# Zita West London experiences



## Apple500 (Jul 14, 2015)

Hi Folks
First time poster here so be gentle  

We are looking at starting IVF for the second time after IVF m/c in 2012 & various issues stopping us starting until now. 
We are both 43 and are thinking of trying Zita West in London given the track record with older patients.

Has anyone here used them and has an opinion on their experiences?

Thanks


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## coldhandswarmheart (Nov 22, 2014)

hi there
So sorry to hear about your m/c - I know your pain only too well, having been through it ourselves.

We did 2 (sadly unsuccessful) cycles at Zita West, so am really happy to give you my honest take on the place.

Overall, I would say it's a bit of a mixed bag as clinics go. 

On the plus side  I would say I think their set-up is pretty good in terms of the people being very nice (nurses, Dr's reception) and the place itself is easy to get and a nice environment. Communication was pretty good, once we'd ironed out a couple of issues. They don't perform egg collection at the clinic (scans and appointments are all done there) - the EC is done at CRM just a mile or so away, which is a really lovely modern facility. 

My one massive reservation, in looking back on our experience and in discussions with other clinics since then, is that they do seem to be very keen on extremely high doses of drugs in older ladies - at least that was my and a couple of other ladies I met there, experiences.

I did question this with our Dr, Dr Simone, early on, as everything I'd read suggested it's advisable to go easy on older ladies in terms of drugs and therefore egg numbers etc, but he pretty much pooh-poohed this from the outset and was much of the opinion that "if you want to win the lottery, you need to buy more tickets". 

So because we liked him as a Dr and as a person we felt we could communicate with, and as ultimately you have to just trust somebody in this game, we went along with it. 

It did seem somewhat ironic to us both then and now that Zita West's entire philosophy is meant to be based on "natural" treatments eg massage, diet, acupuncture (all of which they offer there), yet on the other hand the Dr's there are doling out astronomical levels of FSH drugs, which DR's I have seen since, have been utterly horrified by.

We did produce eggs, (as you can see below) but none completed the journey and I've always wondered (although how could you ever tell?) if it was a quality issue because they'd been "pushed" so much, if you see what I mean.

I also felt at times that as there are only 2 Dr's there - Dr George and Dr Simone - they seemed to be dead on their feet at times and very rushed. Although the upside was that it did at least feel much less like an IVF factory, which I know alot of the other bigger clinics can.

Having said that, they were both always extremely pleasant, I think they are both good Dr's and Dr George has an incredible reputation. I do think they need to look at their overall philosophy with regard to doses though.

Finally, I was very dis-heartened at our last post-IVF consultation with our Dr - who I have to say seemed to have a complete 180 degree change in his attitude after the 2nd IVF failure. He was a bit brutal and very un-encouraging, to the point where I started crying in the room - and we both agreed afterwards I think they have a must have some sort of policy (unspoken or otherwise) of discouraging people they feel won't get pregnant to carry on with them, as it will effect the clinic's overall statistics. I've heard of it happening elsewhere and sadly I think it happened for us. Which really left a bad a taste in the mouth, especially after all the time/money we'd spent with them.

So like I said, bit of a mixed bag. It's so difficult to tell, having not done IVF anywhere else, but I think maybe you could get a consultation with them to at least meet them and see the place (like I said, both pluses) but perhaps be very firm about where you'd like to be in terms of your drugs levels. 

I really hope that helps.

Any other questions, do feel free to PM me.

Sending masses of luck in your journey
xxxx


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