Hey, everyone, I'm Jessie and welcome to my little corner of the blogoverse! DH and I have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, but we turned out to both be carriers of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Because of that, we're waiting to be able to have IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). What we're waiting on right now is the PGD lab creating the probe, which is what they compare each embryo against to see which ones would have SMA. We're hoping to be able to start a cycle in June, after a LOT of insurance nightmares.
After a bit of a hiatus for me to get over pneumonia, this is going to be a busy ICLW! NAIW starts on Sunday, and I'll be doing a blog post for Bloggers Unite at some point in the week. I'm also participating in Advocacy Day on Wednesday, and I'm sure I'll be writing about that. On Mondays (usually), I post a song that has touched me during the week. I've also been posting a poem every day this month (except when I was too sick) for NaBloPoMo. I've been posting all of my own work at this point, although none of it is new. I'm also starting to participate in Mel's MFA Sunday School, so hopefully I will start creating new work again. Maybe I'll even write more of the book I started many years ago. Come along with me on the adventure and find out!
Showing posts with label ICLW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICLW. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
ICLW Madness
Now that I've got less than a full cycle to go before my treatment cycle, I actually found myself thinking as I was commenting that I'll be starting IVF "soon." At the same time as that made me a little nervous and worried that something will still come along to get in the way, it feels good to think of it as coming soon.
Also, I'm seeing if I can reach Iron Commenter this month. We'll see if I can manage it despite the packing. One thing that keeps hitting me, though, it how freakin annoying those captchas are!! Do people really have that many issues with spam commenters?!?
Also, I'm seeing if I can reach Iron Commenter this month. We'll see if I can manage it despite the packing. One thing that keeps hitting me, though, it how freakin annoying those captchas are!! Do people really have that many issues with spam commenters?!?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
ICLW #6
Hi, everyone, and welcome to my happy home (or something like that). Basic overview is that DH and I are waiting a month and a couple of days to be able to start IVF #1 with PGD. We have unexplained IF, but we found out as we were getting ready to try to have IVF #1 last summer that I'm a carrier for spinal muscular atropny (SMA). A few months later, we found out DH is as well, leaving us with the options of IVF with PGD or continuing to try naturally and taking our chances with the 1 in 4 odds of having an affected baby. Needless to say, we're going with Option 1.
However, insurance didn't agree with us at first. We had been planning on starting this cycle at the first of the year when my insurance company denied the IVF because we hadn't tried IUI first. The especially crazy part of that is that they had authorized the PGD while denying the IVF! I appealed the insurance decision after having to wait a month to get my letter of medical necessity from my RE, and we got the word that the appeal had worked about 2 weeks ago. So now we wait. Fortunately, one week of the waiting will be much less onerous, since we will be going to Costa Rica with DH's father and his father's boyfriend. We're really looking forward to leaving next Tuesday!!
However, insurance didn't agree with us at first. We had been planning on starting this cycle at the first of the year when my insurance company denied the IVF because we hadn't tried IUI first. The especially crazy part of that is that they had authorized the PGD while denying the IVF! I appealed the insurance decision after having to wait a month to get my letter of medical necessity from my RE, and we got the word that the appeal had worked about 2 weeks ago. So now we wait. Fortunately, one week of the waiting will be much less onerous, since we will be going to Costa Rica with DH's father and his father's boyfriend. We're really looking forward to leaving next Tuesday!!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
ICLW #5
I'm in a very different place in my process from the last time I actually wrote an ICLW post, two months ago. At that point, we were waiting for the results of DH's genetic screening, but I didn't really think that it would come back positive. I figured we would be doing IVF for our first try, but only because we already had the meds and the insurance rep had (falsely) told me we didn't have to do IUI before IVF.
Now, I write this looking back on a month that has left me lucky to still have hair I haven't pulled out. DH turned out to also be a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy, so we prepared for IVF with PGD, hoping to start our first cycle on 12/31. On 12/20, the insurance denied the cycle because we didn't count as IF because of having had a miscarriage in the last year. Funny, since I've never been pg. Then they denied me because we hadn't tried IUI first. Never mind that they had approved the PGD and you have to do IVF to get the embryos to test through PGD.
I had to wait 29 days to get the letter of medical necessity that I need for my appeal of the denial. I got it this past Thursday and mailed the appeal on Friday with signature confirmation. Tomorrow evening, I'm going to see if it was received yet so I can start counting down the 30 calendar days they have to make a decision.
