Can I Afford My Infertility?

[dawnk]

Is anyone frustrated by the cost of the traditional infertility methods, ie IVF, IUI, etc? I feel like when my OB referred me to the infertility specialist, we went from "we're trying to get pregnant, but haven't been successful yet" to "you're infertile, and the only way to get pregnant is via extraordinary measures". Has anyone found an alternative that lands somewhere in the middle? I look at the cost of what IUI or IVF costs, especially without insurance, and I wonder if all I will have at the end of this journey is a massive pile of debt, and still no baby. How have other couples dealt with this?

 

[MMW430]

We have a child from IVF, and I'm currently pregnant with a child from IUI. IVF worked on the first try, IUI worked on the second. My insurance covered a lot of the initial testing, but none of the actual procedures. IVF was the most expensive obviously. We did financing through the clinic and it cost about 16k. The iui's were $420 a piece + the cost of the trigger shot which was about $130. It IS frustrating to feel like all you're doing is handing out money, but we just viewed it as another bill to make payments on. Fortunately we were able to pay it all off fairly quickly, but the way we viewed it was, even if it took 10 years to pay it off, it was too important for us to not try. I'm not sure how I would have reacted had it NOT worked. We used tax returns/work bonuses to help offset the costs.

 

[sprite30]

I'm very nervous about the thought of ivf. Dh and I talked it over and we are going to try as many iui ' s as possible before even considering ivf. And I'm nervous because he's already mentioned that he can't justify spending that kind of money when we are already blessed with one. Our iuis are running us around $1400 each cycle. Although everything listed out doesn't seem like much it all adds up. And with each failed cycle it's heart breaking.

We got extremely lucky when we had our daughter we got pg on the first iui. We aren't that lucky this time. But I'm continuing to save everything I can and penny pinching as much as possible.

Good luck to you I hope you can find that middle ground.

 

[Johnpet]

Infertility treatment is very expensive procedure

 

[BronteForever]

Yes it's incredibly frustrating that many insurance companies won't cover anything. I'm starting IVF in two weeks and even to get a straight answer on what meds are covered (which is nothing in my case) took days and talking with 5 different people at insurance company and 7 other people at 5 different med companies to get quotes. Everyone was giving me conflicting info. This process is not fun and the financial burden on top of it makes it even worse. I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize but I know it will be even more devastating if it doesn't work. We decided to pay for multiple cycles up front. But it all feels like gambling. Sorry I can't offer any help but just know you definetly aren't alone.

 

[Rq120]

All I can offer is the possibility of looking into interest free credit cards and possibly grants. I go to a Resolve support group and several women there juggle their IVF debt by using interest free credit cards. One woman was accepted into a grant which really helped with their burden.

Also I have heard of some women earlier in their infertility journey looking into NaProTechnology before going to IUI or IVF depending on your diagnosis.

 

[Aayla]

We started with clomid, 2 cycles and it didn't work. Moved on to Letrozole. Got my bfp on my 3rd cycle but that ended in an early mc. I have now done 5 more rounds of letrozole. The last one didn't make me ovulate and this one is still up in the air. I have a few more days of temping to be sure.

But the doc said we should go straight to IVF. Normally we would do letrozole (cheaper) and IUI but since I seem to be resistant to it now he said the injections is the next step and it just makes sense to to IVF with them instead of IUI. Better chances.

The injections and IUI is 2500 per cycle for me. We don't have extended medical at the moment so nothing would be covered.

IVF is $10,000. So we could do rounds of IUI and in 4 cycles reach IVF cost but have no extra eggs or anything.

our credit is shot from bad choices in our 20's never realizing this was going to be a thing. So we have no credit cards and no way to get a loan. We have to save for it. And my brother saddled me with going to a destination wedding and that is $2000 that could have gone to this fund. But I had so many people in my face about you can't depend on it not working etc etc.

So we don't even get to really save anything until September. ugh. and then Christmas comes and more birthdays. never ending cycle of having to spend money but have to try and save too.

 

[Michellebelle]

I think it does depend what your situation is on what the costs will be. My sister went to a fertility specialist and had one baby with just using Clomid and one with femara. So she didn't really incur many costs.

My journey has been more expensive, though still not as expensive as iui or ivf. I have pcos, so need help to ovulate. I tried just Clomid and it didn't work, so I tried Clomid and injectibles. Luckily, DH doesn't have semen issues, so we just do timed BD. I've gotten pregnant 3 times with this! Unfortunately they all ended in miscarriage, so we're still trying.

But just wanted to let you know seeing a fertility specialist doesn't immediately mean iui or ivf. And ask questions! My RE tried to suggest iui at first, but I pushed back and I'm glad I did!