# Lister or ACU London?? Please can anyone help??



## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Hi girls,

Please could anyone give me some advise about the Lister Fertility Clinic or ACU London.. i am trying to find any good or bad reports about these two clinics to help me make up my mind.

If anyone else could recommend any other clinics that would be much appreciated too.. i am looking at the above clinics because they seem to look good on the HFEA website.. but i don't really know what i'm looking for so that is why i've come to you lovely ladies  

Thanks in advance.

Lotsa love Vicky xxxxxxxx


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi

I'm afraid I can't offer any advise based on personal experience but have you looked on the Clinic Review board as there may already be some write ups for these clinics...

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=139.0

Good luck
Natasha


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## Kabby (Apr 23, 2007)

Vicky,

I'm at ACU on my first cycle of ICSI, been ttc 4 years, finally discovered male factor issues.  I'm in Herts so its an easy trip on the Thameslink line and I couldn't recommend the clinic more though its not the cheapest.  However I feel I'm listened too, I've been given plenty of information about my treatment,  carefully monitored, and my treatment is tailored to me and I'm just not another statistic.  They aren't great at admin but the staff on a whole are brilliant.  

There is a thread on here for ACU if you want to ask any other girls at the same clinic.  I'm afraid I can't offer any advice about Lister.

They run an open day (I'm sure Lister will do the same) so go and visit.  See if you feel comfortable, meet the staff, think about how you are going to get there  - you don't realise how many visits you have to make to start off with to the clinic, sometimes for a 5 min blood test).

Good luck with your choice and tx journey

Kx


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## Guest (May 23, 2007)

I can also vouch for ACU - we've just started too.


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Thanks girls really appreciate your opinions... could you please tell me what is the rough price of an IVF cycle at ACU?

lotsa love Vicky xxxxxx


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## Guest (May 23, 2007)

Total IVF between £5400-5900
ICSI £6700-£7100 both approx


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Sorry i'm just checking that you are talking about the UCH London?

Thanks again girls,

Vicky xxxxx


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## Guest (May 23, 2007)

Yes we are


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## Wendy K (Sep 26, 2005)

Hi Vicky,

I am a Lister girl and have been at previous clinics. SEFC and ARGC, I did look into UCH but they are very strict with regards to FSH levels (the same as ARGC) and at the time mine were fluctuating a bit, I did actually ask them to send me some info, but I never got it 

One of the things I like about the Lister is the amount of expertise the docs have, they have several consultants who are all good generally, but they also have special areas of expertise which I have found soooo helpful.

I Have (by choice) had some of the immune tests done and have learned so much about this, I have had suspected early losses and this was really important to me + they were ok about my fluctuating FSH, I may not produce many eggs but they appear to be good quality. They take my feelings and opinions into consideration with regards to my treatment.

I did go to one of their open evenings, which was ok but I had already booked an appt for a consultation and personally I found the appt more helpful, as I could ask the questions I was burning to ask and get some knowledgeable feedback, on a personal basis.
Though you can ask some q's on the evening, but it's not the same 

A consultation is around £150 and is always money well spent, even if you go to both clinics it is the only real way you can get some real info and a feel if the clinic is right for you.  Because at the end of the day the appt fee is small when you are potentially going to spend thousands.

IVF is approx £3000 plus drugs and bloods on top so an approx round of IVF is £4500 ish and you can add another £1000 if you need ICSI.

I hope this help a bit 

If you go to the ICSI thread there is a Lister thread,  feel free to go on there and ask the girls their opinions.

Good luck 

Wendy K

   Some babydust for you


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Thanks so much girls...

Ooooh i'm still confused as to which one would be better for us..

We have just been told that we have 3 major problems.. long story but i know our chances of IVF working is not looking as good for us.. this will probably be our last attempt and i need to make the right descision.. I really do need the best possible chance with the problems they have found with us.

Thanks.

