PGD info submitted to insurance for review

After a ton of run around (and much stress) I finally got things submitted to our insurance for review to see if they will give me authorization to do the PGD testing (embryo testing, (do it on day 3) that helps us see which one's are chromosomal normal to help our chances of pregnancy and no mc - at my age 1 in 5 embryo's will not be normal so this will help us determine which one's we should transfer, give us better chances). 

They are reviewing the information from my Dr. and should have a answer in a week or so. 

PLEASE PRAY they approve this testing and will pay for it. Doing this test will really improve our chances and being this is our last fresh IVF we really need this to be something we can do. After all the stress I went through to get this information submitted to them I just need them to say yes and give us authorization for this testing.

12/4 - Totally bummed - Insurance denied the PGD genetic testing. Without this testing no way to know if any of my embryo's are any good could be going thru IVF for nothing. Starting to feel like it does not matter what we try we won't end up parents. :(

Started Provera

CD22 today. Started in on Provera yesterday for the next 12 days to bring on my period. Meds usually work pretty fast on me so I am thinking by next week we will be getting this IVF going. Not looking forward to winter here in WI and snow and trips back and forth to our clinic almost 2hrs one way. Had a dusting of snow already this week just praying it all holds off for us. Scott should be able to do some driving soon his shoulder is getting better, if nothing else I can shift for him if the weather is bad he is better at handling it then me. I don't see us being able to consult in IL with Dr. K this time around just too much travel and I won't drive there. I'll just have to go off what we did in the past for starting my blood thinners, predisone and setting up the intralipids. I can't really do the NK killer testing anyway as my insurance is bawking at paying for repeated testing right now and being stuck with $900 lab bills each time they test is not what we can do.

The main issue now is getting my IVF medications. I have most leftover I can use but there is one I still need. I've been going crazy dealing with my insurance's new policy that says I need pre-auth to get my IVF medications now. My Clinic had to re-fax them the information as they said they did not get it all the first time. I've been on the phone Friday, Monday and Today going back and forth and about to pull out my hair just to get my meds. And the specialty pharmacy is closed for the holidays on Thurs and Friday so I don't know if I will even get my meds shipped out this week. Thankfully I have 5 shots of a similar med Ganirelix we can use if the Cetrotide does not show up in time. Also still dealing with getting my insurance the information they need to review for the PGD testing pre-auth they said they never got that fax also and I had to have my clinic re-fax. It's enough to drive one crazy dealing with this all and some of my insurance reps are down right rude and you never get the same rep so I have to explain the situation every time I call. Right now I am waiting to call again as they did finally receive the fax for my medications but the nurse has to review it yet today.

Thanksgiving will just be me and Scott. My sil passed away in Oct of cancer and she always hosted thanksgiving for my husbands side of the family and with her gone it seems they won't be getting together this year. My mom is gone volunteering to help with a community meal. We don't really have any other family so it gets lonely for the holidays and not something I even look forward to anymore. More than likely we will end up with a close to Christmas transfer again this time around. Our #3 IVF we transferred on Christmas Day. Making any Christmas plans is hard to do till I get my calendar.

Getting very weary of  the constant stress of ttc. My 40th Birthday is coming up Dec. 10th closer we get the more down I've been feeling. I think last 6 months I really been feeling my age and looking at friends with kids almost grown makes me feel even older and sadder while we have none. Tired of having a empty nest and nothing to look forward to especially around the holidays. So ready for our Christmas Miracle!!!

Karyotype Tests

Very happy my dh and I karyotyping genetic testing came back normal. Guess it's one more thing ruled out as the problem. So now we are just waiting on getting my IVF meds and see if insurance will approve PGD testing of embryo's. Should be starting provera soon to get things going waiting on a call from them yet to tell me when to start. Really hoping a fresh cycle will be it for us that things will work this time around.

