PCOS Struggle Story

[rosywoman]

Hi, just entered this message board to ask someone to help me. I know that it was long since the last person had posted something here. Nevertheless, this forum came the first one after I had written ‘PCOS message board’ in my search engine. I feel bad… and I need someone to assist me…

Firstly, some words about myself. I’m 30 years old, and I was diagnosed with PCOS since my early teens. My illness is really tough. Firtsly, I’m a little bit overweight, but nothing works with me, even metformin. I can’t take it because of my pancreas. Secondly, I’ve some extra hair on my body, especially, on my legs. And finally I’m TTC for nearly 5 years. I’ve had several IVFs in the UK, and both were BFN.. The last gyny I contacted advised me to try egg donation. However, I can’t do it here in the UK because of an expensive price. I need something cheaper, and my husband and I decided to go to Ukraine. Actually, we contacted Biotexcom. It’s a reproductive clinic in Ukraine. Now I want to share my feedback about this clinic and ask you to help me.

Firstly, it’s difficult to call Bitexcom a clinic because it doesn’t look presentable. The clinic is situated in a small private mansion. Can a respectable medical establishment be located in private house??? Of course, not!!!! As the building where the clinic is situated is tiny, its halls are always overcrowded. Every time I visited the clinic, it was always overcrowded: a large queue near the reception desk, large queues near the doctor’s offices and treatment rooms!!! If this clinic has so many patients, why don’t they open other agencies???

The clinic isn’t a selective one. They deal with everybody. When we were sitting and waiting our queue to consult a GP in the clinic, we saw people of various nationalities. Some of them were behaving rather weird. We became witnesses of small conflict, when a dark-skinned man told one guy that he was gazing at his wife!!!! I thought that they were going to fight!!!!

The atmosphere in the clinic is very noisy. I saw loads of couples with small children. Some of them are crying, and it causes an additional discomfort.

Some words about the doctors… When I met the doctor in charge of our program, I noticed that she was extremely tired. She seemed to be a good specialist, but she spoke with us very formally. When I tried to get some additional details, she looked at me angrily, so I decided not to do it.

We haven’t signed up yet, but we have to make a decision soon. How do you think: does this clinic deserve our trust or not???

[greenapple]

Hi, you’ve put the things in the way that it’s not worth dealing with this clinic. However, if I were in your shoes, I would check the clinic’s success ratings. I don’t think that people would choose them if they were scammers or something like this. Did you talk with your program manager about these things. Maybe, they could organize your next visits better?
P.S. This clinic seems rather popular one… Visit some fertility message boards to get more information about it…

[rosywoman]

I’ve already done this and found both positive and negative feedbacks about this clinic. I got acquainted with one woman who used to be their patient and she praised them greatly. She also told me about the large queues and unfriendly staff. But she was very pleased with her result. Now, I don’t know what to do… My hubby advises me to phone them one more time and tell about the things we disliked… I hesitate on phoning them…

[greenapple]

I think you should follow hubby’s advice. You’ve written that the clinic has good feedbacks in the net. I reckon people wouldn’t write well about the clinic, which scams its patients. In addition, you’ve spoken with their former patient who got an excellent result. However, it’s up to up to you to decide what to do further. If you don’t like them much, you may simply quit them and try your luck with somebody else… However, think twice before doing anything…

[rosywoman]

Yes, I agree with you. Yesterday we got a phone call from the clinic. The clinic’s representative asked us about our final decision. I told her about the things we disliked in the clinic. She apologized and said that they had too many patients that day. They plan to open three more offices in Kiev to provide their patients with better services. The clinic’s representative invited us to visit them one more time and promised that we won’t spend much time in the queue.

[greenapple]

Sounds nice! Did they promise you to fix their faults? I mean are they going to keep you in the queue again or you will come to a definite time to meet your doctor? I’m also keen to know how you are going to choose an egg donor. I think you should choose a woman who will resemble you. She must have the same height, weight, eyes and hair color. Will you be allowed to see the donor’s photo or just read a short description?

[rosywoman]

Yes, I think they won’t make us wait for a long time. At least, they promised us that we will have to come to the clinic at the exact time and see the doctor then. Even if there will be patients near our doctor’s office, we won’t stay in a queue. As for choosing an egg donor, the clinic has a large donors database with 3D photos. They will use a special program to choose appropriate candidates. If we sign up a contract, we’ll get an opportunity to see the donors’ photos and make the choice by ourselves. I think it’s really nice! In addition, everything will be done anonymously. The information about a donor and a recipient won’t be available to anybody.

[greenapple]

Oh, sounds really cool! So you’ll get an opportunity to see a donor and choose her by yourself. I think it’s really handy. And what about the procedure of donating eggs? Will you use fresh or frozen eggs? I know that fertility clinics often ask their patients to pass some medical checkups. Have you done any tests yet?

[rosywoman]

Biotexcom uses only fresh eggs for their egg donation programs. When the donor is chosen, the doctor in charger studies the patient’s and the donor’s menstrual cycles. Then both of them have to take birth control pills to synchronize their cycles. The second visit is done to pick up the husband’s sperm, fertilize the donor’s eggs and transfer embryos into the patient’s uterus. Before doing anything we’ll have to pass several medical tests. I’ve already done several ultrasound checks and blood tests. We’ll also have to consult a GP in the clinic.

[greenapple]

Sounds nice, dear! It’s great that they’ll use fresh eggs for your egg donation program. I know that they are better that frozen ones. Have you made any decisions yet? Will you visit or quit them?
P.S. You’ve written quite a lot of favorable things about them. However, you the one to make the final decision. At any rate, I wish you good luck, dear! Xxx

[rosywoman]

We haven’t decided yet. At present, we do medical tests to check our health. If the tests are ok, I think we’ll call biotexcom or some other clinic. At least, I think it’s time to start. Every time, I think about it, I feel nervous and a little bit stressed. My hubby says that I think too much about it. But I can’t help doing this, as every time I see a woman with a push-chair I start I imagine that it may be I one day.

[greenapple]

You think too much, dear. Just stop worrying and try to relax. If you feel nervous all the time, you may do harm to your health condition and the program’s success. Why don’t you want to take some rest? When I feel nervous, I usually travel somewhere. Why don’t you want to have a small romantic trip with your hubby? I think it would be great!

[rosywoman]

Hi, greenapple! Thanks for your support! I really need some rest. My hubby and I want to hire a small cottage in the country to have some rest from the noise. He would take several days off and we’ll spend them together. I really need this. I feel so tired…

[greenapple]

You really need some help, dear! It’s good that your hubby and you’re going to spend some time together. I think it’s really important for you now. You may just have a good rest and then start your fertility journey. If you need anything, you can write here. I’ll be glad to help you! Good luck, dear!