Options

Saw our RE today to talk over what happened with the IVF and discuss options.

He is afraid, based on our IVF that the issue does not lie with just one of us, but both of us.

Our REALISTIC options are as follows

1. Donor IUI (low cost, 20% chance of success each cycle)

2. Donor egg with combo of hubby's sperm and donor sperm (high cost, 40% chance)

3. Adoption (high cost, success rate unknown)

4. Embryo adoption (mid cost, 40% chance)

He think embryo adoption is the best way to go and gave us some literature on it..

He does not think that we have any realistic chance doing an IUI with hubby's sperm.

So now we will research and talk and come to a decision about how we want to proceed.

IVF Cost

Since I did many searches for IVF cost before we began I thought I'd share what we ended up paying.

Total spent: $24,355.10 (Testing, Procedures, Medications for 2 cycles and another complete cycle)

Breakdown:

Medications: $7,012.69
Cycle 1: $3,711.76
Cycle 2: $3,300.93

IVF Cycle Cost with Clinic: $12,355

Testes biopsy and storage:  $2,300

TESE: $2,002

Miscellaneous Doctor Appointments/Services:  $438.94 (Urologist co-pay, Reproductive Endocrinologist co-pay, ultrasound for cyst not covered in cycle cost, surgery center co-pay )

Lab/Blood Work: $152.35

A little more info on the medications. I did a LOT of research and calling around before ordering my medications. The pharmacy that the IVF clinic usually uses that they recommended quoted me $4500 for my set of meds for the first cycle.   For the medications I needed it turned out that Walgreens Specialty was going to be cheapest using several discount programs.   I ended up saving over $800 for the first cycle by going with Walgreens and using discount programs.

The discount programs I used were: 

Heart + (https://www.ferringfertility.com/savings/heart/)

Fertility Pharmacy Care Card (http://www.newlifeagency.com/surrogate_maternity/fertility_pharmacy_care_card.cfm)

Follistim Manufacture Coupon (I got mine on eBay,shhh, don't tell anyone)

Here is the breakdown cost of all of my medications for both cycles

Medication	Quantity	Cost
Azithromycin	6	$10.00
Clindamycin Suppositories	3	$10.00
Dexamethasone	30	$10.00
Dexamethasone	30	$13.92
Dexamethasone	30	$10.00
Estradiol Suppository	14	$42.00
Estridol Valerate	5	$144.31
Folic Acid	30	$2.36
Folic Acid	30	$8.86
Follistim 300 IU	7	$1,834.00
Follistim 300 IU	7	$1,834.00
Follistim 600 IU	2	$748.00
Follistim 600 IU	1	$524.00
Ganirelex	7	$738.50
Ganirelex	7	$738.50
Ganirelex	1	$115.34
Ganirelex	5	$0.00*
Lupron	1	$199.00
Menopur	4	$300.00
Menopur	5	$150.00*
Novarell (HCG)	1	$79.90
Progesterone IM	20	$10.00
Progesterone/Estridol Suppositories	30	$45.00
Provera	5	$10.00

*I was lucky enough to have someone give me some leftover Ganirelex and was able to buy some Menopur at a reduced cost

Here is the simplified version

Medication	Cost
Azithromycin	$10.00
Clindamycin Suppositories	$10.00
Dexamethasone	$33.92
Estradiol Suppository	$42.00
Estridol Valerate	$144.31
Folic Acid	$11.22
Follistim	$4,940.00
Ganirelex	$1,592.34
Lupron	$199.00
Menopur	$450.00
Novarell (HCG)	$79.90
Progesterone IM	$10.00
Progesterone/Estridol Suppositories	$45.00
Provera	$10.00

Savings: 

Follistim Manufacture Coupon: $300

Fertility Pharmacy Care Card: $600

Improved count!!!!

For those of you following along at home the reason we were doing IVF is because hubby had basically zero sperm, highest count ever was 14 (not million, just 14). He had varicocele repair surgery just over a year ago but the only improvement was going from zero to the 14 or so.  When we started going down the IVF path he stopped the soy based protein shakes he was drinking twice daily, started taking Fertility Blend and CoQ10 and increased his caloric intake (he'd lost a LOT of weight in the past 2 years).

We have an appointment next week to talk to our RE about our options post IVF.  Hubby did a semen analysis yesterday in prep for that meeting. So nurse calls me today with results of yesterday's test. Get this 1 MILLION!!!!!  I know that most people would be devastated at a sperm count of one million but we are elated!  That opens up the possibility of IUI for us, maybe, hopefully.

This is the best news we've gotten in awhile!

Post Egg Retreival Recovery

I wanted to write a bit about my recovery from the Egg Retrieval. As you might have read a couple months ago from my cancellation I don't like not knowing what to expect. I did quite a bit of research and most women said they felt okay in 2-3 days unless they got Ovarian HyperStimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Since I was at low risk for that I didn't worry to much about that.

My egg retrieval was on a Saturday morning, and I'm going to call that day 0.   On Wednesday before my retrieval I had 17 follicles, 14 of which were larger than 10mm.  That is a pretty average number, and my E2 was around 1300 (high E2 makes OHSS more likely).

Day 0 (Saturday)- Returned home around 9:00 am and I went straight to bed and slept about 2.5 hours.  Pain was moderate all day but I slept off  and on.  I stayed in bed all day/night. Bleeding was moderate, quite a few clots, about like a period flow.

Day 1 (Sunday)- Felt pretty good in the morning. Got up, made breakfast, read the paper.  Up about 2 hours before pain started to escalate and went back to bed. Got up a couple more times but stayed in bed lying down or reclining most of the day with the heating pad on my abdomen. Bleeding was still present with some clots but less than previous day.

Day 2 (Monday)- Got up around 7, showered and dressed and worked in my office for a couple hours, went into work around 12:00p.  Still bleeding some. Severe diarrhea in the AM, slight nausea. Pain was moderate, got severe with bowel movement.

Day 3 & 4 (Tuesday and Wednesday)- Worked full days both days, pain mild for the most part, moderate if I got jarred or had to bend at the waist. Bleeding stopped.

Day 5 (Thursday)- Pain was moderate, worse than the previous days and diarrhea was back

Day 6 (Friday)- Pain moderate to severe.  Left work at 2:30 and came home and rested lying down until 5, went to a birthday party. By 9 pain was getting bad, got home around 10 took 3 advil and immediately went to bed and less than 5 minutes later I was writhing on the bed in pain.  Dinner had given me gas and there was no room inside my abdomen for both my swollen ovaries and gas. The pain was so bad I thought I was going to pass out. After about 15 minutes I was finally able to pass some gas and started feeling better.  Hubby brought me the heating pad and I was able to fall asleep after about an hour.

Day 7 (Saturday)- Full week since ER.  Pain is mild to moderate today, tending towards more soreness than actual pain, potholes hurt and I feel bloated today.

I attribute Friday's pain to a few factors, the clinic recommends intercourse the night before a embryo transfer and since we first thought it would be Thursday and then Friday we did it two nights in a row, I think that caused irritation of my swollen ovaries. Second factor is that I wore too tight jeans to work on Friday and I think that irritated my abdomen all day. Thirdly was the gas.

So once again, I am in a place where what I expected was not what happened. So if you find this blog I hope some of this info can help you!