Who is the best doctor for IVF? I only want to do this once!

L

lotusflower

Registered User
Hello everyone!

So my husband and I are planning on doing IVF this January if we're not pregnant by then and I want to find the absolute best doctor for this procedure. We've seen Dr. Lo for one round of Clomid, and although I felt comfortable with him and felt like he was experienced, I'm not exactly sure if he is the best fit for us.

Would love to hear other's IVF experiences. Who do you recommend?

Thank you!
 
Hi! Are you sure you want to go through ivf unless absolutely necessary ? Seems like a drastic step after clomid- wouldn't the next step be clomid again or iui? I had a round of ivf and it s very intense physically and mentally. Not for the faint hearted and I feel I was pushed into it a lot more than if I had been in Europe. Given how hard and expensive ivf is it should be more of a last resort? The doc was great though - dr doo in central Building - treatment didn't work for us which was devastating after all that effort but we should have seen it coming: docs tAlk about 25 pct chance of success which implies 75 pct of failure ! That said I would recommend dr doo : always calls you back when you have questions, very clear, excellent bedside manner .
 
Hi Wilkette46,

Thanks for your response and I'm sorry to hear about your failed IVF experience. This journey is such a rough one.

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 2 years and after doing all the tests, have been told the only problem is his morphology, which is very low at 2%. So we're assuming this is why it's been such a struggle for us. We've also been told that doing IUI won't increase our chances that much, and since we're paying for all of this out of pocket, we just decided to go with the option that has the highest success rate. Is this the right decision? I have no idea. Everybody has their own opinions and I guess we're just trying to figure it out as we move through this process. Of course we would love to not have to do go this route, but we're both in our late 30's and hearing that clock tick and feel like if there weren't any issues, we would be pregnant by now.

Thanks for your recommendation of Dr. Doo. We will definitely have to consider him.

And if you don't mind me asking, do you know why your IVF attempt failed? And could you share why your IVF experience was so intense and difficult? I'm very interested to hear other's experiences.

LotusFlower
 
Hi lotus flower - of course it s up to you and there is no right way to go about it otherwise we would all be doing the same thing !

On our end - pcos for me, morpho prob for hubby. First part of ivf went v well , 29 eggs harvested, 9 fertilized through Icsi. Doc put two back in. Neither took. No reason, it just happens, our chances were good but nothing is guaranteed!
We found the process v hard because it is v demanding physically: daily injections, scans every few days and a general anesthetic to harvest for me. It really Took a toll on me and it was hard for my husband to watch. When they put the eggs back they jack you up w meds to fool your body into thinking you are pregnant to encourage the eggs to stick: so begins a two week period of being v hormonal and anxious - And in our case it was ended in failure which after all that was v hard.
We decided to forget about it all for at least 6 months and enjoy ourselves, and concluded that parenthood isn't for everyone. We did do some acupuncture to relax and try the less invasive approach (health wise at 1 lyndhurst terrace). to our astonishment I got pregnant two months later. We are now parents to a beautiful bb girl. I am still pinching myself.
I really wish you the best of luck, I hope it all works out and that you guys succeed .
 
Hi Lotus Flower,
My husband and I also had male infertility problems.
I wasted months with Clomid, timed intercourse and IUI - thinking that I'd like to try a less expensive, less invasive route first. What a mistake.
Those methods work if you are merely not very fertile, or if it is a female problem - like an irregular cycle.
But if the sperm is not good enough, simply timing intercourse, or boosting the number of eggs, or doing IUI (which is essentially just a simulation of intercourse) usually does not work. After all, you these methods still require the sperm to swim up to where it has to be, and fine the egg.
If the sperm is weak, you really need them to force sperm to meet egg in a lab, and then implant the whole thing right into the uteral lining.
IVF did it for us - one egg retrieval and two transfers resulted in two healthy children.
And, in retrospect, I realized that many months of failed IUI -- including all the tests, check-ups, etc -- almost equalled one round of IVF anyway.
Good luck!
 
Hi Gracey. Congrats on your baby too! If you don't mind me asking a few questions...

What doctor did you use?
How much did it cost?
What was your male factor problem?

Also, how long is the whole procedure, from starting injections to transferring the embryo?

Thanks, I'm new to this and trying to gather as much information as I can.
 
