# Hej!



## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

Hej!

My name is Amy and we have been ttc for 18 cycles. I am British living in Sweden with my Swedish partner.

We had our 1st FS appointment at the end of November, then we were sent for tests and told that we will be referred for IVF in January at the follow up appointment. We will find out the test results (sa, cd 3 cd 21 cd23, and a about 20 more.... I didn't realse there we so many tests that needed to be done!) I feel really happy about them taking this seriously, we wil lbegin IVF in April as there is a law in Sweden that says you can not wait for more than 90 days for treatment, but i also feel a little worried that they are rushing through things... 

anyway, nice to cyber meet you all


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Hej lovie

Where do you live in Sweden with your partner if you dont mind me asking.... I am swedish but live in UK. 

How long do you need to wait for tests? its a good thing that Sweden has that 90 days law, as here in UK you can wait for much longer then that in places.
Sure you will get your head around it soon tho
xx


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## Wraakgodin (Jun 17, 2006)

to FF, Amy!!! Have a good look round the site, post in whatever section you want and make yourself at home. There are so many sections here with a huge amount of information, so whatever you are going through there will be someone here to help you.

I am in The Netherlands and when I got my test results they wanted to start treatment the next cycle. I was flabagasted that it was so quick! It sent me into a mini panic, it was all happening so fast, I needed time to get my head around it all! I was swept up in it all, I suppose my desperation for a child made me want to go ahead as they had planned, the sooner we have treatment the sooner we can get pregnant!

Sweden comes under our North Europe/Scandinavian Region section - CLICK HERE

Here are a couple of other links that I think might help you.

IVF General chat ~ CLICK HERE

Keep a diary of your treatment (or read the experiences of others) ~ CLICK HERE

Cycle Buddies (undergoing treatment at the same time) - CLICK HERE

The What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~   CLICK HERE

Our live chat room has a new member chat at 8pm on Wednesday. Here is our Chat Zone section which will give you info on other chats: CLICK HERE

Please feel free to ask more questions here, or on any other part of the site, there will be wonderful helpful people there to give you lots of support, information and cyber hugs if you need it. We go through all the highs and lows of treatment together.

Good luck!         

Sue


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

Thank you for the warm welcome  

wraakgodin goodness me the next day! that is fast! I have been a member of another forum for the past year and I think I have become to focused on the UK way of doing things as most of my friends in the UK... There are some great things about Sweden, I just need to get my head around how quickly it all is happening! thank you for all the info its great to have so much to read through! 

Jellyburchnall I live in Stockholm, where are you from in Sweden? How do you find the UK? My Oh is a little umm resistant to the idea of relocating to the UK... We are both happy in Sweden for now so that is good! In Sweden the system is wait a year ttc naturally then you go to the FS directly... you don't need to go to your GP or anything... we waited 16 months just because we had a super busy summer visiting family in the UK and in the north of Sweden. At the FS appointment we were told it would be talking only no tests but on the day she decided to do a internal US as it was mid cycle... It was a shock and i was completely unprepared hadn't even shaved my legs  all looked fine so she arranged for a load of tests a SA, CD 3, CD 21, CD 23 Syphilis HIV Hepatitis c Hepatitis b Hepatitis à Leukemia (pre IVF tests) s-tsh fritt t4, fritt t3, fsh, lh, progesterone, testosterone, shbg, testosterone shbg kvot, östradiol, AHM (I don't actually know what alot of those are for...) Then she said "what will happen at the next appointment is that I will refer you for IVF and because of vårdgaranti you will be able to have IVF in April" (probably in Upsalla which is fine by us) I said won't you try other things 1st and she said they might whilst I'm waiting for IVF... she told us we can have 3 fresh cycles and up to 6 FET cycles for free.. also 6 IUI if needed. I am so happy that the free cycles are so many... but I do worry a little that they are not actually trying to solve the problem before jumping into IVF.. Sweden has a much higher IVF rate 3% of newborns were conceived through IVF compared to 1% in the UK. My next appointment is on the 16th of jan, so it was a month and a half between the 1st appointment and getting all the tests back and being referred for IVF... It was only that long because of Christmas and because I didn't want an appointment on Friday the 13th silly me! usually I think it is around a month between 1st appointment and test results. Where in the UK do you live?   xx


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Hiya, I lived in Nykoping.. well my family is still there so go home often to see them. Heading home next week as dads 60th  
I live in Buckinghamshire in UK, love it, countryside, cant get enough. Been here for over 10 years. But we are moving to Australia in Sep time as my partner is from there and he wants to return home for a while.
Wow, seem to be going really quickly over there then. Great re *rates* too  
I could have had treatment here on the nhs, but I am not very good at waiting for things, so we went straight to private. 