Lotsa love Vicky xxxxxx


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## reality (Nov 13, 2006)

Hiya,

Just wanted to throw my tuppence worth in..... we are at The Lister and although we are still awaiting our BFP, I would definitely recommend them. We have always found them extremely friendly and helpful, but remaining professional too - quite a hard balance to strike, but they do it very well. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they make us feel like achieving our dream of a baby is as important to them as it is to us.

I cannot comment on any other clinic, purely because I haven't been anywhere other than The Lister. Could you perhaps have a consultation at each and then see where you feel more comfortable? 

Love, luck and babydust to you.

Reality xx


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## honneybee (Feb 21, 2007)

Hello.

I too am at the Lister. i looked into a few before deciding where to go and found they suited my needs well. I currently live abroad (Denmark) and travel to Lister and have found them so far accomodating. I phoned them and talked to them to make up my mind. I like the fact that they listened and went in to detail with me. I phoned other places but did not feel the same interest. I would def speak to them and get a feel which one would be right for you.

mitch
xx


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Thank you for taking the time out to let me know your experiences....

I think i will try to attend both open evenings and see if i get a feel for one of them.. they are both clearly excellent clinics.. i just need to find the best one for us.

Thanks again.

Lotsa love Vicky xxxxxxx


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## INCONCEIVABLE (May 1, 2007)

Hi there

Know what u mean by needing to make the right choice. Wish I had asked people myself before making my decision a year ago. UCH from my experience is crap! Monitoring is v. laissez faire. And the clinic is badly organised. V much like NHS. 
Lister would have been much better choice with a hindsight. 
Am currently testing my FSH levels and awaiting treatment at the ARGC. They are more flexible now with FSH than they used to be. They treat people who have FSH above 10. They just try to get a cycle when your FSH is better. Following my last treatment at the UCH my FSH went to 16 and has been around 10 since. I like ARGC for the close monitoring that they do. 
SEE the thread high FSH at ARGC and u will get a better idea about ARGC.

All the best,
Incy

Just need to add that the opinions expressed on this thread are personal opinions and not ff opinions


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## prija (Apr 24, 2003)

Hi,
I think very highly of UCH, you have obviously had a bad experience there Incy. I have always had blood tests and scans virtually every other day through stims and through my last cycle it was daily. I respond very well to stims and on penultimate cycle had 28 eggs and mild OHSS, my drugs were adjusted all the way through and I was coasted and I still responded so well. I feel you are closely monitored there which is obviously a very crucial factor. The plus point I have is that I have a fantastic 3 year old son born from FET through ICSI using frozen testicular sperm. Good luck with your decision!
Love Prija


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## she-hulk (Sep 21, 2006)

Hi there.
I had my first round of treatment at the Lister and was not too happy with the monitoring either.  The facilities and staff are very good but I felt rather let down by the treatment process itself.  I downregged for too long and started my stimms a week later than I should have due to miscommunication!  While I am not entirely sure if this affected the eventual outcome, it is a shame that patients (especially on their first cycle) are not checked more often.  A telephone call on start of stimms for newbies would not go amiss.  My first scan while stimming wasn't till day 8 which I felt was rather late in the stimulation process.  Bloods I am glad to say are done more regularly and I hardly ever felt a thing.

Best of luck with your decision and subsequent treatment cycle. 

Regards, She


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Hi girls,

I had considered ARGC but i've heard it is so expensive  Around £15,000 per cycle

Love Vicky xxxxx


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## INCONCEIVABLE (May 1, 2007)

I had no monitoring whatsoever. I was treated by nurses on first two occasions and then they couldn't even find my cervix. The second time I was treated by a junior dr who did my insemination without a catheter. They also didn't prepare my DH sperm properly so didn't do anything about motility which was an issue. No wonder it didn't work. DR Serhal told me at the first meeting based on my result - yes they can get me pregnant - nothing to worry about. 6 mnts later I got a donor egg speech. They wrote me off based on one FSH result. Had I been at the ARGC they would have waited for a better month as FSG level flactuates and I could have received an IVF treatment. I didn't know it then. At the ARGC board I corresponded with a lot of people who had a worse FSH than me and yet ended up with a baby. AT no point did they receive a donor egg speech. My converted GIFT may have as well been on the month when my hormones weren't OK and I was pumped with a massive dosage of medicine for nothing. They never ever monitored my FSH levels apart from that one time. I am really v. bitter as they wasted the little time I had.