As far as the PGD, my clinic really wanted to use a lab in California because they don't like the local lab anymore. The lab in California would have cost us an extra $1000-1500 or so out of pocket and would have taken over 8 weeks to make the probe, so we're insisting that they use the local lab. My nurse said on Thursday that she's going to put in the referral for that lab, and hopefully that can get going while I wait on the appeal. The Maryland lab will only take 3 weeks to make the probe once we get whatever samples they need to them.
I'm really hoping we can start a cycle at the end of March...that would work out nicely timing-wise (if it takes, of course) around stiff that I have going on at different times this year. I'm still afraid to have hope for actually getting pregnant, but it feels safe to be able to hope for that, since there is a deadline on how long CareFirst has to decide on the appeal and medically there's no reason for the appeal not to work. Then again, medically, there was no reason for the denial in the first place, so who knows.
Now, I write this looking back on a month that has left me lucky to still have hair I haven't pulled out. DH turned out to also be a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy, so we prepared for IVF with PGD, hoping to start our first cycle on 12/31. On 12/20, the insurance denied the cycle because we didn't count as IF because of having had a miscarriage in the last year. Funny, since I've never been pg. Then they denied me because we hadn't tried IUI first. Never mind that they had approved the PGD and you have to do IVF to get the embryos to test through PGD.
I had to wait 29 days to get the letter of medical necessity that I need for my appeal of the denial. I got it this past Thursday and mailed the appeal on Friday with signature confirmation. Tomorrow evening, I'm going to see if it was received yet so I can start counting down the 30 calendar days they have to make a decision.
As far as the PGD, my clinic really wanted to use a lab in California because they don't like the local lab anymore. The lab in California would have cost us an extra $1000-1500 or so out of pocket and would have taken over 8 weeks to make the probe, so we're insisting that they use the local lab. My nurse said on Thursday that she's going to put in the referral for that lab, and hopefully that can get going while I wait on the appeal. The Maryland lab will only take 3 weeks to make the probe once we get whatever samples they need to them.
I'm really hoping we can start a cycle at the end of March...that would work out nicely timing-wise (if it takes, of course) around stiff that I have going on at different times this year. I'm still afraid to have hope for actually getting pregnant, but it feels safe to be able to hope for that, since there is a deadline on how long CareFirst has to decide on the appeal and medically there's no reason for the appeal not to work. Then again, medically, there was no reason for the denial in the first place, so who knows.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
ICLW #3
Welcome fellow bloggers and commenters! I'm Jessie and this is my own special place to acknowledge the fun kind of hell that is infertility. Can you tell I like sarcasm?
I'm actually a little more upbeat and sunshiney than usual lately because my 30th birthday is on Wednesday. Maybe it's because I've gotten to watch all my friends turn 30 already (ah, the joy of having a late birthday), or maybe it's because it would be really hard for 30 to be worse than 28 and 29 were, but I'm actually really looking forward to 30. We'll see how long that lasts, but for now I'm going to enjoy it!
In terms of our IF journey, DH and I started trying in August of 2009. We had some basic testing in the summer of 2010 and then found out after $1400 in bills that our insurance didn't cover testing. I got insurance that did cover it this summer, and we got a diagnosis of unexplained infertility and were preparing for IVF #1 when we found out that I'm a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy. After several more insurance issues, we've finally been able to do the test to see if DH is also a carrier, and we've got 2-3 weeks now to wait for the results. We're hoping to get the coinsurance together to be able to try again on IVF #1 early in the new year. Until then, the waiting game continues.
I'm actually a little more upbeat and sunshiney than usual lately because my 30th birthday is on Wednesday. Maybe it's because I've gotten to watch all my friends turn 30 already (ah, the joy of having a late birthday), or maybe it's because it would be really hard for 30 to be worse than 28 and 29 were, but I'm actually really looking forward to 30. We'll see how long that lasts, but for now I'm going to enjoy it!
In terms of our IF journey, DH and I started trying in August of 2009. We had some basic testing in the summer of 2010 and then found out after $1400 in bills that our insurance didn't cover testing. I got insurance that did cover it this summer, and we got a diagnosis of unexplained infertility and were preparing for IVF #1 when we found out that I'm a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy. After several more insurance issues, we've finally been able to do the test to see if DH is also a carrier, and we've got 2-3 weeks now to wait for the results. We're hoping to get the coinsurance together to be able to try again on IVF #1 early in the new year. Until then, the waiting game continues.
