Friday, October 22, 2010

Oh Doc, Just One More Thing...

After our last WTF consult with the RE, we were a little bit in shock. The change in diagnosis and the possibility of uninsured IVF in our future were a kick in the ovaries to be sure. It actually took a few days for all of the information we'd been given to sink in, and of course once it had, we just had more questions. I called the insurance company and my HR department (several times each) and eventually managed to get confirmation of what the RE had told us:

No IVF coverage under any of the health care plans offered by my employer. Period.

Then I set about booking the second opinion with the fertility center recommended by my acupuncturist (and approved by my midwife), only to be told by my insurance company that they weren't a contracted provider so none of their services would be covered. Which after 3 days, many phone calls and much gnashing of teeth was proved untrue. So after a little more Google-mining, I put in a call to our RE with our follow up questions (answers are my paraphrase):

  • If the theory is that the recent 9 day luteal phases were really early miscarriages, then do we have a concern about egg quality or chromosomal issues? Not really
  • My acupuncturist and I were discussing my periods and it sounds like mine are clot-heavy, is this a concern? Not really (my last acupuncture treatment seems to have helped with this)
  • Can you prescribe the PIO during my next injectible IUI cycle so I can hoard it for a possible future uninsured IVF? Yes, though the cost is minimal anyways
  • Can I go ahead and get the AMH tested even though you aren't worried about it? Yes, but it may not be covered by insurance. (I am checking this out today)
  • What can you tell me about state funded grants for uninsured IVFs? Funding has run out and is not currently expected to be renewed (damn).
  • Is it OK to take melatonin to help me sleep (any contraindications)? Go ahead - it's fine.

There are a few other questions that I will pose if/when we reach the point of IVF. The melatonin question was actually a little sneaky. I read an article recently about a new study that reported improved egg/embryo quality in IVF patients who were given 3 mg melatonin. There was no information on timing/frequency of dosages, but I figured if it helps me sleep through the night AND has the potential to improve our chances it would be worth a shot.  After a week on it, I have slept through the night twice in a row, so that's good at least!

Ultimately, I chickened out of mentioning the second opinion. The Professor feels strongly that we should be upfront about it to minimize awkwardness. I will do it when I request the records, but I just caved in the moment and couldn't broach the subject.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, sounds like a frustrating few days. I'm interested to hear about the melatonin, though - I hadn't heard about that study, but if taking it could help my insomnia AND my eggs, that would be brilliant! Good news that you've had a couple of good nights' sleep with it, despite all the stresses and frustrations you've been going through.

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  2. Thanks for the mention of the melatonin study. I googled and found the study, certainly can't hurt to try it out! Egg quality is what they're attributing my recurrent loss to, though they can't be sure. And sleep would be a definite positive side effect!

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  3. I love melatonin as a sleep aid. This study made me really happy.

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  4. As I was reading this, I thought to myself, "Ugh! Why does everything have to be so difficult sometimes??????" I'm so sorry about all the phone calls, questions and frustration. I'm still grappling with the whole 'life is unfair' lesson but really... this is so annoyingly unfair. It sounds like you're doing all the right things though... step by step. Hang in there kitten!!!

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