What to Expect with IVF Procedure

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I have two little boys via- IVF. I was with a different pratice, and ended up switching to Huntington Reproductive. I got prenant right away with them. My Doc (Dr. Potter) out of Fullerton was amazing,so was the staff. You really need some one you feel good with. I also refurred two friends. One of them had done IVF 3 times with a different Doc. Dr. Potter got her pregnant the first time. And one of my other friens as well. So we all have them to thank for our little boys. Huntington has packages. You can get a set of three for around 15,000. If you would like to ask me any questions...heres my e-mail ____@____.com

It depends on whether your insurance covers it or not. Ours didn't. From start to finish, we invested approxamately $12,500, delivering in Dec. 2007. We went with Dr. Kathleen Kornafel in Glendale. I hope this helps. If you don't already have a doctor, she is wonderful.

Please check out our IVF story at the link below.

http://www.10news.com/health/14730613/detail.html

Please feel free to contact us, our email address is located at the site.

Get a second opinion. Look into IUI, intrauterine insemination. I would go that route before jumping to IVF if you can. I know the hormones, drugs, and injections can be brutal with IVF, not to mention the likelihood of multiples. And take it from me, multiples are no easy ride. Mine were conceived naturally, but they ended up being born at 28 weeks. Something I never even anticipated. We're fine now, but that expereince has changed us forever and it's something I dont wish upon anyone.

Im in a multiples club. There are several who went thru IVF in our club, I have talked at great length with them about it and even watched one go thru it (unsuccessfully)recently. I know, it is a small price to pay when you want a baby, but if you can go a less invasive route I would say try that first.

My sisters husband had a low count, dont know numbers, but they tried on their own for over a year. Got tested and she was fine. So they did IUI, it took a few times and she got pregnant and had a little girl. Her second baby was just born and he was conceived the good old fashion way! So in my brother in law's case his numbers fluctuated, or he simply had one really determined little guy that made it all the way!

As far as costs go, my good friend had her twins thru IVF that cost her 20K. She did have 3 leftover embryos which they had to pay for freezing them for 3 years. She opted to have them implated recently. Which that only cost her a few thousand, but she still had to do the injections and bedrest after transfer. Only 2 made it thru defrost, and theywere graded c/d quality. They didnt take. I know too, that some clincs have drug trials where you basically get your drugs/services for free in exchange for being...well...a "guinea pig". One gal in our club did that, and got twins. I think it cost her something ridiculously cheap like $500. Good luck.

If you don't have a fertility doc yet I highly recommend Dr. Robert Anderson or Dr. Edward Dourron. They are the best, most reputable fertility specialists in Orange County. They helped us get pregnant with our little girl! They have offices in Aliso and Newport Beach. We
didn't have to do ivf - we had some other issues but they were succesful!

I'm not positive, but I did have an acquaintance that did this. I believe she said it was $1000 each time, she's done it 3x, with no success. From what I understand, it rarely works the 1st, and the 2nd isn't much better. So, it's just an investment and a practice run. Good luck!

Hello,
There is an excellent book about IVF called The Couple's Guide to In Vitro Fertilization by Liza Charlesworth that covered almost all of our questions. You may be able to get good information at the American Fertility Association also.
~Val

My sister was is the same situtation as you. It cost her around 40,000 for 2 tries. Her first try did not work :(, but they tried again 3 months later and she got pregnant. 2 years later they tried again with some embryos that they froze and she got pregnant on the first try. That time she just had to pay for meds, around 2000.00. Both of her pregnancy's were high risk, but she did great. She now has a 7 and 5 year old who are the best!! All in all it went very well because she was so healthy. Best wishes! Everything will turn out just the way it is supposed too.

I went through years of fertility treatments to have our 3 children (singleton & then twins). I was 30 when we started this, on the young side in the world of infertility. In working through the maze of treatments, we learned to always write out a list of questions we wanted to have answered a week or so prior to our consultation. Then, whenever we thought of something else or wanted to refine a question, we would do so. We ordered the questions and printed them to bring with us to the appointment. Generally, most were answered in our conversation with the doctor, but we would take the time to look through the list and pick out any that we didn't feel we had a clear answer for yet. I would suggest looking at the Resolve website as a good starting point for generating questions, resolve.org.

