Trouble getting pregnant? (2 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

This baby stuff... the more you know, the more easy it is to be freaked out.

That said- with some of the genetic stuff, it's still best to be aware of the obvious ones so you aren't shooting yourself in the foot. I'm of Ashkenazi descent, so you're damned right I was looking at Tay-Sachs etc...

update for us. 2 turkey-baster shots and 2 old-fashioneds (despite my being flat on my ### sick... ).... fingers and toes crossed.

I would really LOVE to not have to spend money on an IVF that could be spent on the kid(s) instead.

edit- fixed the smilie so that I'm not worshipping myself for performing with a fever, and just taking a bow.

 

[Worm]

GL to floppo, bentley, etc.

 

[Early_10]

GL to floppo, bentley, etc.

Look! Twins!

 

[Worm]

GL to floppo, bentley, etc.

Look! Twins!

:faint:

 

[Courtjester]

GL to all you guys....

It is amazing how you can take something like this for granted. My wife and I waited about 5 years to have our first and it was like:

Wife: Hey, we should probably try for a baby so we can have it while I am off during the summer.

Me: Okay, let's go upstairs.

One time--9 months later=baby.

(Flash forward 4 years)

Same conversation----one time=baby.

The odd thing is that Cops was on TV both times during the attempt.....

 

[Early_10]

GL to all you guys.... It is amazing how you can take something like this for granted. My wife and I waited about 5 years to have our first and it was like:Wife: Hey, we should probably try for a baby so we can have it while I am off during the summer.Me: Okay, let's go upstairs.One time--9 months later=baby.(Flash forward 4 years)Same conversation----one time=baby.The odd thing is that Cops was on TV both times during the attempt.....

Guess you drove it like you stole it....siren stimulation?

 

[El Floppo]

GL to floppo, bentley, etc.

Look! Twins!

:faint:

:guntohead:

 

[TobiasFunke]

The quote was around $10K not including the drugs. I was figuring the drugs would be maybe another grand or something.We've got 50% coverage of everything start to finish, which is great.

IIRC, our drugs cost b/w $2k-$3k. 50% coverage is sweet!

Tiger, or anyone else that might be reading-We just got our first estimate on the drugs, and it came to about $3K even after the 50% coverage. That sounds really high to me, and I'm wondering if they're throwing the kitchen sink at us and including some stuff we really don't need. Does your estimate of the drug costs include any insurance coverage? Does that $3K estimate with 50% insurance coverage seem a bit excessive?

 

[Tiger Fan]

The quote was around $10K not including the drugs. I was figuring the drugs would be maybe another grand or something.We've got 50% coverage of everything start to finish, which is great.

IIRC, our drugs cost b/w $2k-$3k. 50% coverage is sweet!

Tiger, or anyone else that might be reading-We just got our first estimate on the drugs, and it came to about $3K even after the 50% coverage. That sounds really high to me, and I'm wondering if they're throwing the kitchen sink at us and including some stuff we really don't need. Does your estimate of the drug costs include any insurance coverage? Does that $3K estimate with 50% insurance coverage seem a bit excessive?

Definitely sounds excessive to me. The quote I posted above was without 50% coverage. I would ask for a list of the drugs and what pharmacy they planned on ordering them through. Also, did you already decide on the doctor or do you have options?

 

[TobiasFunke]

The quote was around $10K not including the drugs. I was figuring the drugs would be maybe another grand or something.We've got 50% coverage of everything start to finish, which is great.

IIRC, our drugs cost b/w $2k-$3k. 50% coverage is sweet!

Tiger, or anyone else that might be reading-We just got our first estimate on the drugs, and it came to about $3K even after the 50% coverage. That sounds really high to me, and I'm wondering if they're throwing the kitchen sink at us and including some stuff we really don't need. Does your estimate of the drug costs include any insurance coverage? Does that $3K estimate with 50% insurance coverage seem a bit excessive?

Definitely sounds excessive to me. The quote I posted above was without 50% coverage. I would ask for a list of the drugs and what pharmacy they planned on ordering them through. Also, did you already decide on the doctor or do you have options?

We definitely have the doctor picked out, and we're a couple weeks away, which is why the sudden expense a couple thousand in excess of what I had budgeted was a bit of a surprise.I've got the list of meds from my wife, and I'm gonna give the nurse a call and get her thoughts. Thanks for this, and I may double back to see what you think after I get the scoop from the professionals.

