Community post

If you are getting a weird vibe now you might want to switch. Once you get into the ivf process you will need to be in constant communication with your clinic and it's important that their instructions are clear, it's easy to get ahold of them and everyone you talk to is aware of your plan. One goof or miscommunication regarding your medication schedule or dosing for example could mess up a whole cycle.

However, sometimes you will need to travel to the clinic a lot, like a lot a lot! It's not uncommon to have to go the clinic everyday for a week or so leading up to an egg retrieval. One time I had 7 appts in 9 days. So it is important to be fairly close by. You will just have to weigh the pros and cons and if you like another clinic better it just may be worth a longer drive.

I checked out 2 clinics when I started, both had great reviews and success rates (you can look that up on sart.org). They were about the same drive, one 45 mins away and the other about an hour away. The deciding factors for me were their patient load and overall feel. The clinic I chose only did around 300 ivf cycles a year whereas the other did about 3000 a year. I liked the smaller clinic because I wasn't just a number on a chart. All the doctors, nurses, techs and even receptionists knew me by my first name and recognized me when I walked in. You will be seeing these people a lot so having them know you and welcome you like family just creates a very positive, trusting atmosphere. Also, the bigger clinic was a bit more "hippy" and spiritual as far as their mission statement. They were very into the mind body connection and having patients make vision boards and such and I just wasn't into that. The smaller clinic I went to was associated with a teaching hospital and medical school and they were much more scientific with their approach which fit my personality and belief system better.

I went through 4 iui, 3 ivf retrievals and 6 ivf transfers before finally conceiving my daughter. If you have any other questions I would be happy to try to answer them!

Thanks for your reply. We decided to go back this week to see if it was just a bad day there or if this was the norm. Things seemed alot better this week and the plan is to start ivf on 20th April subject to this staying on track. I looked into other clinics again but we are restricted due to NHS funding and all the others involve train and tube journeys all couple hrs each way as there's no public parking nearby.

You are very lucky to get funding through nhs! I contemplated moving or travelling to another country for ivf because the US sucks! We paid for it all out of pocket :( I wish you lots of luck and hope you conceive soon!

mnor0406- few friends of mine have moved to Gdansk, where they paid 1/3 of USA price and conceived at the first attempt.