For us, the problem was never my husband, we were unexplained infertility, so I'm not much help with letting you know what to expect there. Our costs ranged from a total of $10,000 to $15,000 for an IVF. It depends on your age, extra procedures you have done (e.g. ICSI, assisted hatching, freezing remaining embryos) and the cost of medication which can vary greatly. My guess is that you would be on the lower end of that estimate.

Be sure to take the time to research and understand ethical issues surrounding fertility treatments like what you will do with unused embryos, whether you would consider selective reduction if you happened to conceive higher order multiples and number of embryos to transfer. Obviously you would need to work with your doctor on the number to transfer, but it's important to have researched this and have an idea of what you are comfortable with prior to undergoing an IVF.

I know that a lot of women are scared of the actual injections, but they really weren't all that bad. The more prepared you are in understanding the process, the better the experience will be. Remember to step back and make decisions based on your comfort level and your medical reasoning rather than on the emotion of desperately wanting a child and the financial impact of possibly trying another IVF.

Best of luck. Our years of trying to conceive were very difficult, but the rewards of having our 3 children now were worth everything.

Hi B.,
I myself have not gone through IVF, but I was trained to be an embryologist while in college. My teacher from embryology practiced at one of the higher end IVF clinics in Tennessee, and told us a great deal about the business. I would suggest when interviewing doctors asking the following questions:

What their success rate is?

On average how many cycles does it take? (This is important cause you pay per cycle)

How many embryos they would plan on using? (It is standard that they usually use more than one embryo to guarantee implantation, but if they use too many highly viable embryos you can end up with more kids than anticipated)

I'd like to inform you that to perform the IVF they will "superovulate" you (I am sure there is a nicer term but that is the term we use in embryology class) which entails you taking a regimen of hormones so that you can ovulate more than 1 or 2 embryos, which is the norm for women. I warn you now that I know a number of people who have gone through IVF or who have donated embryos and there is some discomfort and can be some pain when it comes to ovulation when taking the hormones, cause you are ovulating more embryos than your body is used to.
Average prices range on both the area you live in and the quality of the doctor at times. The average prices for a cycle of IVF are from $10,000 to $15,000. I would definitely check to see if you happen to have insurance that will cover any part of the costs, I know there are very few big insurance carriers that do.

I hope this helps and wish you luck!

My husband and I have been through six IVF cycles. Three since we have been in Hawaii. Ultimately, we had to get a donor for the eggs. The cost of the IVF procedure was $18,000 (our donor cost was $12,000). We had six embryos that we were able to use. Since they were of Grade A quality they would only implant two and froze the remaining four. I did get pregnant with our twin daughters and gave birth in July 2007. Since then, I did two more IVF cycles using our remaining embryos, but unfortunately we were not blessed during either of those cycles with more children. Each attempt with the frozen embryos was $4,000. So now, because we did have one success out of our six IVF attempts, we are not going to try any more. Ultimately, our six attempts cost us $50,000 total.
It's hard to explain the range of emotions when going through this process. Physically, it got harder each time for me. After you go through so many IVF cycles, I had lumps form in the areas where you get your shots and it would get a little painful. I wish you and your husband the best with whatever decision you decide to go with. Again, it is like being on an emotional roller coaster, but when you have that one success and see the heartbeat of a baby(babies) it was the greatest day ever!!! My beautiful little girls are my miracles and I feel like I'm the most blessed woman in the world.

PLs do your homework for alternatives that would be better for you and environment. Check out www.menoqueen.com site. Vickie has helped a dozen or more women have babies (some that even IVF didn't work on/some before trying that expensive/dangerous route). She's providing a live seminar that you &/or husband could attend, Thurs July 10th 7pm Contact me for location in Costa Mesa.