Pms me anytime  
xxx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

what an exciting year with IVF then a move to Oz! good idea to go private if you don't like waiting in the UK. I have been to Skavsta airport a couple of times but never actually into nykoping... I have been to norkoping that was nice.. Where in Oz will you be living? I lived in melbourne for a year and loved it.. I had the option to be sponsored with my job there but my OH again wanted to stay in Sweden so thats where we ended up! I can't complain it is lovely and snowy today and we are about to go have fika but i miss marmite/vegimite   Best of luck with your treatments! kram!


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

we moving to Perth. Been to Melbourne and its lovely too. 
Have a great day.. I do miss the snow for sure.. went home at xmas and there was none!!! Maybe I am in luck next week then hehe
xxx


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## lola33 (May 17, 2011)

Hello ladies,

Thought I would say hello to the both of you and wish you good luck with your upcoming cycles 

I'm Swedish living in London, but currently re-locating back to Stockholm. I did 2 IVF cycles privately in UK, it would work out mug cheaper if I have done them in Sweden, but because of my low AMH, which basically means that my egg reserve is much lower than it should be for my age, I felt that we don't have any time to waste and decided to have 2 cycles in UK and than if unsuccessful, we would continue in Sweden, could never afford more 2 goes in UK. I was very lucky and got my first ever BFP on my second try  it is truly a miracle, cause the odds were not really in our favour. I'm 9 weeks PG now  and so far so good, just praying that it continues that way   I have been living between UK and Sweden for 10 years, but always said that when it's time to have family I want to move back to Sweden, my DP is not over the moon, but I don't really see any other choice, I feel that Sweden is much better place to bring up a family, maternity leave is so much more generous over there and my family is in Sweden, I don't feel I could do it without them, so Sweden here I come again 

Jellyburchnall how exciting with a move to Australia  

Lovie- glad you are enjoying the snow. I don't    I'm really not a winter person and snow and cold is one thing I don't miss from Sweden....oh well, I'm sure I will survive 

Xx


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Hi lola, can I just say big CONGRATS to you!!!!   well done petal, so pleased for you, you must be over the moon. Its such a hard thing to go thru but so worth it in the end  ;

I do love UK, but the countryside of it hehe, never been a city girl. I never realised how much cheaper ivf is in Sweden   maybe something for me to think about IF it doesnt work 1 -2 time around....
Yes, I am very excited re move to Australia, went there with him last year and loved it, well love the sun more like it  

When are you thinking about moving back? 
xx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

Congratulations Lola   thats fab news that your 2nd cycle worked, all the best for the rest of your pregnancy  Sweden will be an amazing place to have a family, the laws regarding families here are just amazing, the maternity/paternity leave and the education here are much better than the UK (imo) I'm sure your OH will settle in well once you make the move... can he speak Swedish? I have found that learning Swedish has really really helped me feel more at home.. By no stretch of the imagination am i good at Swedish but I understand most things I hear and I can make myself understood even if I can't say exactly what I want! I studied Swedish at SFI (svenska för invandrare) it was a bit crazy.... not a traditional learning environment with people wondering around the class and bringing their kids in and eating and all sorts... but you do end up learning a lot and if you finish it in under a year (which you do if you have any kind of post 16 education) then you get a 1200 SK bonus, happy days! 

I love the snow! well.. last year was a bit much we had snow from November till May   that wasn't so fun! I love skiing so that makes the snow fun! we don't have enough Snow to ski in Stockholm yet but I hope some more falls soon! I was in the UK for Christmas and we had 14 degrees on Christmas day very odd! 

Perth sounds lovely, I haven't been but I have some friends from Perth and they say its amazing and relaxed! 

The sun was the one thing I didn't like so much about Australia... I am a typical Brit I'm super pale so I was constantly sticky from all the sun cream! Sweden's climate suits me much better... I do worry about lacking vit D though! 

I didn't realise IVF was cheaper here until I read this forum... I wonder why.. I know that you can get the meads free even when you go private... I guess maybe there are rules here that say you can't make too much profit from IVF. Good news anyway...


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Can you girls tell me how much cheaper it is roughly?
ivf
icsi?
Or is there a swedish website I can have a look at for details?

xx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

The IVF we will have is free, if you can get your OH a personal number you could probably have free IVF aswell... you'd need an address but I guess you could put down your parents address... this is an IVF site for in Sweden http://www.ivfsverige.se/sida.asp?sida=3_Priser&niva=7 I think one of the reasons it is cheap is because of the funny tax laws where you can claim half the costs back or something... I get confused about that kind of thing! also here you don't pay privatly for the drugs you can get them free if you have your exemption card for the chemist so that brings it down I guess... I hope the cycle you are on works and you are 1st time lucky and don't need to think about another cycle for a while 


This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that fertilityfriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

just had a very quick look but interesting for sure. Told partner about it yesterday, treatment in Sweden, dont think he was actually listening hehe, him being australian (australians are so positive about everything!) he thinks we wont need it anyway. Will def read into it tho. Thank you hun. 

