for taylorjools

[taylorjools]

oh Kat thank God for that I was getting really worried as it was so not like them, and I know Jude had a fantastic experience too which is why I went there

I am so happy for you and dh, that's marvellous Sorry you have to wait til September but at least you know you'll be cycling within a month - are you on HRT??? good to get your cycles regulated so they can start you straight away..ask their advice

Pm me whenver you like, but I'll keep checking this thread so we can chat a lot Do come over and join the 40+ board, there are others waiting for tmt there too....

Love bigJ

[Kat]

I don't qualify for over 40 yet ha ha. I will come and say hi though. I emailed back to say thanks and got another one back from Frederique & then from Lurdana, I am so pleased it's all getting started (nearly). They are fully booked for June and then July/Aug they don't do first appts but then we can go Sept which suits us fine really. DH tends to disappear over the summer at short notice so at least I won't have to restrict him! He goes off places on his mountain bike incase you were wondering, already got 2 wks in Canada booked and will most likely do another couple in France, lucky for him he is self employed. I, on the other hand, am not...
Kat xxx

[Kat]

Just thought I'd let you know I have a date for my appt - 1st Sept (the absolute earliest appt possible!) - seems a long way off but I'm sure it will go really quickly. Gives me time to dig Zita West out from wherever I've put her (under the bed possibly) and get me & DH on the vitamins again etc etc. Am planning to do everything I can this time for both of us so we give it our best best shot. So now looking at flights and hotels too. How exciting!
Kat xx

[taylorjools]

Hi Kat

I just am so happy for you sweetie I am kicking myself now as I thoiught at the beginning, she must have problem with her email, but then I forgot to say, make sure they have your telephone nr, and copy the email to somoewhere else sorry - and me an IT consultant wot a larf

If it's any help, we used the following sites for hotel booking:
oh-barcelona.com - very good for tourist appartments which you might want to think about for ET time and bookings.es which had a good selection of good rates for hotels. For the first appt we stayed near the Ramblas, but for ET we stayed near the Arc de Triomph which had the advantage of being very quiet - you need that for resting - and with a lovely walk down the bouleverd with palm trees to the park and the zoo as tourism and high life were the last things we needed. We could lie in the park, and I did the resting on day 1 and 2 from ET there. We also found a good local restaurant so we could just potter there feed me whenever I had the munchies (I am very hungry at short intervals and get low blood sugar very fast so eat a little and often, must be the tapas babies ).

If we have to go back (please no but I am being realistic) then we probably will try and go to the coast and just taxi in for the process as we will do a fresh cycle this time so be there for 5 days, can't face 5 days of city especially as walking about and galleries and things aren't really what you are supposed to be doing to rest..


Also I wanted to recommend a fantastic book to you that I bought from Amazon when I bought Rita:

Optimum Nurtion before, During and After pregnancy - Patrick Holford
It's much more detailed than Zita, and gives good advice on diet and supplements but also avoiding toxins etc. For example he has zero tolerance to painkillers, even paracetamol..Also brilliant stuff on getting super sperm so dh is rattling already just in case..

very much love

bigJ

[dontgiveup]

Kat
just came on here to look around and found this post , I can feel the excietment , from what I can gather are you going to spain to have DE? if so what part is it marbella? and Bigj well done on completion of your little embies what a great outcaome . It sounds like you are going to be lucky this time .

[Kat]

Hi there dontgiveup, yes I am off to Spain, to the same place Jools went in Barcelona, for DE. I just looked up your posts and I see you too are DE, have you thought about going abroad? The clinic in Barcelona have an excellent success rate as they use young donors so that's one reason I have decided to go there. My eggs are rubbish, that's why I am going for DE, I responded very poorly to all stimulation and the last EC I had no eggs retrieved at all so the chances of getting pg with my own are v v slim.
Keep in touch,
love Kat xx

[taylorjools]

hi Kat

thanks for your kind words on our BFP

so first it was Jude, then me and next you and by then you'll be over 40 so much better chance of it working

lots of love bigJ

[zahida khan]

Jude,
I have one failed ivf attempt and I want to try again in Spain. Can you suggest/list any clinic. What is IM? If it is a clinic please let me know where it is in Spain and give me their contact number etc. I like to try it. Good luck with twins!!

