I was freaking out a bit yesterday as the nurse sent over NINE pages of instructions for my upcoming IVF cycle. Yikes. It was completely overwhelming and I'll be honest, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. The nurse had me call a specialty pharmacy for my meds and I was a little upset when they started to tell me the prices for the medications ($7300 for Gonal f, $1530 for Menopur, etc). Turns out my insurance company doesn't work with this specific pharmacy so the drugs weren't covered. Whew. I wasn't quite sure where we were going to find almost $10,000. I'm still not sure how much we will have to pay the pharmacy that my insurance company does work with....
The nurse said that right now things are looking good. My lining is thin, I currently have 10 follicles sitting around (despite the Lupron), and I'm still young. I did remind the nurse that I am 34 and my hormones weren't looking too good in terms of egg quality and she said that she thinks that I am going to respond well. She is the expert and worrying too much about things I can't control is not going to help so I am going to trust her judgement as she deals with this every day.
I did have a nice and pretty IVF schedule but now the birth control pills are going to throw things off. I was going to get the daily Lupron party shots going tomorrow, but now I have to wait until the 20th. So my retrieval will likely be towards the end of March. While the extra two weeks sucks (LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED ALREADY!!), it will give me time to get mentally ready and give CP time to clear his travel schedule. He's not going to be around much in February (this week Atlanta, next week Columbia, the following week Brazil, possibly Tampa at the end of the month), so HOPEFULLY his travel schedule in March won't be too bad. I keep telling myself that it will slow down....the job description did say 25-30% travel but some months it is more than ridonkulous.
So YAY for no ovulation and not having to get another month-long Lupron shot! But BOO for the high progesterone and the two weeks on birth control.
***Your fun fact of the day. Did you know that normally your ovaries are the size of your thumbs? Well, once you add in the stimulating drugs for an IVF cycle they grow to the size of tennis balls! No wonder I will be bloated and they will feel "heavy."***
14 comments:
Waiting, waiting, so much waiting. It's the most frustrating part of the cycle!
It's amazing what your ovaries do. I always felt like my ovaries were literally going to dangle out of me after a full batch of stimming.
Sending you SO much love this cycle hon. x
The prices of medicine are obscene. But that's good news!
So glad you didn't ovulate and are ready to get going!
WHOA!!!! Are you effing serious about that Gonal-f price? I'm pretty sure we paid about $400 for each pen, and didn't use more than three or four of them... and they aren't covered by our healthcare system or anything. How could there be such a discrepancy??
Well, good at least that you haven't ovulated. That is seriously sickatating about ovaries the size of tennis balls, though -- try not to think about that too much.
Woohoo! It's a twisted world we are in when we celebrate NOT ovulating while trying to get pregnant. A 2 week delay isn't so bad.
Yeah, I wanted to cry the first time the pharmacy called me and told me the total for all my drugs. It's robbery!
I had no idea our ovaries were so tiny! They look so giant on that screen. Lady, I am impatient for you, and I hope that this process kicks into high gear, stat. I can't wait to see two lines on those wondflo cheapies.
It is all waiting isn't it. But at least you did not ovulate and you will start in two weeks! Having a plan helps because you know what is coming up so you don't have to sit around and wonder when.
Good luck!
Even when you're expecting delays, they still happen...
WooHoo!!! For the most part, this is great news! Not a perfect scenario for you, but a step in the right direction, no matter how small, is still progress!!!
Tennis balls!!! Whooosa! I had no idea.
I hope the rest of the cycle goes like clockwork.
Glad you can skip the Lupron.
And I had no idea about the ovary sizes - either on or off fertility medication. That is intense!
SO glad you have insurance coverage for meds. Those prices are out of control.
I will be following along! Wishing you well in your cycle!
I hate that the meds are so crazy but hope your insurance will help out with most of it. It drives me crazy that things that people need are cost prohibitive like that.
Good luck. and OMG on the meds. I pay $6,900 for a cycle at the drs and that includes ALL of my meds, which has included a hefty amount of Gonal F along the way. I have spares in the fridge as I type.
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