Hi girls

OK, so anyone who has seen a post from me know that I keep repeating myself going on and on and on about Napro and I'm sure ye are so sick of me! So to get it all out of my system I just thought I'd post this as I really do think more people should consider them!!! I looked at some peoples signatures where ye have Endo, PCOS, unexplained infertility - bloods fine, DHs fine no explaination. I'm sure most of ye TTC for a number of months are possibly considering Fertility treatment, so I'm posting this so you are aware there is another option for you that is probably one of the cheaper ones.

There is one thing that is controversial about Napro and that is they will only treat married couples. If you are engaged they will teach you how to chart etc but won't encourage you to TTC. They basically look at it as helping you for when you ARE married and are TTC! They have been brought to court for this reason. Now, they don't ask for a marriage cert so it might be possible to trick them!

First off - here is a link to the Napro clinics. If you are interested you need to ring the nearest one to you and get you added to a waiting list. For example the clinic in Galway has a 3 month waiting list. Don't let this put you off thou because you can ring and get a cancellation and they do keep you busy doing charting and getting your bloods done. I found the time flew anyway!

http://www.fertilitycare.ie/Doctors.html

If you don't see a clinic near you don't let that stop you either. They can do the chart training over the phone and the visit with the consultant is once every 14 weeks or so and the session lasts approx an hour.

Here's a breakdown of the cost:

They sent me this list when we joined:
Consultation inital - €220
Consultation review - €200
Single Ultrasound scan - €100
Ultrasound Follice Tracking - €60 per scan
Pregnancy Test - €15
Monthly Telephone Advice - no charge
Renewal of lost/duplicate perscription - €20
Materials - Manual, chartbook, stamps etc - €45
Seminal Fluid Collecting Device - €10
Missed appointment or less than 48 hours notice of cancellation - €80

They base a lot of their judgement on charting and blood test results. You basically meet with a charting Trainer and are given charts and stickers which you use to track your cycle. Red stickers for AF, baby stickers for fertile days etc! As for the charting my trainer charges €40 but some charge €50 to €60. I'm not sure why there would be a difference in price. Anyways charting is optional but I do recommend going to at least 2 or 3 sessions just to get the hang of it. DH doesn't have to come but they do recommend it. I think some men find it a bit overwhelming as they show pictures of the different cervical mucus so you get used to what each one looks like for the charting! To be honest my DH was fine but I felt a bit sick looking at them ha ha!

You need to get day 3 bloods done once and day 21 bloods (progesterone and oestrogen) every month on ov + 7 (or peak + 7 as they call it). You get this done with your own GP and ring Napro then with your results. Mine costs €45.

Regarding the medicine they might put you on -
Femara x 5 (they might put you on more than 5 or less than 5. They put me on 5 first and then reduced it to 3, but I do know of one girl who was put on 16) - €32 approx a month
HCG trigger x 2 boxes (brand name is Pregnyl and you should get the needles etc for free) - €18 approx a month
Progesterone x 10 (brand name Cyclogest) - €32 approx a month
LDN capsules x 30 (brand is Naltroexone and it can only be ordered over the phone from one parmacy in Gort in Galway. Its for treating PMS, brown bleeding, Endo. They also seem to put those that have had a MC on it as they believe it will prevent MC. One of the girls on another thread is taking it all through her pregnancy so its a natural substance I think!) - €34 approx a month
Vitamins - they recommend NH Fertility plus for men for DH and NH Fertility plus for woman for you obviously . They might also recommend other suppliments.
The are big into indentifying possible allergies to food also. I haven't done my allergy test yet but you send off blood to a clinic in the UK and I think it costs about €200 and depending on how bad it is you might need to cut out milk, eggs, wheat etc!

Regarding the follie tracking, they will likely ask you to book 2 scans around ov time on your first or second month of femara just to make sure you're ovulating. Also, we had our first consultation in August and our follow up was in November so they do one every 14 weeks or something like that.

Some of the cost of the meds can be claimed under the drug refund scheme. Napro isn't covered by VHI but your trips for the blood tests might be so keep your receipts anyways if you have VHI or whatever medical insurance your on.

The one thing that is very encouraging about Napro is when you walk into the office. Their walls are covered with baby pictures sent to them by woman who have been successful. The don't look at MC as being normal also - they don't think its ok for a woman to have one MC (anyone who has had a MC knows that doctors won't investigate unless you have 3 as they consider it ok to have 2!) So if you come to them having one or multiple you will be treated for it.

I hope some of ye will consider it. I know it took me a while to come round to it but I then found out a girl who worked with me who has PCOS and 2 MCs when to Napro and was pregnant after being on meds for 3 months. She now has 2 beautiful twin boys.

PHEW! I'm glad I got that off my chest

Libramoon x

Thanks Libramoon!
Had been given the link to them by a friend and thought it all sounded very fabulous on the website but assumed it's not for me.....
We've been TTC for 12months and I've discovered since Sept. that I'm not ovulating. Have had very irregular cycles since off the pill [anywhere from 43 days - 27 days]. Started getting Day3 bloods done in Sept. and started doing ovulation predictor tests then too - that's when I realised I'm not ovulating. Because of this, I can't do a Peak+7 blood test. if I can't do that - is NAPRO an option?
Have an appointment with ob/gyn in middle of Dec. so waiting to get more answers then

Wow Libra, great post.
I think you've more or less covered everything.
I'm only starting out on my Napro journey, so I haven't much to say, other than the fact that I met with Dr B for the fist time last week and thought he was fantastic.
He is such a gentleman, and is so easy to talk to. It was such a different experience to our visit to CFC last year. At CFC I really felt like we were on a conveyor belt and that they just wanted us to rush throught the appointment and the doc was very dismissive of our questions.
Whereas with Napro, they really seem to treat you as an individual and really tailor the treatment to suit you. Dr B made sure we took notes, and gave us plenty of opportuntiy to ask questions.

As Libra has mentioned they base a lot of their judgement on charting and blood test results. So it's definitely a good idea to have a few cycles charted and a few sets of blood tests done before you have your first appointment with the doc.
If you do decide to go down the Napro route, as soon as you get your name on the waiting list, make an appointment to visit a Charting Teacher and get charting.
I went to 2 charting sessions - which cost €50 each. The fist one was very informative, but to be honest I didn't think I learned anything new in the second one, but it was good to have the chart checked by the trainer. She insisted that I make an appointment for a 3rd session, but I cancelled it, didn't think it was worth the €50 or the long drive (almost an hour away.

lots of to everyone.

Little Boss,

I wouldn't rule Napro out - you should give them a call and see what they advise.

I'm not 100% sure, but I say they would try to figure out why you are not ov'ing and then try sort that out for you.

Hi Little boss ,

You dont need to use opks with napro. You can tell when ov time is supposed to be by observing your cervical mucus. I was gettinng positive opks every month and i still wasnt ov. Opks measure your lh surge. I was getting an lh surge but not releasing an egg. Ov is a complicated business. Napro can use different meds to sort out the different hormonal problems that lead to not ovulating. Its def worth a shot and ive learned so much about my cycle. I had follie tracking this month and I found out today I def ovulated as the follie had ruptured. Ive only been on meds a couple of months and already my cycle is normal(went from 37-42 days) now at 28 days, my pms is gone (happy days) and ive much more positive about ttc.

Great idea for thread Libramoon. hopefully we will have lots of BFPs to add to it soon.

Little Boss

Oh yes Napro is DEF an option for you!!! As Crazylove said its all about what they call peak type mucus or what we know as egg white clear mucus. In the charting classes you learn about the different types of peak type mucus. Your "peak" day or ovulation day is identified as your last day of peak type mucus. Nothing is based off ovulation tests or anything like that. So your peak + 7 bloods (what we know as day 21 bloods) are based on your last day of EWCM. Even if you don't get EWCM there are different types of mucus they call peak type mucus. I'm sorry I'm probably not making any sense right now but I'm just trying to get you to understand that its nothing to do with opks . As Crazylove said she was able to identify her peak day as was I but neither of us were actually ovulating. When the day 21 bloods came back it was obvious we both had progesterone issues.

As Keelyn said give them a call and see what they can do for you but I'm sure they'll be able to help

Thanks for your support Napro girlies

Thanks for that girls!
have been monitoring the CM and all that too - but no leads. It's all a bit of a mine-field really isn't it?! Even when I felt I'd read-up about it and knew a bit - I'm still clueless!
Have been waiting for apt with gyn for 2months so only 2wks to go now. At least will get scan done and hopefully be pointed in right direction of something that can be done. Think that once I get a bit of a picture from her of what I might be dealing with, I'll go ahead and make apt with NAPRO. Was very impressed by what they say they're about.

best of luck to all of us, eh?!

Little Boss, best of luck! Let me know how you get on with the Gyne.

Napro really worked for me! I'm lying in bed with my 3 week old napro baby right now!!
My history was miscarriages. My first pregnancy was a missed miscarriage. I was nearly 16 weeks measuring 8. It was absolutely devastating. I waited until AF came and got a bfp on my next cycle but lost that bean at 6 weeks. I couldn't believe that lightening had struck twice and suspected I was low in progesterone.
I went to napro, charted for 3 months, did blood tests, confirmed I was low in progesterone. I started on a cycle of clomid at the start of my cycle and HCG after OV. Clomid didn't work for me, I changed to Femara and conceived first cycle on it. I had progesterone support until after wk 14 which I believe sustained this pregnancy.
I really can't recommend Napro enough, contacting them was the best decision I ever made.

Brideyz, thanks so much for posting. It must be so amazing to have your little bundle of joy that I'm sure at times you thought you'd never have. It will be an amazing Christmas for the three of ye I bet

As ye know I really do believe in Napro. Hence why I started the thread. My believe in how good they are has just been proven to me again. I'm on another thread and a girl there joined Napro after all the consultants she went to told her to give up as she had issues and so did her DH. This girl really didn't believe there was any hope for her but her DH talked her into giving Napro a try. She was going to stay with them for a year and then hang her hat up and accept that she would never have kids. Guess what girls!? She just got her BFP . I'm so excited for her I could burst!

Would NAPRO work for low ovarian reserve and egg quality?

Hi scarletpink

Best thing to do is to ring them and ask. They look at everyone individually and they treat you based on what is wrong with you. This is from their website:

NaProTECHNOLOGY is not an option in cases of established menopause, zero sperm count or persistent bilateral blocked fallopian tubes (despite attempted surgical reconstruction). A couple will be told what their chances of success are during the initial medical consultation and it is up to them to decide if they would like to commence further evaluation and treatment. Nearly every category of infertility has succeeded with this approach including Unexplained Infertility, Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Disease, Pelvic Adhesions, Low Progesterone, Hostile Mucus, Male or Female antibodies, Low sperm count, Oligo-ovulation and Anovulation. Even couples who have previously failed In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) or Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) have a reasonable chance of a live birth with NPT. Although there is real hope with NaProTECHNOLOGY , not all couples will conceive. All couples undergoing NPT evaluation obtain a greater understanding of what is happening with their bodies and how they can maximize their chances of healthy pregnancy.

Bump

Regardless of the cost, Napro was the best money we ever spent. Our little Napro baby is in his cot dreaming lovely dreams right now.

Netzer wrote:Regardless of the cost, Napro was the best money we ever spent. Our little Napro baby is in his cot dreaming lovely dreams right now.