I have a swedish personal number, but as I have left the country I doubt they would give me a free trial but it still looks cheaper anyway... will have to get my calculator out later  
Yes, I do hope this one works, and for you too!! altho I have my feet firmly on the ground just incase.....
xxxx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

you have such a great attitude


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

been tought by Mr Oz himself hahaha  
xx


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## lola33 (May 17, 2011)

Thanks a lot girls, I still can't believe how lucky I am, hope it will go your way as well  

Lovie- good to hear you are settling in nicely in Sweden and even learned some Swedish   Im sure it helps to feel more at home. My DP don't speak any Swedish, he never lived in Sweden only visited, but the good thing about Sweden is that pretty much everyone speaks English and most of the programs on  television is in English, so I'm sure he will be fine. As long as he can watch his premier league, he is a happy man 

Jelly - I looked into having IVF privately in Sweden and it would work about 1/3 of the cost of private tx in UK. The tx it self cost between 25000-30000 SEK, I think you can even find cheaper, they also do a pack of 3 cycles for a very good price and of course you don't have to pay for drugs yourself, so that's  a huge saving there. We spend more than 10K on tx here in uk  so Sweden would be a much cheaper option no doubt. 

Xx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

A must for a Brit in Sweden is expatshield... it gives you a UK ip address so you can watch UK TV, its amazing! most people do speak English but I found it really hard to get the little things right, I went out to buy single cream and came back with 
crem fresh in the early days!

It's good to know its so much cheaper in Sweden as hopefully we wont have to but if we need to pay for treatment then its more affordable... oh and sibling cycles ofc!


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Ladies, I persume tho you have to live there to get the drugs for free, otherwise anyone would just go to Sweden and use a for example a swedish friends address..... so if you did a private cycle you would still pay for drugs...?

xxx


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

I think you need a personal number but if you have that and you maybe say a white lie that you live in Sweden you should be fine.... im not sure about the law really... i am not swedish but its pretty easy to get a personal number.


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

hehe ok thanks... for now, UK try it is, hoping for eggs to freeze and take it from there  

xx


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## Wraakgodin (Jun 17, 2006)

Hej ladies!  

Just to remind you that this is a public forum.  While you might look at this as a "white lie", what you are talking about is defrauding the Swedish Swedish healthcare system.  I don't want any legal implications to come back to either yourselves or FF.  

Sue


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Sue - Sure the *white lie* bit wasnt meant to come out that way or meant to be *used* in any way. Was more interesting to know how much cheaper it can be in Sweden. But understand where you coming from.
Hope all well with you  


Lovie - have you had a look at the ivf forums? come and join us   Roll on April for you.
xx


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## Wraakgodin (Jun 17, 2006)

I know, Jellyburchnall.  Just didn’t want it to become an issue.  

Over here in The Netherlands 6 IUI’s and 3 IVF’s are free, everyone has to have private medical insurance and all you pay is the yearly excess.  But, of course, you have the cost of the insurance, so you pay for it one way or another!  It wasn’t the reason we decided to live over here, but it makes it a lot harder to leave!!!   

Sue


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

Understand.

that is such good healthcare system tho isnt it. Must say I loved everything about Sweden, school, childcover, maternity leave (so much longer than it is in UK) and apparently now ivf hehe. 
Think I could have had one go at ivf/icsi here on nhs but I am not very good at waiting for things   at other places you get 3 goes, dont really understand why this is or how they can do that to ppl to be honest. 
I have private healthcare in this country as havent had much luck with nhs previously.... but it doesnt inc things like ivf sadly, like it does where you are. Think that is a good system for sure.  
x


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## lovie (Jan 5, 2012)

I understand.. didn't think of it that way! I think you can get a set of 3 treatments for the price of one IVF in the UK, so even if you don't use the Swedish healthcare system it would still be cheaper.

The healthcare here is good, and your right Jelly the maternity leave is fab aswell.. I think Sweden needs more people, they put so much money into immigrants and families... any section where you gain Swedish citizens they put lots of incentives on! 

I'll pop over to the IVF forum.. I'm not sure where to post yet really as we don't have any dates for sure yet.. maybe I can just browse


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## Jelly.B (Sep 27, 2011)

plenty of ppl just having a look and saying hi   and you can learn heaps lol
xx


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