To the poster who asked about CREATE, I think from memory at zita west, that was one of the ones which was described more or less as an ' ivf shop' ie if that's what you want, they will probably do a good job and be nice and slick as these private clinics tend to be. If, however, you still haven't got to the bottom of what your particular issue is then somewhere like the lister may be better as they are probably more one minded about investigating you and not just selling you an ivf package. I think it's really important to understand exactly why ivf will help your particular fertilty issue (something i think the nhs is rubbish at) and a review at zita west should help clarify this. It's money well spent before you spend thousands on treatment...that's not to say that create is not right for you but it might be worth a sense check.

We went through New Life Clinic in Epsom who were amazing - had been trying for 5 years and got pregnant first time through IVF. They specialise in treatment for Natural Killer Cells which can prevent you falling pregnant. Definitely recommend, and worth getting tested for this just in case.

Yet another recommendation for Zita. When we couldn't get pregnant, we saw our GP who referred us to St Georges. I had one scan and at the end of it a hatchet-faced woman told me I'd never conceive naturally and she *could* add me to the NHS list but as I was *so* old, by the time I got to the front of the queue, I'd be past the age cut-off and disqualified.

We had a couple of appointments with Zita, who gave me accupuncture and referred us to the Lister. We had ICSI, were very lucky, and our son was born on our first go.

It's expensive, and as someone else has said, the Lister charge for absolutely everything. It's location is good, though, I'd hop on a bus from Clapham Common, and be dropped outside their door. I had all my appointments first thing in the morning then would get another bus to Sloane Sq and get the tube to work.

Wishing you the very best of luck.

Another vote for Jane Knight at Zita West. They can run preliminary tests on you and your partner and provide some suggestions on which clinics could be for you and recommend the best consultant within those clinics to see. Bear in mind some clinics employ a degree of selection in the patients they treat. IVF is big business, clinics are judged on success rates and therefore some clinics won't take on patients who they think will be unsuccessful- learning this was one of the biggest shocks for me. I just thought I could pay my money and go wherever I'd like. I've cycled at both the Lister and ARGC. The Lister does not filter patients - they take anyone who wants to try - but if you look at their success rate it could be lower than other clinics. On the other hand the ARGC has one of/or the highest success rate in the UK but it requires patients to have hormone levels under specific levels before they can start a cycle. Just to know that looking at success rates doesn't always tell the full story. But Zita West can help you with selecting the right clinic.
With regards to acupuncture, if you feel it's not working, don't be afraid to try something else (reflexology, hypnotherapy etc). On the 4 IVF cycles I had acupuncture I did not get pregnant and on the 5th cycle I did get pregnant, I didn't have acupuncture.
Very best of luck to you. It's a really hard road to travel but there are lots of ladies out there who can support you. The Fertility Friends website was an absolute lifeline for me - I didn't have any friends going through the same thing so on there I was able to talk to people about what I was going through - but I agree it's hard not to spend hours searching for success stories and reading people's signatures!

Such good timing as we are about to embark on fertility treatment and would really love some advice - thanks for all the info posted so far!
We started with St Georges and appointments take forever, so had pretty much decided to go with CREATE clinic in Raynes Park as it's run by the same lady who runs part of the NHS service at St G's. However, I'm wondering if we should be doing a bit more research before choosing a clinic for something so important, and have noticed that everyone seems to be recommending lister but no-one's mentioned CREATE. Has anyone used CREATE and if so would you recommend it / any advice on how to choose between clinics? I've seen the stats and reports for each clinic on the HFEA website but didn't really find it made the decision any easier. Will also check out the Zita West option though I think we definitely need IVF so not sure she would be able to help with our situation
Thanks in advance for any advice, and good luck to everyone else out there going through this too...!

hi, I have read your post as I am an alternative medicine practitioner specilised in Ayurveda and reflexology I can reccomend to have a cycle of reflexology treatments as they have helped many of my clients with fertility issues.
if you interested get back to me and I will be very happy to talk to you throughly.
Maria

