I’m having a really hard time articulating my thoughts right now so I hope this all makes sense. Since my last post, we’ve had to reevaluate our choices again because we got the fee summary from our clinic for our upcoming plan, and we’re not sure we can or should proceed. If we somehow miraculously end up needing to do only one low stim cycle, it will still end up costing us another $16,000. If we end up having to do 3 or more low stim cycles (far more likely), we’re looking at spending another $25,000 or more. Here’s the fee summary we received from our clinic: MIN STIMULATION EMBRYO CRYO CYCLE, GLOBAL PACKAGE FEE $ 6,442.50 MIN STIMULATION EMBRYO CRYO CYCLE, GLOBAL PACKAGE FEE-15% ADJUSTMENT $ 5,872.38 MIN STIMULATION EMBRYO CRYO CYCLE, GLOBAL PACKAGE FEE-30% ADJUSTMENT $ 4,902.25 FROZEN EMBRYO TRANSFER, GLOBAL PACKAGE FEE-15% ADJUSTMENT $ 3,493.50 REPROGENETICS 24-CHROMOSOME PANEL (EMBRYOS 1-12) $ 5,125.00 ADDITIONAL $225 PER EMBRYO OVER 12, IF APPLICABLE TOTAL AMOUNT DUE $ 25,835.63 The above fee breakdown is for 3 Min Stimulation cycles. It will end up costing even more if we still don’t have enough embryos for testing after 3 cycles. I have to…Continue reading Hard Decisions
Tag: Pregnancy
3dp5dt FET
Today is 3dp5dt (3 days past 5 day [blastocyst] transfer). Well actually it’s the 4th day since my transfer, but it seems that the first day is counted as day 0, or at least that’s what the consensus seems to be on all the sites I’ve looked at. What does this really mean? Not too much yet. I still have 4 days until my first beta, but I really have a good feeling about this. Quite literally – I’m already feeling stuff! The first 2 days, I just felt really tired. The first day was probably from lying around all day after my transfer, but then we drove out to Temecula on Saturday for our friends’ wedding and even though I did absolutely nothing except sit in the car, and then sit at the wedding (I didn’t even dance), I felt exhausted all day. The wedding was so beautiful. It took place at the Wilson Creek Winery and it was absolutely magical. However, it was hard for me to fully enjoy it because I was so tired, and it’s always weird being the only sober person in a room. So I left the festivities at 10:30 when the wedding was…Continue reading 3dp5dt FET
What Should Have Been
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the due date for miscarriage #2. It was a pretty rough day. I spent the morning moping around the house, feeling sorry for myself. If things were different, we would have been celebrating a first birthday for Christmas this year. And when I thought about that, my thoughts started spiraling down the would-have, should-have been path of all the things that could have been. If I had a normal, healthy pregnancy with my first, and didn’t get Preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome, I would have delivered my son full term and he would be with us right now. We’d have a rambunctious 3 ½ year old boy full of joy and excitement for Christmas. If my second pregnancy hadn’t resulted in a miscarriage at 6 weeks, we would have a 2 ½ year old girl or boy. If pregnancy #3 hadn’t resulted in my second miscarriage, we would have a 1 year old right now. And if my last miscarriage hadn’t happened, I’d be going in for a c-section right about now—I can’t have a vaginal delivery because of my emergency c-section at 27 weeks with my first pregnancy (another regret)—but instead, all of these pregnancies went wrong,…Continue reading What Should Have Been
And Now We Wait… Again
The past few days have been eventful and uneventful all at the same time. I got my period the day after hearing the news about our embryo, and I got really excited thinking we would be proceeding right away, but then I had my followup appointment with my doctor and I left the conversation feeling a little deflated. The most important fact is we have our one embryo and this is absolutely cause for celebration! We still have a shot at this! We’re still in the game! Before I go over my discussion with Dr, J, I just have to highlight that because this is really great news! However, my conversation with Dr. J was a little sobering and depressing… We went over my history and discussed all my previous pregnancies. We talked a lot about my first pregnancy and how even though our son didn’t survive, it was due to a rare condition of pregnancy, Preeclampsia, and not because of a genetic abnormality, so we know I have some good eggs left. And because I carried him to 27 weeks, we also know I can carry a baby and my uterus works as it should. We also know from my…Continue reading And Now We Wait… Again
IVF and PGD Part 2 – Injections
Meds, Meds, Meds My hubby and I are becoming experts at preparing and administering all these meds. I get the tray ready with the vials, needles, gauze, alcohol wipes, and sharps container and my hubby prepares the meds and does the sticking. He’s becoming such a pro! It’s such a relief! I just can’t get the nerve to do it myself. For all of you out there who do this yourself, I am very impressed! To recap, we’re on a pretty intense schedule for meds this time around. So far it’s been a breeze with just 1 injection of Lupron (Leuprolide Acetate) at 7 am and 1 injection of Lupron at 7 pm. My only notable side effect so far is a really bad headache. It’s a bit better today, but it seems to get worse about 4 hours after each injection. I’ve read on other blogs that, headaches are a pretty typical side effect of the Lupron, and I had headaches last time with the other meds too so it was expected. Dr. J recommended upping my electrolytes last time so I stocked up on Gaterade this time and I think it’s helping. Even though we won’t be transferring…Continue reading IVF and PGD Part 2 – Injections
New test may predict preeclampsia odds in pregnant women – CBS News
