Obtaining Medication:
In order to obtain your medication, you can either contact your local gynecologist and kindly ask them to write you an order so that you can purchase your medication locally at your pharmacy, or, you can use the Fazeley pharmacy located in the UK.
The Fazeley Pharmacy is an international pharmacy and they can deliver worldwide. However, if you are not located in the UK, you will need to allow for at least 12 days from the day of your order until the medication arrives. The pharmacy also charges a fee of 25 STG to transcribe our prescriptions into a UK prescription. You can contact the pharmacy at info@fertility2u.com or alternatively, you can use the websitehttp://www.fertility2u.com. Ms. Bushra is the director and she will gladly help you sort out your medication needs.
Vitamins:
Vitamins are an essential part of your treatment. It has been shown that folic acid supplements not only help you maintain a healthy pregnanyc, but also help with your baby’s neural development, therefore, it is important to start using folic acid prior to embryo transfer and continue using for the duration of your pregnancy.
Similarly, use of Vitamin C tablets (precisely, 500 mg) has been identified with increased quality of eggs retrieved, therefore, it will be important to use vitamin C supplements daily for at least 2-3 weeks prior to egg retrieval.
Finally, because your daily food intake may not provide you with all the essential nutrients, it will be important to use a prenatal vitamin complex prior to and throughout your pregnancy. Pregnacare or any other one-a-day prenatal vitamin complex will be useful.
Using Medication:
Some of the medication you will use in your protocol are in tablet forms, so they are used orally. However, some of the medication are in injection form, therefore, it can be a bit more complicated to administer them. Some patients find it useful to have the injections administered by a nurse or a doctor first so they can learn how to do it and they can do it themselves afterwords. The injections we use in fertility treatment are sub-Q, meaning, they are administered right under the skin. Please watch the videos below for preparing and administering the Gonal-F injections:
Following video provides information about mixing and dose adjustment.
After watching the video on the link above, please view the video on the link below on administering the injection:
Even though the specific time of the injections does not make much of a difference with respect to outcomes, the time elapsed between each injection does. Therefore, it is important to be consistent with your injection timings. Make sure that there is approximately 24 hours between each injection. For instance, if you administer your Gonal-F at 8 AM in the morning the first day, make sure you administer it around the same time the next day. A couple of hours of difference is acceptable.
Where to get your scans?
Since majority of our patients come from abroad, and given that in our hectic lives, we all have work/family or other commitments, not everyone is able to travel for treatment for a long period of time. In order to shorten the length of your stay without compromising your chances of success, our protocols are prepared so that you can have access to your medication and follow a certain treatment calendar prior to your arrival in Cyprus. This minimizes your stay down to 8 days. However, in the meanwhile, while you are using your medication, you will need to have a couple of scans in order to observe how you are responding to the medication and whether we need any dose adjustments or additional supplements. For this end, you can either see your own gynecologist for the scans if they are willing to cooperate, or use one of the locations we recommend.
1- For UK patients, Cherish UK is a great place to have hormone testing and other blood work as well as scans. Alternatively, the Birth Company is also able to provide our patients with their preliminary tests and scans.
2- For US patients, we have a number of locations that we can recommend. However, since the US has a very large geaography, our locations may need air travel, which may not be convenient to all patients. Please ask Ahmet directly about the US locations.
3- For Turkey patients, there is a location almost in every city where we can recommend for your scans, please ask Ahmet about these locations.
4- For patients from the Netherlands, we have a local representative who will be in charge of all the preliminary work, Mr. Bert Van Delen. We will get you in touch with him once you are admitted into our treatment program.
5- For other locations, please ask us if we have any recommendations. We have options for patients from Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France, but only in the capitals.
Traveling to Cyprus:
Cyprus is a country where the weather is usually warm during winter and hot during summer. It will be in lower 10s during winter and upper 30s during summer, so make sure you pack your clothes according to the weather.
There are two routes of travel to Cyprus. One is arriving at the Ercan Airport in the North, which is about 10 minutes drive from our clinic. The airport does not have directl air links, therefore, there will be a touch down in Turkey for a brief period. You may want to check out flypgs.com or turkishairlines.com for pricing information.
The second alternative is to travel to Larnaca or Paphpos Airports in the South. This would necessitate a border crossing and approximately ninety minutes of travel time to reach the North. If there aren’t huge savings with this option, we often recommend the Ercan Airport due to its convenience.
The electric plugs in Cyprus are similar to the ones in the UK, however, patients traveling from other countries should bring an adaptor with them if they are planning on bringing electrical equipment with them (blow dryers, cell phone chargers).
Do not use your cell phone excessively unless you have to. The roaming charges will be excessive and you will face a huge bill upon your return, therefore, it will be wise to obtain a prepaid phone chip with one of the local carriers to use in your cell phone to avoid those charges.
If you are staying at the Golden Tulip Hotel, it is very conveniently located right next to the clinic. You will find plenty of dining and shopping alternatives within walking distance. If staying at the guest house, you will still have access to supermarkets, and a few dining places. The guest house is about 10 minutes driving distance from the clinic, but our driver will be able to take you back and forth for your appoitments.
