- I apologize for the silence on this slice of the interwebs. Work has been crazy busy this past week, so my normal blogging time during my lunch break has disappeared. Of course, I could write when I get home, but my in-laws are visiting this weekend for the first time since we purchased our house, so my evenings have been spent cleaning. Nothing will convince you to deep clean your house and hang those pictures you've meant to hang for the last two years like a visit from your in-laws.
- Monday, Keegan and I got to see Tegan and Sara and Fun in concert. I've loved Tegan and Sara since I was in junior high, so they were the highlight of the concert for me, but Fun was really...well, fun, and energetic. I'm trying to convince Keegan to go with me to see the The Lumineers in October next.
- While in Tuscaloosa for the concert, Keegan and I had to stop by Men's Warehouse so that Keegan could get fitted for a tux for one of his best friend's weddings in October. We made it extremely clear that he was getting fitted there, but would be picking up the tux in Illinois. After checking out and paying, we looked at our receipt and noticed that it said our pick up location is in Louisiana. Please explain how one could confused Illinois with Louisiana. Keegan called to try and figure out the mix-up, but couldn't get a solid yes or no if the problem had been fixed. Guess we're going to be going to the wedding with our fingers crossed that the tux has been delivered to the correct place.
- I'm one or two days past ovulation, depending on how my temperatures continue to rise. We had pretty crappy timing this cycle, due to above mentioned working and cleaning, so we only sexed on the day that I believe I ovulated. I have little hope for this cycle and am looking forward to our first Clomid cycle.
- Along those same lines, we've been going back and forth about getting the laparoscopy done. At first I figured we'd do it if our Clomid cycles don't work, before we moved onto IUI or IVF, but after reading the comments on my last post, I'm starting to second guess that. Many of you said that you didn't have severe symptoms, but still found Endometriosis. I would love to do the lap first, just to rule out the possibility before we start paying for medicated cycles, but I got an estimate from my hospital and the surgery would be over $8,000. I haven't spoken to my insurance companies yet to see if they would cover any of the cost, but I'm not expecting that they will. I would just hate to spend money on Clomid to then find out that it wouldn't have worked anyways. On the flip side, I'd hate to spend $8,000 to not find anything. $18 per round of Clomid is certainly cheaper than $8,000, but it's more than the money. I'd hate to spend the time of 3-4 cycles to just find out that it wouldn't have worked. So many decisions, and I hate that it looks like money will be the deciding factor.
- All of that being said, I've started the early process of looking into an RE. Dr. B has been great at getting us this far, but if we're going to start talking about IVF (as per recommendation from Dr. B at my last appointment,) I want the experience of someone who deals with this day in and day out, not just an OB/GYN who can prescribe Clomid. How did you ladies find your RE? Was he/she someone you were referred to by your OB/GYN or did you search for them yourselves?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
So the lap to find endo...that's where they cut your abs and look for endo on your organs to clean it off if they fund it, correct? My Dr only recommended it as a total last ditch effort because it only increases your chances of conceiving to 1 in 12....not very good. Its invasive and expensive. If it had better odds of conceiving I'd do it in a heart beat but for now I am avoiding it like the plague! My abs don't need any more setbacks...
ReplyDeleteSo the lap to find endo...that's where they cut your abs and look for endo on your organs to clean it off if they fund it, correct? My Dr only recommended it as a total last ditch effort because it only increases your chances of conceiving to 1 in 12....not very good. Its invasive and expensive. If it had better odds of conceiving I'd do it in a heart beat but for now I am avoiding it like the plague! My abs don't need any more setbacks...
ReplyDeleteHmmm those figures are interesting and not very promising. I guess the thing I'm fighting is the idea of not doing the lap, going through Clomid, injectables, IUIs, whatever is thrown at me, just to do the lap down the road and find out that I had Endo this entire time and those treatments never had a chance of working. It's a hard decision, and one that Keegan and I will probably have to think over for a bit more.
DeleteI'm with you though, my abs (or lack there of,) don't need any setbacks.