Hi Lotusflower

1. My first child, I used Dr. Clement Chan in Central - both for all the Clomid & IUI cycles (which were useless) and my first IVF cycle (which worked). The good point is that he did get us pregnant. The bad point is that I felt he was quite pushy, especially trying to get me "signed up" for a C-section when I was only 6 weeks pregnant. He was also more drug-happy than other doctors, esp in early pregnancy. But, ultimately, he got results.

2. My second IVF cycle was with Dr. Tang Oi-Shan at HK Sanitorium. I felt she was more relaxed, allowed me to ovulate naturally, and didn't ask me to have bed rest of anything. This approach also worked. For both cycles, we used Sanitorium's embryoloists, who are known as being among the best in Asia.

3. I can't remember the exact costs right now -- after all, I concieved my first child almost 3 years ago -- but it was alot.

4. There were all sorts of male problems, including a physical issue that we tried to fix with surgery, plus lifestyle problems -- just generally bad sperm (low counts, low motility, etc). Anyway, all of that initial treatment did no good. Ultimately, with male problems, IVF is usually the only way to go. I had a friend with a similar treatment - her partner had almost "zero sperm." And only IVF would do it.

5. The first IVF cycle took about 3 months, all told. First, you have a check-up. Then the doctor gives you drugs to stimulate your egg production. Then, when you are ready to ovulate, they extract the eggs -- this is the most involved part. (I did mine under general anesthetic). In my case, we decided to freeze the embryos and wait a month. When I was ready to ovulate again, he placed the embryos in my uterine lining, which was much easier than part 1. (I did it with no anesthetic). Then the two-week wait.
My second cycle was easier, since I had leftover frozen embryos. Basically, they just track ovulation and transfer put the embryos in. This took one month in total.

I know you say you only want to do this once -- don't we all! But remember that there are no guarantees -- and the chances are that you might have to go through it more than once. The Sanitorium nurse said I was both very fertile and very lucky to have two viable pregnancies from only one egg extraction. So you do have to hedge your expectations.
 
Hi Lotus,
I am in a quite similar situation. After 4 failed AI we are attempting an IVF with Dr. Clement chan. He is always busy and make you wait for an hour each time I ago, however he is very sincere, open to speak and to answer all your queries and very cautious. I am feeling very comfortable with him and will have an IVF this month.
Grace
 
Hi Grace,
What a coincidence we have the same name!
I also used Clement Chan. In retrospect, I realized I had some issues with him. When we disagreed or questioned him, he began acting in a way we felt was bully-ing -- telling us that our problem was the woman's fault (too fat, too old, etc) that turned out not to be true. At one point he even told me I was "stupid" for tracking ovulation at home. He was not like this at the beginning of treatment, but later on.

Also I realized, after the fact, that he prescribed far more expensive drugs than I needed. He made me take painful injectables every day in early pregnancy because I was "high risk." This came along with suspicious behavior -- like not letting me or even his nurses do the jabs, and then charging me extra doctor's fees when he did them himself. When I sought a second opinion, it turns out I was not high risk and had no need for these drugs at all.

He also tried to convince me that I was "high risk" at 6 weeks to push me into scheduling a C-section with him right then and there. He told me that there was "no way" I'd get a bed space otherwise. Both statements ended up to be untrue. I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy, natural birth, and had no problem booking a bed with another doctor.

On the other hand, I did get pregnant from my IVF cycle with him -- whether this was because of his skill, or because of luck, I don't know. And I also understand how you might be loathe to switch doctors mid-treatment, since IVF is hard enough anyway. But I just wanted to wave that warning flag in case you wanted to change doctors later.

Good luck!
 
Hi wilkette46
would you mind me asking what was the "less invasive" approach you referred to? Was it acupuncture or did you go for some other treatment?
it's such a wonderful story!
tibbar
 
Hi Tibbar2011, yes my post wasn't clear - acupuncture was the less invasive approach I was referring to. It really helped us relax. My husbAnd was beyond skeptical but tried it to humour me- after ivf he was desperate for a change of scene!
 
I just wanted to share with everyone that I'M PREGNANT! And we did it naturally the very same month that I started this thread and ask you all for your advice.

The only thing we did differently was NOT try. And we focused on our marriage instead of making a baby. I can honestly say it was the most stress-free I had been in the 2 years since we started trying. Stress is powerful and it matters.

So please be encouraged by my story. Miracles DO happen!
 
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