For those going through/ or with knowledge about ivf..

Danielle0311

I am researching this online to see if this is a good option for us in the future but I am getting so overwhelmed with different information. Can anyone share their experience or knowledge with me? What is the process like and what does it entail? What is the approximate out of pocket cost? What is the average for success rate? Anything really would be appreciated. You ladies are so knowledgeable and I would love to hear some info that you know to be true about this all. Thanks and happy Monday !

Danielle0311

My doctor mentioned to me that the only way to decrease my risk of another ectopic is ivf, so I guess I'm just thinking of every possible option we have you know? I am going to be going for more testing in June so I will know more about the condition of my remaining tube then, I'm just researching now and trying to just educate myself.

uneek1323

I have not been through it, and I only have a limited knowledge of what it entails as I, myself, have been learning more about it. I have found www.resolve.org to be very helpful for me. 

LizBlue

@Danielle0311  You may get a better answer in some respects on the Infertility boards since most everyone there is doing IVF (myself included).  Your questions are broad.  Understandable, but broad  If you lurk over on the Infertility boards you will see many posts that go into the specifics of IVF.

Here's a good technical breakdown of what IVF entails, step by step:  https://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/ivf.html

Success rates by clinic can be found here: https://www.sart.org

OOP costs for me were $5,000 for the procedure (with ICSI) and $5,000 additional for medication.  I think my clinic is on the cheaper side for the procedure.  I read somewhere that the average expense for IVF is $10,000 - $15,000.  You can declare medical expenses on your tax return if they are a certain percentage of your total adjusted income.

The one thing I can say that I hope is helpful is that in the beginning of the process, it is entirely overwhelming. It's very much something that you will learn about step by step.  If someone had told me one year ago that I'd be paying $10,000 to inject myself with four different kinds of medications and growing my ovaries from the size of grapes to the size of baseballs for a 40% chance of it working....well, I would tell them no way.  But I did it.  I don't regret it (despite the BFN) and I have three frozen embryos to try again with.   

Good luck.

 

Danielle0311

Thank you so much for your replies and the references, lurking on that board is exactly what I am going to do also! @LizBlue I am praying your next try is a total success!

Eliz77

@Danielle0311 My RE said the same thing, that IVF lowers the chance of another EP. We aren't quite there yet, but did get a break down of the costs so we'd have an idea of options. If we do IVF, my insurance would only cover medications, so we'd be looking at around $12,000 (I think the breakdown was approximately $5,000 for procedure, $5,000 for PGD, plus the costs of u/s and the mandatory class). If we are to move onto IVF, we would do PGD due to me being AMA. 

That's all I know of so far! 

CallaLily30

As @LizBlue mentioned, the Infertility board is a great resource.  IVF at my clinic is significantly more expensive than previous posters mentioned but it may be based on area of the country.  I'm in the NY metro area.

Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.  I haven't had an ectopic but we are pursuing IVF for other reasons.  It is suspected that we have an egg quality issue.

ToriGirl2014

@danielle0311 - I haven't gone through IVF but thought this was worth mentioning.  I go to an RE that has a program where if you donate some of your extra eggs to a woman who is in need of them, they will do your IVF procedure for free or virtually free (meds are a different situation and presumably all still OOP).

You might also be able to find a practice that has a similar program; I understand that it is not all that rare although definitely not the practice of the majority of fertility docs.  So, if costs are an issue for you, this might be something to look into.

Danielle0311

CallaLily30 said:

As @LizBlue mentioned, the Infertility board is a great resource.  IVF at my clinic is significantly more expensive than previous posters mentioned but it may be based on area of the country.  I'm in the NY metro area.

Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.  I haven't had an ectopic but we are pursuing IVF for other reasons.  It is suspected that we have an egg quality issue.

I am actually in the ny metro area as well! I'm excited to have such great fertility clinics at my fingertips but the fact that everything is more expensive here is definitely not fun lol

CallaLily30

@Danielle0311-I'm "mostly" OOP since my insurance does cover some minimal b/w and monitoring during a cycle.  A freeze all cycle cost me about $12K with another $4-5K in meds.  My insurance does not cover fertility meds at all.  The frozen embryo transfer cycle is about $2K with $400 in meds.  If you are in NJ, you may have coverage.  I think NJ mandates coverage for infertility for employers based in NJ.  Unfortunately, both DH and I work for the federal government who is not subject to the laws of NJ because they are not "based" in this state.

I will tell you the process is both emotionally and physcially draining for me. During a retreival cycle, I'm at my RE's clinic at least every other day and sometimes everyday for the two weeks prior to the retreival.  My clinc has early monitoring hours from 6-7:30 so I can usually make it prior to work with no impact to my work schedule but it means I'm getting up at 4:30 every morning (or every other morning).  It will be worth it if I wind up with a baby.

ETA:  Our costs are a little on the high side because we did ICSI (due to morphology issues) and PGD (due to recurrent losses).  The costs would be probably about $5K less without these procedures.

Danielle0311

CallaLily30 said:

@Danielle0311-I'm "mostly" OOP since my insurance does cover some minimal b/w and monitoring during a cycle.  A freeze all cycle cost me about $12K with another $4-5K in meds.  My insurance does not cover fertility meds at all.  The frozen embryo transfer cycle is about $2K with $400 in meds.  If you are in NJ, you may have coverage.  I think NJ mandates coverage for infertility for employers based in NJ.  Unfortunately, both DH and I work for the federal government who is not subject to the laws of NJ because they are not "based" in this state.

I will tell you the process is both emotionally and physcially draining for me. During a retreival cycle, I'm at my RE's clinic at least every other day and sometimes everyday for the two weeks prior to the retreival.  My clinc has early monitoring hours from 6-7:30 so I can usually make it prior to work with no impact to my work schedule but it means I'm getting up at 4:30 every morning (or every other morning).  It will be worth it if I wind up with a baby.

ETA:  Our costs are a little on the high side because we did ICSI (due to morphology issues) and PGD (due to recurrent losses).  The costs would be probably about $5K less without these procedures.

Thank you so much for sharing. That does sound incredibly draining but you are right, it makes it all worth it to end up with a baby!!!

ikrystal

You've gotten some great responses already.  I do know that certain states do cover IVF as part of insurance policies.  I know our original cost was about 20k, but we paid about $250 out of pocket.  If you need any other information, Id be more than happy to share my story with you.  Feel free to PM me if you would like. 

Flowerstar1023

With the disclaimer that I know very little about IVF as my specialty isn't ObGyn, I'd be skeptical about going straight from ectopic to IVF, although for tubal factors of infertility IVF is the way to go without additional intervention like an HSG. Did your doctor say anything about how your remaining tube looked during your surgery? 

Danielle0311

Flowerstar1023 said:

With the disclaimer that I know very little about IVF as my specialty isn't ObGyn, I'd be skeptical about going straight from ectopic to IVF, although for tubal factors of infertility IVF is the way to go without additional intervention like an HSG. Did your doctor say anything about how your remaining tube looked during your surgery? 

My doctor did say my remaining tube looked "good" but that if there was any scarring or small blocks she wouldn't be able to see it. I agree jumping to ivf right away probably isn't the way to go but my mind is just running trying to way all my options. I have an appointment with an r/e in early may once my cycle has come back so hopefully this new doctor will be able to shed some light on where we should go from here and what we are facing