 

[wraith5]

For anyone in the Chicago area, this is the place we used and loved:

Hinsdale Center for Reproduction

Can't recommend them enough. Their approach was so much different than either of the two drug-pushing "specialists" we tried before finding these folks.

Also, if you click on the "Education" tab, that's my son on the left in the header.

 

[The Z Machine]

Best of luck ppl.

BTW, I design pipettes for a company that makes pipettes and tips. If you need an accurate "turkey baster", let me know...

 

[bentley]

Both our estimates have been 2K-5K of drugs without any insurance coverage. On the successful IVF, we spent $2100. Our big variable (I think) was Follistim, which I believe is used to stimulate the ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. My wife apparently responded pretty well to it, so that's why we ended up on the low end.

If you want to PM me specifics, I can look at what we paid for our stuff too.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Both our estimates have been 2K-5K of drugs without any insurance coverage. On the successful IVF, we spent $2100. Our big variable (I think) was Follistim, which I believe is used to stimulate the ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. My wife apparently responded pretty well to it, so that's why we ended up on the low end. If you want to PM me specifics, I can look at what we paid for our stuff too.

Thanks. This makes sense. Follistem is on our docket and appears to be the major variable. They're setting us up for a pretty substantial amount of it. It's our first go-round and we can afford it for the time being, so I'm inclined to let it go with just a follow-up question or two. My thinking is that the more my wife relaxes and thinks positive and believes we're doing everything we can, the better for our chances and my mental health. But I may hit you up with more specifics once I get more exact information.

 

[El Floppo]

 

[FBGirl79]

any good news for us? Meds didn't work for us this month (also made me really sick) so I'm taking a break from the meds until after the 1st year so I don't have to worry about being a crazy, emotional, tired, puking mess through the holidays. Looking foward to the old fashioned way until then!

 

[TobiasFunke]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant.

Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck?

I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

 

[Worm]

Good luck Funke!

My wife is no longer puking every day, which is nice. Hoping to hear today that we will be able to stop her PIO shots soon... her poor bum.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Good luck Funke!My wife is no longer puking every day, which is nice. Hoping to hear today that we will be able to stop her PIO shots soon... her poor bum.

Sounds like we're on pretty much the same timeline. Good luck to you, too.I'm sure that if we find out that she's preggers there will be much rejoicing ... but I'm honestly not sure it will be better for her than the day they told her she could stop administering the shots. It may have been one of the greatest days of her life. Neither of us was remotely prepared for what they did to her. Hope you get there soon.

 

[flufhed]

In all seriousness, good luck!

 

[FBGirl79]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

Thanks, I was definitely not prepared for the changes either! I am usually pretty level headed emotionally (for a girl anyways ) and the meds just had me feeling like I was on a roller coaster emotionally along with zapping any bit of energy I had and leaving me nauseous around the clock. I pretty much started each day with a blanket apology to hubby, lol. Definitely not fun! Good luck tomorrow...I'll send up some prayers for ya! Keep us posted!

 

[Tiny Dancer]

Good luck Tobias. You're right that if it works, the day you find out she's pregnant isn't wholly positive the way it probably is for people that haven't gone through any of this stuff. It probably took us at least a few months before we felt like it was really going to happen.

Oh, and if you haven't been keeping up with my frequent alias changes, this is fatguyinalittlecoat.

 

[Tiny Dancer]

Oh, and good luck to Worm and FBGirl and anyone else in the midst of all this stuff.

 

[El Floppo]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

 

[TobiasFunke]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

Congrats, man. Great news. And from a selfish standpoint, it's nice to hear success stories on the eve of our big day.Thanks, fatguy. I was wondering what the latest alias was.

 

[Worm]

Good luck Funke!My wife is no longer puking every day, which is nice. Hoping to hear today that we will be able to stop her PIO shots soon... her poor bum.

Sounds like we're on pretty much the same timeline. Good luck to you, too.I'm sure that if we find out that she's preggers there will be much rejoicing ... but I'm honestly not sure it will be better for her than the day they told her she could stop administering the shots. It may have been one of the greatest days of her life. Neither of us was remotely prepared for what they did to her. Hope you get there soon.

There must be different shots for IVF vs. what we did, b/c my wife is 11 weeks preggo. But yeah, the shots have not been fun for her.

 

[Worm]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

 

[One]

Good luck Funke!My wife is no longer puking every day, which is nice. Hoping to hear today that we will be able to stop her PIO shots soon... her poor bum.

Good luck! Man, that brings back memories. Giving shots everyday was awful.

