# London Women's Clinic



## Guinness (Feb 27, 2006)

Hiya

I was just wondering whether anyone is having IVF at the London Women's Clinic and whether they could tell me what it's like ie. facilities, doctor, nurses?

I'm considering doing the 3 IVF Cycle Package as it seems too good to miss! Luckily my GP has agreed to prescribe the IVF drugs for me which will save us money.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes
Dee x


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## nismat (Mar 7, 2005)

Hi Dee,
I just started down-regging this week for my first IVF cycle at LWC. We've already done 6 IUI cycles there, so my experience relates more to that really. I've found the staff very friendly, but to be honest, there don't seem to be enough staff (especially nurses) to cope with the number of patients. You often have to wait around quite a lot when you go in for monitoring scans etc. They've been doing refurb work over recent months, and I'm not sure if the new facilities are open yet or not - the temp facilities (esp the corridor waiting area) have been pretty cramped. 
For me, the biggest issue has been that you don't normally get to see the doctor as a matter of course - virtually all appointments are carried out with the nurses. I don't know how this compares to other clinics, but I have found it frustrating not being able to get direct answers to questions I had relating to my medicated cycles. Doing IUIs, we were only actually scheduled doctor appointments after every 3rd failed cycle! I did get occasionally get to see a doctor on other occasions, but it was mostly luck. 
I'm not sure if you're aware, but LWC aren't licensed to carry out IVF procedures (i.e. EC/ET) themselves - these are done at the Cromwell hospital (but all the monitoring is at LWC). I had my HyCosy done at the Cromwell, and was very impressed by the professionalism of the staff there (more so than at LWC to be honest). 
I did a review on LWC on the clinic reviews board a few weeks ago, if you want to check that out. http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,55953.0.html
Good luck!
Tamsin


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## Guinness (Feb 27, 2006)

Hiya Tamsin

Just thought I'd touch base with you to see how things are going for you at the London Womens Clinic? Fingers crossed that you and your dp get a good result - how does she feel about you going through the treatment? Is she quite positive? Apologies for all the questions but my dh never feels that positive as he doesn't want a big disappointment at the end of it!!

We had our appointment at the LWC a while back and were quite impressed with the staff and facilities (although the premises were a bit drab!). I've heard that they've stopped supplying other clinics with donor sperm due to the decreased amount of donors.

We've signed up for the 3 cycle IVF package, it's reassuring to think that we've got 3 goes this time round and works out a lot cheaper! I started downregging yesterday (thigh injections of Buserelin!) so here we go again... let the rollercoaster begin!!

Keep in touch
Dee xxx


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## nismat (Mar 7, 2005)

Hi Dee, just saw your message 
You probably saw from my ticker that I'm nearing the end of my 2ww now  Everything went pretty smoothly for my IVF cycle; I had to down-reg for a few extra days as otherwise the start of stimms/first checks would have clashed with the Bank Holiday, but other than that, it was all easy. The staff at the Cromwell are really lovely, and put us at ease over the egg collection and transfer procedures. The only downside is that they don't allow partners into theatre for EC, which was rather disappointing (although clearly I don't remember a thing about it!).

My DP is *very * positive about the treatment and outcome; I think that it's all down to personality: she's an optimist whereas I'm a pessimist by nature, so I'm more like your husband in attitude normally. However, I've been doing a lot of work on keeping positive though (going for hypnotherapy etc. which has helped a lot). In my opinion, you're going to be terribly disappointed if it's a negative, whether you've been positive or negative throughout treatment, so you may as well spend the time feeling positive and hopeful.

Good luck for this cycle; I hope it goes well for you both. I really struggled over whether or not to sign up for the 3 cycle package - they only suggested it to us at the down-regging scan  which really put the pressure on to make a decision! Ultimately, we just don't have the extra money at the moment (plus of course we're hoping that it will work first time , so we decided to pay for just 1 cycle up front. Hope that we don't regret the decision!

