the pregnancy. I also know my progesterone is low so this month I've started progesterone cream and omg it's amazing. I'm sleeping better, my mood is so much better, monthly migraine hasn't been half as bad.

I'm not sure I can afford the ivf route but I am willing to give the IUI a go, it's a shame you can't use donor eggs on an IUI though as like you said it's pot luck catching that one good egg.

Thanks for your help and the information Syd, I had no idea the egg didn't live as long with with us older ttcers. I think this will be our last year trying as I hit 45 in August. I'll keep you updated on my appointment this month, not long to wait now. xx

 

[Syd43]

That's great news on the progesterone cream. Have you ever tried soy? I'm generally against trying all this random stuff, so many people seem to want to do it after 5 mins of trying for a baby, but if you don't think you're ovulating it may be worth a shot?

I've realised my post sounded a bit negative, I'm coming to the end of the tww so that's just my general mood at the moment, sorry. The info. re the egg may not be true, that's just what I've been told and read but not by actual doctors.

 

[lillith112]

That's great news on the progesterone cream. Have you ever tried soy? I'm generally against trying all this random stuff, so many people seem to want to do it after 5 mins of trying for a baby, but if you don't think you're ovulating it may be worth a shot?

I've realised my post sounded a bit negative, I'm coming to the end of the tww so that's just my general mood at the moment, sorry. The info. re the egg may not be true, that's just what I've been told and read but not by actual doctors.

Syd I didn't think your post sounded negative at all, it was very helpful. I've never tried soy, been tempted but never been brave enough to try it. It's only 12 days until my fertility appointment so no point doing soy until I get some answers, plus I don't think I'd want to do soy and progesterone together.

I've just read that you tested Syd, don't give up hope yet, I read when you are 4 weeks hcg can be as low as 5 and still result in a healthy pregnancy. Will they repeat your hcg ?. xx

 

[Syd43]

Thanks lil, you're right to hold off the soy.

They'll repeat the bloods tomorrow but I didn't get anything on a cb this morning so I'm sure it will have gone down.

 

[MoominGirl]

Just wanted to drop in and wish you luck with your appointment. I hope you get the answers you're looking for. We have our first fertility appointment in June. It's NHS referral though.

 

[lillith112]

Thanks lil, you're right to hold off the soy.

They'll repeat the bloods tomorrow but I didn't get anything on a cb this morning so I'm sure it will have gone down.

Aww Syd, I've been thinking about you, any news on the blood results ?. xx

 

[lillith112]

Just wanted to drop in and wish you luck with your appointment. I hope you get the answers you're looking for. We have our first fertility appointment in June. It's NHS referral though.

Ah bless you, thankyou Moomingirl, I wish you the best of luck with your journey, let me know how you get on. xx

 

[Syd43]

Thanks lil, it's cropped to 1.9 so they're classing it as a chemical pregnancy again.

 

[lillith112]

Thanks lil, it's cropped to 1.9 so they're classing it as a chemical pregnancy again.

I know saying sorry doesn't cut it Syd, and I know from experience at our age each passing month is a much heavier disappointment than someone half our age. I hope it gives you a sense of comfort knowing that you are not alone. I'm devastated for you, thinking of you my friend.

Where will you go from here ?, will you try IUI again or are you going to try naturally ?. I was all set to give up once I hit 45 but I just can't face giving up just yet. I need to know that I have tried everything I possibly can. xx

 

[Syd43]

Thank you Lil. We'll carry on trying naturally but I'm actually thinking about going for donor eggs. My partner isn't comfortable with that idea, we talked about it a lot last night, he wants to think about it some more but in the meantime I've requested a telephone consultation with Serum in Greece.

I was also going to give up at 45, which was just over two months ago. If we decide to go the DE route then I think it would be two goes max and then we'll have to call it a day. We can't keep going through this because life just goes on hold and I don't want to keep doing that.

Excited to hear about your appointment.

 

[lillith112]

Thank you Lil. We'll carry on trying naturally but I'm actually thinking about going for donor eggs. My partner isn't comfortable with that idea, we talked about it a lot last night, he wants to think about it some more but in the meantime I've requested a telephone consultation with Serum in Greece.

I was also going to give up at 45, which was just over two months ago. If we decide to go the DE route then I think it would be two goes max and then we'll have to call it a day. We can't keep going through this because life just goes on hold and I don't want to keep doing that.

Excited to hear about your appointment.

If I could afford IVF I would definitely go down the donor egg option, I was against it to start with but egg quality at our age is definitely a big problem. I really hope you can persuade your OH to agree. I've heard a lot of positive things on here about the Serum clinic. Let me know how you get on with your telephone appointment Syd. It just takes one good egg, trouble is at our age it's taking too long for that bloody egg to show up, at least with a donor you know that the quality will be there. I really hope this works out for you hun, please keep me updated. xx

 

[Syd43]

Thanks Lil x

I did mean to say in my last post that I constantly find myself crossing boundaries I didn't think I would. I used to say that if I couldn't have children I would never do IVF. I used to say I wouldn't try after 40 but that gets pushed back year on year.

All this treatment is completely covered by my health insurance thank god, there's no way we could pay for even one round.

 

[lillith112]

Just a quick update, I had my appointment, she scanned me and confirmed that I definitely have pcos, I can't help thinking that she fobbed me off though as she told me I don't need any treatment as my periods are regular, surely this isn't right ?. She said chances of natural pregnancy or ivf with my eggs are 3%. Donor eggs are the way to go as dna in the egg at my age doesn't repair itself like it does when you are younger. Donor egg ivf is 10 thousand , so I'm afraid this is the end of the road for us, I feel absolutely gutted �� x

 

[Syd43]

I'm so sorry Lil. For sure saying not worth treating pcos doesn't sound right but I don't know anything about it really.

Is donor eggs something you are willing to pursue? If so then it's cheaper to go abroad, Serum in Athens has a great reputation, as do many others. I've done a lot of research on donor eggs over the past few weeks, very happy to share any info.

The 3% chance with either natural or ivf is standard at our age, I think the HFEA stats for over 44 are actually something like 1-3%.

 

[MoominGirl]

So sorry you didn't get the news you wanted. I don't know much about pcos but I do think it's odd that you wouldn't be offered any treatment. A friend of mine discovered she had polycystic ovaries when they did an ultrasound. It came as complete shock for her as she had no other symptoms so I can only assume she was having regular periods. She would have been offered treatment to help conceive but they wouldn't start due to her BMI.