 

Sonohystergram

This past Friday I had my Sonohystergram test done with my RE. Everything looked good, the tiny cyst was gone but no guarantee it won't return when I start meds again. This time around it was very painful lots of cramps but thankfully it didn't last long. They put me on antibodies for 5 days but I've had lots of spotting and period like cramps since Friday, can't remember if I had this last time they did this test or not. Hopefully it goes away soon or I may have to let them know. Now it's just waiting for our Karyotype tests to come back.

Nov 12th - one year of loss

Today has been a difficult day. One year ago we found out baby H or Uriel as I named him/her had no heartbeat and didn't grow past 6wks. It was one of the saddest days of my life and one year later it has not gotten any easier. My dh says we can't live in the past but for me I won't ever forget the life that was and could of been and continue to pray my arms won't remain empty forever. 

It's made even harder as I had really thought by now we would of been pregnant again. Never would of imagined we would still be trying and looking at doing IVF again. All I have of Uriel is a one ultrasound pic and bfp hpt to show he/she even existent. I do wonder if someday in heaven I will see the children we lost if they will all be there so I can meet them and get to know who they where suppose to be. 

"When you lose a parent you lose your past. When you lose a spouse you lose your present. When you lose a child you lose your future. When we lost our child. We lost the child, we lost all the hopes and dreams we had for that child. We live with the would of, could of. We long for, miss and love our child as long as we take breath." 

Lab Results for IVF#4

Fertility clinic called getting my meds called in for IVF. I still have follistim left from last IVF we can use so just needing the cetrotide and antibodies and valium for transfer. Plenty of PIO and Estrogen left too. Will be on blood thinners and predisone and do intralipids again too.

Told me that my AMH is 5.0 (which is ok for PCOS just means I don't ovulate every month) and my FSH is 3.92 - so both normal and good for someone who is turning 40 in a month. So one less thing to worry about should be good to go for eggs this time around. 

The FSH results will also go into my insurance to see if we can get approval for the PGD testing. Really praying they do as I know it is something that can really help determain which embryo's are normal to transfer and drastically reduce chance of mc.

Now it's on to Friday's sonohystergram and hoping no cysts still lingering or anything abnormal.

Then it's just waiting for Karyotyping tests results if normal I start in on provera to bring on a period and we get going.

I am enjoying the time off from ttc right now. Taking care of my dh from surgery and giving him time to heal also. I just hope we get our Christmas miracle finally as every year that goes by I keep thinking this will be it. 

IVF #4 and Life

Yesterday was a LONG day. Up at 5:30 to get my husband to his PT apt. PT went well he can't really use his arm at all no lifting of anything hardly any movement it has to stay in the sling, just can move his hand and do a few exercises with his shoulder shrugging, he won't be able to even start back to lifting till almost end of Dec. and then through Jan work on building back strength so this is going to be a long process.

Then I drove to my RE apt Scott helped keep me awake and focused but it was really hard to get there and back driving. We decided to do the karyotyping testing and had blood drawn for me and Scott, only bummer is it can take a few weeks to get the results and we can't move forward with IVF till we know if something genetic is wrong. Talked over a plan to start in on Ganirelix or Cetrotide right away with the Follistim (instead of day 5-6) to keep the LH surge down as it may help PCOS patients have better egg quality and that they also only use lupron now to trigger to prevent OHSS. My RE is going to send in the info to my insurance to see if we can get approval for the PGD/PGS testing of the embryo's that is another thing that may help just in the aspect of telling them which one's would be normal and which one's not meaning I would probably mc those not normal one's so we don't transfer them. Also means all of them could be abnormal too. Don't have the results of my AMH or LMH in yet but he said either way we would start at the max of Follistim 450IU again. So right now it's more waiting and praying that the karyotyping is normal and if we see any issues during the sono like the tiny cyst that we can just drain it, and this all getting done before Dec. 31st.

