[Sweetpea79]

OMG sooooo overwhelming lol! But exciting too!

So it looks like January 23 is estimated eggie pick up day

(I had all my cycle day 3 work last month and my other test in July the HGS thing or whatever)

So Monday I start the BC pill for 23 days and Heparin 5000 2x a day

12.15 start acupuncture (it was recommended?!?)

12.19 go in to check tt levels while on Heparin

12.22 trial transfer day

1.1 start Lupron

1.3 last day of BC pills

1.3 injection teachings

1.11 b/w u/s and start stims the next day

I hope I have all that right whew...

My doctors office gave me gonal f 300iu and 450iu which they said was worth like $1000 bucks (it was left over from someone elses cycle)

So about all the other meds they called them into Freedom Pharmacy ... is that really the best place, I heard Walgreen specialty pharmacy give you $100 back for every $1000 you spend but I have no clue what any of the cost.... the cost estimate they gave us was vague $2-4K for meds it what they said

I need to look around here and see if there is a link with average med prices in it. It doesn't look like I need much but I have no clue what the cost of stuff is like

feel free to comment here if you know lol
I am getting
Leuprolide 2 wk kit
antibiotic those are cheap
prednisone thats cheap too
Menopur 75iu vial 10 vials
trigger which i know thats about 50-60 unless it's different than an iui trigger
valium which i can't imagine is that much
progesterone in ethyl oleate (i know nothing about this feel free to chime in)
progesterone suppositories which already have a ton of

ok so I guess that's it or maybe not i am sure i am missing something....

anyways looking forward to getting the journey started and meeting some cycle buddies!!

[KMH]

I have always used Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, but have heard good things about Freedom Fertility Pharmacy, too. You might need more Gonal F depending on how you respond. When you get all this stuff, they will send you all the syringes and little alcohol cleansing wipes, too. You might want to invest in some band-aids and a nice heating pad, though. I always get cutesy, fun band-aids...somehow it makes the process less daunting.

Freedom Fertility has a great website, and these are the prices listed for the drugs you mentioned:

Leuprolide 2 wk kit - $129
Menopur 75iu vial 10 vials - $729
trigger - $67
progesterone in ethyl oleate - $45.90 each

The Freedom website also has videos of people doing injections so you can watch them to remind yourself or to bolster your courage

The Progesterone in ethyl oleate is the progesterone injection that you'll start the day of your retrieval. It is intramuscular (i.e. in the buttocks), and you'll probably do one every single day until you are 12 weeks pregnant. Not fun, but worth it. My rear was so sore I could barely move, but the heating pad helped a LOT.

So excited that you are getting started on your IVF journey...feel free to ask questions any time!

[Sweetpea79]

awesome awesome yes I just got off the phone with Walgreens and they are cheaper on a few things...

I assume I will probably need more of the Gonal F :-/ fingers cross maybe not though... since it is the most expensive (well aside from Menupor)

I am used to sticking myself... i have done injectables before and i have been on blood thinners too... heparin will be 2x a day along with everything else...

and for the IM shots I have a friends that a labor and delivery nurse shes going to do those for me

feeling some what in control at the moment

so not looking forward to the progesterone shot but right right it IS WORTH IT!!!

I am like jittery excited... lol

[chickadee]

Hi Sweetpea, congratulations on getting started on your IVF cycle!

My fertility center uses Freedom Fertility Pharmacy as well. Ahead of time, they (my fertility center) estimated that my medication costs would be $3000-$7000 per cycle. My insurance covered a few hundred dollars, and so in the end my medications for this last cycle came to $3916.30. I still have all the paperwork, and so here's a breakdown of the costs for the meds I was prescribed:

Endometrin suppositories - $45.00 copay
Estradiol tablets - $9.60 copay
Azithromycin - $6.70 copay
Novarel - $67.00 copay
Menopur (15 vials) - $1103.50 copay
Gonal-F RFF pen (5 or 6 pens; can't quite remember) - $2085.00
Ganirelix (5 pre-filled syringes, I think) - $599.50


Not sure if that's helpful info, but I wish you lots of luck with your upcoming cycle!

[KMH]

It was definitely overwhelming and scary at first, but you'll be surprised how quicly you get used to all the appointments and shots. You'll be a pro in no time

Not sure if you can use this, but here is a saving program for Gonal-f Other Payment Options and IVF Financing for Fertility - Fertility LifeLines

[KatieBeth138]

My last cycle I did the PIO shots. Granted it didn't work, so I only did them for 2 weeks, but they weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting, having heard lots of horror stories about them! I'll be doing them again for this frozen cycle. Make sure whoever does them doesn't do them too low on your butt (it's almost more like your lower back) and pull your skin super taut. I actually found them easier than the sub-q shots because I wasn't doing them to myself. After 2 weeks of them it just felt like I had a big bruise on either side of my upper butt.... which I did =)

[Sweetpea79]

I called Freedom last night and everything we are going to need is only going to be 984 bucks whew... unless we need more Gonal F then we gotta add another 1000 to that BOO!

So that wasn't as bad as I thought... the Menupor is ridiculous as well! My insurance doesn't cover anything we are just footing the bill with cash lol and at christmas aye ya ya - Merry Christmas to us lol

[MandyEllen]

Sweetpea...I may be on a similar schedule for IVF as you. I had my cd3 bw and u/s today. I'm starting bcp tonight. I have to call an talk to my nurse tomorrow to see how long I need to take the pill. I am thinking that if it's around 2 weeks, I'll start my injections the same day as you. I'm taking Follistim and Menapur with Ganirelix after the follicles are maturing. Hopefully we both get our BFPs together! Good luck! Let's keep in touch!