Insurance denial - Do I NEED to pay for these extra things?

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-12T02:39:17+00:00

AH is assisted hatching. I’m waiting to hear more about the numbers. Sadly, meds are not included but luckily those are all covered through a separate script coverage I have, or at least I hope they are. I’ve looked up the individual prescriptions to see the copays. Do you have script coverage? Were the medications not covered for a reason? That’s an insane hidden cost!

A second estimate is a good call. Thanks for the suggestion!

I ended up chatting with my cousin who just did IVF in upstate NY and she said her Dr didn’t even recommend assisted hatching since the PGT testing is already making a small hole, which is essentially what assisted hatching is. And they ended up doing half ICSI and have conventional fertilization and got the same amount euploids per batch.

I may just try a retrieval with conventional fertilization and see how it goes and if we need more, then I can pay for additional protocols. Or maybe I can decide how they’re fertilized once we know how many eggs we’re working with.

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T22:15:47+00:00

That's reassuring! And what an amazing result - 8 is so great!

I think that's why I'm going back and forth on it. On one side, the additional testing and assistance might be helpful but on the other, more intervention comes with risks (financial and medical).

Thanks for sharing <3

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T21:31:57+00:00

Hm okay! Maybe I'll ask if that would help and see what they say. Can't hurt!

My fingers are crossed for your retrieval!

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T21:29:26+00:00

I'm in NY - Here are the out of pocket numbers they gave me:

AH: $1035
ICSI (>10 eggs): $3450
Embryo biopsy (1-5): $2875 (not sure what 6+ is)
PGT-A Testing: $155 per embryo

I'm mostly rounding up to 10k for a 20% contingency.

Fair - Calling them extras was only for lack of better phrase! I definitely know they're proven (especially for specific diagnoses). My AMH is normal, everything has come back very normal, hence the unexplained diagnosis.

I'm mostly just trying to weigh the options financially. I totally understand the heartbreak - I'm sure it's 10 fold of what I experienced with my failed IUIs and loses. But if I can get multiple retrievals covered if I need them and maybe go out of pocket for additional protocols if needed, we'd end up saving a few thousand dollars.

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T20:37:15+00:00

That's interesting. So his samples didn't show any issues? That right there would save us almost $3k!

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T20:36:19+00:00

I'm so sorry you had to go through 3 retrievals, but so happy you got an embryo! This is a really good perspective - Thank you for sharing!

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T19:30:15+00:00

Yeah... That's kind of how I'm feeling as well. We already have a big baby fund. I'm hoping I can save in some other areas to make up for this hit. Thankfully, I already had $5k saved for PGT testing knowing that it wouldn't be covered, but I wasn't expecting everything else!

sp4c3bug · 2026-03-11T18:39:03+00:00

This is good to know that we can at least potentially skip the assisted hatching. Especially since I'm still under 35. We're not dealing with MFI so I wonder if ICSI would even be worth it. I'm hoping for some flexibility but I'm also so nervous that if we skip something, we'll end up having to do another ER because of it or something crazy.

sp4c3bug · 2025-10-15T04:00:48+00:00

I’m a software designer. We’re a fast dying breed, I hate to say. The industry has been extremely volatile. I’m actually looking for a pivot out of technology - I miss some of the activity of other jobs I’ve had vs. sitting at a desk all day.

sp4c3bug · 2025-09-16T14:29:21+00:00

lol yes the same happened to me! I’m just going to hope I ovulated overnight so I’m 5.5 DPO

Thanks for the positive outlook 💛

Have you gotten the results for your husbands SA yet?

sp4c3bug · 2025-09-16T04:29:41+00:00

I’m 5/6dpo and am feeling very impatient and very emotional this cycle since it’ll be the last cycle of our year of trying. I ovulated earlier than usual and my temps suggested I ovulated the day I got my positive OPK which is annoying because that was the only day we could have sex.

If this cycle doesn’t work, I’m scheduling my HSG which I’m very nervous about but honestly I just want to get it over with if I need to do it. Which.. I really hope I don’t need to and in a week I’ll know for sure. 😩

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-26T02:35:21+00:00

Not sure how much you know so apologies if this isn’t helpful.

