Random Question: RE's

InfamousQBert · June 2011

so, i've noticed that almost everyone on here used an RE for their inseminations. i'm just kind of curious why? i know you go to them if you're having issues, or if you're going to do an IVF, but for just a regular IUI, my regular OB/Gyn was more than willing to do it for us and had all the necessary equipment right there in his office. were we just lucky?

Two*True · June 2011

We used an RE even though we didn't have (known) fertility issues because 1) our insurance paid for it 2) if fertility issues did come up we didn't have to switch docs and 3) we're paying for sperm, we wanted to go with the place that specialized in getting women pregnant in the hopes it would happen as quickly as possible and thus cost less OOP.

Tanya+Da · June 2011

Two*True:
We used an RE even though we didn't have (known) fertility issues because 1) our insurance paid for it 2) if fertility issues did come up we didn't have to switch docs and 3) we're paying for sperm, we wanted to go with the place that specialized in getting women pregnant in the hopes it would happen as quickly as possible and thus cost less OOP.

This...and OBs are notoriously known for prescribing Clomid, but not monitoring properly.

Although, we went to an RE for our first 7 unmed attempts, and it was just a waste of money. I wish we had started monitored from the beginning, but apparently my body is rebelling the spermies Highsight is 20/20.

2moms2twins · June 2011

our situation was similar to TWO TRUE .

cymru · June 2011

My OB doesn't do IUI's. I also wanted to know at my age that I was taking every step possible to get pregnant in the shortest time. My RE has a very high success rate - seemed the best way to go.

InfamousQBert · June 2011

makes sense. just not something we knew about going into it. my gyn had done successful IUIs with same sex couples in the past, and did lots of monitoring, so we felt good about the choice. we also wanted the most precise and quickest method, but i guess i didn't realize there was more we could have done.

oh, and my insurance didn't cover any of the TTC stuff, so it was all out of pocket for us. yay! they would have covered if i'd had fertility issues that were discovered, but getting to the possible discovery was all on us.

lnelson20 · June 2011

Some of it may be a regional thing too. We used our OB, as have most of our friends locally. By contrast most of our coastal friends went straight to an RE.

2brides · June 2011

Also, not all OB office are open 365 days a year. Which means if you ovulate on a weekend/holiday you will either be out of luck or will have to inseminate early/late to meet the docs schedule. Most RE office are open at least a few hours every day.

leapgirl8 · June 2011

Pretty much same answers as above. We didn't have a relationship with an OB/GYN so it was going to be someone new anyway, and it just seemed easier to go to a fertility clinic that has seen everything, already had a relationship with the two banks we were considering using, has weekend hours for blood draws and inseminations, etc.

One unexpected benefit: Jen was told by her insurance company that they wouldn't cover our inseminations (and she's in charge of health benefits for her company, so she had a trusted source to ask). The clinic said that they call every patient's insurance company "just in case," and they worked some magic that resulted in 10 non-medicated attempts being 100% covered (so we just pay for the sperm). Have no idea how they did it, but that alone made it worth our while.

Two*True · June 2011

leapgirl8:

One unexpected benefit: Jen was told by her insurance company that they wouldn't cover our inseminations (and she's in charge of health benefits for her company, so she had a trusted source to ask). The clinic said that they call every patient's insurance company "just in case," and they worked some magic that resulted in 10 non-medicated attempts being 100% covered (so we just pay for the sperm). Have no idea how they did it, but that alone made it worth our while.

And this is exactly why I always suggest people have the claims person for their doctor call the insurance directly. They have ways of working the system to get things covered.

InfamousQBert · June 2011

2brides:
Also, not all OB office are open 365 days a year. Which means if you ovulate on a weekend/holiday you will either be out of luck or will have to inseminate early/late to meet the docs schedule. Most RE office are open at least a few hours every day.

that's something i was worried about, but when it was coming time for our 2nd try (the BFP!), and my doc figured i'd be Oing on a weekend, he got it all set up to come in with his NP (who was wonderful and has several successful IUIs under her belt). i was really impressed. i've always known my doc was great, but this is definitely helping me realize how lucky i was to find him. i wish he could be cloned.

ETA: he would have done it himself that weekend, but he was going to be out of town, so he got it all arranged ahead of time.

MamaAndMommy · June 2011

We used an RE clinic and not only were they open 365 days, but they had on-site cryo storage. I can't tell you how much we appreciated it - no crazy timing, no last-minute shipping fees, we just ordered a couple of vials and they were there when we needed them, got defrosted when we signed in for insemination. Huge bonus IMO.

JoySeattle · June 2011

We're on a ttc break (that's lasting too darn long) but we do at home insems. We'll most likely try 2-3 more cycles at home before going to an RE for monitoring/meds. I love at home because it's more intimate and something we do as a couple instead of being medicalized, but if we need to go that route to get pregnant (without wasting a ton of sperm) so be it.

HevnJen · June 2011

Hey...my partner and I would prefer to go the home insemination route too. Since you have tried this method before I had a question or two for you. How difficult is the whole process of thawing out to actually doing the insemination? I am just a little nervous about this part of it.. Any help or advice you can give on this would be greatly appreciated!!!

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