Protocol and Meds Are Here

This morning, I received my FET protocol from Katie, our nurse at NEDC.  This was a nice surprise as Katie had told me earlier that I wouldn't be getting my protocol until after the 15th.  Looks like I will start Lu.pron on 8/23 and will continue on BCPs until 8/27.   I'll be putting together a calender together to make sure I get all the medications and shots all in one place.  Maybe I'll share it later.

A couple of hours later, the UPS guy dropped off my medication.  I'm quite familiar with most of the medication, except for the progesterone in oil (PIO).  They include PIO, Lu.pron kit, Es.trace, Va.lium, a whole bunch of syringes and needles, and a sharps container.

Here's the progesterone in cottonseed oil.  There are actually 4 bottles of this.  This is a new one for me.  I'm a little nervous about the PIO, to be honest.  Heard it's a real pain in the butt.  Literally.

This is the first time I have used a Lu.pron KIT.  I was surprised to open the box to see the Lu.pron bottle, syringes and alcohol pads all included.  I love this kit.  Though I can't really say that I love "Loopy Lu.pron".  I'm pretty sure I will have side effects again from this.  We'll see.

Looks like I'm ready to go.  Just need to make the appointments at the local fertility clinic for when I need to get my ultrasounds and blood draws.

Also, if you haven't already, sign up for my 40th birthday giveaway.  Make sure to leave a positive comment about turning 40.

Moving Along

Our donor families approved us to adopt their embryos on Monday.  On Tuesday, we mailed a check for the Open Donation Agreement (ODA) fees to the National Fertility Support Center (NFS).  The ODA is a contract that both the donor and recipient families sign agreeing that we will maintain communication if a child is born from the embryos adopted.  It includes such things as:

• Information of the child born (name, sex, date of birth, etc.)
• Types of information to be communicated (medical info, development progress, etc)
• Frequency of the communication that will take place and for how long
• Method of communication - email, letters, phone calls, texts, etc.
• Medium of  communication - through NFS, licensed adoption agency, attorney, 3rd party or directly between families.
• Whether there will be direct contact in the future between families and genetic siblings.

NFS' roles is to help with our embryo adoption plan and education, preparing us for openness, negotiating of our ODA with the donor families, and to support us through the embryo adoption process.  We have an initial meeting over the phone with Debbie, the counselor at NFS scheduled for next Friday.  She will help us with the mediation process for the ODA.  After this, we will also have phone meetings with each of the donor families.

Today, I spoke with the Briova, the pharmacy that will be providing us with our medications for our September transfer.  NEDC works with Briova as they are supposed to be the cheapest ones around.  Unlike our previous IVF cycles, this time around our insurance company does not provide any fertility coverage at all.  The cost of the meds will be mostly be out of pocket, adding up to around $345.  Here is the approximate breakdown of the cost of the drugs:

• Lu.pron - $129
• Es.trace - $195 (for 60 tablets)
• Progesterone in oil (PIO) - $20 (for 4 vials)
• Va.lium - $0.42

Fortunately, because we are doing a FET (frozen embryo transfer), we will not need any drugs that stimulate follicles to produce more eggs.  These stims cost thousands of dollars!  I was quite surprised at how expensive Es.trace is.  This is most likely because NEDC requires that the brand name drug be used instead of the generic.  That's more than $3 per tablet, and I have to take 2 - 3 per day!  Not sure how long I will need continue taking it after the transfer though.

What has everyone else paid for meds?