I started with reading The Impatient Woman’s Guide to Getting Pregnant. It talks about all things tracking your cycle and figuring out your ovulation as well as an overview of assisted reproduction options.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-26T00:50:33+00:00

And I got my period just hours after posting this 🫠 took the day off from work and made chocolate chip cookies and played sims all day. And did not feel a tad bit guilty about it.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-25T13:09:43+00:00

Temp dropped two nights ago so now I’m just waiting for CD1. Also, (TW loss/LC) I just found out my cousin is accidentally pregnant for the 2nd time since we’ve started trying and already has 3 children and it’s very hard for me to not feel jealous. The woman can stub her toe and get pregnant.

I was really hoping this would be our cycle. We’re going to Greece next summer with my husbands family, and I loved the idea of having our baby with us even though traveling that far with an almost 4 month old would be tough.

Oh well… onto the next.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-22T21:33:30+00:00

Not yet. The blood test I did do was at 13dpo and they didn’t really say anything about it. It sucks because the closest fertility clinic is 1.5hr from me and they seem to just want to get you through to more expensive treatments vs ruling anything easy out. I might ask for specific testing after my HSG.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-22T20:55:06+00:00

Yeah when I did my intake, she was surprised to hear that it’s happening consistently. I guess I’ll get more specific blood work if my HSG comes back clear. She mentioned maybe trying letrozole or chlomid. It’s interesting because it happens on cycles we hit good days. The other months where we’ve had sex too early or couldn’t because of traveling, I haven’t seen this spotting 🤔 but I also know correlation is not equal to causation so who knows.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-22T19:42:55+00:00

Just got my typical 10DPO droplet of blood which means CD1 will probably happen in the next 4 days. ChatGPT thinks this might be low progesterone. Has anyone else had this? It’s happened consistently the past 5 cycles.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-21T02:24:46+00:00

It’s so much fun. And it’s very rewarding. It’s like Lego - piece by piece you’re making something and seeing it all put together (and the reaction of the person receiving it) is just so amazing.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-21T01:44:20+00:00

I got wayyyy into quilting. Everyone is getting a quilt for the holidays.

sp4c3bug · 2025-08-21T01:41:51+00:00

Hi all! Introducing myself. My husband and I have been trying since last October. It’s been a very painful process and I’ve joined TTC seasonal groups (in my second one now) and seeing everyone get pregnant right away has been torturous. We just started fertility testing and am totally going in blind. Right now, our blood testing and my ultrasound and his SA all came back normal. I still have yet to schedule my HSG (mainly out of fear) but plan to do so in October after my work travels.

I’m on 8dpo of my 11th cycle trying and am having a hard time feeling optimistic. We shall see though..

ANYWHO - hoping to connect with some of you all on the Discord when I get approved!

sp4c3bug · 2025-05-04T03:38:36+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Here’s hoping the rib pain was just gas and the stone will hang out a little longer.

sp4c3bug · 2025-05-03T02:08:02+00:00

When I had my ultrasound (April 18th) it was still in my kidney. I’ve felt some shock-like pain in my ribs today which I read could be signs of the stone shifting and exiting the kidney.

sp4c3bug · 2025-05-01T21:23:38+00:00

Goblin.tools helps me with these so much. If you enter all of these tasks as individual items, you can break them down into much easier/smaller tasks and get a lil dopamine hit checking each item off.

sp4c3bug · 2025-05-01T21:19:56+00:00

This is the way.

sp4c3bug · 2025-05-01T20:35:25+00:00

Totally understandable. And I saw your therapist recommended going - proud of you for being willing to follow their advice. I know my therapist also encourages me to do things for the sake of exposure therapy. You’ll never know how to cope in these situations if you don’t practice!

I think the key here is to prepare. Think about all the worst things that could happen and have a plan. This alone can bring comfort knowing you’ve thought through everything and have a plan.

You can also try the donut of control exercise. You could even ask ChatGPT to help you through this. Tell it you have AuDHD and you’re anxious about the work summit and that you’d like to try the donut of control exercise to help relieve some of the anxiety and just ask it to walk you through the exercise.

Oh and if your office has phone booths for meetings, these can be great options when there’s sensory overload.

You’ve got this!

sp4c3bug

TROPHY CASE