Perth Fertility clinics - any advise?

Hi my partner & I are at Fertility North and are doing ICSI and they are so wonderful there. I cannot fault the staff one bit

I was originally to go to Hollywood, but got fed up with appointment stuff-ups before I even got to see the doctor for the first time, it might have just been bad luck, but they rang to re-schedule 3 times, and then forgot to cancel the 2nd attempt - anyway the whole thing made me lose faith, whether that was a fair judgement or not; so I moved on to Pivet - no problems with appointments so far with them, and haven't had a problem with the doctors, the nurses are very nice, except one who is particularly vague (gave me the booster injections without the mixing needle, the other nurse realised and corrected later thankfully otherwise I would have been in trouble!)

Hi Mona,
We are with Concept at the moment and while they seem fine, I dont know how I feel about my Dr. I was a few minutes late for an appt and he just walked out, no phone call etc. This makes me a little unsure of what to expect next time. I couldnt get in for another appt with him for 6 weeks so i just left it and am seeing my GP who used to work in a fertility clinic & hope she can answer my questions. I was thinking about other clinics and have heard good things about FSWA - what are your thoughts? Also, are they significantly more expensive than the other clinics?

star gazer - I am currently at FSWA and really like all of the staff there.

Although they haven't yet achieved the results that we want, it is a really friendly environment. They aren't cheap though (I have curent cost sheets, PM me if you like) and they are only a couple of years old so they haven't got a huge set-up.

star gazer,

I also went to Concept and the clinic was lovely and so was my FS. There are many consulting specialists who work out of Concept so if you're having issues with your FS, you can change dr without changing clinics. Who's your current FS?

Hi Sushee,
My FS is Dr Thompson. I dont like to say anything negative about ppl, and realise that we all have personalities that we click with or dont, but i was rather put off by the walk out. Other drs/ppl in allied health have said he can be difficult so i guess i bore the brunt of it this time! I think i will do my next cycle and see how he is with me at pick up/transfer. If i still feel uncomfortable, will look on. I didnt know if Drs would take on a patient from a peer at their clinic - ie to avoid "office politics" emerging. What do you think?

I think it's fair to expect that, sometimes, a relationship between Dr and patient just doesn't work, and I suspect they would rather you changed Drs than clinics, IYKWIM. :) I know of at least two women who changed Drs within Concept.

Often when we're going in for the first time, we choose the Dr who is closest to home or can get us in the earliest - not the best way to pick a Dr! If you're lucky you get someone you gel with and all is good, but sometimes you get someone who just doesn't work out. You are paying for the service, by all means don't be afraid to shop around for someone you can connect with. And personally if your current FS ever bothers to ask you why you switched, I'd be honest with him just so he knows for next time. ;)

BTW as an on-going patient, we've never waited more than 2 weeks to see my FS, so if you're having to wait 6 weeks between appts, I'd switch too if I were you.

Thanks Sushee, you put it so well that it seems quite a reasonable step to take. I will speak to a coordinator at the clinic and see if she can make any recommendations on how to go about it. I had just thought that the clinics are so busy that it made sense that the FS' rooms would be equally overbooked and like everything - you just have to wait! 2 weeks sounds great by comparison :)

Hi Bec,
Not sure if i have responded directly to you, but i am at Concept. Im having difficulty getting in to see my FS and spoke to my GP about this. She suggested another FS perhaps - Dr Yeap at FSWA - where you said you were. How do you find it there? What time do they open for blood tests? Do they allow you to pay the gap or do you have to pay in full up front? Sorry - so many questions! Could you send me the fee schedule for FSWA - Im hoping they arent significantly more expensive than Concept as we are building at the moment, am off on a short break on tuesday and everything is adding up to be a bit of a financial drain at the moment!
Whis is your FP?
Thanks so much!

I was just wondering if anyone is still reading this thread. My clinic has dropped the ball yet again and I want to know if I should change or do they all make a lot of mistakes and if I should, then where to?

hi nitzerette,

I'm not sure what you mean by 'mistakes' but I've never really had any issues with Concept and my FS (though my FS doesn't consult for Concept anymore, I understand). Concept was professional and wel-organised and I was more than happy with their service.

