Updates: IVF experience abroad (successful outcomes mentioned) & some thoughts on costs, napro

A couple of years ago, I wrote here about our experience with IVF in Austria, which is considerably cheaper than it can be in other countries, esp. the United States. At the time, we had just completed our first successful IVF cycle at a private clinic in Klagenfurt (I don't want to be accused of advertising for a particular clinic, so I won't say which one). My wife was 38 at the time. I was 51. We had no diagnosed clear cause of our infertility. 

Following that success, we tried to conceive a second child naturally. That didn't work, although we did learn a few interesting things when we explored Napro technology: my wife's progesterone, although looking fine on a normal blood test, if measured every couple of days during the cycle revealed a rapid fall off just when she needed to keep it high. The Napro doctor who was advising us (consultations online) told us this was a very common issue for women who find it hard to conceive. We couldn't believe that nobody had discovered this before. And so easily fixed with a just a few progesterone tablets! Her rapid progesterone fall off coupled with my "borderline infertile" sperm count meant that, realistically, we were unlikely to ever conceive a child without help. So we did try the Napro route for a few months. I also managed to improve my sperm numbers quite a lot over those months by increasing my protein intake in the mornings, (yogurt, eggs, bacon) and eating lots of celery for the selenium. But in the end, with no positive pregnancy test appearing, and particularly given our advancing ages and our sense that we were running out of time, we decided that we would try IVF again. Rather than return to Austria, we decided to go with a private clinic in Rome, which was nearer to where we live. That was a big mistake. The clinic seemed disorganized, (including mixing up my wife's blood work results with those of another patient, and the staff gave the impression they were overworked and under stress) The double stimulation they recommended resulted in no blastocytes that made it to day 5. They told us all the blastocytes had simply "disintegrated". But there was no follow up or explanations given as to possible reasons why things had gone so badly. We kind of felt they weren't really concerned with us and had just taken our money. Full disclosure: there are positive reviews of that particular clinic online. But our personal experience was far from positive. So a couple of months later, we returned to the Klagenfurt clinic for a second IVF round. My wife had just turned 42. That round led to another successful pregnancy outcome.  

Anyway, I thought it might be useful to share this update, especially for anyone currently comparing options and particularly for people looking for more affordable treatment paths.

With regard to the costs: well, we don’t live in Austria, and so we were classified as “from abroad,” meaning we paid the full private rate (no Austrian public subsidy).

Our first IVF cycle in Austria, in 2020:

• The medications, purchased directly from the clinic pharmacy, cost about €1,000.

• The procedure itself, including egg retrieval and embryo transfer, cost about €4,500.

Our second IVF cycle in Austria, in 2023:

• By then, prices had risen slightly: the procedure was around €5,000, but the medications were roughly the same as before.

So, in total, each full cycle — including all medications — was around €5,500 to €6,000.

The staff at the Klagenfurt clinic could speak, read and write in English (the website is only in Italian and German, however) and were kind, clear and professional throughout. Our first appointment was a half-hour telephone conversation in English during which they outlined possible approaches and answered questions. If you are considering fertility treatment abroad, it may be worth getting in touch with a fertility clinic or two in your preferred destination country, just to see if something like this could be a good fit for you. The team would probably then prepare a personalized treatment plan for you, depending on your situation. Also, if you come across a website in a language other than English, Google Translate can usually provide a pretty accurate English version, making it easy to read about their services and contact details.

We’re sharing this not to promote any particular clinic, but because we know how emotionally and financially exhausting infertility treatment can be. We’ve met couples who’ve had to take out loans or even mortgage their homes to afford IVF in the U.S. If treatment abroad can make IVF more accessible for some, we’re glad to pass along the information.

We probably wouldn’t be able to give much practical advice to anyone travelling from far away, since we just drove up from Italy. However, any professionally-run clinic should be able to provide clear information for non-resident patients about scheduling, travel arrangements and treatment timelines.

Some final thoughts and words of caution: If we had had more time, (if we had been in our 20s or early 30s, say) we would have wanted to continue on the Napro Technology route. We regret we hadn't found out about it earlier. It's true that, compared with even just a few years ago, IVF is now much less tough on a woman's body: they've really fine-tuned and reduced the amount of the drugs and hormones you need to take, but wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just avoid all of that entirely!. And who, honestly, when they start out, doesn't want to conceive naturally?! Napro aims to help that natural process. But we didn't feel we had the luxury of time. So IVF was the path we eventually chose to (re)take. 

The cautionary words are these: IVF can be difficult, an emotional roller-coaster, and you need to feel you are in the right hands. Only a clinic that operates in a highly professional manner and treats you with compassion and care deserves your money, your emotional investment and your time. So take the time to evaluate the success rates of any clinics you are considering — certainly here in Europe, there are some that have a significantly higher success rate than others. And then consider, if you have to go down the IVF route and it doesn't work the first round, how many rounds can you realistically afford? The difference between European prices and US prices, for example, may have an impact on your answer to that question. 

Wishing everyone here strength and good luck on your journey. Infertility is not your fault. Just try to remember that. It isn't, no matter how much you may blame yourself for it. Your body is doing its best. It really is. Remember to treat yourself with kindness and love on this journey. You absolutely deserve it.❤️