A New Day, A New Doctor

A New Day, A New Doctor

For the past year, my husband and I have been traveling about 4 hours one way to see a doctor, whom we loved, to start us on a treatment for infertility. He was an awesome doctor and diagnosed me with PCOS and gave me those great weight loss pills, Metformin. But the time has come to start Clomid treatments which means that I will need to be monitored throughout the month, and as much as I love to visit my in-laws, an eight-hour round trip for a doctor visit just wasn't possible. Luckily we found a great doctor only 25 minutes away.

I have to say that I love walking into an infertility specialist's office instead of an OB GYN office because it's not littered with pregnant women waddling around. I made it about 2 feet in the door before the waterworks started. Yup, I'm "that patient." The one that blubbers from the moment they put the pressure cuff on to the time I walk out the exit door. (Wait, I'm emotional, I must be pregnant!) I think my last doctor might have named a tissue box in my honor. When the nurse walked into the room she had a look on her face like "wait, aren't I supposed to tell you the bad news, then you cry?" Luckily, they ushered me right into the doctor's office; I think it had something to do with the nervous looks on the other patients' faces. The new doctor was just as amazing as our previous one. He listened to our concerns then explained what he planned to do to fix me! We even got a print-out of our conversation and a plan of actions! Definately the best doctor's visit ever! And to welcome us into his fold, he sent me to get a gallon of blood drawn to test for everything possible. I mean, EVERYTHING ...

But it is way worth it! The doctor's plan is a concise campaign that should yield results as quickly as possible. My uterus won't know what hit her until an egg is already implanted and a zygote is growing.  The doctor's regimen starts with 3 rounds of monitored Clomid cycles, which last about a month each, and if that isn't successful we will do another 3 rounds of Clomid with intra-uterine insemination. (Yes I know what you all are thinking, it really is super romantic, NOT!) The doctor even showed us this great chart with percentages of a successful live birth on each step. After all is said and done we have about an 80% chance of getting knocked up in the next 6 months! So, I will be able to hit my goal of being pregnant before Christmas and it only took 3 years!

By the end of our appointment with the doctor the tears had dried up and we were ready to start the panel of blood tests. But before that we sat down with the financial lady and to see what that damage is gonna be over the next few months. So if you want to know how much it really costs to have a baby, grab a pen and a piece of paper . . .

Doctors visit= $200.00
Blood tests for me= $632.50
Blood tests for husband=$305.00
Clomid pills=  $25.00-$40.00
Clomid treatment with monthly monitoring= $500.00 per treatment cycle (one month)
Clomid treatment with artificial insemination= $1,000.00 per treatment (one month)

And there goes our savings! If that doesn't work we are going to start paying in arms and legs. Maybe we will get lucky and have twins; it will be like a two-for-the-price-of-one sale!

I hope these numbers don't freak anyone out too bad. Remember, this is without insurance. Most insurances will pay for blood tests and some doctors visits. And if you have any questions please just leave a comment!

Yours Truly,

Sister K