The IVF Club

A Personal Blog About IVF Treatment & Infertility

Rants and Raves About The Cost of IVF

By Leave a Comment

As I was getting ready to undergo another IVF cycle – this time a frozen cycle, I learned that the cost had increased by 68%.  Last year it only cost $1,400 and now it has gone up to $2357.00 excluding hospital costs.  I can honestly say that an expense that high did not feature in my budget for this month!  I would have at least put my dentist off from putting that crown on my tooth that he has been waiting to do for the past 2 years.  Now I have the crown plus a higher frozen embryo transfer bill.  Nice one!  If only work paid me overtime for the time I lose when travelling.

This time the paperwork just came in the mail. No appointment to see the nurse – just the consent form to go another round and a bill! And whats worse it is probably the one time where I really do what to see my nurse.  Why? Because logistically it is a little bit more difficult this time as I will be travelling to two different Sates around the time I ovulate.

What this means is that I may need to have to have a blood test in either state. Since my fertility clinic is not available in either Adelaide or Perth, I assume I am just going to have to rock up unannounced without an appointment and have a blood test.  The question is where? What blood testing clinics are open early in the morning before the meeting I am supposed to be presenting at. Some advice right now would have been really good – particularly at an extra $957.  I guess I am not paying for the service! Maybe I have specialist embryologist or something. Damn it, I know having multiple transfers is unpopular these days but at that rate, I’d rather stick two embryos in and only pay the $2357.00 the once only to find out that my attempts at having a baby didn’t work again!  Ok – well it might work but I don’t have a very good track record with this IVF gig.

IVF Laws Discriminate the Minority

By Leave a Comment

New discriminatory laws for the small percentage of the Victorian population that are medically deemed as infertile came into effect as of 1st January.

What this means is that would be parents, including those people already undergoing IVF, are required to have child protection order and police record checks to ensure that they will be suitable parents.

People undergoing IVF constitute a small minority of people who wish to pursue the great dream of having children.  Yet they are penalised and need to be approved by bureaucrats before they can attempt conception. Its a case where the laws are targeted at a minority.

IVF patient, Carol Poole, has recently been approved to recommence IVF after running through hoops to get Police Record Checks and Child Protection Order Checks to the clinic in time so she can start another cycle.

While the whole process annoys her, she seriously doubts that the Government would have passed these laws if  they were applied to a larger number of the population.

“Imagine the widespread government backlash if the laws were applied to every person who intended on becoming a parent. I don’t imagine it would be a very popular government policy. If the laws were applied to everyone, I’m tipping their would be massive public outrage and the Victorian government would lose their next election.”

“The laws are a joke. No other country in the world requires this level of regulation in relation to IVF. The laws are clearly discriminatory,” she said.

It’s Pointless Charting Your Ovulation Cycle

By Leave a Comment

Over the last few weeks and at the insistence of my Chinese Herbalist, I have desperately been trying to chart my basal temperature in the hope that I will be able to tell when I am ovulating.  My efforts have been pretty pitiful.  It seems that when I am on holidays my routine just flies out the window.  Instead of getting up at 7am to take my temperature, I’ve been getting up at 8am or 9am or even 10am. Not a great effort when you are supposed to be taking your temperature at the same time every mornings. Even worse, some mornings I have just plain forgotten to do it.

I guess for me it doesn’t matter. I am resigned to the fact that IVF is really my only option of getting pregnant. The anti-bodies in my husbands sperm pretty much guarantee that.  So given I am not undergoing any IVF cycle, it’s pretty hard for me to rationalize that I should be charting. Its also nice actually having a break and not charting a damn thing.

Of course my herbalist sees it differently. She wants to make sure that I am actually ovulating so she can treat what conditions I might have.  Trouble is –  I already know I ovulate – I know that it usually happens a bit later than normal. I am also pretty well versed in detecting when I am about to ovulate . Of course, my herbalist doesn’t see this so she would want to see a chart! Proof!  Personally, I think she is going to have more luck in getting me to do this when I start back at work on Monday. I am also a bit embarrassed by it as I have been so lazy in recording the damn thing.

