Fall is here...now to plant my little pumpkin seed!!!

[floridasian]

Wow - this is ridiculous! I just spent half an hour with the insurance company trying to figure out if any of the injectable meds are covered under my insurance. After being transferred three times they tell me that in order to find out whether or not they are covered and how much the copay would be I need to get the actual prescription and they have to go through a verification process and it will take 24 hours.

I told them I was just doing research and I wanted to find out if any of them were covered and if so how much the copay would be BEFORE getting a prescription and unfortunately there is no way to find out.

According to this website (https://www.goodrx.com/gonadotropins), gonadotropin prices vary greatly so if I have a choice in which one to take I'd like to know their prices ahead of time. It's absolutely ridiculous that there is no way to find out!

 

[beaglemom]

Wow - this is ridiculous! I just spent half an hour with the insurance company trying to figure out if any of the injectable meds are covered under my insurance. After being transferred three times they tell me that in order to find out whether or not they are covered and how much the copay would be I need to get the actual prescription and they have to go through a verification process and it will take 24 hours.

I told them I was just doing research and I wanted to find out if any of them were covered and if so how much the copay would be BEFORE getting a prescription and unfortunately there is no way to find out.

According to this website (https://www.goodrx.com/gonadotropins), gonadotropin prices vary greatly so if I have a choice in which one to take I'd like to know their prices ahead of time. It's absolutely ridiculous that there is no way to find out!

Thatis riiculous. Insurance companes drive me nuts. Mine is a bit better though...they have a link online where you search the med & it shows you the copay. I use Freedom Pharmacy. You may want to look them u online. They have discounts for people paying cash. So at least you would know that deal. I think Michelle (Maybe) had some issues with Freedom. But overall I think they are a great company to deal with. The first time is always a little nerve wracking because you are so paranoid & anxious.

 

[floridasian]

I will have to check out Freedom Pharmacy for sure. It just sucks that I can't shop around ahead of time, especially when my early O.

I found out today that my RE's own doctor also suffered from infertility. She didn't respond to Femara either and needed injectables. So I guess he knows exactly how I feel!

 

[froggyfrog]

Another one yall can check out is mdr. Its a pharmacy for fertility meds only. Www.mdrusa.com they deliver usa and internationally they also have a phone number 888-939-2020

 

[Prayingforno1]

Just got back from my CD3 appointment. There are now more smaller fibroids growing on top of the main fibroids but since none of them are pushing into the uterine cavity or obstructing the tubes my RE doesn't think they need to be dealt with.

No premature follicle development today so he doesn't think I'd ovulate early.

I asked about the injectable meds and he said we'd better wait for the results of the HSG first since they are expensive ($500-$1000). His usual protocol is Femara for 4 cycles then move to injectables. He did increase my dosage to 7.5 mg this cycle.

We'll see what happens at the HSG!

Hi Florida, The meds are expensive hope you are able to get some insurance assistance.

 

[misaacs117]

Hi ladies!!

Floridasian The protocol you spoke about is what my RE wants me to do now. Since the 4 IUIs with letrozole/femara+ovidrel hasn't worked he wants me to do injectables and IUI. But it runs close to 2,000 a cycle! That does include meds though. So I hope insurance convers some of yours to cut the cost. My REs office said they get it from Britain (I think) because here in the US the same meds are about 1,100 not 500. But the cycle with injections you have to do another scan. So I would have 3 total scans. I don't know if I want to do this or not. But I did call to hear what it would be like IF we did it. She said we might wait until January to get the metformin in me, she said I need to lose about 10 pounds to be in my BMI (I am not a big girl but not skinny mini either), take provera until then so I won't have a period for about 3 months which would kill the microscopic endo, and get my diet under control. It was the nurse I spoke to so she is doing a mini consult for me and is going to call me back. Then I guess I can make my decision from there. If (which I probably with try it because I want a baby so bad) we do this plan of action I only want to try it 1 time. At least that is where I am at right now.

 

[floridasian]

Ovidrel is just a trigger shot, right? Michelle, I didn't know that you were not on injectable meds before. I know they are expensive but I've heard of so many success stories from women who got pregnant by adding the injectable meds into the mix. If you can afford it you should really consider it before moving into IVF.

Since DH's count is high I'm seriously considering doing injectables next cycles INSTEAD OF IUI. Has anyone ever heard of doing injectables without IUI?

 

[Prayingforno1]

Not sure about the injectables without IUI. I was on femara only without IUI and doc only introduced injectables the month I had my go at IUI. They may do the injectables without IUI but still require you go in for scans to monitor growth.

 

[Prayingforno1]

So my cousin had a baby today they induced her at 6am and by 12pm healty little girl was here. I would really like to go to the hospital after work to show my support and congratulate her but don't think I can take the questions from other family members I know will be there asking what am I waiting on, I better hurry up -uhh you know the usual annoying questions/statements. I try my best to put a brave face on but really don't think I pull that one off. Think I will wait and go to her house over the weekend when less people are around. I really hate avoiding events/ certain situations due to the long time I've been on this journey but sometimes we just don't want to be badgered.

