Question by GJ: How much is the IVF and do you have to pay it all at once?
My husband and I are going to have to use the IVF to bear a child. How much is it, we are in Fort Worth, Texas. Can you make payments or is it all up front? How long is the process and how accurate? Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by double blessed
I’ve been through IVF twice. It usually runs around $ 10,000 a try. Give or take a grand or 2 depending on what exactly they do. Most places you have to pay up front. There are some places where you can pay around $ 18,000 and they will do the procedure up to 3 times (stopping once you are pregnant.) However I’ve heard bad things about these places like they control everything- including how many embryos are transferred back. We ended up refinancing our house and had to do ivf twice. But now we have to beautiful twin boys!
As far as how accurate it is I’m assuming you mean how well does it work. It depends really. Most doctors will give you a % that they base on your age, your possible egg quality and other things they’ve looked at. I’m 29 and everything looked good so the doctor said that we had about a 60-65% success rate. Have you seen a reproductive endocrinologist yet? If not go to this website- http://www.cdc.gov/ART/ART2006/index.htm
I’ts the cdc’s website on all fertility clinics/doctors in the country. It lists their success rates. If you already have a doctor you can see if he’s any good and if there’s anyone better close to you.
The whole procedure lasts about 1 1/2 months. They usually start off by putting you on the pill to regulate your period (so as soon as you stop taking them you’ll have a period and you can start taking meds to grow super follicles!) or sometimes they will just start giving you meds to stop your period and eventually you’ll get a shot that triggers ovulation and they harvest the eggs right before you would ovulate. You’ll take meds to produce multiple follicles for around 10-15 days being closely monitored by your doctor. Once most follicles reach the correct size they will harvest and fertilize them. Usually about 3 days later they will transfer them back into you. Sometimes they will wait 5 days. It depends on how the embryos are developing. Then you wait for 2 weeks to take a blood test to see if it worked. It’s a very stressful procedure but I’d do it a million more times to get my boys!
I would suggest reading 2 books
1. The Couple’s Guide to In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Your Chances of Success by Liza Charlesworth- This will give you a more detailed description on what will happen so you’re prepared.
2Nurturing Yourself Through IVF: Improve Your Experience, Maximize Your Odds of Success by Lynn Daley. I read this when my first try failed and wished I would’ve read it before. It really helps prepare you emotionally and mentally I think.
Last, I always tell people who are going to go through this to stay as relaxed and stress free as possible. It’s a tough thing to go through and stress levels can run high especially with all of those drugs in you. Stay positive and relaxed. I think this makes a huge difference.
I hope you end up with a successful pregnancy! Infertiltity is a tough road but stay strong! If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me! I’d be glad to help if I can!
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