I would say that the UCH accepts patients who are text book cases. If you are a difficult case I would recommend ARGC. I still haven't started my treatment there, (I am monitoring my FSH levels at present) but based on what I have seen and heard, they have the best monitoring that is available, ie bloods being taken daily and the medication adapted to your particular needs and hormones.

All the best,

Just need to add that the opinions expressed on this thread are personal opinions and not ff opinions


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## prija (Apr 24, 2003)

Hi Inconceivable,
I am sorry you had such a bad time at the UCH. I must add though that we are by no means a textbook case. My DH has azoospermia caused by fibromuscular dysplasia which has caused renal artery stenosis and renovascular hypertension and he takes a cocktail of drugs. We are deemed a complex case and perhaps that is why we have received good monitoring. (not good, I know!). I am truly sorry that you feel you were treated badly and I wish you every success in the future!
Best wishes!
Prija


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## Kabby (Apr 23, 2007)

Hi,

Incy, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience of ACU but am surprised monitoring was an issue as the amount of monitoring they do/have done is what led me to choosing that clinic in the first place.  Did you do the OST before you started treatment as that allows them to tailor treatment and medication to each individual.

As with all these decisions I do think the best thing to do is to go and see the clinic and meet the drs, ask lots of questions before making your choice, particularly if you have specific issues that might impact on your tx.

Good luck!
xx


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## INCONCEIVABLE (May 1, 2007)

Yes, I did the OST. (That's was the reason why I chose the clinic. Sounded sountific to me at the time. And they are a teaching hospital and I am a teacher hence the silly choice!!! I inherently trusted them!!! HOw stupid of me!)

HOwever, the test showed that I was less than one percentage point above the cut off point for the IVF treatment and was therefore barred. I was then given the choice between the GIFT - which is the treatment that does not count in the league tables, hence it is offered to people in my position. I have learned since that this procedure is now v. old-fashioned and is not offered in the States anymore and they are the leaders in the infertility business. I would have been offered an IVF with Taranissi. Serhal should have really told me that he did not want to spoil his league table position and he should have directed me to a clinic willing to treat me i/o wasting my time, emotions and money! Furthermore, IUIs are a completely useless procedure for me and no better than timed intercourse! And of course, they don't feature in the league tables.

Besides, I found the clinic chaotic and not that well run! There was a confusion about my protocol as well! When to do bloods, scan and etc. So, glad that u were happy with the treatment u received, but personally, and I discovered I am not the only one who thinks so, it's crap! And I rant every time the UCH drs are talked about as demigods!

Just need to add that the opinions expressed on this thread are personal opinions and not ff opinions


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## Guest (May 26, 2007)

Can't say I've had that experience yet myself.  I have only been mildly inconvenienced when some stupid idiot couldn't make their appt on time and I got pushed back.  Personally, I would have made the idiot wait whilst the on-time person went in but never mind.


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## mummywannab (Nov 15, 2005)

Ooooh i was swaying towards having treatment at ACU but now i'm a little concerned with your experiences 'incy' 

We have 3 major probs which really do need to be handled very carefully and i really do need to make the right decision about which clinic to go to.. it will be our 3rd ivf attempt and this will determine if we need doner eggs.

Please could somone advise the price of ARGC... i have heard they are the best but very expensive so i'm not sure our funds could stretch but i'm willing to look into it if someone will give us a rough price.

Thanks girls.

