Hello again. Today was our post-ivf appointment with Dr. Cass, where we reviewed our IVF cycle, how I responded, and what the outcome was. But before I go into that, I wanted to give a quick summary of where we currently are in the IVF process as well as update you guys on what has been going on lately. So, here is what’s been going on –
IVF #1 Cycle Status Update:
- 15 eggs retrieved
- 10 fertilized
- 6 grew (and developed normally)
- 1 embryo arrested, and 1 did not develop a center cell
- 1 embryo was implanted on 6/2
- 3 Blastocysts Frozen
- IVF cycle was unsuccessful, pregnancy was not achieved
You still with me? Good! After the failed cycle, we received a bill for certain services that are not covered for the egg retrieval cost (i.e. the anesthesia, etc) which I expected to be around $500-$1,000. I had forgotten (read: overlooked) that there were a few extra fees associated with the cryopreservation, assisted hatching of our embryos, as well as opting to grow our blasts that extra day. The bill that we received was $2,260, making it almost three times what I had budgeted/allocated funds for. And of course, in the IVF world – you need to pay these bills up front before you continue to receive treatment. So, let’s just say that things are very tight financially in the Johnson household.
Anyway. Dr. Cass asked if we wanted to proceed with the FET’s or would we like to wait a little while and take some time off. I answered for Dean (we had already discussed this, but sorry babe if I cut you off, haha) and said that we wanted to move forward as soon as possible. Right now, I am on Day 11 of my cycle. On Day 21 (July 8th) I will go in for another baseline ultrasound t. Not long after this I will get a period, and I will begin my medications for this cycle. Thankfully, because this is an FET there is no stimulation of my ovaries, no egg retrieval, no forgotten ‘extras’- so this is a much less invasive process all the way around. My estimated transfer date will be somewhere in the first week of August. As we progress, I will keep everyone informed of what’s going on.
But of course, since I am now going to begin taking more medications, that means more money out of pocket. So that brings me to my next point.
As treatment continues to throw us these hurdles, if anyone would still like to donate to our Science Baby fund, please click the Paypal image below. We can certainly use all the help we can get.
So there you have it! I will update after my baseline ultrasound and keep you all updated on our progress.
Xoxoxo,
Jen