Holy cow, SEVEN! Our clinic doesn’t allow that many, I actually think it’s illegal. The most they’ll transfer is three, and that’s only in very special cases. I would be terrified to transfer that many!
I’m glad it worked for you - do you have any other children?
Right? How times have changed.
No more kids, I was divorced when he was 2 and didn’t remarry. And now I have a 6’5" star on the offensive line of his high school football team with a 4.3 (weighted for honors classes) GPA.
That wasn’t even stealth bragging, it was right out there! 
It sure worked for me! Good luck!
If you can get pregnant at 39 from an IVF with your own eggs, you are incredibly lucky no matter how unpleasant the iniital experience.
Em,
I’m not going to lie. The PIO needles hurt. The only thing that worked for me to help lessen the pain was a lot of ice beforehand. Try a large icepack five or ten minutes before. Then put all your weight on one leg while the needle is going in.
Good luck. I hope it works for you and your sister. If your FSH level is fine, you should be okay as you’re under 40. Egg quality is unfortunately the one thing they can’t fix. I’m glad your clinic doesn’t transfer more than three. One of my friends was pregnant from twins after IVF and it was a very hard pregnancy. If possible you really want to avoid twins and definitely anything more. Twins are extremely hard on the body even if you’re under 35 and relatively fit.
Heck, just one baby is extremely hard on the body!
I hope this isn’t a downer of a question, but I am curious to know. If you’re really unlucky and IVF doesn’t eventually work out for you as a couple, what other options are you considering? Surrogate first? Adoption? Or do you only want genetic kids?
Is it very expensive?
Do you have to pay for all of this upfront, or will they work with you on billing it over time?
Lucky for me, I found out I’m doing vaginal progesterone, so no PIO! Phew! I might try the ice trick for my belly injections though.
Not a downer question at all, it’s something we have to be realistic about.
If IVF doesn’t work, we would move on to adoption - I am fine with not having genetic children. We actually are currently considering a kinship adoption of a nine year old, however that’s far from certain and a few months away, if ever. It depends on a lot of things (like if the province gives her back to her mom at the court hearing in April). We will first be looking at provincial adoption of an under two year old, but will research private adoption as well.
I have decided I won’t do surrogacy. It’s just not for us.
The IVF itself is $6,750, due up front (at the start of the IVF cycle), plus a $400 administration fee. This includes ultrasounds, blood work, operating room time for the egg retrieval (including the doctor, anesthesiologist, etc.), actual fertilization in the lab, and embryo transfer. It also includes cryopreservation of any extras and one year of freezer time.
The drugs for my IVF (Suprefact nasal spray, baby aspirin, antibiotics, Gonal-F, Luveris, HCG shot, progesterone and estrogen) will come to $2,500 - $3,000 (it depends on how much I need - I will have to pick up my next bit of medication after my second ultrasound). The Luveris was donated, so we got that for free ($800 worth).
The clinic pharmacy has an awesome program where you come in a pick your kit up and they give you the prescription receipts to submit to insurance, and they just take your credit card number. They give you a three week grace period so you can submit it to insurance and see if/what will get covered first so you have the cash in hand.
The most expensive drug is the Gonal-F. I currently have nine days worth (three pens at 450 UI each) and it cost $1,350, but will need another five to nine days worth depending on my response during the first three days. Gonal-F is the only drug that we are not sure about insurance coverage as it’s specifically coded as a fertility drug (no fertility coverage). The rest can usually slip through, but I submitted the Gonal-F just to see what would happen.
Good luck EmAnJ! Hope you get a baby soon!
I am 33 and we are now trying for a baby, havent gone for extensive testing yet…but understand what you are going through, when months on end the ‘Test’ line on the strip doesnt color 
Are you worried about another ectopic?
Multiples?
Did you consider adoption?
Is this hurting or helping your relationship with your sister right now?
What will you do if it doesn’t work?
and how much can you afford?
Also, good luck. <3
I am trying not to worry about an ectopic, but it does happen with IVF once in a while. Hopefully my chances are cut in half simply because I’m missing one tube.
I am worried about high order multiples (more then two), so we will not be putting in a high number of embryos. Embryos are graded, so if we have a couple of high quality embryos, two is our max. If we have low quality, we’ll do three, but that’s the most we’d do in any circumstance.