Zahida

[Kat]

Hi Zahida, welcome to the site! I'll send you a private message with all the details of Instituto Marques (IM). Jude went there first and then Julie and they are both pregnant now and I have my first appointment in September so fingers crossed for me too!
Love, Kat xx

[Kat]

Hi Zahida, I have sent you a private message with all the details of IM, hope it is of some help in deciding what you want to do.
I am hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jude & Jools and be the next success to come out of Barcelona!
Good luck in whatever you decide,
Lots of love,
Kat xx

[JudeM]

Hi Zahida, sorry not to have replied before but I've been offline over the Bank Holiday.

I see that Kat has sent you a PM about Institut Marques in Barcelona, so I guess you have all the info you need.

We had had one unsuccessful attempt at DE in the UK & were back on the waiting lists again when we saw an article in the press about the lack of waiting lists overseas. We trawled the internet & picked IM as their website was in English - I guess we struck lucky.

I will add that they are very professional, friendly and have a high success rate. The donors are usually young students (ours is 23 years old) most of whom have a proven track record - they have donated more than once and they respond well to the teatment. Although they are paid they have to answer a 200 question form to be accepted. The clinic normally has a number of donors going through the treatment and so there is usually no waiting list unlike in the UK.

The main moctor, Dr Olivares (or George as Jools & call him due to the fact he looks like George Clooney) is fantastic as is Dr Victoria Walker who is English which means that language problems don't really exist.

Cost wise they are about the same as the top London clinics but with the extra costs of travel & accommodation. However, Easyjet & BA operate quite cheap flights (sometimes as little as £30 each way) to Barcelona. Accommodation isn't too expensive in Barcelona, sometimes its cheaper to rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel. Also, you get to have a great break in Barcelona which is a beautiful city.

If you do contact them you may have a bit of delay (as Kat has & as we had) because they close through July/August but after that things move very quickly.

I hope this helps.

Jude

PS.Kat - good luck with your appointment in September.

[SamanthaH]

Hi Kat,

I am a new member to the message board, so please excuse my ignorance!
I have just been reading your message regarding your app in Barcelona and was hoping you could let me know a little more information regarding this clinic
I am a menopausal 33 year old who has been told that Egg donation is my only hope after trying for a baby of my own for 4 years! I have just been let down by a clinic in london with a donar and been told I will have to wait till the end of next year for my first treatment after being on the list for over 7 months already!

I was very excited to hear your news and the news of your chat room pal!
If you could forward any information you have on the clinic i will be extreamly grateful

[Kat]

Hi Samantha, I'll send you a private message with all the details of the clinic in Barcelona. They have a very good reputation and no waiting list, so different from the UK. Sorry to hear you've been let down by your clinic, there's enough to deal with without things like that happening isn't there. Come over to the general forum and join in some of the other threads if you haven't already.
Hope it all works out for you, I am hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jude & Julie and be the next success coming out of Barcelona!
Lots of love
Kat xx

[taylorjools]

Hi Samantha

I feel for you honey, I know what a bitter pill early menopause is. If you want to talk about it you can pm me any time. We too were let down badly in the UK mainly by very balse diagnosis and false hopes (like wasting time with IUI on someone with high FSH without testing ovarian reserve).

In a way it was coincidence as when we moved to Germany we had no idea that donor eggs were illegal here, so that's how we ended up finding out about Spain and then going there. In your research do make sure that you look at ivi.es and also CERAM in Marbella. I am hearing some good things about CERAM on another board and they are cheaper than Institute Marques. Obviously as I am lucky enough to be pg I am a fan of IM but CERAM also do have good results.

Very best wishes, and good luck with your decision.

bigJ