Where I live, when we were shopping for RE's, there were only two choices. I looked each of them up via my insurance's website to see if either was a covered provider. One was, so I went to that clinic. Anything coded as OB related was covered. Anything coded at IF was not covered.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I think our biggest hurdle will be the fact that I'm 99% sure we'll need a referral to an RE, we can't just make the appointment ourselves. Mississippi requires a referral for acupuncture, so I don't see them being super lenient with an RE. I wonder how much I can get them to code as OB related ;-)
DeleteWhat led your doctor to think you have endo? I'm not disputing it whatsoever, I'm just curious what symptoms you have.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if it were me, I'd try 3-4 cycles with Clomid before that extremely expensive surgery. But you have to weigh the options on your own. Because the $8,000 might not mean as much to you as the potential of 3-4 lost months of time.
I didn't need a referral to my RE because of my insurance. Someone in a FB support group that lives near me recommended one that she had loved. Turns out on my last OB/GYN appointment, my doctor did recommend an RE, but I told her I didn't need her referral and that I already had an appointment set. :)
Best of luck with your decision. Hopefully, you won't even need to make it! This could be the one! FX for you!!
The lap is just something to check off the list to make sure all of my parts are working. Dr. B said that he doesn't think I have endo since I don't have many of the signs (I have had extremely painful periods, but they're not every cycle,) but he's gone into women who have had no signs and found endo. It's just an extra check up....a very expensive extra check up.
DeleteI think I'm leaning towards doing the 3-4 cycles of Clomid, and if they don't work, seeing what an RE says about everything. Hopefully one of the Clomid cycle will work and we won't have to worry about an RE or the lap!
My OB (whom I love) referred me to an RE I hated, who also ended up not being covered by insurance. So I called my insurance and picked the closest doctor with the best live birth rating, and I love him. I know the time seems wasted if you don't get pregnant, but I would try a few medicated cycles simply because of the cost and invasive nature of a laparoscopy. Time is on your side right now, and I'm one to start small and gradually move upwards. But I know sometimes I'm frustrated and wish I could start out throwing the kitchen sink at this so I can get pregnant RIGHT. NOW. so I get it. Wishing you luck!!
ReplyDeleteHappy ICLW!
ReplyDeleteI have a Tegan and Sara CD! I happened upon the CD by chance and I've only listened to them a few times, but I liked the music well enough.
Definitely talk to your insurance! Especially see if having the surgery coded as "exploratory" and no mention of infertility will help get it covered or at least a lot of it covered. I have heard that works for some.
As for endo.. I am proof of having endo, but not knowing it. My periods have always been very regular and not painful whatsoever. After TTC for almost a year, I went in for a check up and to get things started (in case we needed help). The doctors found something on the ultrasound, referred to another doctor and then had surgery. (More details can be found in my "TTC timeline" on my blog.) Even though I had the surgery, we still went through several rounds of medicated TI (because timing for IUI was off), IUIs and 3 rounds of IVF and a couple of FETs too before we finally got pregnant. All because of having endo... For me at least, I can now say that I wouldn't have gotten pregnant without the surgery, but I was also quite lucky to get pregnant with the surgery and lots of help. You need to do what you feel is best and try not to second guess the course you take.
I think I would start with seeing what your insurance will cover with the lap and then make your decision from there.
ReplyDeleteYou can still get pregnant even if you have endo, it just makes it harder. I got pregnant last October over a year after my last lap and I'm sure it had started to grow back by then. Of course I did miscarry but I don't think the endo was to blame for that. So doing the lap before clomid might not increase your chances all that much. I'd definitely get it done before you do IVF though.
ReplyDeleteHi Aislinn, Those sound like hard decisions. My RE never suggested a laparoscopy, so I'm not sure what I'd do in your situation. In my case, time was NOT on my side (DOR...), so we skipped Clomid and jumped straight to IUI with injectables... I'm with Kaiser, so I just called the main number and saw who they scheduled me with. I absolutely love him though! Best of luck with whatever you decide!
ReplyDeleteI love the picture!!
ReplyDelete