Tx


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## Guinness (Feb 27, 2006)

Hiya Tamsin

Thanks for the reply! It's good to hear the people at the Cromwell are nice, certainly puts my mind at rest!

I just wanted to say a hugh congratulations to you - I'm so pleased you've got your BFP! I bet you and your dp were over the moon!

Could I ask whether you did anything in particular whilst downregging, stimming and the 2ww ie. milk, water, pineapple juice, brazil nuts, whey protein? It's always good to hear what someone who got their BFP did!

All the best and keep in touch!

Dee x


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## nismat (Mar 7, 2005)

Hi Dee, yes, we are indeed over the moon. It's hard to believe that it's really true! 

As for what I did, I started preparing for pregnancy a very l o n g time ago (Sept 04), and have tried many things during the course of fertility treatment so who can really say which bit actually made a difference, or if it was just the fact of the actual IVF meaning my eggs got fertilised for definite rather than hit & miss IUI. 

Since Sept 04 I have been on the Foresight programme of pre-conceptual vitamins/supplements (you have hair analysis done to see what your levels of different minerals/vits are, and then have a whole bundle of tablets to take every day to get your body in balance giving you the optimum chance for a healthy pregnancy). It took about 7 months and 3 re-tests before my levels were correct, and I've now been on a "maintenance" regime for a year. Obviously it didn't help much with conceiving via IUI, but it certainly improved my overall health and energy levels, so even though I've been a bit lax on the organic/healthy eating front as time has gone on, I feel pretty confident that I'm giving the baby the best possible start. 

As to what I actually did during the IVF process, I'd already cut out caffeine (apart from say 2-3 cups "real" coffee in a week) plus alcohol most of the time, under the Foresight regime. I did have the odd drink while down-regging, but I cut alcohol out completely from just before starting stimms. I also then increased my protein intake and had a whey to go milkshake twice a day, until EC (which I thought was going to be grim as I don't like milk, but was OK). I only got 5 eggs (from 6 follies), as I don't respond brilliantly, but they were all mature so I feel happy I did all that I could on the quality front (and it was the doctor's fault re: lack of quantity! ). After ET I ate brazil nuts (when I remembered! but I ran out for a couple of days around the time implantation probably actually took place  ). Didn't bother with pineapple juice as brazil nuts contain much much more selenium. And throughout the whole process, I drank at least 2 litres water a day, and usually more like 3 litres, which seemed to help keep side effects to a minimum (esp the down-regging headaches). 

Hope your DR is fairly symptom free. Good luck with it all!


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## Guinness (Feb 27, 2006)

Hiya Tamsin

Thanks for the info!

All the preparation and lack of alcohol is certainly worth it when you get your BFP I'm sure! I've cut out alcohol and caffeine since down regging and also upped my protein intake. I've already got my whey protein ready for when I start stimming (I guess it's not worth doing it while down regging?).

Well they always say quality is better than quantity re: follicles/eggs and you're living prove! 

I'm struggling with all the water and milk but I'll persevere to give us the best chance possible this time round!

I'm so happy for you - it's great when someone gets their BFP as it gives the rest of us hope!

Take care and look after yourself!

Dee x


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## nismat (Mar 7, 2005)

I felt that it wasn't worth starting the whey until the stimming stage, as it's there to improve egg quality, and they don't start growing while you're down-regging.
Forgot to say, I also took L'Arginine capsules (one a day from Hollland & Barrett) to help with egg quality while stimming. 
With the water, I found the best way to drink enough was to keep a 500ml bottle with me, and make sure that I had finished one every 2-3 hours. I often found it easier to gulp a whole load at a time rather than sip away (as I would forget!). I don't like milk, and I only drank about 1 pt a day in my 2 whey shakes.


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## Minniemoo (Nov 15, 2006)

Hello,

I have my initial consultation appt at the London Womens CLinic on 22nd November. Both nervous and excited. Hoping I can absorb all the the info. 
I just wanted to say how glad I am to see such a lovely success story, gives me hope.
Any info you might be able to give me about LWC or the Cromwell would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou.

Minniemoo xxx


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