Hi, a lot does does depend on what you think your fertility issues may be. If it is just "unexplained infertility" and you are still in your 20s/30's and all OK with your partner then definitely worth giving the acupuncture/Zita West clinic a go. If however, you are slipping into your 40s or have had some gynae issues then I think it is worth starting with a fertility clinic at the same time (you don't need to do one thing at a time) I have one child and one on the way (I am 45+!), both conceived from frozen eggs at the Lister who were very good but it is a financial drain (over the last seven years we have spent £25K++) and takes an emotional toll - although they do offer free counselling (literally the only thing there that is free!) and definitely worth taking them up on that. Location is really important - if you do end up going the IVF route then you often have scans every other day and so you need to be able to get to the clinic from work. Although you can swap clinics, once you have had all your blood tests etc done you won't want to go through it all more than once. Fertility Friends is an excellent website but I found that I could get over involved and ended up scouring it for stories that matched mine... or overthinking things - sometimes too much information isn't a good thing. Also as previous poster mentioned - get any prescriptions filled at Boots/Asda (the pharmacy at the Lister is so slow...) and your GP, if sympathetic, will often do some of the required blood tests on the NHS for you. Good luck!

CRGH was great for us. Get the emma cannon baby making bible if you are into alternative medicine. I used a super acupuncturist at the London acupuncture clinic on Harley street. But as someone has said make sure wherever you choose is convenient especially if you work.

Hi I also recommend the lister. Location is not to be taken lightly. Fertility treatment involves a lot of appointments and going back and forth and trekking across london a couple of times a day can only add to your stress. You need to be able to run somewhere quickly for blood tests etc. It may be that you need to find somewhere nearer to your work for example.
Best of luck!

Definitely recommend the Lister. We had same problem as you with initial tests and consultations at st georges taking so long and looked for a private clinic instead. Never looked back - i have two girls from two rounds of treatment.

It's also a good location for wandsworth as just over bridge from battersea park.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their encouraging messages, recommendations and advice. It's so reassuring to hear that there are success stories out there and I'm hoping that it will work out for us in the end too. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it! This forum is such a blessing!!! x

We went with CRGH - they are a small clinic and friendly - although more expensive than some and they push you hard. I was particularly impressed with them at the initial investigation stage after we'd also had a bad and lengthy NHS experience.....

Although they are quite invasive and not into alternative treatment etc their success rates are good. I had one round of IVF, my first baby with a fresh single embryo, my second with a single frozen embryo and we have a couple in the freezer.

I didn't know about Zita West at the time - but if I had then I may have considered her clinic first. Although we'd been messed around by the NHS for quite a while that I felt really desperate and so actually appreciated the more clinical and straight to it attitude of CRGH - once we got an appointment (about a month) we did some more tests immediately and started IVF two weeks later (unexplained infertility).

Oh, and we bought our drugs from asda and saved a small fortune!

Good luck with whoever you go with.

Have a look at a site called Fertility Friends. There are loads of clinics to choose from and you'll be able to read the experiences of people who used them.

Another thumbs up for Zita West. We saw Zita herself and I agree with the previous post about how well she listened. I thought it was great that they could provide support down the conventional fertility treatment route and/or complementary therapies. I spent a lot of money on acupuncture (at a place that specialised in fertility to no avail but am completely convinced that the hypnotherapy I had at ZW was pivotal in overcoming our secondary infertility issues.

I'd second the recommendation for the Zita West clinic. There are so many private providers out there and it's hard to distinguish one from another. Zita helped us to cut through all the confusion with her impartial advice and work out who was best placed to assist us. She was the first person to listen properly to my fertility concerns and identify the issue and I would say she was more prepared to think outside the box than some of the doctors we had seen previously. More than anything else, chatting to her was a huge reassurance and we felt like we were taking control of the situation. Seven years on, we are lucky enough to have three children and I'm not sure it would have happened for us without her. Good luck.