IVF w/PGS – possible first cycle in January

posted 1 month ago in TTC
Post # 31
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

LAZB :  Thank you for sharing your story here, it really does help. I keep thinking my body is dysfunctional but this gives me hope that IVF could work for me. 

Post # 32
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

I just found a good podcast for anyone who is interested (particularly if you have suffered from RPL). It’s called IVFML. It’s a bit on the older side I think (started in 2017). I’ve only listened to a couple of episodes so far but the couple is very funny and relatable. 

Post # 33
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

My insurance company rejected my preauthorization request because I have RPL. Apparently they don’t consider IVF to be an appropriate treatment for RPL unless the person has either had at least five clinically recognized losses (I have had two) or there is proof of multiple chromosomally abnormal losses (which I don’t have since we didn’t test the first loss because testing is not typically covered by insurance and OB’s don’t recommend it). What exactly they expect women to do in my scenario is I guess just keep suffering more losses or hope to be in a position to test the next loss. Extremely stupid of course and I won’t be waiting for another loss. I hate insurance companies and I am so disgusted and angry.

Post # 34
Member
1840 posts
Buzzing bee

My clinic pushes for PGS testing and FET and I couldn’t be more greatful. I had 30 eggs, 29 mature, and 9 make it to day 5! Sounds great right? After PGS testing, 4 came back normal! From how it was explained to me… those 5 embryos had been implanted would have been miscarriages since they would have stopped at some point forming. I am blessed with a daughter and currently pregnant with twins (the embryo split). My clinic recommends hatch assist with FET. This can increase your chance for twins but the reason they do the hatch assist is to help the embryo implant. I was nervous when we found out IVF was our only option. IVF is a major mind f***! The roller coaster of emotions is worth it, at least to me. Our reason for doing IVF was bad sperm. Did the results from your husband speed come back? Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your body is trying abd you aren’t doing anything wrong. Sadly this process isn’t like the classrooms explain it, sex once and baby. As you can see just from the responses you’re getting… there are a lot of us out here. Good luck and much baby dust to you 🙂

Post # 35
Member
1840 posts
Buzzing bee

zstbee84 :  for some reason my post above wouldn’t let me add your name. Also insurance companies suck! We had to pay for everything out of pocket. That’s insane they’re making you go through 5 losses. Can you go without the insurance for IVF?

Post # 36
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

My insurance company is also unwilling to cover half of the medications that I need for IVF (for some reason they are willing to cover two of the four medications that I need but the other ones seem like they could cost thousands in some cases). This is such a nightmare. I’m supposed to shop around for medication I guess. 

Post # 37
Member
92 posts
Worker bee
  • Wedding: October 2012

zstbee84 :  ugh, insurance is such a stupid racket. i will never understand why they don’t let doctors decide what is medically appropriate/necessary.

Also, definitely shop around for medications. Our medication would have been completely covered from one specific pharmacy, but we have a lifetime cap on fertility benefits and their price agreement with insurance company was 3x what they charge OOP (like $15k vs $5k). That would have eaten up most of our cap, so we shopped around to 3-4 other pharmacies, paid $4,500 OOP and then got 70% of it reimbursed by insurance as an out of network charge. Just ridiculous games.

Post # 38
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

Apparently I might be covered by my insurance if I continue to try for three more months (January, February, March) and don’t get pregnant. If I got pregnant again during this time and then miscarried and I was able to get the POC tested and it turned out to be chromosomally abnormal that would also be a basis for IVF coverage under my insurance plan. I know that it’s only a few months but I am so terrified of another miscarriage and continuing to delay things. This is so hard! We could swing financially one cycle but if we needed more than one retrieval cycle, it would really start to add up and then there is also the cost of actually raising the children to consider obviously. I wish these decisions were not in our hands because just going off of my RE’s advice, IVF is the smartest way forward for maximizing our chances of having two children but I guess we just have to weigh all of the issues and decide what to do next.

Post # 39
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

Well, Darling Husband and i discussed and decided to just see what happens in the next few months and if we don’t conceive on our own, we will try again to get IVF covered by insurance. According to the medical necessity guidelines they gave me, women at least 35 years old with unexplained infertility who have been trying for 6 months should proceed directly to IVF, skipping IUIs. So I suppose if we’re not pregnant this month or the next two month after that we’ll have met that requirement. We have decided that if we get to that point and still get rejected for coverage at that point we will self-pay. We have decided that if we need to self-pay for one complete cycle plus additional transfers if we’re able to get enough normal embryos, that we will do that, but if we end up needing more than on retrieval, we may have to make the decision to stop.

In the mean time, I made a pre-conception appointment with a high-risk OB so I can learn more about how they would approach my case if/when I do get pregnant with a sticky baby. 

Post # 40
Member
1041 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: September 2017 - California

littleanchor :  I am starting to more and more how long of a process it is. At every turn there is always some new issue that pops up it seems. Right now for me it’s dealing with insurance, next it’ll be something else and then the next thing. I have so much anxiety and stress around the whole process that I really think I need to go back to see a fertility psychologist again (I saw one that is affiiated with my clinic when I had my second miscarriage). 

Post # 41
Member
2128 posts
Buzzing bee
  • Wedding: August 2014

zstbee84 :  I’ve been there! It’s so frustrating when you’ve already been trying for so long. I spent the first 6 months at our clinic fighting with insurance trying to get them to cover our IUIs(which was covered by our insurance) and we couldn’t move on because we had a balance at the clinic. When we discovered my husband needed surgery after 3 failed rounds of IVF, we had to wait 6 months before we could go back to IVF. It’s maddening. It sounds like you’ve made peace with it but if you want to push, I’d talk to your dr about having him make an appeal directly to your insurance. That seems to work for quite a few people. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Hoping it all works out for you. and it sounds like a fertility counselor is a great idea. I’d also recommend  accupuncture. It’s good for fertility but I also found it incredibly relaxing. 

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