So, I'm confused...

DoublePortion

I'm on day 3 of stims & went in this morning for lab work. When I got there they asked me to pay the lab fees. The way my RE's office works is that at the nurse teaching you pay the RE's fees & then you pay the lab fees after you start stims. What has me confused is that they asked me to pay more than I expected because I wasn't expecting to pay for ICSI upfront. I thought it would be like cryo...if they ended up needing to do ICSI I would be charged for it at that time. So now I'm wondering why would they automatically assume I'll need ICSI? My AFC on Monday was only 8 and I know they want as many to fertilize as possible, but wouldn't they give the sperm a chance to do their thing before going to ICSI? Or if they waited and the sperm didn't fertilize the eggs on their own then it would be too late? Also, they said it was probably because my diagnosis was unknown. Really!? I thought my diagnosis was stage 4 endo?? Or is that not a good enough IF diagnosis? Now, I'm waiting for either the RE or the nurse to call and explain it all to me, but wanted to see what you guys have to say so maybe I won?t sound like an idiot!

Enndea

I honestly don't know the answer to your question, but was faced with basically the same issue when signing our consent forms yesterday.  We have to consent to ICSI, but when I asked why b/c we don't need it (or shouldn't anyway--I'm an endo girl too) she said they usually do it whenever they retrieve less than 8 eggs?  Um, what?  So, she went and asked my RE who said we do not need it.  But I had to get clarification on it as well, and I certainly wouldn't pay for it upfront.  

BzeetyD

Hmmm. DH's swimmers had a SPA test (where they take his dudes and let them try to fertilize hamster eggs) and they "failed" (only 30% fertilized)  so we're doing ICSI, that's how we know. So we're paying up front for it.

Maybe your clinic has an AFC number you have to hit where they don't use ICSI?

I don't know.

As far as a DX, you'd need to talk to your clinic about that.

We're "unexplained" with "possible DOR" but both of those can change if they figure out more.

 

DoublePortion

Enndea:

I honestly don't know the answer to your question, but was faced with basically the same issue when signing our consent forms yesterday.  We have to consent to ICSI, but when I asked why b/c we don't need it (or shouldn't anyway--I'm an endo girl too) she said they usually do it whenever they retrieve less than 8 eggs?  Um, what?  So, she went and asked my RE who said we do not need it.  But I had to get clarification on it as well, and I certainly wouldn't pay for it upfront.  

I hope it's just the office staff that are confused. I'll pay for it if I need it, but I want to make sure I really need it. Hopefully my RE will call me back so I'll know for sure!

ycristina84

I'm a fellow stage 4 endo sufferer, and we were told no ICSI. They said that when you have a chance to not poke the egg and let the sperm do it's thing, that's the better. They told me the ICSI factor comes in more on the sperm side of things, or if you have low egg reserve. Had my husband' motility been under 40% they would have done ICSI, so I don't think it's your diagnosis...Maybe they just want you to pay to cover it just in case and then they will refund you after? If you end up doing it I'd love to know why they made that choice for you. 

DoublePortion

BzeetyD:

Hmmm. DH's swimmers had a SPA test (where they take his dudes and let them try to fertilize hamster eggs) and they "failed" (only 30% fertilized)  so we're doing ICSI, that's how we know. So we're paying up front for it.

Maybe your clinic has an AFC number you have to hit where they don't use ICSI?

I don't know.

As far as a DX, you'd need to talk to your clinic about that.

We're "unexplained" with "possible DOR" but both of those can change if they figure out more.

 

Maybe it is my AFC. I guess I want an explanation as to why and not just to fork over the money without understanding.

They are supposed to call me back about my DX, but it threw me for a loop when they said "unexplained" and this is the first time I've heard about it. We've always talked about my endo and so I just assumed that endo was the diagnosis and because it's so bad it is the reason I need IVF. I'm a "like to know all the details" kind of girl, so I hate not understanding what's going on!

DoublePortion

ycristina84:

I'm a fellow stage 4 endo sufferer, and we were told no ICSI. They said that when you have a chance to not poke the egg and let the sperm do it's thing, that's the better. They told me the ICSI factor comes in more on the sperm side of things, or if you have low egg reserve. Had my husband' motility been under 40% they would have done ICSI, so I don't think it's your diagnosis...Maybe they just want you to pay to cover it just in case and then they will refund you after? If you end up doing it I'd love to know why they made that choice for you. 

This is what I thought! Give the little guys a chance!! lol All of MH's SAs have been great, so that shouldn't be a factor. I had to sign a credit card consent for cryo, PGD & ICSI so that the lab could charge me should any of these need to be done. That's what leads me to believe they aren't even going to try to let fertilization happen without ICSI.

Whales124

I have endo, we did the ICSI, but mostly because our clinic throws it in for "free".  Their thought is they want to make sure they get as many viable embryos as possible and just use it as a rule unless you choose not to.

Hopefully they will have some answers for you soon - good luck!

DoublePortion

Whales124:

I have endo, we did the ICSI, but mostly because our clinic throws it in for "free".  Their thought is they want to make sure they get as many viable embryos as possible and just use it as a rule unless you choose not to.

Hopefully they will have some answers for you soon - good luck!

 

Thanks!! 

delino

Standard practice at my clinic is that you pay upfront for ICSI and cryo and are refunded if it wasn't needed.  I got the ok to not pay for ICSI since it wasn't expected due to our history.

Jezebell26

I am not sure about how it works but I know this cycle we ordered ICSI and I havent even started yet! My old clinic did it on a need basis and one time I did one time I didnt. DHs latest SA showed very low morph (3%) so she just went ahead and ordered ICSI. At first she said we would leave it up to the embryologist the day of. I wasnt sure how DH was going to take it. When I spoke to him he agreed we should just order it and rather to be safe then sorry. I thought he would be upset we needed it but he said after all we have been through why take any chances. When I decided to email the nurse back to tell her we would like to just go ahead and do ICSI I was told it was already ordered. So somehow that got changed and I was never notified. So maybe something similar happened to you? Hope you get some answers GL!