Friday, October 21, 2011
ICLW #2
As we get into my second International Comment Leaving Week, it's been an eventful week over in this part of IF-land, rife with hard financial decisions.
For those new to the story, DH and I are currently stalled out waiting to find out whether he is a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy, like I am. Finding out that I'm a carrier killed our cycle from last month before it started and pushed us into a new insurance year and new insurance plan, taking us from no coinsurance for IVF to $1500 coinsurance. We've been waiting for insurance coverage for DH in order to get the testing done. He could have gotten it done while he was on my insurance this month, but it's taken two weeks so far to find out what effect that would have on the HSA that covers my deductible. His new insurance will take effect this weekend, and once we know his insurance numbers, we can order the test for him. We can't really afford to do the test at this point, since it would fall under the deductible and thus come out of our pockets. At the same time, the emotional cost of being stalled out is high enough that DH said tonight that we can't really afford not to do it now either.
Speaking of costs we can't afford, my oldest cat, Kechara, was sick again over the last couple of weeks. Through it, we found out that even when he was healthy, he was losing weight. He's lost 5 pounds over the last year or so. The vet said last night that if his labwork came back normal, which it basically did, that we'd be most likely looking at cancer. However, there's no way to tell unless we do an x-ray ($150) and possibly an ultrasound (a couple hundred dollars). And if we find out that he does have cancer, we'd have the question of whether surgery would be helpful or harmful and, if it would be helpful, whether we could afford it. There would be no way to afford it without putting our dreams of IVF on hold for a while longer.
So I'm feeling caught between whether to possibly save the life of the furry child I have now or whether to create my possible human child. Either way we're looking at uncertainties and possibilities. I don't know if Kechara has cancer. I don't know if we would be able to conceive on the first try with IVF. I don't know if he does have cancer, if it would be operable (without hurting him more than it helps). I don't know if we could become pregnant through IUI instead of IVF. I don't know how long Kechara would live if cancer was able to be surgically removed...he's 12 years old, but before last year he was perfectly healthy despite being overweight. I don't know anything except that it will break my heart whenever I do lose Kechara and that it's breaking my heart not being a parent to a human child.
For those new to the story, DH and I are currently stalled out waiting to find out whether he is a carrier for spinal muscular atrophy, like I am. Finding out that I'm a carrier killed our cycle from last month before it started and pushed us into a new insurance year and new insurance plan, taking us from no coinsurance for IVF to $1500 coinsurance. We've been waiting for insurance coverage for DH in order to get the testing done. He could have gotten it done while he was on my insurance this month, but it's taken two weeks so far to find out what effect that would have on the HSA that covers my deductible. His new insurance will take effect this weekend, and once we know his insurance numbers, we can order the test for him. We can't really afford to do the test at this point, since it would fall under the deductible and thus come out of our pockets. At the same time, the emotional cost of being stalled out is high enough that DH said tonight that we can't really afford not to do it now either.
Speaking of costs we can't afford, my oldest cat, Kechara, was sick again over the last couple of weeks. Through it, we found out that even when he was healthy, he was losing weight. He's lost 5 pounds over the last year or so. The vet said last night that if his labwork came back normal, which it basically did, that we'd be most likely looking at cancer. However, there's no way to tell unless we do an x-ray ($150) and possibly an ultrasound (a couple hundred dollars). And if we find out that he does have cancer, we'd have the question of whether surgery would be helpful or harmful and, if it would be helpful, whether we could afford it. There would be no way to afford it without putting our dreams of IVF on hold for a while longer.
So I'm feeling caught between whether to possibly save the life of the furry child I have now or whether to create my possible human child. Either way we're looking at uncertainties and possibilities. I don't know if Kechara has cancer. I don't know if we would be able to conceive on the first try with IVF. I don't know if he does have cancer, if it would be operable (without hurting him more than it helps). I don't know if we could become pregnant through IUI instead of IVF. I don't know how long Kechara would live if cancer was able to be surgically removed...he's 12 years old, but before last year he was perfectly healthy despite being overweight. I don't know anything except that it will break my heart whenever I do lose Kechara and that it's breaking my heart not being a parent to a human child.
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