Birthday and Marathon Weekend!

I'm a little behind on blogging...again! So I'll have several posts for y'all!

David's birthday was on May 21st which happened to fall on the same weekend as the Fargo-Moorhead Marathon. We celebrated David's birthday by going out for supper at Space Aliens and followed that up with desert at Doolittles. I made him a cupcake cake which turned out pretty good!

Friends, Jill and Ben Auran, spent Friday night with us because Jill's sister, Julie was participating in the 10k. We woke up bright and early on Saturday to head to the half-way point (3ish miles). We made it just in time to see Jill's cousin Cheri run past! So fast that we almost missed her! It was great to watch the 10k but it sure made me miss participating in the weekend events. Jill and I decided that we're going to try to do the 5k next year...pregnant bellies and all!

Cost of IVF/Insurance Coverage

One of the questions that I get asked is, "how much is all of this going to cost you." The truth is, we really don't have a hard number. We have a guesstimate but we haven't really asked the question because it's not really a deciding factor for us. Now, don't go thinking that David and I loaded. We've made choices in our lives the last few years that have allowed us to become debt free (with the exception of our home) and we've both decided that we will save every penny we can for this to happen.

I'm sitting here with my EOBs and will give you an estimate of what it has cost us thus far for those initial tests that have been done.

Initial Office Visit: $362
Bloodwork for both Me: $666
Bloodwork for David: $238.50
Sperm Analysis: $175
Vaginal Ultrasound: $200 ** That $666 could include the transvaginal ultrasound procedure and this $200 could just be for the Technician in the room.
Saline Sonogram: $787
Sperm Analysis: $175
IVF class: $35 and this is usually not covered by insurance.
Bloodwork for DNA testing: $37
DNA testing: I was told it was going to be $1800 but I have not received my EOB yet.

When researching online, I found a figure for the median cost of IVF throughout the US which was $8000-$10,000. Now keep in mind that if your insurance covers infertility then you're total cost will be lower. I'm not sure if this number was for the IVF procedure or all tests/procedures prior to the actual IVF.

I haven't done any research for coverage of infertility services with other insurance. David and I are covered by BCBS of North Dakota. We are very fortunate that David's policy covers infertility services. We have a $20,000 lifetime maximum of fertility treatments (per member) and a $500 per member lifetime deductible. After our deductible is met, BCBS will cover the "standard" 80% of services and we will have the "standard" 20% out of pocket expenses. Our insurance will cover all of the procedures and drugs related to our IVF except for the cost of PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis). That's the $$ amount that I'm worried about.

I'd suggest that you get to know your insurance policy and get to know it well. Keep in mind that your claims are run by computers and computers DO make mistakes. Some nerdy IT guy has to enter a rules table into the system and that table could be wrong! I have started a file of all of our Explanation of Benefits and bills we've received from the clinic. I also write all of our appointments on a master calendar and what procedure is being done. That way I can reference that when I'm reviewing the EOBs.

I realize that some people might be offended by me listing out the cost of these procedures. People just don't like to talk about money. Please know that my heart is in the right place. I've met so many wonderful people who have Treacher Collins. I want them to be able to read my blog and have all the tools they need when they choose to have children-either through IVF or the old fashioned way.

NOTE: I live in good ole North Dakota. I'm not sure if the prices of services are more or less than other parts of the country....please keep this in mind when reviewing the cost information.

Fertility procedures thus far

I recently sent an email to the Yahoo group I belong to informing them of my blog. After I sent that email I realized that there were a series of topics that I should touch on including the procedures PRIOR to IVF, the costs, insurance coverage, etc.

My first topic is Fertility procedures prior to IVF. Here is a list of all that I've had done so far:

WARNING: This gets a little to TMI but I'm trying to be helpful!

• Blood draws-my blood was drawn to check for Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and various other blood disorders.
• Transvaginal ultrasound-They took an internal ultrasound to make sure I didn't have any cysts or abnormalities of my uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, etc.
  
• Saline Sonogram-Now this has been the WORST of the tests yet. A saline sonogram is where they fill your uterine cavity with saline solution for the doctor to get a better look at your uterine cavity. They are looking for growths, tumors, pollyps, etc. to make sure that your uterus is a "nonhostile environment" for when they do the implantation of embryos. I say it was the worst because I did have some mild cramping and a LARGE amount of spotting. It was seriously embarrassing.
• DNA testing: This was a simple blood draw at the lab. My blood was sent away to locate the mutation of my TCS. Hey, guess what!?!?! I have TCS. Who would have thunk it?!?! Anyway, I got my results but in four weeks.
  
