Lily May's IVF story
Lily and Anthony's Successful IVF story with abc ivf
The staff at abc ivf were lovely. They really get to know you.
I Initially tried to get information through my doctors because we were trying to conceive for a while. I went to my own GP to see if there were any issues with myself. I went for scans and other tests because I was having irregular periods. I wouldn’t have a period for around 4-5 months. My GP said everything was fine and recommended that I try the pill to see if that regulates it. I did try the pill for a while, but I just didn't have a period. After a while I stopped taking it entirely and then I went for another scan with my GP. Again, my GP said everything's fine, it's textbook. At the time I listened, and I didn't think anything of it, and was still trying, but nothing was happening.
We decided it would be better to go private to just see if there was anything that was getting missed. So, we went to abc IVF where they actually told me that it was PCOS, which made sense because of my symptoms. I was quite shocked that my own doctors didn't pick it up. And so, the nurse said we could conceive naturally, but obviously it is a lot harder. So, we decided to go down the route of IVF. We weren’t eligible for NHS treatment because my partner already has a daughter.
I have two friends who had already gone through IVF abroad. I looked into that, but I wanted to stay in the UK, I thought it was easier if we had to go back and forth. I googled clinics close to me and looking at the success rates, abc ivf was probably one of the best I could find.
It was a bit scary at first because obviously you don't know what what's happening with yourself, and you don’t know what you’ll be told in the consultation. The Nurse was lovely, the staff at abc ivf were lovely. They really get to know you. It was really nice because they knew us by name, and they'd say hello and ask how we were doing. I couldn’t fault the patient care at all. The aftercare was great. I would definitely recommend abc ivf to other people starting their journey.
I ended up having mild IVF with ICSI. So, I was given injections and things like that to grow the follicles. In the end we went for a frozen transfer rather than fresh.
When I found out I was pregnant I was amazed. At that point it was our third time. The first transfer worked but unfortunately at the six weeks scan they couldn't find the foetal heartbeat so that was hard, and I didn't know if I wanted to do it again, but we went for the second time after a few months and unfortunately the second one didn't attach. The third time we did it straight away. I thought I'm just going to do it and not think about it. So, we did it the third time and it was positive. At first, I didn't want to attach myself. It sounds a bit silly, but I didn't want to be so happy about it until I heard that foetal heartbeat, because obviously the first time we didn't get to that point.
After waiting for that six-week scan at the abc IVF Wilmslow clinic, to hear that heartbeat my gosh, it was just unreal. Even when you get the positive news, it's like you want to hold on to the realism aspect of it. When we got the six-week scan, I was like, right, this is real.
Being a parent is amazing. It's the best thing, but it is the hardest thing as well, because obviously you're adapting to a little human that you've got to look after.
I couldn't imagine life without her.
Advice I’d give to other people starting out, I would just say stay positive and try not to stress too much about it. I know it's hard but go with it and let the doctors do what they've got to do, and let your body do what it needs to. Don't overthink it, if you overthink it, that's when it can get a bit too much and you can get a bit down about it, but if you if you try not to overthink it, it's just it's great.
I've got the best thing, the best gift that anyone could really give you is having a little baby. Having our child, it's something that maybe we couldn't do on our own and just needing that little bit of help bringing her here, it's amazing.