Hey girls!!! IVF and FET - Got a lot of questions and I know my girls will have allll the answers!! :)

[scienceteacher79]

Hey ladies - I missed you guys. I wanted to stop in and ask a few questions of my girls who have been through IVF and FET. DH and I are meeting in late Nov with the RE to decide what course we want to pursue. I was kinda against IVF because it will zap all our insurance money (lifetime max for infertility is $15000 and we have already used $6000 on 3 natural BDing, shots, and ovidrel cycles). SO anyway, I was doing some research and I never thought about FET! That would be another chance on top of the IVF and not nearly as expensive - I think!! :)

Here are my MANY questions:

1. What happens if they cancel your cycle? Any money back at all? (we can only afford IVF one time)

2. How much was FET for you (if you did it)?

3. In FET, what is the average number of eggs you had before defrosting and how many made it to transfer?

4. How many eggs will a doc put back in there (IVF or FET)?

5. Anyone do the shared risk stuff?

6. What happens if you don't stimulate well (like 2 eggs) and YOU want to cancel the cycle (because that is alot of money for only 2 eggs!!) ?

7. Did FET work for you? Did IVF work for you?

8. What kind of progesterone were you on - pills, suppositories, Crinone?

9. How much is it to keep the eggies on ice?

10. During FET how much were your meds? What meds did you take?

I have alot more questions!!! UGH!! I just want to go in with my mind completely in check when we talk to the doctor. I want to know everything so I am not pushed into somethig I don't want to do or something I know will not work for me. Thanks girls!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!! HUGS!!

Jen

[scienceteacher79]

oh man - I was hoping to have extras left over!! CRAPPPPP!!!!!

[Helen72]

ALT76 is right, having frozen embryos is not common.  
I hope IUI works for you and you do not have to go the ivf route.

[ALT76]

sorry - that sounds more negative than I meant it :o(  I just wanted to let you know what can happen (which from what I was told when it happened to me was relatively typical).  That way you'll be armed with more knowledge and more prepared when making your decision!  

but that doesn't mean that's what will happen for you!!  Maybe you'll have lots of good embies - apparently some women out there must or this FET thing wouldn't be so popular!  I didn't mean to be a downer - it came out wrong :o(

[ALT76]

I just wanted to say that I had 14 eggs retrieved and was told that 8 of them were excellent quality and I was very excited.  Then I was told five fertilized, and out of that, only 1 made it to the blastocyst stage, and another was the stage just before the blast (I forget the term) - so we put them both in.

best of luck to you!

[babyprayers]

I am sure your RE is good, but here are some things you may want to ask him. although I did Ivf with donor eggs. Make sure they do a mock cycle, for ex, I had to take estrogen and go in 3 x per week to make sure the uterine lining was building up, it should be at least at 7. below I have copied and pasted the cost at the fertility clinic I used.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
- includes ovulation induction as above, anesthesiologist, egg retrieval, insemination, ICSI, assisted hatching, transfer, embryo freezing, first year of embryo storage and transfer of frozen embryos for up to one year after retrieval.  $5500 - $10,000

Cycle Number        Cost of IVF Procedure  Minimum payment
                                                                 due at time of
                                                                      procedure
        1                               5500                           3000
        2                               4500                           2500
        3                               3500                            2000


the rest is financed interest free for one year.I had 8 embryos,I put back 2 and got twins, I almost went with 3 becaues I wanted this to work however, I could not physically or mentally ever cope with triplets, and I did not want to be in the position to do a selective reduction, I left in gods hands if he wanted this to be for me then it would be, thats just a brief rundown of what my clinic does and charges.. good luck to you

[scienceteacher79]

Thanks girls. I knew about the FET after the IVF :) Hee hee - sorry I didn't say it clearer. :) I am hoping to figure out what I want to do. I think we may shoot for two IUI's in January and feb. and then IVF and FET (if any are left) in the summer. So, we will see. Thank you for all the info. :) You guys are the bestest!!

Sue - I am always crossing everything for you (well, not my legs, because you know I gotta BD!!!) Hugs and good luck!!!

Jen :)

[SueGre]

OMG Jen! I missed you so much! I know nothing about FET or IVF I just wanted to say I missed you! Hey, I'm doing IUI for the first time in the next few days. I'll cross mine if you cross yours!

Love & Hugs,

Sue

[Tracy489s]

Jen ~ I only had one egg retrieved, that will be transferred.  My RE was after quality.

Best of luck!!!

[eternidad200]

Here is my answer, to go and have a FET cycle (frozen embryo transfer) yoou need to have frozen embryos from your IVF cycle.
The cosot of IVF is between 10,000 to 12, 000 plus 2 to 3000 for medication.
Depending in how many eggs they can retrieve, and how many of them make it out of the fertilization your RE will decide how many fertilized eggs(embryos) can be transfer on a fresh cycle (usually can be done 3-5 days after retrieval (depending on each office.

Then if you have more embryos left, your RE office will keepthem on cryopreservation until you decide to use them again. If you not become preggo wit the fresh cycle then you can do your FET with your frozen embies.

FET cost varies I had so far about 5 FET and each one of them has been 1600 plus anothe 1000 for Ulttrasounf and blood work.

Some of the gals have health insurance that pays for a lot, in my case NOPE, hubby and I pay every penny out of pocket.

Hope this help.

[Helen72]

Here are my MANY questions:

1. What happens if they cancel your cycle? Any money back at all? (we can only afford IVF one time)
You can convert ivf to IUI in which case you do not actually go through retrieval and transfer and can save that money.

2. How much was FET for you (if you did it)?
We had no leftover embryos; few people do.  The costs will depend on whether you are doing a natural cycle FET or medicated cycle.



4. How many eggs will a doc put back in there (IVF or FET)?
3 if it's a day 3 transfer and 2 if it's a day 2 transfer.  Numbers also depend on embryo quality.

5. Anyone do the shared risk stuff?
Didn't do this but I think it applies to donor eggs.

6. What happens if you don't stimulate well (like 2 eggs) and YOU want to cancel the cycle (because that is alot of money for only 2 eggs!!) ?
Most clinics want at least 4 follicles to proceed with ivf.  With 2 your cycle will be cancelled or converted to IUI.

7. Did FET work for you? Did IVF work for you?
IVF worked for me; nothing else did.

8. What kind of progesterone were you on - pills, suppositories, Crinone?
I was taking PIO shots.

9. How much is it to keep the eggies on ice?
Depends on your ivf lab.

I hope this helps some...

[miky72]

Hey Jen!
I'm not sure I understand your question.
FET is done when you have leftover embryos from a fresh IVF cycle and you freeze them to use  them later (FET cycle).
From what I know you have to go through a fresh cycle before you get to FET.
Does this make sense to you?
Good luck!