Okay, I know y’all are dying to hear if I went with vaginal suppositories or a big ass needle… thanks to your recommendations (thank you!!) plus a lot of phone tag and frustrations and cost considerations, I ended up going with the default of what my nurse had already called in before the clinic closed and buying 30 little gels to stick in my vagina 3x/day for 10 days.
O what a beautiful morning… oh what a beautiful day… lalalala….
The up side, you ask? My insurance actually covered nearly half of the cost.
The down side, you ask? Thirty 200 mg. prometrium gels to stick in a place the sun definitely doesn’t shine apparently cost $200. Ridiculous.
My cost – $111.17 to make AF visit a little sooner. Ugh.
Reminder to myself… Moving up the timeline on this whole ordeal – priceless.
Moving on.
I spent some time on the phone with the business office at CCRM this morning, and here is the breakdown of costs for everything Dr. Surrey wants me to have done on days 3-6 of my upcoming cycle. I’m including these both for my own records, and to help out others without insurance so they have an idea of what things cost (at least at my clinic).
$480 = Day 3 Bloodwork (FSH/LH/E2 – $115/each, AMH – $135)
$TBD = TSH, Free T4, Prolactin, CBC – These are sent out to Quest labs and coded as routine – here’s to HOPING they’re at least partially covered by my insurance. Otherwise I’m sure this is a few hundred dollars.
$TBD = Blood type and screen (ABO-RH/antibody), rubella, Varicella Zoster (chicken pox).
$TBD = Pap Smear. I’m not doing this until April b/c my insurance only covers 1/year (and still charges me $100 or so if I remember right)
$75-110 = 2 hr glucose tolerance & lipid test (sent out to Quest labs)
$150 = Genetic Consult (re: my Mom’s hereditary spherocytosis)
$170 = Cystic Fibrosis test (recommended by my doc)
$285 = Fragile X test (not sure if this is recommended? It’s grouped together in my sheet, so I’ll have to ask the RE)
$350 = Spinal Muscular Atrophy test (again, not sure if this is recommended – it was just grouped together. Has anyone else had to get tested for this?)
$500 = HSG. This is a flat rate charged by SkyRidge for CCRM patients without fertility coverage. I guess if they run it through my insurance it will most likely come back as $3000-S4000.
$360 = Baseline Ultrasound (assuming no dopplar is involved – if it is, then it’s $600).
$330 = Semen Analysis with the Anti-Sperm Antibodies Test (ASAB)
$200 = Nurse consult
$100 = RE consult
Also, when the RE calls me back 2 days later with the rest of my results from the Day 6 stuff, it’s possibly a “chargeable visit” of $108. It “just depends on how long you’re on the phone.”
Basically, we’re probably looking at around $3,000 of tests, depending on the charges from Quest Diagnostics and if I do the CF/FragileX/SMA tests. Phew!
Ah, the nickel-and-diming has begun. CCRM is very good about that, IMO. I believe I did get charged for the regroup after all my results were in. But one other time, I had a concern and talked to Dr. Surrey, and I wasn't charged, so you never know. I'm glad your insurance covered the supps. My insurance is exactly the opposite–21 Endometrin suppositories are a $55 copay, and two boxes of PIO are a $10 copay. Whatever you can do to keep costs down is a good idea!
Your head must be spinning with all of this. Good work sorting it out!
Infertility is stinking expensive! I picked up my Follistim today and it came with a zippered carrying case… Um, I'll skip the case if you reduce the price by $100 thankyouverymuch.
Oh this is just not fair. I wish we all just had money trees in our backyards.
That's crazy that the suppositories cost that much! I hope they were something a lot more special than the ones I used, which were way cheaper. But I guess I was using them to delay AF (lengthen my LP) rather than to bring it on, so maybe there's a difference. Aren't they super fun?
Dang, all these numbers just frustrate the hell outta me. Why must we pay for this stuff!? My progesterone was one of the few things that was actually covered so I was surprised to hear how much those are. Hang in there – it will all be so worth it!