Friday, September 24, 2010

The saga continues

I have been busy at school getting back into the swing of things. I am always surprised how long it takes for things to fall into place. The kiddies are still in shock with the changes from last year (this is the first year they change classrooms for various subjects). I feel like it is taken a bit longer to bond with this group but I seem to remember thinking that last year.
On the baby making front we decided not to do the study. We just didnt think it was the right fit for us. We went back to talk to our fertility clinic that we have been with for the past year and we are going for our first IVF consult on Oct 4. I actually feel better about the clinic because hubby came with me and I finally got most of my questions answered (although I still think the doctor has no idea who I am). He also assured us that hubby's sperm is excellent. I have read and he confirmed without my prompting that all labs have different criteria and they have consider anything over 3% great and generally never see over 4%.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Cost of Fertility Drugs

Hi,
I am trying to figure out the exact (or close to) amount that the study is covering by paying for the drugs. Here is the list that they are covering:
1.Suprefact 2 vials ($56x2=$112)
2.Gonal F 2 vials (1020x2=$2040)
3.Endometrin 100 mg (100 pills x 2=$200)
4. HCG 10, 000 iu- 1 vial ($100)
Total coverage
approx $2500
***These prices are quoted from a localfertility pharmacy in my neighbourhood but the prices were from 2008 so I am sure they have gone up.
ww.glenshieldspharmacy.com

Advice

Hi,
I thought I would write down the questions we need to decide regarding IVF to make the best decision. PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR INPUT :)

1. Should we implant 1 or 2 embryos?
If you impant 1 embryo you have less chance of becoming pregnant. If you implant 2 embryos you have a 13% chance of having twins (only 40% of IVF attempts end up with a successful pregnancy and 34% of those are twins). If you end up in the 13% and get pregnant with twins you are more likely to have complications (early labour, unable to carry the babies to term, birth defects, pre-eclampsia

2. Should we participate in the study?
They cover the costs of the medications (about $3000 worth). They only implant 1 embryo. If I did IVF outiside of this study I would probably be put on Lupron (it will reduce the size of my current cysts). By the way I have $2000 dollars worth of coverage for 2010 from work that would go towards the medication if I do not participate in the study. Another thing to consider is that I wanted to take the drug that the study is investigating anyways, if I am in the study I have to risk my chances of being in the placebo group. If I take the Lupron somewhere else it will cost approx $2000 extra but it might be benefitial.

3. Do I stay with Dr G? I am very frustrated that it takes so long to get an appointment. I think he is very nice but when I meet with him he seems to be in a rush. I am angry that he potentially gave us wrong information regarding the sperm analysis. It is not a convenient location. However, I do not want to go through all of the preliminary tests again and waste more time.

I would really appreciate any input. I know there is no clear answer but I would love to hear your opinions.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Explosion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously people my head is going to blow up. I am so freaking mad, frustrated and disappointed. So needless to say the study does not cover IVF just the medications that we would be taking. Now I have some tough decisions to make.....ugh!! I suck at making decisions and this isn't a small one. First I have to figure out what medications I would be paying for (if I did IVF outside of the study). Does anyone know the names and amounts of the prescribed medications that an endo girl of mature age like myself would have to take? Then I have to decide if the money I save on the drugs makes up for the fact that the study only allows me to implant 1 embryo. How many embryos do most people implant? I had always thought we would try two! Is there a big difference in success rate in single versus double transfers?
Now the thing that pisses me off is that after all of this time this new fertility doctor mentions that G's sperm Morphology sucks. He says it should be over 30% and it is only 6% good sperm. Although I looked it up online and read various things, some saying anywhere from 2%-6% was normal and others saying that 30%-50% was normal.
Please let me know what you have been told is normal?