 

[One]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

Congrats, man. Great news. And from a selfish standpoint, it's nice to hear success stories on the eve of our big day.Thanks, fatguy. I was wondering what the latest alias was.

Just think positive, brother. Oh, and be seated. I almost passed out when we saw two little heartbeats.

 

[One]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

Grats Floppo! :fingerscrossed:

 

[Tiger Fan]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

Good luck

 

[Tiger Fan]

Nice floppo

 

[bentley]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

Fantastic news. Continue to be supportive because it's still a pretty wild ride.We're looking at a retrieval on the 8th. Shots start next week. Here's to hoping we can't travel to see the family for Christmas because Angrywife is pregnant.

 

[El Floppo]

It's still early, but wtf... :confetti:

Grats Floppo!

:fingerscrossed:

Thanks everybody... like I said, still early- but she's definitely preggers. We went through 3 rounds of IUI, took a break, added some kind of injectable drug this time around and voila. (eta- the voila happened with an IUI... covered by insurance including the drugs- IVF, which was the next step, is not covered) And I might mention- this has probably been the most stressful/hardest time in our relationship- not even taking into account the trying for a baby thing. I guess you just never know...Had our first ultra-sound yesterday- it's a black-hole! (not two, thankfully). Next time out it should look like a tadpole, IIRC.

GL to the rest of you guys- I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for all of you (and for us too- we've got a long way to go still)

 

[El Floppo]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

 

[TobiasFunke]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

Retrieval for her, and I hand over the goods. And the other big day- the transfer- will also probably happen before I come back to work (and the FFA).

 

[bentley]

Angrywife starts taking drugs on Wednesday. Just did the math and she's going to be on 500 PLUS DOLLARS A DAY worth of stuff from Wednesday to Saturday. Ultrasound Sunday morning where they'll see how she's responding. I'm praying that she responds really, really well. Because her numbers have gotten worse, she's taking twice the dosage that she was on the cycle where we had little bentley.

 

[Early_10]

Congrats Floppo!

We need a dancing clam to go with the pickle.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Angrywife starts taking drugs on Wednesday. Just did the math and she's going to be on 500 PLUS DOLLARS A DAY worth of stuff from Wednesday to Saturday. Ultrasound Sunday morning where they'll see how she's responding. I'm praying that she responds really, really well. Because her numbers have gotten worse, she's taking twice the dosage that she was on the cycle where we had little bentley.

GLL

 

[El Floppo]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

Retrieval for her, and I hand over the goods. And the other big day- the transfer- will also probably happen before I come back to work (and the FFA).

GL, TF.... was thinking about you guys this week and hoping everything went ok.About all I have to be thankful for right now is a lentil sized blip in wife's gut.

 

[KiddLattimer]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

Retrieval for her, and I hand over the goods. And the other big day- the transfer- will also probably happen before I come back to work (and the FFA).

GL, TF.... was thinking about you guys this week and hoping everything went ok.About all I have to be thankful for right now is a lentil sized blip in wife's gut.

Congrats Floppo! I went through all the IUI and IVF stuff, the shots and all and it was very, very tough on me and especially on the wife. Top it all off with her sister AND my sister getting pregnant within a year and she was a wreck about the whole thing. Finally about 8 months ago it worked and we couldn't be happier. I could care less if it cost every penny I ever make from this day forward I'm gonna have a little boy in early January... just in time to watch the Super Bowl with his daddy

 

[El Floppo]

Final visit and ultrasound with the fertility doc today before we switch over to the OBGYN.

Fingers toes and whatnot still crossed since we're only 7 weeks in, but all systems are go- we've got a tadpole. And I forgot how intense it is to hear the heartbeat for the first time... brought it all right the #### home in a hot second. Floppolinho 1, lazy and selfish little ####er, is going to be hating it when 2 shows up.

 

[bentley]

Final visit and ultrasound with the fertility doc today before we switch over to the OBGYN. Fingers toes and whatnot still crossed since we're only 7 weeks in, but all systems are go- we've got a tadpole. And I forgot how intense it is to hear the heartbeat for the first time... brought it all right the #### home in a hot second. Floppolinho 1, lazy and selfish little ####er, is going to be hating it when 2 shows up.

Heartbeat and transition to a real OBGYN are both badass steps on the road to babyhood.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Next ultra sound and first visit with some specialty doctor (since we have twins) today

 

[Worm]

Next ultra sound and first visit with some specialty doctor (since we have twins) today

We had a 13 week ultrasound yesterday. Everything looks great, and it's pretty darn cool to actually see them moving around inside her... yawning, turning over, moving their arms. So awesome.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

Retrieval for her, and I hand over the goods. And the other big day- the transfer- will also probably happen before I come back to work (and the FFA).