 

[beaglemom]

Ovidrel is just a trigger shot, right? Michelle, I didn't know that you were not on injectable meds before. I know they are expensive but I've heard of so many success stories from women who got pregnant by adding the injectable meds into the mix. If you can afford it you should really consider it before moving into IVF.

Since DH's count is high I'm seriously considering doing injectables next cycles INSTEAD OF IUI. Has anyone ever heard of doing injectables without IUI?

This is exactly what I am doing this month. Because of count, I do not expect much. The only reason I am doing it is because I have leftover follistim that will be out of date before IVF & my insurance will pay for my scans if no IUI. So basically it is my plan so I don't have another cycle of doing nothing until IVF but also not out of pocket much. My scans were only $30 each & the ovidrel (trigger) was $80. And yes you will need the scans with injectibles. But if IUI, I would have ad to pay $250 scan & $500 for IUI. I didn't wat to put in anothr grand when I have pretty much settled on the idea of IVF.

Michelle - why 3 scans? I do injections but still only have a baseline & then a day 10 scan to size follicles. I would only need additional scans if the follicles were not mature on CD 10...but that has not happened.

 

[misaacs117]

Floridasian I took letrozole/femara to develop eggs (5mg days 3-7). Then I only took one shot which was the ovidrel to make me O.
Here is a break down of what I have done with the RE. I did this yesterday but in my mind I keep it filled by months:
October- Consultation
December- IUI #1 Femara, no Ovidrel=BFN (found out I have hostile cm) produced 3 follicles but timing was WAY off since I O late
January- Femara only= BFN
February- IUI #2 Femara, Ovidrel= BFN produced 2 follicles
March- Femara Only= BFN
April- Nothing Surgery to remove/diagnose endo
May- IUI #3 Femara, Ovidrel= BFN only produced 1 follicle and DH count was only 4m
June, July- Femara Only= BFN (only O once)
August/September- IUI #4 Femara, Ovidrel= BFN (diagnosed me with PCOS and started metformin on CD3 of this cycle) produced 2 follicles and DH count came WAY up!

I know that is probably waaaay too much info that you all didn't want to hear about. But I don't know what to do...Pay 2,000 for an IUI cycle with the hmg injections plus one Ovidrel shot to make me O or jump to IVF and search for grants and/or get a loan. My RE called me personally last night to chat with me and I told him that I think I want to do IVF and he said that he didn't even do IVF until a year ago and before that all the women he saw got pregnant. But IVF has better odds of it working that IUI BUT IUI is cheaper. UGH! What to do, what to do.

 

[misaacs117]

Beagle That is a good question... I honestly don't know lol. Should have asked that. OPPS! There was so much on my mind when I spoke with her that I forgot my questions lol

 

[floridasian]

Interesting - yeah, I would say any time you are on fertility drugs any responsible doctor's would want to monitor you just to make sure you don't end up with 10 mature follicles. If my HSG comes back clear I'm definitely going to ask about injectables with no IUI next cycle to save money while adding something new.

Has anyone ever looked into getting meds from overseas? Thanks froggy for the other website. I'll definitely look into it. And Praying, when you said your doctor's office gets them from Britain is when it got me thinking - maybe I should look into ordering them from overseas? I know timing could be an issue with international shipping but the savings could be huge?

 

[misaacs117]

Floridasian My doctors office gets them from Britain (I think). I don't know how all that works though. But it would be worth asking your RE about!

 

[floridasian]

Sorry it was Michelle, not Praying who said the meds were from Britain. Will definitely look into it.

 

[beaglemom]

Michelle, with your history, I would be tempted to do one cycle with injections. I did 3 cycles with them...my RE just started me off that way. I did 3 with the gyno only with clomid. Cycle 1 had 1 follicle...she upped my dose & then the next 2 cycles I had 3-4...count was still low...one VERY low. I was tempted to go again, but I just don't think this is the way for us.

It is just so hard to tell what to do. If you remember we had a girl do IUI, 3 eggs, great count, pregnant on the first try...but it is a singleton pregnancy. So part of me thinks how could it work for us when we have low count. I am glad I did it, but I am ready to move on.

 

[winnipegk]

What do you all do if you forget to temp as soon as you wake up? I forgot today and I got up to pee, came back to bed to read for a while...would you just temp when you remember?

 

[floridasian]

What do you all do if you forget to temp as soon as you wake up? I forgot today and I got up to pee, came back to bed to read for a while...would you just temp when you remember?

I temp like my life depends on it so I've never forgotten before but if it were me, yes I would probably try to temp as soon as you remember and hopefully one day of skewed temp is not going to mess up the overall picture of your chart!

 

[winnipegk]

I'm a total zombie in the morning and I haven't gotten into the routine.

It usually takes me a while to wake up...I wake up a bit when my hubby gets up and toss and turn while he's in the shower, then I'm woken again when he comes in to get dressed....then I'll fall back asleep until he's ready to go and that's when I'm usually prying myself out of bed. It's bad. LOL

HOpefully I can get into a routine with it.

 

[floridasian]

You need to temp at the same time and ideally under the same conditions every day. It's best to set an alarm for the earliest time you can get up and take your temperature. You can always go back to sleep afterwards. I do most mornings