I guess it all depends of why your current clinic isn't meeting your expectations in the first place. Would another clinic meet those expectations? It's hard to say without knowing exactly what went wrong in the first place.

Though ultimately, I don't think switching clinics because you're unhappy with your current one is unreasonable.

Hi Aramis7,

I have been going to Fertility North for nearly 2 years, there service and the nurses there are fantastic!!!! They are very friendly and you can always call them to ask questions.

I do live North as well, so that does make it easier

Good luck searching

Jill

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Hello everyone. My wife & I have been married for nearly 5 years now and have been trying to conceive for nearly 24 months now. A few months back we found out that my sperm is not good enough (oligospermia) so, after the shock, we're trying to figure out which Fertility Clinic to go to (we need an ICSI).
We've been referred to Hollywood Clinic by her gynecologist, and had an appointment with a Doctor and a Scientist which explained the procedure in detail. My overall feel was from good to very good, but my wife is not so sure about it.
We've heard of other clinics such as Concept, Pivet and Fertility North as well.

Anyone care to share their good/bad experiences with fertility clinics around the Perth area?.

Thanks so much for your help

Cheers

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Thanks for the responses. Does anyone have an opinion on Fertility Specialists of WA?

Hello,
My husband and i are new to this we are currently with pivet we have to do ivf with icsi , please excuse me if i get the technical terms wrong , we would love to have 2 put in instead of 1 , but they wont do that, does anybody know where does put 2 in ? Also I am a bit worried about doing the HSG can anybody tell about how they went with that? I am so glad i found this site so i can talk to people in the same boat.. Any information I can get will be great..

Thankyou Tam :p

Hi Tam12, welcome to BB

I go though Hollywood and they only put one back as well but I have a friend who went through Concept and they put back 2.

I had a HSG prior to starting IVF. Personally I found it a bit painful but both of my tubes are blocked so each time the Dr tried to push the dye through it was painful. As soon as he stopped trying to push the dye through the pressure stopped the feeling completely stopped so it is isn't like it is an ongoing pain. I assume if there were no troubles with blocked tubes the HSG wouldn't be a problem. Definately take some pain relief (I used nurofen) prior to HSG.
Anyone else with experience??

Good luck

Jacki,

Thankyou very much for your help I have had no problems with my tubes so hopefully i will be ok , and i will try concept thankyou so much.. :)

I've just had my first appointment with Dr Thompson out of Concept, and I found him fantastic. He answered all my questions wihtout hesitation. I have a weight problem and was concerned he would turn me away because of this. But he is willing to proceed regardless, and Concept does not have a weight restriction. Dr Thompson is also looking further into whether there is a medical reason for my weight issues - to try and fix that also!

I've also been in contact with the Concept people, and one particular doctor, Dr Burton is wonderful. He is helping me with me fertility weight los program, at no cost, and is abolutely fantastic.

So, so far we have had no problems or issues with Concept and have found them fantastic. We are beginning our ICSI in lat Oct/early Nov. Can't wait!

Hi,
I have been going to Hollywood for the last 2 & a bit years for 'unexplained infertility'. I originally saw Dr Perkins & found him great but he did have a bit of a wait list. We were blessed with a BFP after our fourth attempt & our daughter was born Sept 08. I have now gone back but due to Dr Perkins wait list got in to see Dr Barton. I have also found her great & all the nurses there are very supportive & professional.

The only negative with Hollywood is they work on a roster system for w/end work. When we went in recently for our FET it was not my FS doing the procedure & I had an AWFUL experience with the FS on duty. I have an appt next month again with Dr Barton to address this.

Also, another positive for Hollywood they have introduced a new procedure for freezing leftover embryos which I'm not sure if other clinics are doing yet. The success rate for FET has apparently increased since this new freezing technique was introduced. Anything that bumps up our chance is great!!