Assisted TTC

Hi Ladies, I am mostly a lurker on this board. I have been since I have had my surgery. My husband and I have been TTC for about 4 years now with the break only during my TF of wait from the surgery. We have been charting and everything that I can think of. I have a 5 year old son from a previous relationship and our infertility is seeming to be male factor. We have an upcoming appointment on Monday for consultation through a private fertility specialist and will be self paying. My questions are, about how long does it take to "get the ball rolling" About how much are we looking to pay for an IUI or IVF. what is the difference between IVF and ICSI? I know to ask them on Monday but just hoping you guys can give me a heads up and is there any other questions I should ask them?

Thanks ;)

Our infertility is male factor. We saw the RE in November, had my DH see the urologist in December, did the Infertility class that many RE's require, and we will be doing an egg retrieval on Friday, with the implantation on Monday. My DH was found to have absence of the vas deferens, so he had to have a biopsy of the testicles to retrieve sperm (and make sure he had some). They were able to freeze that for backup, however we will be having another biopsy on Friday to get fresh. ICSI is just a procedure used DURING IVF. ICSI invovles taking a single sperm and injecting it into a single egg that is retrieved after a course of the medication that supresses ovulation and stimulates the ovaries. I was on a Lupron protocol that invovled BCP for 2 weeks, then Lupron. After AF they waited until all follicles were at 0mm and then started the stimulation meds Bravelle and Menopur for me. At first I was very slow to respond, however in the last 5 days, I have gotten to exactly where I need to be.
I have had to have Ultrasounds and bloodwork every other day since Thursday to make sure that the meds were stimulating the ovaries to produce enough large follicles (the fluid sac that contains eggs) and make sure that I didn't Overstimulate, which would result in me getting sick, and not being able to implant this cycle.

The average cycle costs $20,000 if you are self pay. We have insurance, so we had some out of pocket, but not nearly what most deal with. The medications were VERY expensive even after the insurance, they ran us about 1,600 for this cycle, plus we had to drive 6 hours each time we had to see the RE, so that adds up too. I am now ready to give myself the "trigger" shot. That will cause the 14 follicles I have to mature for the final bit, and get them ready to be retrieved on Friday.

This is quite the rollercoaster emotionally and physically, but if it all works out, it will be sooooo worth it. Best of luck on your journey. (I am almost 4 years post op RNY)

What exactly is his issue? Does he have a low sperm count?

the urologist said low motility i believe,

Would i have to go thru all of those medicines also? Are those for everyone who goes thru ivf no matter what?

If you do IVF you will have to go through the injectable meds. If you chose to do IUI, you may only have to do a few meds, sometimes only oral, to regulate your cycle so they know when to have you trigger the ovulation so they know when to introduce the sperm into the uterus. Others only have to chart their cycle, and then go in when it is time to insert the sperm. They may take his sperm and insert it directly into the uterus to increase the chances of conception if it is a motility issue, depends on the count. If that is low, it is much harder to have sucess with IUI and IVF may be your only option. Good luck. I am currently in my 2ww and going nuts!