Advice needed: failed clomid challenge in Massachusetts

sm05-2

Hi all,

Some of you know me from the April IVF thread. I went through my first cycle of IVF last month, and had four follicles, but the RE was only able to retrieve one egg because my uterus blocked two on my left side, and one follicle on my right side was empty. The egg fertilized, but never made it to the biopsy stage. So, because I turned 40 in April, the thinking was that I would do the Clomid challenge in May as a formality to prep for another cycle of IVF in June.

Unfortunately in spite of my earlier normal test results, I failed the challenge. I'm lucky living in Massachusetts, where insurance covers many fertility treatments, but since I failed the challenge, I don't think they will cover IVF any longer (I'm not sure if they will do partial coverage for a donor egg).

We're meeting with our RE next week to talk about next steps, but I was wondering if anyone else has failed a challenge, and what you did from there. And if anyone knows any details on Massachusetts coverage, that would be a bonus.

Part of me is wondering if my OH and I should try again naturally, as we conceived twice last year, but unfortunately *TW* both of those ended in MC. *end TW*

We are open to DE, but are trying to wrap our minds around the cost, especially if insurance will no longer cover part of it (i.e., medical stuff, but not lawyers' fees, etc.).

jensjourney

Hi @sm05-2, I have been out of town on business for several days and crazy busy so unable to check the boards. I too live in MA and just had a Clomid challenge. Mine was ok, so I was approved for IVF for my next cycle. When they called me about my approval, they said that I was approved for use with my own eggs or donor eggs. Since that wasn't where we are in the process, I didn't press for more information, but I wanted to share in case it helps you. My guess is that it covers the process of IVF with donor eggs, but not the eggs themselves. Anyway, GL and I hope this gave you some additional information. 

laurad75

@sm05-2 I'm sorry to hear that and hopefully your RE will be able to answer some questions for you.  Can you get a second shot?  Maybe it was a fluke. I am also in MA.  What clinic are you going to?

I go to Boston IVF where we have done 3 egg retrievals none of which resulted in a transferable embryo.  We are planning to do at least one more round but I'm starting to research DE IVF as an alternative.  Boston IVF offers seminars twice a month (maybe once a month in the summer) to go over all the details of DE IVF so we are planning to attend one of those in the near future.  I too am a little confused about what is covered.  I get the impression that my plan will cover most of the costs of a fresh donor egg cycle but not a frozen cycle.  

GL to you.

sm05-2

Thanks for your responses, @jensjourney and @laurad75. We met with our RE today. Unfortunately I learned that DE will not be covered for us--a rep said it's usually only covered if you're a certain age (maybe mid- to late-thirties?) and have a diagnosis of POF. I am not completely sure if that's always the case, but regardless it would cost us at least $18,500 to do the DE cycle (and my clinic coordinates with Boston IVF).

We could pay for another round of IVF with a different protocol, but my RE thinks that my uterus could block my left ovary again, and since my right ovary didn't respond that well, I'd likely have a similar result next time.

So right now my DH and I are leaning toward trying again naturally, especially since my AMH, follicle count, and other tests were normal. My doc did say that it was possible for us to get pregnant again (especially since I got pregnant twice last year), but the question is whether at my age I'll have a successful one. 

We know we may have another MC, but want to give natural conception one more shot. We're also going to start meeting with a therapist who specializes in fertility issues so that we can start to figure out how long we'll try before doing a donor egg, etc.

GL to both of you!