• Pap-I always get my pap done at my yearly physicals. But if you haven't had your pap when you go in for your saline sonogram, you can ask your fertility doctor to do one right there. But come on girls, feel your boobies and get your paps!

These are the tests that David had done:

• Blood draw-David had the same blood draw that I had to check for Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and various other blood disorders.
  
• Sperm analysis-Yes, it's what you think it is. He had to collect his sperm in a cup and bring it to the doctor's office in a brown paper bag. We got the results within the week. Actually, our doctor called us with the results when we were in Vegas. She felt so bad for getting us out of bed but we were just taking advantage of the time difference!

The procedures I expect to have going forward would include the daily shots of fertility drugs and the IVF itself but I might be in for a rude awakening!

David will have to collect his sperm again. They give you the option to do this ahead of time or the day of the IVF procedure. I've already told him that he'll be doing it ahead of time. I don't want him to have the "pressure to perform" while I'm laying on the table all drugged up from propofol...yeah, they'll be giving me the MJ drug. Not so sure how I feel about that!

Birthdays, Time at home, Back to work

Wow! It's been a month PLUS since my last update! I guess you can say that no news is good news?

My birthday was on the 21st of April! I love my birthday so much! I've always had theme birthdays and started counting down in January. This year I had a bunch of friends over for food and Wii fun! My darling husband bought me The Family Feud game for the Wii and I think everyone had fun playing it! Thanks for making my day so special, guys!

I really, really enjoyed my time when I was "working" from home. Actually, I didn't have a lot of work to do which gave me time to perfect my wifely duties. I became an excellent menu planner, cook, social director, interior decorator and, my new favorite hobby, florist! My parents brought a bunch of Iris plants for my flower bed and they also bought me hydrangeas. I'm in heaven! I can't wait until they start blooming!!!

I started traveling back to Alabama last week. It has been a major adjustment! It's hard getting up at 4:30 in the morning when your used to sleeping in until 8 am! I'm just glad that I have made such a great friend, Erica, who makes the transition a little easier. We've done a lot of exploring of Montgomery this week! We found some "cute" neighborhoods and restaurants that we want to try out. I should be working here every other week until the end of August.

Not much news on the IVF front...I was able to get into the geneticist a MONTH early! She was really neat to talk to. She worked at Mayo in Rochester and has a lot of experience working with patients with TCS and other chraniofacial issues. I had my blood work down and am now waiting for the results. She thought it would take 4 weeks at the longest...which means only 2 more weeks to wait! Once we receive the results, we'll send them off to The Genesis Genetics lab in Detroit and they will start their process (which takes 10 weeks). Once they've done all they need to do (I really have NO clue what they do...), then we'll be ready to start testing my embryos. We are taking our IVF class on June 10th (Mom's birthday!). After we take the class, they sit down and map out our schedule-when we start the drugs, what appointments we have, etc. My insurance drops off the end of July and we can submit the pre-auth to David's insurance as soon as that happens. So things are starting to come together....slowly but surely!

Fertility Update

We had our first appointment with our fertility doctor last Monday and we love her! David even said she is "very smart" which means a lot coming from that smarty! We were bombarded by statistics and explanations of procedures. I don't know that we retained even half of it! The appointment took longer than expected but we decided to get the ball rolling with some initial tests. David and I both have some blood work done-his was to make sure he didn't have any diseases (HIV, AIDS, etc.) Mine was to check hormone levels, blood type, diseases, and just the basic chem panel (glucose, cholesterol, etc.). I also had an ultrasound to make sure I didn't have any cysts, etc. Everything turned out fine with that.

David had his sperm analysis and that turned out OK...for some reason I feel odd about posting the exact results. So I'll just say it turned out "OK". :)

I have a saline ultrasound on Friday (04/09). David has limited vacation/sick time and we'd like to save some of his time for the more invasive procedures. So I'm having my friend, Tammy, come with me.

Our doctor assured us that we were in the best place possible. Their success rate is around 60%. They work with a geneticist out of Detroit that is the best in the nation. She assured us that they double and triple check everything. Everyone in the office was so nice which is good because we'll be spending A LOT of time there.

I did spend some time last week researching PGD (Preimplantation genetic diagnosis). It turns out that we will still need to meet with the geneticist in Fargo because they need to locate the EXACT location of my TCS mutation. Our appointment is on May 21st. I imagine it will take about 6-8 weeks to get our results back. At that time, we'll need to contact Genesis Genetics to set up our registration appointment. I spoke with a genetic counselor there last week and she indicated that it would take 10 weeks to process our information before we could start the IVF process. When I found this out, I was SO thankful for being so proactive and a little OCD/control freakish. :)

We'll also be taking an IVF class through MeritCare in the next few weeks. I'm excited to learn more about the process and maybe meet some other couples.