Yes, we’ve considered adoption and that would be our next step. I’ve done some research in to costs and IVF is actually cheaper then most domestic private adoptions here, which is partly why we went with this route first. That speaks to your next steps question - if this doesn’t work, and none of our frozen embryos work (if we get any), we will move on to adoption. We most likely won’t try another IVF. It’s not an affordability thing, as adoption could be much more expensive, but it is a stress and age issue. Our self set cut off for trying to have kids is 35. I’d rather pursue a more guaranteed route with only a few years left then one that has no guarantees.
My relationship with my sister is strong, thankfully. I know she is hurt, but I spoke with her a few days ago and she understands. I think because we both have fertility issues, we both know how and what to say most of the time. She is supportive and excited for us, and they have decided to pursue adoption right away.
Oh, my. I wish you all the stickiness in the world. I like what you said about ectopics - a really positive way of thinking about it! 
I don’t have any particular questions and I know I’m a bit late chiming in, but I couldn’t let this one go without adding my good wishes. You were so kind and helpful to me about a year and a half ago when I was just beginning to face the start of fertility testing and I knew even then that you were right in the middle of some very unpleasant times. I wish you all the luck and stickiness in the world.
I wondered this myself, just because when I saw the thread title I couldn’t help thinking, “Shouldn’t you wait till you’re a grown woman?”
Didn’t I see you posting in another thread that you were having marital problems? Did you get that worked out? Was it mostly the stress from infertility? Does it make you less sure about having a baby?
Sorry, I’m nosy. If those questions are too personal, then feel free to not answer them. I’m just curious how infertility affects a marriage. Must be difficult. And good luck.
Thanks for the well wishes, Charley!
Ha, point taken!
Yes, your memory is correct. We were having marital problems and got in to our therapist post haste! A large amount of it was due to the stress of infertility, as you suggest, as well as trust issues (him lacking trust for me). We have been in therapy ongoing and are using her to help us through this process to prevent any more big glitches like we had last fall.
I think that if anything, the bubbling up of all that stress was very beneficial to us overall. We worked through it and have moved forward stonger then ever.
Infertility can be a huge stress on a marriage. I have observed that many women feel like they have to do ‘all the work’, as in take temperatures, do the invasive procedures, way more testing then him, etc. Men tend to feel pressure to perform, and get irritated that they ‘have to have sex because she’s ovulating’. It can really impact the sex life if you aren’t careful (luckily it hasn’t impacted ours).
I remember last year when we were doing our IUI’s, I had started going in to the whack-off room with my husband to help him along and make it less ‘sterile’. I can’t remember if it was for an IUI or some other sperm test, but I had a conflicting appointment and it was a possibility that I couldn’t be there. He got really upset, demanded I change the appointment, and said ‘You don’t know what it’s like to have to go in that room and sit on that gross couch and do that!’. I flew off the handle and told him that HE didn’t know what it was like to lay on a table with my feet in stirrups and have fluid shot through my uterus, causing major pain and discomfort. Or how about when I had to have exploratory surgery and get put out to check for endometriosis, or how I often have three strangers in the room to observe one of the other embarrassing procedures I have to go through.
The point was, we both had stuff we were stuggling with and were discounting the other’s struggle at that point. We needed to support each other, regardless of if one of us thought the other’s struggles were less ‘invasive’ or ‘important’ then the other’s. Many couples don’t come to that realization and the relationship can crumble.
And just to update, I start my Suprefact in two days!
I also found out today that my insurance will not cover my Gonal-F (the most expensive drug I’m on). I have now submitted it to secondary insurance and hope they will cover it.
I started Suprefact today. What a pain in the ass. If it’s not running out of my nose, it’s running down the back of my throat. The nurse said to expect it and not worry about it, but I can’t help but worry it’s not being absorbed properly. That said, I suppose since I’m doing it five times a day for about three weeks, I’ll soon be an expert!
Update: I found out today that my husband’s insurance will cover the cost of our most expensive medication (Gonal-F) 100%! Great news for us!
I have my first monitoring appointment on Sunday and will likely start stim’s that night. The Suprefact has made my period late, which is apparently common. I’m having some side effects still, such as hot flashes, and cramping (likely due to the missed period), and very sore nipples, but overall, it’s not horrible aside from getting through the day in four hour incriments.
Thank god for insurance coverage! Good luck to you both.
Just wanted to pop in and say good luck. I’m glad your insurance is helping out with the costs, so at least the financial stress is lessened. Sticky thoughts to you.
As always, good luck to you!