I lied …
when I said I only have two things to figure out – actually there are three. The third is this:
My clinic has several IVF plan options.
- The first is the standard IVF – one IVF, they will freeze any remaining embryos (you pay for this separately), etc. With all my procedures, it costs ~$14,000 plus ~$4,000 for meds. Any frozen embryo transfers (FETs) I did later would be ~$3,500 plus ~$1,000 for meds.
- The second is good for one year and gets you two IVF cycles plus unlimited FETs. You have to do the FETs before the 2nd IVF cycle. It costs ~$20,000 + ~$4,000 for meds (per IVF cycle.)
- The third is also good for one year and gets you one IVF plus unlimited FETs. However, if you’re not pregnant (beyond 1st trimester) by the end of one year, you get back 80% of your money. It also costs ~$20,000 plus ~$4,000 for meds.
For the 2nd and 3rd options, you need doctor approval, though I think there’s a good chance I’d get it – I’m young, etc.
What do y’all think? Which one would you do and why? Thanks for your input.
(I will post more later on the specifics of what I learned – to help me organize them in my head and for those of y’all who are looking at IVF in the future.)
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Posted: April 12th, 2010 under IVF.
Comments: 4
4 Responses to “I lied …”
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April 13th, 2010 at 1.56 pm
As someone who hasn’t done IVF, but has been trying to learn about the options, I want to say thanks for you post and add my thoughts.
Have you talked with your RE about your concerns about the anesthesia? Unless you can get reassurance that they can handle your concerns and if you can afford the extra money, the peace-of-mind may be worth it. I personally would go with the nurse anesthetist but I don’t have concerns.
As far as the number of embryos, I know some people do 1 if a 5 day transfer and 2 if a 3 day transfer. Do you have the option of seeing how they’re doing and deciding on the number at the time?
Finally, on the package deal decision, I think I’d either do one-at-a-time (with the hope that if the first shot didn’t work there would be embies for a self-pay FET) or possibly the IVF plus unlimited FETs with money back option. This is based on the fact that if we were at the point of doing IVF we most likely wouldn’t have many tries under our belt (haha, bad pun) and no known cause of infertility. Basically, the third option seems like paying an extra $6k to cover the FETs (minus meds right?) with a bit of financial insurance, in case you don’t get/stay pregnant you’d get $16k back.
I’ll be interested to see any other comments and to ultimately hear about your decision.
April 13th, 2010 at 6.39 pm
Hey Joy,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I did talk to my RE. He basically said he worries about the safety of anesthesia too (in general, I think he meant), but that he trusts the nurse anesthetists and would let them put him under without a second thought. Also that they’ve been doing it for years, that its a lighter sedation than surgery, etc. Which is all fine and good and in general I do trust him, but he’s also the same doc who told me I would be fine doing an HSG even though I’m allergic to shellfish and have a history of anaphylaxis…. I had no intention of doing it even though he said that anyway, but another RE at the clinic also told me that with that history I shouldn’t do it. So, yes, while I do trust him in general, I think he can be a little less conservative with my medical care than I generally tend to be.
It sounds like they’ll most likely do the 5 day transfer. I somewhat have the option of waiting to see when they do the transfer and then deciding how many to transfer, except that the embryologists want to know at least a day in advance if I’m transferring one or two. But that is a great suggestion and maybe I can set it up with them in advance to just do it that way.
Also, you said you wanted to see what others said, too – check out my “red carpet” post to see other comments about the package deal, etc.
April 14th, 2010 at 11.34 am
hi! thanks for your comment on my blog, im looking forward to catching up on your journey!
interesting question about the ivf packages. i’d be tempted to go with #1, banking on it not taking more than one fresh cycle and one FET at the most to get pregnant.
April 18th, 2010 at 4.57 pm
Hi Offering, welcome! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on which package to do. I am leaning towards the standard or the one where you get some money back. Your point about it hopefully not taking more than one IVF and one FET is really helpful. Thanks.