u/LateNightBoba

Scroll down for BREAKDOWN on COST, TIMELINE, PROTOCOL, and GOTCHAS!

When I first started researching IVF, I found the internet more overwhelming than helpful. The comments sections were full of negative experiences, which are valid and real, but almost nothing gave me a clear, end-to-end picture of what the process actually looks like, or what specifically made someone's experience difficult.

That's why I documented everything. IVF is already physically, emotionally, financially, and logistically intense. For first timers, the uncertainty can make it feel even heavier. I wanted to document my experience in detail, the timeline, numbers, surprises, and frustrations, in case it helps someone else who is just starting their first IVF cycle feel a little more prepared and less alone ❤️

The basics:

• Myself - 41yo east asian female, no known fertility issues, has H Pylori
• Husband - 37yo caucasian male, no known fertility issues, has H Pylori
• Location - Northern California, USA
• 2020 AMH 4.98
• 2023 AMH 4.88
• 12/2025 AMH 3.8
• 3/2026 AMH 1.67
• Two fibroids each around 20mm in size
• First AFC given by IVF clinic was 6 (taken on cycle D26)

Protocol / timeline:

• First consult (AFC + AMH): 3/24/2026 (cycle D26)
• Birth control pills: 5/18-5/25 (cycle D22-29)
• IVF cycle baseline AFC: 5/28 (cycle D32)
• Started stimulation injections: 5/29 (cycle D1)
• Meds: Follistim (150-225 units) + Menopur (75-150 IU) (5/29-6/6), Cetrotide 250 mcg (6/3-6/7), Lupron 4mg (6/7)
• Egg retrieval: 6/9 morning (36 hours after trigger)
• Protocol: ICSI + Zymot + planned gestational surrogacy

The IVF numbers:

• 3/24/2026 AFC count: 6 (3 in each ovary)
• 5/28 AFC count: 23 (12 on left, 11 on right)
• 6/2 ultrasound: 18 follicles between 6-10mm
• 6/6 ultrasound: follicles grew rapidly (11-21mm), estimated 12 eggs
• 6/9 egg retrieval: 18 retrieved, 15 mature, 14 inseminated
• 6/10 fertilization: 13 fertilized, 1 uncertain
• 6/15 blastocyst: 8 (5xAA, 2xBB, 1xAB)
• Euploid rate: TBD in 2 weeks (wish me luck!)

Hormone progression:

Day	E3G (Inito)	Serum E2	B LH (Inito)	PdG (Inito)
Stim D1	9.55	—	2.09	0.84
Stim D3	18.16	—	0.15	0.39
Stim D5	—	629 pg/mL	—	0.86
Stim D7	214.29	—	3.2	0.82
Stim D8	541.3	—	0.11	1.04
Stim D9	—	3829.6 pg/mL	—	—
Stim D10	—	4216 pg/mL	—	—
Post-trigger (D11)	—	—	52.4 mIU/mL (serum)	14.36 ng/mL (serum)

Cost:

• Initial consultation (blood + AFC): $450
• Genetic carrier screening (Natera): $249 each person
• Sperm collection + test: $1000
• Meds: $923 with insurance (see table below) through Carelon and MDR. There was also a self pay med packaged offered by the IVF clinic with Alto for $4265 (all meds + refills for the cycle)
• IVF: $27175 (medium package)
• FDA bloodwork: $1002
• Total: $31048
• 10% ($2588) discount off next cycle

Medication	Unit	Alto (out of pocket without package)	Carelon (out of pocket)	Carelon (copay with insurance)	MDR (out of pocket)
Pregnyl 10k unit	1	$193.00	$379	$62.40
Leuprolide (Lupron) Trigger	1	$210			$149.90
Cetrotide 0.25 mg	6	$336.00	$1710	$210.54
Follistim AQ 300 unit	5	$4,319.50	$2245	$250
Menopur 75 unit	18	$1,781.10	$4662	$250
Total		$7,227	$8,996	$773.04	$149.90

Estimates for surrogacy related expenses:

• Psych education $495
• Psych education with carrier $495
• Gestational carrier screening $3500
• Coordination $5253
• Transfer $7419
• Medication: $3500

IVF prep (started 2/1/2026):

• Prenatal: Thorne prenatal
• CoQ10: started at 400, later increased to 800mg
• Omega-3 / salmon oil: about 2000 mg/day
• Phosphatidyl Choline: 420mg
• Ashwagandha: 1000mg
• Vitamin D3: 125 mcg/day
• Vitamin K2: 100 mcg/day
• Selenium: Brazil nut
• DHEA: 25mg
• Magnesium glycinate: 240mg at night
• NAC: 600 mg
• Hyaluronic acid: 200 mg/day
• Melatonin: impacted sleep negatively, stopped in May
• Diet: bone broth + boiled egg in the morning, vegetable soup for lunch and dinner with added protein, no alcohol, no processed food, no sugar
• Other changes: PFAS/microplastics water filter, HEPA air filter, near-infrared and red light therapy in 25 min session 1-2 times per week, no perfume.

