Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The drama...and the ridiculousness!

OK, so I posted earlier about CC.R.M. wanting me to take progesterone support for longer this luteal phase to extend my cycle, blah blah blah, for their scheduling purposes.

No biggie.

I usually take prom.etrium but they wanted me to switch to endo.metrin, three times per day. My nurse said that the endome.trin thrice daily was equivalent to the 200 mg prom.etrium once daily but that they saw higher progesterone levels on the thrice daily regimen.

So they called in the endo.metrin to Wal.greens. When I went to pick it up on the day I was to start it, here's what I hear: "Oh we don't carry that. No Wal.greens in this town does."

So I called my nurse and she was like "Oh just fill the prom.etrium." Wal.greens then ordered the endo.metrin, which came in today.

Cost for the pro.metrium? $30. Insurance covers it!
Cost for the endo.metrium? $350, for fourteen days worth. Insurance denied it because it's a 'fertility med.'

I guess I don't see the difference...two different brands/forms of progesterone, right? Geez.

The ridiculousness: we've spent nearly 75K at this point, so what's 350, right? I guess I need to do the endo.metrin because it's supposedly 'better' and sometimes I start to spot/bleed even when on the prom.etrium and wouldn't that just muck up their little schedule if AF showed up early (on time!) and I needed to transfer earlier?

I wonder if I should've ordered from Freedom? Maybe cheaper than Wal.greens. Damn I'm getting tired of putting stupid little extra periods on so many words!

Tomorrow night I need to see what kind of Vive.lle supply I have....I had sorta forgottten about all the med costs with the FET.

What's money anymore, right?

Tomorrow: first endometrial biopsy. Oh the fun!


Oh yeah--I got a blog award from Slice of Pie and I promise I will do it soon!

7 comments:

  1. What a complete PITA!!

    Sending you an email. I have a small stash of stuff left...

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  2. you know i can't help with ivf advice, but i do know about Rx. if you can get the meds at a place like sam's/costco (no membership required for rx), walmart, or target it will generally be MUCH cheaper than walgreens!!!! places like walgreen's/cvs are good when you need after hours meds and noone else is open, but you pay the premium there.

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  3. I hate the cost of all the meds...and be prepared for that vivelle cost. It is out of hand how expensive that stuff is...and how much of it CCRM goes through on an FET. BUT never forget the great stats they have for that FET:-) I know it is all a pain and so damn expensive but you are getting close to being pupo again and with really good chances of success.

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  4. Oy yoi yoi.

    Insurance. GOTTA LOVE IT!

    I know there are a few women out there in the blogosphere, rallying to send you extra meds. I hope this helps soften the blow!

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  5. I'm going to be using both prometrium and endometrin for my upcoming cycle. The prometrium is for my EPP and the endometrin is for after transfer. Now here is what I don't get: I had to do PIO for my FET, because I was told that was better for an FET. But I knew another gal, RetroGirl, who was using endometrin and no PIO for her FET?! She got pg, and not me, not that it had anything to do with the progesterone used, but it still makes me wonder...

    I know that endometrin is expensive, but I'd rather pay more than do the PIO shots personally. If you get the endometrin, only get enough through beta and a couple of days after, because once you find out you are pg (and you will), your insurance will cover it! Then, have it overnighted to you from one of the IVF med pharmacies, like IVP Care. I know CCRM doesn't work with IVP Care, but they are the best IVF med pharmacy I've worked with. I've also worked with Schrafts which is Walgreen, but you have to order by phone/mail, and not from your local Walgreen. The customer service with IVP Care is the best, though you might want to pick the pharmacy with the best prices. There is a file on IVFC under "Stressful situations/Financing IVF" that has a chart of the prices of meds for the different IVF pharmacies.

    Oh, and I have some PIO if you want it (hee hee).

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  6. You're right, Endometrin is not covered by insurance even though other forms of progesterone are. If you read the leaflet inside the Endometrin box, it specifically says it's indicated for embryo implantation support in use with ART, that's why insurance doesn't cover it.

    I'm getting mine through Freedom Pharmacy at $140/box (1 week supply). I'm really hoping insurance covers after pg! Dang IF, never ending financial battle.

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