GL, TF.... was thinking about you guys this week and hoping everything went ok.About all I have to be thankful for right now is a lentil sized blip in wife's gut.

We're in the holding pattern right now. Things didn't go as well as they could have at the transfer stage, but we've still got a decent shot at it. The verdict comes down early next week. At the very least, we now know what the problem was with our conventional attempts, and that both of our goods are usable and can get the job done with a little help from science to better our odds. Plus my wife is only 31. So we're encouraged that if it doesn't happen this time, we'll have a good shot next time or the time after that.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Sorry to hear about the meds, FBGirl. Good call on the holidays, though. I was not prepared for the changes they wrought, and I imagine they could make the holidays quite unpleasant. Tomorrow's the big day for me and Mrs. Funke (who resembles the real Mrs. Funke only insofar as she is also thin, pretty and doesn't care about ostriches). We're stepping up to the craps table to throw the dice. Before my toss, should I ask a pretty lady nearby to blow for good luck? I'm not a religious man, but any positive vibes sent our way would be appreciated.

I missed what's being done on your big day- IVF? Whack-attack with an IUI?

Retrieval for her, and I hand over the goods. And the other big day- the transfer- will also probably happen before I come back to work (and the FFA).

GL, TF.... was thinking about you guys this week and hoping everything went ok.About all I have to be thankful for right now is a lentil sized blip in wife's gut.

We're in the holding pattern right now. Things didn't go as well as they could have at the transfer stage, but we've still got a decent shot at it. The verdict comes down early next week. At the very least, we now know what the problem was with our conventional attempts, and that both of our goods are usable and can get the job done with a little help from science to better our odds. Plus my wife is only 31. So we're encouraged that if it doesn't happen this time, we'll have a good shot next time or the time after that.

The bad news was delivered earlier this week. No little Funkes in the oven.On the bright side, we got to the final stage of the process, so at least we know everything works and we can try again soon. There are worse fates.Thanks for the advice and support, FFA.

 

[Tiny Dancer]

The bad news was delivered earlier this week. No little Funkes in the oven.On the bright side, we got to the final stage of the process, so at least we know everything works and we can try again soon. There are worse fates.Thanks for the advice and support, FFA.

Ugh, that sucks. If you don't mind me asking, what happened with the transfer stage that you described as not going as well as it could have? I didn't want to stress you out when you posted about it last week, but the first three times we attempted a transfer it always went badly and ended up unsuccessful. Then we got a new doctor that figured out how to fix the problem and we had a smooth transfer that resulted in our first born. A couple years later the same doctor did another smooth transfer for us that resulted in our second kid.

 

[TobiasFunke]

The bad news was delivered earlier this week. No little Funkes in the oven.On the bright side, we got to the final stage of the process, so at least we know everything works and we can try again soon. There are worse fates.Thanks for the advice and support, FFA.

Ugh, that sucks. If you don't mind me asking, what happened with the transfer stage that you described as not going as well as it could have? I didn't want to stress you out when you posted about it last week, but the first three times we attempted a transfer it always went badly and ended up unsuccessful. Then we got a new doctor that figured out how to fix the problem and we had a smooth transfer that resulted in our first born. A couple years later the same doctor did another smooth transfer for us that resulted in our second kid.

Not stressful at all- we've got a lot of silver linings, so I'm not really torn up about it.We had a good number of eggs- not a bunch, but enough for us to feel good about our chances- did ISCI just to increase our odds, and ended up with a decent number of fertilized eggs. But many of them dropped off quickly, so that after two days or so we only had like 5 still-developing fertilized eggs, and only two of them were rated highly, so the doctor transferred both of those after three days (instead of waiting until five days to pick the very best ones). And neither of those "took." So it wasn't really just the transfer stage where things went downhill, it was the post-fertilization, pre-transfer development stage as well.Since we live in the same area, I'd be curious to hear who you were working with. Feel free to PM me.

 

[El Floppo]

The bad news was delivered earlier this week. No little Funkes in the oven.On the bright side, we got to the final stage of the process, so at least we know everything works and we can try again soon. There are worse fates.Thanks for the advice and support, FFA.

Truly sorry to hear the bad news side of that, TF. But also good to hear the better news part- and it sounds like you guys are handling/approaching the whole process with a fantastic mind/heart-set. Best of luck to you guys.edit to remove jokey part.