Figure my goal next few weeks while waiting is eat healthy and lose the weight I put back on so back to exercise and a detox. Also will give my dh some time to recover from his shoulder surgery before we start in on stimming and apt's etc. for IVF. I don't think I will be able to get to IL to see Dr. K this time around with my dh not able to drive there so not sure if I will get her opinion on things yet or not this time around. Hoping to get some much needed sleep today and tomorrow as I am so exhausted from this week's activities my body really needs it.

DH Shoulder Surgery Day

Today was my husbands shoulder surgery. Had to be at the surgery center by 6:15am to check in and then we where there till after 1pm. The surgery went well but the damage to his shoulder was worse than what the Dr. thought when he got in there. His bicep in the shoulder area was 50% torn and out of the grove it's suppose to be in so he had to cut it and reattach it in the right place repairing the tear etc. Also did the AC joint and cleaned up the bone spur arthritis area. After recovery he should be pain free in that shoulder we hope.

Now the recovery process begins. Since things where worse it looks like he will be off work longer then the 8weeks we thought maybe more like 12 now to allow the bicep to heal cause of the kind of job he has he can't go back till he can lift again. Little worried how we make it that long on less pay with his disability will be a few lean months for us. Friday starts his PT already. Right now he is hooked up to a ice machine that is attached to his shoulder and pumps cold water over it 24/7 to keep the swelling down. I have to fill the machine up with new ice and water every 6hrs or so. So far the only pain is in his back, he has a nerve block on his arm and it has not worn off all the way yet so for now his shoulder is not too bad.

Going to be a challenge to help him through his recovery and also do our IVF. After we got home today I ran into town to the local lab to do my FSH labs tonight. Friday after I take dh to his pt he is riding along with me to see my RE, I'll have to do the driving for now which is hard on me as I have driving anxiety so praying the weather is good. Got to think of questions and what I want to go over with my RE for this IVF cycle so we can have a good plan going forward.

Thankful that tomorrow we have no apt's and we can both rest. Before his surgery I had him help me with a ton of cleaning and pick up outside etc. cause I knew he would have no use of his arm for awhile, so glad we got stuff done. I am worried about snow though still need to find help if it does snow for removal.

IVF#4 getting the ball rolling

Yesterday my husband and I went and had our blood work up done at the local lab. We had to repeat all the infectious diseases tests and my TSH and AMH had to be done.

AF also showed up late last night so today is CD 1. I will be doing some more labs FSH on CD 3 Thurs. so we can apply to our insurance to see if we can get coverage for PGS Genetic Testing of our embryo's. I called my insurance yesterday on a whim to see if they cover it as without coverage it's over 5k to get done and they said I have to send in day 3 blood work and medical notes/records from my RE as to why it would be necessary to do the PGS testing and then a nurse looks it over and decides if they will grant coverage so I am going to try for it.

PGS generally refers to the screening of chromosomes for aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes). PGS is the term used more often by reproductive endocrinologists when discussing infertility with couples struggling with issues involving age, repeated in vitro fertilization (IVF) failures, recurring miscarriages, or having had pregnancies that were genetically abnormal.

Today I talked with our clinics IVF cord. and set up a apt with my RE on Friday at 11am for a consult about the fresh IVF go over a plan what we can do different or better than last times,really want to make sure we have the best plan for me having PCOS and embryo quality this time around, talk about the genetic testing options and doing the karyotyping blood work too. I feel good about doing this as I have hardly been able to see or talk to my reg RE during my FET's as he was out for medical reasons then seemed really busy. I think sitting down and going over a plan will be good and set my mind at ease.

Then next Friday the 15th I will have the Sonohystogram done. It's one of the requirements to do a fresh IVF and I have not had one done in 2 years. My RI also recommended I get one done if the last FET failed to make sure the small cyst she keeps seeing is nothing of a issue. My RE felt it was not so we will see what it reveals. I hope nothing bad or that delay everything for us. I am not looking forward to going through the procedure again it's not pleasant. I think most of what I've had to do is not pleasant but one finds the strength within to endure and push through the parts that suck cause you want to achieve the dream so badly.

