Thursday, December 3, 2009

Close, but Not Quite

So, we have a plan...sort of.  The plan is basically what it was before we went to the appointment today.  IVF is our best option.  He said that he's not concerned with my AMH enough that he would be against 3 months of Clomid IUIs, but he wouldn't recommend injectable IUI for us.  If we do 3 months of clomid IUIs at a 3-8% chance (new ballpark based on recent SAs) without a BFP, we'd then do IVF, but the clinical trial wouldn't be available to us then.  And, it turns out that the savings from the trial is more than we officially heard.  Kind of becomes a no-brainer at that point, I guess.

The big frustration is that they can't tell us how much it will cost until after January 1 (when my new insurance takes affect).  We're 99.9% sure that we can make this work, but it's hard to know for sure until we really know the cost.  So, we almost have a plan...but not quite.

I'd like to try to get a general understanding of how much the meds will cost.  They told us to ballpark $3-4k without insurance.  With my insurance, we're looking at closer to $1,500, but I can't make the math work out to $3k to begin with based on the Freedom Pharmacy phamphlet they gave us.  What am I missing? (I should say that I don't have any actual protocol yet, so I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the meds and general costs.)

All in all, I'm excited and I do feel much closer now that I've calmed down a bit from the initial frustration.  But, I'm still feeling monumentally overwhelmed by the financial pieces, especially since we can't get answers on that for another 30 days or so.

15 comments:

Michele said...

Here's my lesson learned about Freedom Pharmacy. If you don't ask for the "I don't have any insurance so give me a discount" price, they won't give it to you. They'll charge you the full-blown amount and laugh all the way to the bank. I don't think their brochure discloses that they have a lower price if you're paying for the meds yourself so that might be why the figures don't add up based on what you're looking at. It's a lesson I learned the hard way the first time around.

J said...

I hope the 30 days go by quickly with the holidays. I know how frustrating it is not to know or not have the answers you want or need. Sounds like you have some positive news though.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you almost have a definite plan. Time will fly from now and Jan 1st with the holidays and all. Hopefully you will get a BFP early next year!

Anonymous said...

So glad you came out with a sorta plan. Yea for that. That is awesome that your insurance will cover so much of it. One question though - what is amh?

Lin said...

Thanks ladies! We've talked it through a bit more tonight and I'm feeling a bit better. All the "what if's" are just overwhelming...this trial or the next, IUI or not, emotional toll of waiting versus financial toll of not. Sheesh!

AMH is, roughly, a chemical (hormone?) in the blood stream that measures ovarian reserve. Mine is in normal range, but low for someone my age, so cause for some concern. Here's a good resource on it...
http://www.advancedfertility.com/amh-fertility-test.htm

Michele said...

Lin have you read Inconceivable? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767908201/ref=ox_ya_oh_product The author had really high numbers (low reserve) and conceived on her on after a lot of trial and error. It's a very interesting read. If you haven't read it, let me know and I'll loan you my copy if I can find it. I read it last year and really enjoyed it.

Hillary said...

Glad you {sort of} have a plan!! That helps so much. And FWIW from you last post, I don't think anyone can say you are moving too fast to do IVF, especially with MFI. The odds are just so low with anything else. :( And you have so many great things lined up for the financial side of it...! I'm excited for you. :)

makingmemom.blogspot.com

Melissa G said...

Wow, it sounds like you're really getting there, I'm so excited for you! It's amazing how much having a plan can make the difference in your overall hope, huh?

Hope things work out with your insurance.

Hope Springs said...

That's great that you have a plan now, and I hope you get the financial bit worked out to your satisfaction soon.

Not long to wait now - and with the new year comes a new and better chance at being parents by the end of it.

Emmy said...

Yipee for a plan-ish!

I was told to estimate around $3k for the meds too. I don't know how it all works out. I imagine many weeks of PIO after a +HPT adds up.

I hope that December flies for you, so you can really move forward with a plan!

Lin said...

Emmy, that's a great point. Since the IBSA trial is related to the progesterone, that piece is provided per the study. The main cost we're looking at is the stims, I think. Probably going to post a shout out for sample calendars soon! That planning brain of mine is on overdrive right now!

Michelle, I haven't read it, but would love too! Thanks for the offer!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lin - have you tried freegaragesale.com for looking up meds prices? I bought a bunch of my IVF meds there and I think we saved about $3,500.00 that way ... just thought I'd mention ...

Jendeis said...

Yay for basically having a plan!

Lin said...

WOW! Thanks for the tip if! :-) Off to start researching!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on having a plan, that must make you feel like you are moving forward! You might also ask the clinic if they have any free samples they can throw in to offset your cost - my clinic offered to do that for me since we have no insurance for IVF - so my meds were roughly $2k, but thats only 2 gonal f pens, those suckers are like $775!

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