Lotsa love Vicky xxxxxxx


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## INCONCEIVABLE (May 1, 2007)

IVF is £ 2500 + medicines on top, which tend to be quite expensive depending on your personal needs. They are tailored to u based on your hormonal level on the day, hence the daily bloods! At least it's not 'one size fits all' approach! U get a daily call with all your blood results and u get told what medicine to use. (I had to chase the UCH to tell me whether my cyst was cancerous, for example, which was so ridiculous and when I finally reached Serhal he was annoyed with me for persisting in my efforts to talk to him! I would have thought that they should have called me and notified me that my results were normal rather than leaving it to me to find out!)

UCH charges £ 3000 for IVF, and they use Menopur which costs £ 21 per ampule. Their drugs are definitely cheaper. When I was doing research into drugs and costs I discovered that Menopur is the cheapest drug on the market. (I tend to associate cheap with not so good quality, but then that's me!)

At the ARGC u can, however, purchase your medicine separately. Just ask for the prescription! (U can do the same at the UCH!) On the ARGC thread u can see that the girsl were buying their drugs from a chemist in Tamworth called Fazeley. Tel: 01827 262 488 who has fantastic prices! If u are on a long protocol u should have enought time to order what u need. He does deliveries across the UK within 24 hrs. Lil 67 was buying from him and was v. happy. I personally haven't.

You also need to pay for daily bloods, but this is part and parcel of close monitoring, so I think it's worth paying for! Each hormone u need to measure is about £30. Taranissi also uses more expensive drugs than the UCH such as Puregon, for example. The wholesale price is significantly higher compared to Menopur, which is true of the retail price as well.

All I would say is that if I had known a year ago what I know now I wouldn't have hesitated in my choice for one minute! But then I can't go back in time. I have already lost my precious time, but u don't have to!

Finally, I would say that at least I haven't seen people crying coming out of the ARGC and I have been going there over the last 3 months, and I had witnessed it often enough on the way back home from the UCH over the course of 6 months.

I think if u are in a difficult situation u need the best tailored care u can get even if it costs maybe £500 or £600 more!

All the best in whatever choice u make!

Just need to add that the opinions expressed on this thread are personal opinions and not ff opinions


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Ladies

Just a gentle reminder that FF is a public forum and we are often visited by various clinics, consultants etc so please be conscious of this when posting your replies.

There is a "sticky" thread at the top of this IVF board which lists a number of contact details for several drug suppliers so you may like to shop around for the best deals....

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9821.0

Good luck
Natasha


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## Kabby (Apr 23, 2007)

Vicky

I think you are best prepared to make a decision if you go and talk to each clinic about your specific situation.  As Inconceivable shows not all clinics get positive results and each has its merits and their downsides.  ARGC is also a great clinic but doesn't have a 100% success rate (none of them do) and all clinics have different approaches, different cut off points for treatments, use different meds, different costs etc.  It might not be possible for you to attend everyday for bloods or be affordable for e.g.  I have friends who have had successes and failures at both ARGC and UCH.  It can be difficult to offer a subjective view sometimes in the face of very emotional circumstances and peoples opinons are often influenced by this.

Go and visit, talk with consultants, see what you feel comfortable with, only then can you make an informed decision that you will feel happy about.

For info, IVF with ACU is £2,875.  Initial consult is £180.  They also offer Ovarian stimulation test, hycosy and dummy embryo transfer which cost extra.  Blast transfers are also extra.

Good luck with your decision - feel free to PM me if you want any further information


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## nevergiveup1 (Mar 23, 2008)

I paid £6000 inclusive of everything for one of my ccyles at ARGC, another cycle was £7000 and another about £8000.
it depends on how much drugs you need. I was on 300iu, so much lower than some people and I have mostly done IVF and not ICSI. I have heard that it can cost around £10 000 for some women! But for me the average treatment cost about £7000. I always bought my drugs from the clinic.


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## dakota (Feb 6, 2007)

This is an old post from 2007, prices increase each year, use this as a guide

xx


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