Even worse every time I see her I forget to bring her my chart so she can see how things are tracking. Somehow I don’t think she is going to appreciate looking at it when there are lots of gaps in it.  I think she might just have to wait until next month for an accurate chart – at least it  will coincide with when I am planning to have a couple of my embryos transferred and I know my motivation levels will be significantly higher. By this time, it will be two months since my last IVF failure.  I am probably a bad client.   I suppose that is the frustration of IVF.  The more you do it, the more blase you become about certain aspects of it.  You treat it seriously but not too seriously as more than likely, another failure could be just around the corner and this is not an easy thing to have to face.

New Year New Beginnings

By Leave a Comment

With 2009 behind me, maybe this year I can look forward to finally achieving a long awaited pregnancy. My renewed optimism also comes with the double edged sword of knowing that the cost of IVF has increased yet again.  This time however, it is not my clinic that has raised its prices by 15%, this time it is the Government that increased the price to end consumer.

So from the 1st January 2010, changes to the Medicare Safety net in Australia will push the price of IVF up by $1500.  The rebate has also been capped potentially pushing the final cost of  IVF up further. I also have the joy of knowing that if I do become pregnant, the cost to use a private obstetrician will be another $850. Coinciding with this change is new legislation that came into force from 1st January that would be Victorian parents must now provide Police Record and Child Protection Checks to access IVF treatment.

On a positive note, Single Women and Lesbian Couples can now undergo IVF treatment in Victoria – but the catch is that they need to be declared medically infertile before they can be eligible for the Medicare rebate. This could put strain on existing services adding to fears of lengthy delays in accessing IVF. As a consequence, not only are all IVF recipients worse off financially they will be paying for more for poorer service!

Should be an interesting year ahead, if not a more expensive one!

Why Baby Showers and IVF Don’t Mix

By 3 Comments

Yesterday I had been planning on attending a friends baby shower.  Unfortunately, the arrival of Aunt Flo after another IVF cycle put a dampener on my planned outing. Emotionally I was raw and upset from yet another failure. Whilst I am very happy for my friend, the thought of sitting with a bunch of women watching her open presents for the impending arrival of her baby boy was too much to bear.

The oohs and ahhs of potentially seeing little baby bibs, cuddle rugs and cute clothing was enough to put my head in  a tail spin.  It has nothing to do with my friends.  The thing is that with each IVF failure, you are confronted with the possibility that you might never realise your dream of becoming a parent.  Seeing iconic baby items is not helpful when you are in this phase.  You are confronted with the thought that you might never buy these items for yourself – well your own baby.

Had the shower been a week or so later, I am sure that mentally I would have been OK with attending but at the moment the pain is too raw.  In the end I had to ring my friend and explain to her that I was happy for her but I was unable to attend for fear of making a spectacle of myself by bursting into tears at the mere sight of some cutie toy baby things.  I thought it was in my best interests and also in hers that I didn’t attend.  Fortunately, my friend was very understanding and empathetic. She herself had almost been thinking of going down the IVF path at one stage as it took her quite a while to conceive. We will be catching over after Christmas so I think that is a better outcome.

I also had to ring another friend, who recently announced she was pregnant via IVF and who also was attending the baby shower.  She didn’t know anyone else at the baby shower so was looking forward to me attending.  Ringing her was not an easy task because whilst I am happy for her, it seems unfair that it only took her one stimulated IVF cycle and 2 FETs to get pregnant.  Sometimes you just want to scream “What about me?”  You also have to protect your own interests – theres nothing great about being a blubbering mess in a room full of other women or people feeling sorry for you.  We have been trying longer but have been unlucky in getting the final prize.  The unanswerable question is “will weever get there?”