Useful sites:

• ivfbigdata.com
• Clinic success rates
• Fertility courses + clinic finder

What we struggled with:

• During initial outreach, the clinic promised access to services they do not actually offer, such as third party testing.
• The physician we initially consulted with went on maternity leave (ironically) right as my cycle began and I have not seen her since.
• When we got our first bill for the genetic screening test from Natera, we were told to either pay by cash now or wait until we get the insurance rate (which could end up with 5 figure bill for each person), and at that point we would lose the ability to pay the cash price of $249/person. This scare tactic caused more stress than necessary.
• Medication pricing was unnecessarily opaque and hard to optimize. Comparing pharmacies was one of the most frustrating parts. No pharmacy or website gave a simple, upfront quote showing cash price vs insurance price vs copay (Alto was an exception, it was easy to request quotes for everything but they were also expensive. But to be fair they do have a $ match offer). Every pharmacy had certain meds that were significantly cheaper than the others, but also other meds that were much more expensive, so the totals often averaged out. In theory, you could save money by splitting the order across pharmacies, but the lack of pricing transparency, insurance complexity, delivery timing, and refrigerated meds made that almost impossible to do confidently. It felt like the pricing variation was designed to be confusing, and we had to become our own pharmacy benefits manager just to avoid overpaying by thousands.
• The main point of contact kept changing, making it unclear who was responsible for answering questions or coordinating next steps. The lack of continuity made it feel like no one was holding the full picture of our case.
• We had no access to our doctor. Questions often took days to answer, even when they affected time-sensitive decisions.
• Inadequate nursing staff - took 5 nurses to get my blood the first visit, the last nurse said that my blood just "doesn't flow". I consistently have trouble with blood draws here, during the same period I had 2 Labcorp visits with absolutely no issues. Towards the end of my IVF cycle where I had to visit everyday for serum E2, both my arms were covered in bruises.
• Our initial consultation took place in March, the team reached out for semen collection in May and asked us to sign a waiver because we won't have full 35 days to satisfy the ASRM recommendation. This was a huge deal to us because they had more than a month to schedule us but not only did they mess up, they also tried to downplay it despite the fact that this could affect future surrogate use of embryos.
• No one clearly explained what to expect at each stage of the IVF process, and I felt like I was getting punished for expressing concern. My arms and legs swelled up as a side effect of BCP, I reached out to the clinic expressing concern due to family history of arthritis. Clinic did not respond. We showed up to our next scheduled appointment only to find out it's been cancelled, not knowing what happened we paid $1002 and waited 2 hours to be added back in. Later that afternoon the clinic called and informed us that the doctor decided to not move forward with our IVF due to concerns over potential arthritis flare up and would not proceed without a rheumatologist's written approval. This was one day before stim, not only had we just purchased all our medications, we also just paid for the full blood panel the morning of, which they told me they were going to dispose of. 2 messages exchanged + 1 phone call with the nurse... we reasoned, appealed, begged, offered to sign a waiver, and threatened to sue over the phone, the nurse was stone cold and said that there is nothing we can do or say to change the doctor's mind. My husband and I were in complete shock because we had already paid $30k. At this point I started to blame myself for bringing up a concern that I should've just overlooked. Knowing they weren't going to continue with our treatment, they still tested us and collected the $1k on the same day, only to dispose our samples. Surprisingly the doctor called us that afternoon, and told us we can just give verbal consent that we're aware of the risks so we can proceed, but we'd need to come in to redo the blood draw. My husband and I were dumbfounded. The call took less than 5 minutes, it was so casual and nonchalant, as if they hadn’t just put us through hours of panic, grief, anger, and helplessness. We went from being told our cycle was cancelled and there was absolutely nothing we could do, to being told it was fine to proceed after a short verbal acknowledgment of risk. There was no apology, no real explanation for why this could not have been addressed earlier, and no acknowledgment of the emotional and financial whiplash they had just caused. This was one of the most destabilizing moments of the process because it made us realize that even after paying tens of thousands of dollars, we still had to fight to be seen, heard, and treated like actual people.

What went well:

• Clinical Decision Making:
  1. the antagonist protocol was well-matched to my AFC of 23.
  2. the decision to wait one additional day before triggering was clinically sound. It allowed 5 more follicles to cross the 17mm threshold, going from 6 ready follicles to 11 overnight.
  3. The last minute Lupron only trigger decision instead of dual trigger.
• The medical team on retrieval day was kind and competent. Even though I had frustrations with communication and coordination overall, the retrieval day staff made the procedure feel manageable.
• App based coordination kept everything centrally managed in one place, I appreciated the calendar and the medication reminders.

Please keep in mind this is just one person’s experience, but I hope it gives others a clearer picture of what the process can look like in real life. Best of luck ladies!