We will then induce a period earlier with medications sometime after that so I can get a fresh IVF done before Dec. 31st. Or at least that is what me and the IVF cord talked about will see what my RE wants to do. Will have to be firm with him as we have to do this and complete the transfer by that date or we can't at all. Our insurance starts all over on Jan 1st and coming up with everything out of pocket again is not in the cards for us at this time. This IVF is our last shot. We said we would go till we had nothing left and this is kinda it for us. I need a good plan and everything to work out right this time, a happy ending.

Going to be tricky fitting this all in this week. My husbands shoulder surgery is Wed. His first pt is Friday at 7:30am is at least an hour long. I got to drive him to that then will have to drive to my RE place (1 1/2hr one way) after that to be there by 11am. Praying God helps me drive and the weather is good clear roads cause I am not a driver will be a challenge for me.

Kinda ok with waiting as there is a lot going on right now to be starting stims. Gives us time with my dh surgery for me to concentrate on that for a bit first, take care of him while he recovers and my body a little break. May also be able to get down to chicago too to consult with Dr. K my RI before the fresh IVF starts to get her ideas on things. That one I can't drive to so will have to see how my dh feels after surgery and go from there on when to make the apt. to do that trip.

Thinking I will do a detox too get all the crap out of me before the next round begins of meds. My dh wants to do it with me so that will help. Be good if I lost the weight I put back on doing our FET's before IVF starts. 

Still a lot of things that have to go right in order to do this IVF. All my labs have to come back ok. The sono has to be clear too. So please keep praying for us. 

IVF#4

Guess it is on to our final fresh IVF cycle. Since it's been 2 yrs since our last fresh cycle we have to repeat all the testing. I find it odd that it's ok to do FET's but when you want to go to a fresh they want you and your husband to do the infections disease screening again before you can start. I have to check my AMH levels and TSH/Thyroid (which I have been doing last few weeks during FET so that one I just had faxed to my clinic). Hopefully we can get to the lab on Monday and get our blood taken for the labs they want done on us. I also have to have a Sonohysterogram ultrasound around day 5 after AF shows up. Hopefully we can still start stimming in the same month or it won't work to get it all in before the end of the year which it has to as we can't afford to start all over with our deduct etc.

My RI also wants me to come back to chicago and have a apt. to talk over the failed FET's and plan going forward. I will wait to do that though until we make sure we can do the fresh IVF and have a calendar going.

It's going to be tricky doing this all as my husband goes in for shoulder surgery on Nov. 6th and he is my driver so for awhile he will have to be my helper/passenger as I have to drive to my RE clinic and he can direct me as I am bad at how to get places and deal with driving anxiety. I won't drive to Chicago that he will have to do and I'll just have to help him shift into park, drive etc. At least he will be off work so we won't have to worry about that.

Still have a lot that has to come together very soon to do this while we still have insurance coverage. The labs, (being ok as far as my AMH and having enough egg reserve), then AF has to come in the next few days but not till like Tuesday so my Sono ultrasound won't fall on the day my husband has surgery or the day after and my husband being ok while recovering from surgery to be there for me and me for him through the IVF and him recovering and healing.

Will be a challenge but then what else is new, our lives are always a challenge and this is our last shot right now so prayerfully God will work it all out, I am not going to stress about it and giving it to him. Things may not work to do a fresh or they will come together and it will, just will have to see what happens in the next few days.

Please continue to pray for us and the fulfillment of God's promise in our lives. I felt God speak to me to prepare my heart, my home over 10yrs ago to become a parent. We went through a lot of stuff dealing with our past, having a nursery partially set up, doing all the medial things to find out what was causing my infertility. I don't feel I was wrong that God spoke to me to prepare to get myself ready .... sometimes I wonder though why after 5 transfers and many years of ttc on our own it still has not happened for us. Been praying for God to show me anything else that needs to be dealt with so he can bless us and heal me of this disease.