Preeclampsia is a potentially dangerous complication facing pregnant women, but new research suggests an experimental test may be able to get ahead of the illness. Researchers at Kings College London say they’ve developed a new test that can predict which women will have the condition. Their findings were published Nov. 4 in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation. “The test is designed to differentiate women with preeclampsia from those with high blood pressure alone,” study author Dr. Lucy Chappell, a clinical senior lecturer in obstetrics at King’s College, said in a press release. “Current tests for the condition only detect that it’s happening, rather than predicting it, and by that time the disease has progressed and has likely already caused organ damage. Preeclampsia is a severe form of high blood pressure marked by excess protein in the urine. It affects about 8 to 10 percent of pregnant women in the U.S., according to the AHA. Symptoms that seem to occur with preeclampsia include persistent headaches, abdominal pain and blurred vision or light sensitivity. Click here to read more and view video
Preeclampsia Foundation News
Educational Conference Brought Controversies to the Forefront Preeclampsia is a complex disorder that often confounds even the most skilled clinicians, and there are very few postgraduate courses offered on this subject. One of the missions of the Preeclampsia Foundation is to fill this gap by facilitating healthcare provider education on the subject with the aim of improving health care practices. Almost every year since the inception of Saving Grace, the Foundation has sponsored a major continuing medical education event for healthcare providers in that region. Click to read more… (www.preeclampsia.org) Also check out: The Preeclampsia Registry (www.preeclampsiaregistry.org) The Preeclampsia Registry is a “Living Database” bringing together those affected, their family members, and researchers to advance knowledge and discover preventions and treatments for preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Preeclampsia Foundation Facebook Page © Preeclampsia Foundation 2013 | www.preeclampsia.org
Preeclampsia Foundation News
2013 Vision Grant Recipients to Study the Underlying Mechanisms of Preeclampsia $25,000 research grants will be presented to two preeclampsia research studies Melbourne, FL – September 12, 2013 – The Preeclampsia Foundation announced today that Ana Sofia Teixeira de Cerdeira, MD of the Harvard Medical School and Mandy Bell, PhD, RN of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing are recipients of its 2013 Vision Grants. Vision Grants are awarded to the strongest scientific proposals recommended by the Foundation’s scientific review committee with a further review by a consumer advisory board. The Foundation’s Board of Directors renders the final decision based on those recommendations. Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and fetal pregnancy related disease and death worldwide. Both recipients have the goal of better understanding the underlying mechanisms of the disease and translating their research findings to clinical application. Study #1 is working on the immune mechanisms (NK cells and Tregs) of regulation of placentation in health and preeclampsia. Study #2 is designed to clarify the role that soluble endoglin (sENG) plays in preeclampsia by investigating if differences in the genetic code of the endoglin gene and related genes account for increased sENG in women with preeclampsia. Click…Continue reading Preeclampsia Foundation News
Sharing the Love
A surprise package came in the mail today from a dear friend of mine that brought tears to my eyes. It was so thoughtful and touching, I simply had to share this gift. The best part is I don’t even know what it all is yet! The box included 14 different wrapped packages, one for each day of the 2 Week Wait. She sent it before we had made the decision to post-pone our transfer in order to do another round of meds and another egg retrieval. We made the decision to get as many eggs as possible so we’re now in a 2 Month Wait rather than a 2 Week Wait. However, I could not believe this amazing friend had take the time to collect 14 different items, wrap them all, and write an inspiring quote on each one. Each package has a number between 1-14 and is intended to inspire me and help me cope each day during the all too stressful 2 Week Wait. We all know how difficult that wait is! I know I’m going to especially need this after waiting two months to just get ready to do our transfer! To my dear friend (you…Continue reading Sharing the Love
IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)
The Journey to Having a Family Continues After the loss of our son, Holdon, my biggest concern moving forward with trying to become pregnant again was being at high risk for a reoccurrence of preeclampsia. This is still a huge risk that lurks in the back of my mind, but after my 3 miscarriages since then, this fear has been overshadowed by other fears… fear of having another miscarriage, fear of not being able to have another baby, fear of moving forward with expensive fertility treatments that don’t have a guarantee, and could result in further heartache and disappointment. However, after giving it a lot of thought, we have decided to proceed with IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). After 3 ½ years, four pregnancies, one baby in heaven and 3 miscarriages later, our journey with trying to have a baby has taken this surprising turn. It’s surprising because I always thought of IVF as a solution for infertility, and it didn’t initially occur to me that this was a solution for us because we get pregnant quickly and easily. However, the word infertility comes with different definitions and for us it means recurrent pregnancy loss. Why do IVF for…Continue reading IVF and PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)