u/fluffy-smols

Hello!

My husband and I are currently going through IVF and have a $50k lifetime benefit through Carrot Fertility.

We just completed our first round of egg retrieval and were shocked to discover we’ve already burned through $38k of our lifetime benefit. Here is the breakdown of what was billed:

PGT-A Testing Package: ~$2,600
Stim / Egg Retrieval Cycle with ICSI: ~$14,000
Anesthesia: ~$800
Medications: ~$23,000

When we ordered the meds through our insurance’s preferred pharmacy (CVS Caremark), the representative told me our copay was only $156 out of pocket. What I didn't realize at the time was that they were billing $23k directly toward our $50k Carrot lifetime max.

I later found out that if we paid out of pocket for those same medications, it would have only cost around $5k–$6k total. I really wish I had known to pay for the meds out of pocket myself so that we could have saved our Carrot funds to finance another round of IVF.

I wish these benefits were easier to understand

ELI5: Why is the insurance-billed price for prescription medications so drastically higher than the self-pay cash price?

i had my egg retrieval yesterday and we just received our numbers. i feeling mixed emotions. on one hand i feel that it is incredible what science can do. 4 fertilized eggs!

and on the other, i am scared and worried. my numbers seem low. how did you all stay positive and relaxed? anyway to not over think? we will not find out how many make it to blast for 7 days. we are going to pgt- a test our blasts

we also have to decide if we should to do another round. is it too early to think about that? should we?

9 retrieved
5 mature
4 fertilized

39 years old.

hi! i wanted to ask about the ultrasounds and measuring follicles during stimulation.

my baseline count was 12 in left ovary and 7 in the right. 19 total.

i am on day 5 of stims. today my ultrasound counted and measured 7 in the right and in the left ovary they counted 5 of which only 3 were measurable

i was prepared for attrition, but didn’t realize it could happen this early on. could this change by egg retrieval, or is my new follicle count 10?

id love to hear about your experiences of follicle counts during stimulation.

thanks in advance

editing to add: i am 39, have low amh, a history of early miscarriage and am on micordose lupron flare protocol

hi!

this will be my first round of ivf. i am going to start taking shots in a few days. next week i have tickets for my husbands fav artist as a gift for his birthday. i really want to take him! but itll likely be day 7ish of hormone stimulation

am i crazy for thinking i can do this !? concert starts at 8.