# Anyone recommend a good London clinic/consultant for the older woman?



## Helen3 (Dec 2, 2010)

Hi everybody,
I am new to FF but not new to trying to get pregnant! I am 48 & we have tried IVF, FETs, egg donation abroad (once), & adoption. Our fertility is unexplained except that it was assumed that my eggs were too old when we were unsuccessful with IVF at 44 (all my hormone tests, ovarian reserve etc were very good). We had no problem making many good quality embryos, & we still have 4 frozen embryos. So now I'd like someone to give us a 2nd opinion on my fertility (I was never tested for anything like immune problems, implantation problems etc) & advise us on how to proceed from here, so we are looking for an excellent consultant/clinic that has a good reputation with older women. I have only just become aware of assisted hatching & blastocyst embryo transfers. We were never told nor offered these previously. Maybe there is new hope for our FEs? If not we'd like to try DE again but in the UK this time if the waiting lists aren't too long. Yesterday I was in touch with the London Womens Clinic (Harley Street). Does anyone have any experience with them, & can anyone advise us about any other clinic - London or elsewhere (we are Norwich based). Would be very grateful for any help/info.


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi Helen,

Realistically I am sure you realise that it doesn't really matter what your hormone profile looks like, at age 44 plus you have very little chance of a live birth with own eggs via IVF or any other means.  However, I do understand that this is very hard to deal with and you want to get the best advice possible.

I understand you have frozen embryos left and may want to use these before moving on to DE.  Whether you do this or use DE, I would really recommend you find a clinic that will support some extra testing for you and DH to make sure you do not have any other issues (apart from age) that may stop you getting/staying pregnant.

I would personally recommend you have a consultation at the Lister.  They support extra testing and will discuss your options with you.  The next recommendation for extra testing would be ARGC (who do not do DE) or Dr. Gorgy in Harley Street.  Basically, the top clinics for over 40s are ARGC, Lister, Care Notts and CRGH I believe.  The first 3 support extra testing.

You could of course use one clinic (in UK or abroad) for DE and another consultant for testing, but this could be discussed at an initial appointment.

I would NOT recommend the LWC from personal and anecdotal experience.

Your GP can arrange many of the relevant tests in conjunction with a good clinic and these are the tests I would recommend:-

Karyotyping for DH
Sperm testing for your DH
Thyroid Tests for you (including T3, T4 and antithyroid antibodies)
Blood clotting tests (inc. MTHFR, FVL, APS etc)
Infection for you and DH (Chlamydia, Ureaplasma, Mycoplasma, Group B Strep)
Uterine testing - fibroids, polyps etc
Autoimmune issues

There have never been any recorded cases of live births via ivf at 48, so you are looking at donor eggs either in this country or from abroad.  You may like to try using your FEs, but with the understanding that there is very little chance of success sadly.

Sadly, although embryos may look good quality, there is a strong likelihood that they are abnormal at age 44 plus (which is when you froze the embryos??).  You may also though have other issues preventing pregnancy and these would not be fixed by using DE, hence the need for extra testing.

Are you proposing to move your frozen embryos from one clinic to another??  This needs to be discussed with your clinic.  Taking to blast is probably not an option for you because you do not have enough embryos and the common consent is for women your age, replacing as many as possible on day 3 is considered much better.  Assisted hatching is not as considered as cutting edge as it once was, but I would take advice from your new clinic/consultant on this one.

Don't forget that your embryos may not survive the thaw, so you need to take account of this, sadly.

However, it would be good to talk over all the implications of this, and my first thought would be to contact the Lister for an initial consultation.



Best of luck,
Daisy
x


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## Helen3 (Dec 2, 2010)

Thanks Daisey for all your comments & advice.


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## Helen3 (Dec 2, 2010)

Hi again Daisy,
Just mulling over your comments & wondering about your comment about the LWC. Was your experience & that of others really bad? It is just that they have a waiting list of only 9-12 months for DEs which seems very good, & would seem preferable to travelling abroad again (plus we prefer if possible, the fact that our child would have the right to discover who her/his genetic mother was at 18+ if they wanted to, as is the law in the UK) .

I have taken on board all you said about getting ourselves tested first - just can't understand why these tests weren't suggested to us before at anytime! So I want to find the 'best' clinic to do further testing, & also the 'best' clinic for DEs. Someone else has had good treatment with the ARGC (for testing), but I will also look into the Lister based on your recommendation (& for DEs).

I can see from your profile what a very long journey you have had to reach parenthood. How wonderful that you finally got there & so well-deserved. I admire your tenacity & strength of character. Thanks again, Helenx


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi Helen,

Ref. LWC, only experience is from IVF with own eggs NOT DE, so it is worth going for a consultation for DE as the waiting list is not that long.  

I totally agree with you.  In many ways I wish I had gong to a UK clinic as I really think the ID release donor option is a very good reason to stay in the UK and I can totally agree with you on that one.  You might have to work with anothe doctor in conjunction with LWC for extra testing, but worth a go.

I would investigate Lister, LWC and possibly CRM in London who may not have such long waiting lists.

Best,
Daisy
x


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## Helen3 (Dec 2, 2010)

Hi Daisy,
Thanks again. Apparently the CRM have only a 6 month waiting list for DE, according to their website.

Helenx


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