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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Who do you tell??

JC is spreading the IVF news. Well just to his friends, but still. Good or bad??

Good:
He finally feels like it doesn't have to be a secret. It's not a shameful thing to go through. He really feels like we have a great chance at having kids.

Bad:
A LOT of pressure. I mean if this doesn't work...how do you tell all those people??

I guess more good than bad.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Shared Risk

Someone had asked me about our Shared Risk program. So I thought I would share.
Here is the link to our program: http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/shared_risk

Essentially- We're buying a guarantee. Clearly that is a boiled down explanation- but the easiest way to explain it. We pay a flat fee up front (due 10 days before starting stims) and we get 6 FRESH IVF Cycles. ICSI and drugs are extra.

The good part- is that we can drop out at any time- during, after, in between cycles- any time- and get 100% of our money back. We get 100% guarantee of a live birth. No live birth- we get all our money back.

It's a good deal. Except that each fresh cycle will cost us about $4,000 in meds.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Approved!

Just got the call from the Finance Office at the RE... We have been approved for Shared Risk! Yeah!

Now does anyone have $26,000 I can have??

What's on my Shopping List


I really like "My Dad is a Wanker". My phantom baby will look great in that one.


And maybe a little something for JC.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Why my husband is a-maz-ing.

Chinese Food? Nope. This is a giant box full of heart shaped cookies that arrived at my office today. JC sent me a little early Valentine. I have the best husband and delicious cookies.

More RE updates

See...when you update late, you forget stuff.

The money. I forgot about the money stuff. JC and I are interested in participating in a Shared Risk program at our clinic. What that means is there is a set fee that is paid up front and we are given 6 fresh IVF cycles with a 100% guarantee of a live birth. If not- we get 100% of the money back. We can drop out of the program at any time and still get 100% of our money back. Sounds like a good plan, right? It is. And it's also $20,000. And that doesn't include drugs or ICSI.

So I told you about how I had a low follie count- only 7 when they really expect anywhere from 10-20. This means that we aren't automatically accepted into the Shared Risk program. Our case has to be brought before a committee of the doctors and we have to be approved. I get it- I mean if you're going to give me a guarantee- you want to make sure you can deliver. To me- it's just a new thing to worry about.

So I think that with drugs and ICSI- we're looking at a price tag of about $26,000. So daunting. I wasn't shocked at the cost. But now that it's around the corner and we're having conversations like "Payment due 10 days prior to stimming" and I know when the stimming might start...it becomes a big obstacle and very overwhelming. Where does this money come from? How will we ever come up with that kind of money? I guess we better figure that out.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

RE Update

We had our follow up with the RE on Friday. Friday was a bit nuts and I needed a little time to digest. Friday morning I went to the Endocrinologist. He said no babies until my TSH is under control. He put me on Synthroid and I'll back in 4 weeks. Pretty much what I expected.

Then we went to the RE in the afternoon. And based on all the tests- IVF with ICSI is our only option. And I knew that as well. Everything looks normal in both JC and my blood work (outside of the thyroid mess). He did mention that my CD3 follie count was low- at only 7. He said he expected it to be more like 10-20. So he said because of this- we may end up with less eggs to work with. I know that it's quality over quantity, but I can't help but be not happy about this. I'm hoping that maybe it was just a fluke (no idea if it's even possible for it to be a fluke or not...) but hopefully when I start cycling- the numbers will be better. The low follie count also lead him to assume that they will put me on higher stim doses. And for this out of pocket drug payin girl- that was not happy news either. I told him about the endo- and he agreed. No treatment until the thyroid levels are in the 3's. I'm hoping it will only take 4 weeks.

So bottom line- I'll go on BCP's not this cycle, but next. That should be sometime around the 3rd week in March. In the meantime we'll try to figure out how to pay for all fhis. ::sigh::