Hey Jeska! I am in a similar situation as you. After 3 failed IUI's we have decided to do IVF in November. I also have endometriosis and my chances were over six times higher with IVF than with continuing IUI's. My insurance covers nothing infertilty related-just diagnostic testing. Unfortuntaley, I do not have any good information about financial resources for IVF. I know my clinic offers a reduced price for the 2nd IVF cycle if the first fails. They also offer something called a 'minimal stimulation IVF cycle" which doesn't involve as many injectables or monitoring so it is a lot cheapier than a regular IVF cycle. We decided to go with the regular IVF cycle because we wanted the chance at freezing eggs to use at a later time, but that might be a less expensive option to look into. Also, taking a medical loan out from the bank might be an option with less interest than paying with a credit card. We prayed a lot about what we should do and my husband and I both came to the decision that it is worth trying all hat we can instead of regretting later that we did not try everything. I know how big and stressful of a decision this is. Giod luck with your decision!!!

We're at the same point as you, Jeska. Our insurance doesn't cover anything either. Our clinic charges $12,000 for a fresh round IVF, and $3,000 to transfer from frozen, and the payment for these is up front. However, they are also partnered with ATTAIN and the ATTAIN program, if you qualify, allows you to pick from two other plans and pay them in installments. One plan gives you two fresh and two frozen attempts (but this ends if you bring home a baby, so if it works on try one, then you just overpay and whoops!), and the second gives you 3 of each. The 2 try plan is $18,.000 and the three try is $26,000 with the added incentive that, if you don't actually bring home a baby after three fresh and three frozen (if possible) tries, they refund 70% of what you paid. None of this includes meds, but covers everything else.

So, in a lot of ways, it's a gamble. I could do one round of IVF, hope that many embrys start to grow, so I can freeze them if need be, and hope that try 1 works, or pay more as a sort of insurance if it doesn't, but possibly lose thousands. It's really hard. I'm a "I'll do anything to get my little nugget" person, and my husband is more practical, so we're weighing our options. Still trying to see if we've been approved for ATTAIN before we go forward, but I think we're either going to do the 12k or 18k plan. You should see if ATTAIN is available in your area, if it's something that interests you. I don't know if you have to go to a certain clinic or how it works. It was just sort of there at mine and offered with everything else at my consultation.

Here is the link to the Attain Fertility program that Whimsical mentioned:

http://attainfertility.com/

We are starting IVF in October. With no insurance coverage at all, we are trying to figure out how in the world we will pay for it, and how many attempts we are willing to do. I know that our RE has Attain listed on their website. I don't know if the clinic and Attain have to have some sort of formal relationship or not. But, it is definitely worth researching to see if this is a good option for you. Good luck!

Hi Jeska, I also have endo and I have a low ovarian reserve. My husband has a variocelle, so IVF was our only option too. We did an IVF cycle near us and it costed us $11,000. The cycle failed so we had to look for other options. We now are using a out of state clinic called CNY Fertility and it is much more afforable with them we bought 3 cycles for less than one cycle with the clinic near us. We are on cycle number 3 currently. We also found a site where women sell their fertility meds and that has saved us a lot of money it's called free garage sale.com. Also there are grant options for fertility treatments I have heard people use and they found them online. It is a hard decision to make to do IVF, but my husband and I knew we had to do it if we wanted any biological children. I'm praying for you. Wishing you the best of luck!!

We can't afford any kind of fertility specialists either. So, we just pray.

We took an early withdrawal from our retirement. Yes, we had to pay taxes on it but it was worth it for us to try. Unfortunately, all of the money was spent on tests and 4 iui's and still no baby. We are currently saving for IVF, hopefully this spring. I racked up a lot of credit card debt in my early 20's and am still working on paying that off. I feel like I am working just to stay caught up. The good news is I learned what is really important to me and have stopped spending my money on my wants, just my needs. Slowly but surely our savings is building. I know in the beginning it feels like it will be impossible and you will never be able to save that much but for me seeing my savings grow only makes me save even more. Good luck with your decision!

Check out this link.

http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/shared_risk

Few more links. Hope these help.



http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/shared_help

http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/multi-cycle-discount-program

http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/global_fee

http://www.shadygrovefertility.com/cade_foundation

This is a HUGE decision. When we were faced with this reality, we ultimately decided our money would be better spent on an adoption rather than fertility treatments. After our adoption fell through (I say this only as part of "my story" not to scare you away from adoption. It is actually very rare for adoptions to not work out) we decided to take a totally different approach. I am seeing a Naturopath Doctor (ND) who specializes in fertility. The supplements, herbs, and vitamins I have to pay for out of pocket, however have found several reliable online stores that sell them for much cheaper than what you find at specialty stores. But I am able to use my HSA account for the prescriptions, including bio-identical hormones. It takes a longer process to do it this way; you have to be willing to try it for at least 3-6 months while your body is changing and learning how to properly work. (This is an option for both men and women). I have not gotten pregnant yet, but there have been MAJOR changes to my body that have taken place and we are moving in the right direction. After we give this a good go, we will then look into other adoption options that are not as expensive.

My whole point of it all is that there are a lot of options out there, you just really have to do your research to figure out which option is best for you.

Best of luck!

All of these responses are almost identical to my situation! Our insurance covers nothing related to infertility treatment, so 100% of our costs have been out-of-pocket. We have done several stim cycles and had 2 unsuccessful IUIs before we were told that IVF was our best option. We were also determined NOT to do IVF because of the cost, but when this was suddenly all we had left, we decided to go for it.

Our clinic offers no financial assistance and we have to pay up front. There are a couple of clinics that offer financing and packages for multiple IVF cycles, but we love our clinic and it is actually cheaper to stay at our clinic to do one cycle than it is to do financing or a package...as long as it works the first time. If our IVF isn't successful, we may consider other options, but for now, we are sticking with what we have.

We had a consult with our RE about IVF including the cost and the process, we decided to take the year off to save up for it. We are going to wipe out our HSA to pay for 1/2 of the cycle and we are working to build up our savings to get the other half paid. With meds, our IVF cycle will cost right around $10K...possibly a little less depending on how much we spend on meds this time around. We're actually following more closely to the the mini-IVF protocol that our office offers, which is the same as regular IVF, but with less monitoring and less meds. The issue with us is that I am slow to stim, so we're still going to need more meds, but since we've already done so many cycles with the same type of results, we won't need as much testing.

The important thing is to talk to your doctor and get as much information as you can. We applied for a grant, but were not selected. Others have done fundraisers to pay for cycles. We make about the same as you, so our financial picture is similar. It's hard, but we're making it work.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

I too know how hard it is to afford all of the treatments that are needed for us IF girls.
Do you own your home? Right now, there are many Home Equity loans that have interest in the 3-4%range. You can pay off your home quicker, for less each month and get cash back to help cover the cost of IVF. We just did this loan ourselves, not for IVF, but to pay off a car loan and credit card with high interest. In the process, we reduced our monthly payments by over $300 a month.
You and I are in the same area. I work at a bank and would be more than happy to help look into this for you if you are interested :) Not here to be a salesperson, but if I can help, I would love to.
It is something to think about if you have it as an option :)