Dear B.,
My Neice went that route. She and her husband had spent over
$25,000.00 when it was sucessful. But... They did this some 8 years ago. And the costs have (I imagine) come down considerably.
Anyway, They had twins- A BOY AND A GIRL!!

It isn't always an inexpensive way to go, but considering that you are 36--time is at hand!!
There are plenty of orphaned children out there already.
Best of Luck to You and Your Husband,
C. S.

Before you jump into IVF, you might consider acupuncture. Here's a link to Dr. Loni Anderson in Culver City. She does a lot of work with male fertility. She's really wonderful. Good luck.

http://www.trimaru.com/

We did IVF for both of our children and we were VERY lucky to get pregnant with both times on our first cycle of IVF therapy. A few suggestions I would have for you...
1. Really do your research about the doctor/fertility clinic that you use.
2. Ask the doctor how many embryos at most they will transfer given quality of the embryos. You don't want a Dr. whose going to put in six embryos when the quality looks great - unless of course you're looking for six babies. :) And you certainly have the power to instruct the Dr. with your limits as well.
3. Ask the Dr./clinic if they have packages. Many places will give you a discount if you purchase more than one cycle upfront & you can usually use the remaining cycle(s) to get pregnant again (within the time frame allocated by your contract with the Dr./clinic) if you're blessed with a pregnancy the first round :). The rates can also differ if you are over a certain age, just so you're ready for that. We paid about $10,000 for first child & about $12,000 for our second 3 years later - that included Dr. visits, ultrasounds, bloodwork, labwork & meds - not testing or pregnancy visits, insurance will usually cover that stuff). We have a beautiful boy (3ys) & beautiful baby girl (3 months). We paid for a 2 cycle package each time & only used the first cycle with both. Our Dr.'s office will use part of the funds from unused cycles to donate cycles/therapy to families that can not normally afford fertility treatments. :) That made me feel much better about not using the remaining cycles right after each baby.
4. I recommend doing all the shots & treatments together as a couple; we thought that really helped us bond through the process - and it is an emotional one. :)
5. This brings me to what I felt was the most important one - find a doctor that has a bedside manner that fits you. If you need lots of love, hugs & support, then DON'T use with the Dr. that is very clinical. Or vice versa. I needed a "warm & fuzzy" Dr. & it really helped us with the difficult times/decisions.

Every couples experience with IVF is different (as is pregnancy & delivery), so I won't go into detail about the meds that I received or our plan, because I'm sure yours will be different (I have endometriosis so that's why we ended up doing IVF). We LOVED our Dr., but he was up in Ventura County (they have other offices throughout SoCal, if your interested). I don't have any experience with the place that you mentioned, but I'm sure you guys have done your home work & have found a great facility.

I'm happy to go into more detail or answer any other questions if you have - just email me - ____@____.com.

I wish you the best of luck for a successful therapy, a happy pregnancy & wonderful little bundle of baby to love & cherish. :)

Best Wishes & Love to you both,
E. :)

First OFF- WOW! I am even touched by the amaizing valume of response B. has recieved!

Second, I have not been through IVF or MF IF (Male Factor Infertility), but I am SI (Secondary Infertility) due to PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome). I was invited to join a Christian online Support group, and it TRULY saved my sanity! I really felt so desperate and alone, fighting the battle without even support from my Mom. Being told CRUD about how "God will bless you with another child only when he's ready. Spending money on fertility assistance won't change His mind" and, I think the most hurtful coment "a child created through fertility intervention isn't a child created by or for God!" I found http://hannahsprayer.org and begaan to get the support I DESPERATELY needed! I really didn't even have the support of my husband, but I learned through HP (Hannah's Prayer) that husbands often don't "get" the pain that infertility can cause.

So, for all of you out there that are Christian, and have ever had infertility issues, or are currently experiencing them, come join us at http://hannahsprayer.org They have multiple forums for different needs of their members. Male Factor, one for mother's of special needs kids, Mothers of Multiples (twins, trips, more), Adoption and Foster Care parents, ARTs, PCO, Motherhood, Military families,and even pregnancy- where we all rejoice at hearing (reading) that someone has won the IF battle!