how do you afford it?

[gizmo77]

hi everyone! just curious, for those who have done PGD or are doing it, how do you afford it? what do you and/or your spouse do for a living. just curious, really.

[nuthinbutpink]

My DH has a good job. I have known of people doing this that make very little though. It's about what you can save and what things you can cut back on. There's always a credit card too. Works like a loan essentially. And finally, some people are able to use insurance even when infertility is not an issue.

[nuthinbutpink]

Added a poll for you. I'm not sure if the Dream Member gals will see it here but we can try!

[Wanting a daughter]

So far have spent all our savings and now borrowed $10,000 off Mum. On very slightly above average Aussie income. Only slightly though.

[Plum3]

Gizmo, are you thinking about HT in the future?

[mummypink]

Just out of interest how much roughly does it cost?

[nuthinbutpink]

$11,200 at HRC plus medication. They are on the more affordable end. I paid closer to $15,000 which is closer to average.

[Petal]

How much were the meds nuthinbutpink? x

[nuthinbutpink]

I cycled at a different clinic close to home. $11,200 is HRC's price. