January IVF - Page 6

[snowbell]

wait a second...did i miss something? christophersmom, did you just say that you got a BFP?!?! (I am supressing lots of jumping smiley faces with hearts until you write back and confirm you got a BFP on a hpt.) i am crossing my fingers that you did indeed get a BFP!

[snowbell]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

Anyone else have any suggestions for less expensive sources for IVF meds? The pharmacy my RE's office uses is definitely not a discount one. I got my tentative calendar, by the way, last Friday (things have been delayed due to an extended very unusual snowstorm, which left many snowed in), and it looks like my retreival date is tentatively 1/28. That was assuming my CD1 was going to be today, which it may be, as I am spotting lightly.

Not sure if anyone is a Kaiser member but I found them to have the cheapest prices. I just picked up all my meds for $1800 (with Follistim being the most expensive at $1300). Kaiser does not do IVF (I go out of network for it) but you are able to get the meds through them. So, if anyone has Kaiser try to get the meds there. My IVF clinic was going to have me get my meds through Apothecary but that was going to cost $2800.

I also just paid for the entire IVF procedure....a very expensive day today!!! (By the way if you get an itemized receipt from the billing department you can use IVF as a tax deduction.)

[jazcat]

Originally Posted by snowbell

wait a second...did i miss something? christophersmom, did you just say that you got a BFP?!?! (I am supressing lots of jumping smiley faces with hearts until you write back and confirm you got a BFP on a hpt.) i am crossing my fingers that you did indeed get a BFP!

Yes, it looks like she is preggers! CONGRATS Christophersmom!!!!! How are you feeling? EDD?

[yoginimama127]

thanks ladies for all your answers about when I can (hopefully) get a BFP. i'm thinking that if everything goes right and we transfer on jan 5 as scheduled, I will test with FMU on jan 14th, which is 9 dpt (days past trasfer, but 14 days past fertilization or retrieval) wow. that feels like forever away. maybe my doc will do a beta test before that...i dont know how all of that works with him and his office.

can i just say its so nice to have other women going through the same thing at the same time with? thankyou! my newly pregnant, and very sweet, best friend tried to keep her 7 week pregnancy with #3 from myself and our other third to our best friend threesome. she didnt want me to be upset...she was planning on telling us after my transfer....but she didnt have a glass of wine with us the other night and I took one look at her oh so familiar and easily readable face, and I just knew, I called her right out... i was right...I was so happy for her, genuinely, but eager for my own happiness at the same time. the kicker is she doesnt even have to try...she has no idea what all these acronyms we use are or even what a two week wait is. so different from my own experience of trying to have a baby...and then getting pregnant and losing one, and trying all over again so many times....

so im sitting here thinking about that...and ...i wouldnt change my journey. as painful of a process that it all is, its mine, i own it. even though i went into this disliking docs and western medicine in general, the whole thing has been such an oppurtunity for personal growth, purely because of my extreme desire for something. i watch myself sometimes and realize how determined and responsible ive become about TTC. I'm proud of myself for that determination...I need it as I mix viles of shots and time them appropriately and go to all those doc appts.

although im not preg yet, i just thought i'd share...
i read somewhere that pain is the beginning of the healing process and i'm starting to live my way into understanding what that means...i hope this can bring some glimmer of hope to any of you tonight...

[yoginimama127]

p.s.

Congrats Christophersmom!! I'm so happy for you!! When's your EDD?

[joyakshi]

Congrats, C-mom!! Awesome. it gives us all hope.

Thanks for your post Yoginimama. It reminds me what this is all about, as I sit here and wait for my meds which are completely MIA and late and I'm supposed to start stims on Wed. I'm more stressed about bringing down the pharmacy and not focused on the process. I don't even know if/when I can start it. If I'm out $3K and there are no meds, I can't start my IVF.

It's nice you have friends who are sensitive about telling you when they are PG. Mine are not so sensitive and it's really hard. It's especially hard after having had a loss to be around pg people when dealing with infertility, because you know what it's like and have to feel that reminder of not having something you loved and wanted. I just can't be around them anymore.

It is very nice to have other women to go through this with, and to share in the hard moments, too.
May we all share in the best and most blessed moments together, soon, too

[BellyBean]

Snowbell - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your post. I have Kaiser and thought I was really getting the short end of the stick since they don't cover IVF, but I am so happy to learn I can get my meds through them cheaper. Did your RE clinic write a script and then you just had it filled at Kaiser, or did you have your obgyn write the script? Also, thanks for the tax deduction reminder! You can deduct the portion of medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your gross adjusted income.

Yogi - Your post really made me feel better and look at this in a different perspective. Thank you for sharing your feelings, they really hit home for me.

[Pookietooth]

I used to have Kaiser -- I don't live in an area that has it anymore. I sure wish I did, because back when I was TTC ds, they covered my meds with just a $20 copay each time I picked them up. I didn't do IVF then -- just an IUI -- but it would definitely have been a lot cheaper if I had, since the meds are a big part of it..

[snowbell]

BellyBean, great! I'm glad I could help! My nurse coordinator called in the meds to the Kaiser pharmacy. They had to special order the Follistim but if you order the meds early there is plenty of time to get it in. You have probably already done this but just in case you haven't...you need an authorization from Kaiser to go out of network. Then you have to send all your records to your IVF clinic. That was a pain for me because they mail it all which takes forever. I ended up just hand delivering most of the information.

yogi, thank you so much for your words. they were really nice to read and ring very true to me. also, i feel it is so much that we go through with our husbands/partners that if we can handle this we can handle anything!

[snowbell]

Originally Posted by BellyBean

Snowbell - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your post. I have Kaiser and thought I was really getting the short end of the stick since they don't cover IVF, but I am so happy to learn I can get my meds through them cheaper. Did your RE clinic write a script and then you just had it filled at Kaiser, or did you have your obgyn write the script? Also, thanks for the tax deduction reminder! You can deduct the portion of medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your gross adjusted income.

You know I forgot to mention that I have some IF drug coverage through my employer, so that is a definite reason why it was cheaper for me to get my meds through Kaiser. But I do think Kaiser has cheaper meds in general. Also, make sure to check if your Kaiser plan offers any IVF coverage.

[joyakshi]

So, I just found out my meds WILL NOT be here. EVER. And my start date for stims is tomorrow.

What ever you do, don't order from www.ivfmeds.com.

So now I've had to run around to find another pharmacy locally who can fill the order by today, and I'll have to pay whatever they charge. Meanwhile, I don't have a refund on my missing meds because I had to send a cashier's check to them and now they say they are going to send it back. So, I have to trust them and wait for it.
Glad we just got a new Visa in the mail yesterday...

I am so tired and overwhelmed and stressed at this point. I did get my period, which is good, but I think it's also making me cranky. My clinic said not to take advil so I have to manage the cramps with tylenol - not very effective.
I'm glad I should still be able to start stims tomorrow, but I have to spend today running around to fix everything ivfmeds.com f*#ked up in the past 10 days.
I hope I feel better tomorrow. I am so tired right now.

[BellyBean]

Lots of good information Snowbell! I haven't told anyone at kaiser my plans to do IVF next month. How do I get authorization? I have copies of all of our IF records so I was just going to give them to the clinic when we go in for our consult next week. Hmm...looks like I have some more work to do!

[BellyBean]

Joy, OH MY GOSH! THAT IS HORRIBLE!!! Did they just not ship the meds when they said they did, or did it get lost in transit, or is it a scam? I am so sorry you have to deal with all of this on top of everything else!

[joyakshi]

does the Lupron make anyone else feel like a 10 year old having temper tantrums?
Last week I had a couple of moments of feeling really irrational and childish, which is different than the typical PMS irrational/emotional stuff I usually get.
But now, especially since the problem with the meds not coming, I have no patience left whatsoever with anything, and just feel totally irrational and childish and negative and just awful. I just want to go to bed and stay there alone.
If it's the Lupron, I guess I'll feel better tomorrow when I reduce my dose and start the follistim. I know the follistim makes me feel more normal.

[snowbell]

joyakshi, i am so sorry!!! i can't believe you have to deal with this on top of everything else. it sounds like you got it taken care of though. in case you are still in need of some meds i know apothecary pharmacy does overnight shipping.

bellybean, maybe not everyone needs an authorization. i had to get an authorization because i have some IVF coverage through Kaiser. so in order to get some of the costs covered i needed authorization. but don't take my word on any of this! you can contact member services or your RE office to find out if you need authorization. i hope i'm not making this seem more confusing or complicated than it is.

[BellyBean]

Hi everyone. I have started writing a list of questions for my IVF consult next week and I was wondering if any of you had something you thought was important to ask...or maybe something you wish you would have asked.

Here are a few of the questions I have so far:
1) Do you do 5 day transfers?
2) Do I have to have all my prenatal care at the clinic (or can I go back to Kaiser)
3) Do I have to get the meds through the clinic or can I order online (or from Kaiser)
4) What is the IVF plan/timeline
5) Chances for success

Any help would be very appreciated. I want to be as prepared as possible.

[poetgirl]

: I'm doing my final follistim IUI with micro-dose Lupron we just decided. I start it tonight. I also scheduled an ivf consult and put a down payment for a March ivf. So I'll continue to follow, cheer and hope for all of you.

[jazcat]

Originally Posted by joyakshi

So, I just found out my meds WILL NOT be here. EVER. And my start date for stims is tomorrow.

What ever you do, don't order from www.ivfmeds.com.

Wow, I am so sorry you have to deal with this. How stressful! But I'm glad you were able to find the meds today. Bottom line is you have your meds, you have your period, and everything is in order to move forward. Try to get some good rest tonight and get ready to inject tomorrow! I need to do a major recap tonight....I'm so nervous!

[jazcat]

Originally Posted by BellyBean

Hi everyone. I have started writing a list of questions for my IVF consult next week and I was wondering if any of you had something you thought was important to ask...or maybe something you wish you would have asked.

Here are a few of the questions I have so far:
1) Do you do 5 day transfers?
2) Do I have to have all my prenatal care at the clinic (or can I go back to Kaiser)
3) Do I have to get the meds through the clinic or can I order online (or from Kaiser)
4) What is the IVF plan/timeline
5) Chances for success

Any help would be very appreciated. I want to be as prepared as possible.

1. I found it comforting to learn about the background of the embryologists. They are the ones who ultimately choose thee embryo so I wanted to understand a bit about their process, experience, decision criteria, etc.

2. I was also interested to learn about their position on ICSI versus the non-icsi (can't remember what they call it). Some clinics now are very pro-icsi and do it in most cases. I didn't want the icsi, unless it was required.

3. If you're undecided about how many embryos to transfer, you may want to get stats for that. My doc kinda glossed over that question at the consult, but now I'm going to email her to get more detailed numbers. For example, what % of single embryo transfers turn into live births for my age? what % of 2 embryo transfers turn into twin births? single births?

HTH!

[christophersmom]

Originally Posted by joyakshi

It's nice you have friends who are sensitive about telling you when they are PG. Mine are not so sensitive and it's really hard.

Yeah, it is hard, I had one announce and complain about her pregnancy (3rd) on Facebook. Ugh!

Thanks everyone for the congrats. I told my mom I can't relax until the ultrasound. I have had a positive and VERY good BPT results after IVf and have it end not good. So I am cautiously happy.

Joy - Sorry about the meds! That really sucks. I went through Freedom Fertility and they were okay aside from them overdosing me by sending full strength Ovidrel instead of low dose so completely screwed up my cycle. The good thing was you coudl call and get meds the next day.

Poet, hopefully the follistim/lupron IUI will work. The same meds I used for IVF.

Belly, I know my clinic transfers to normal OBGYN once the ultrasound looks good. My co-worker went with another clinic and had bleeding after her IVF, so they kept her until about 12 weeks. My clinic is actually affiliated with my OBGYN (been with them for 10 years). The fertility clinic is on floor 2 and OB is on floor 3.