I am so thankful that this is moving at a comfortable pace. I've always been a day dreamer and dreamed about my future...getting married, kids, etc. It's often very difficult to live in the moment because I am such a control freak. So much of my life is beyond my control-kids starring at me, people doubting my intelligence, etc. I think my daydreaming has always been a release for me.... I am so thankful that I'm able to have the right balance of daydreaming and control!

God is great!

God is great! I am always amazed when things happen in my life to show me He is always there and He LOVES me SO much! If you haven't heard, I LOOOOOOOOVE reality shows! Any reality show I can DVR, I do. My DVR pretty much runs 24 hours/day. I stumbled across a Real World marathon the first season it was on...back in the day when my parent's basement wasn't finished and was still occasionally being used as a roller skating rink (cement floors were exposed) and a gymnastic training room (all you need is a HUGE unfinished living room, an old mattress and a trampoline...it's all fun and games until someone does a flip and hits their head on the trampoline). That was my very own TV room growing up! :) These days, I watch 16 and Pregnant, Giuliana and Bill, Kendra, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Girls Next Door (old school style with Bridget, Kendra, and Holly), Dog the Bounty Hunter (LELAND!), Carnie Wilson: Unstapled, Real World, Road Rules, Intervention, Hoarders, Big Brother, Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, Supernanny, and the list goes on...and on...and on...and on. :)

Alright, alright...I'm getting to the point of this blog....I was just watching Giuliana and Bill (Style Network). They are going through infertility treatments right now. The episode that was on last night was about their decision to go from IUF to IVF. I was excited (and somewhat freaked out) when the doctor and her friend went into detail abut the exact procedures, amount of shots/day, the IVF cycle, etc!

Another awesome show is The Little Couple (TLC). Jen and Bill are exploring surrogacy which involves harvesting of the eggs. On a few of their episodes, they talked a little bit about the process of harvesting the eggs. Score!

How does this relate to God being great? I am just tickled today thinking about how God took my LOVE for reality shows and combined that with the biggest issue weighing on my heart these days. It reminds me that He is always there for me and I can do ALL things through Christ!

HELP! I've never baked a potato!

Yes. It's true. Unfortunately for my husband, I have never baked a potato! Can you believe that I've survived almost 32 years without baking a potato?? Baked potatoes are not high on my list of favorite foods...so that is my excuse. Now that I have a very skinny husband to fatten up, I best get cracking on improving my culinary skills! I had to call my mother this morning to ask how to bake a potato. :) I think she nearly fell out of her chair and/or dropped the phone. I even took NOTES! :) Never, ever forget to poke your potato with a fork before cooking! When I posted this on Facebook, my friend, Diane, suggested I make twice baked potatoes because they are "twice as nice". I must be a glutton for punishment because I have found a recipe for twice baked potatoes and am going to try that tonight. So the menu tonight includes brats, twice baked potatoes and green beans. Sounds a heck of a lot better than my bocca burger and carrots for lunch!
Two miles: I've moved up to walking two miles with Leslie Sansone! Today was only my second day of walking two miles. Man alive that work out kicks me in the rear. It feels SO good though when I'm done! I am a little nervous about the three mile but I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it!

Next week I have my doctors appointment with my primary physician. It's just my annual "upstairs/downstairs" appointment. No real concerns to discuss with her except preparing my body for the road ahead. I will have her do my blood work again as some of my numbers were not that good last year-cholesterol was borderline high, sugar was high but not high enough for diabetes (they called it sugar intolerance) and I think that was it. I hope everything turns out OK! We'll see. I've only been on the diet/exercise routine for almost two weeks. Not sure if that will make a huge impact on my blood work yet. I'm catching up on my DVR because I spent last week in Rugby, ND with my parents. It was a great week of just playing with the puppies, getting some work done, and visiting with them. We didn't do a whole lot because I just wanted to be anti-social and stick around home. Anyway, I was watching the View from last week where they had an entire show about infertility. Once woman was talking about the struggles of going through multiple IVF cycles. She said she gained 10 pounds per cycle. UFF! Even more reason I need to stick with this diet and exercise routine. I'd SO appreciate any and all prayers with that!

It's a beautiful Monday in North Dakota! The temperature is 26 ABOVE zero and the sun is shining. I've enjoyed having my windows open. I can't wait until spring and summer when our geese and ducks come back to the pond!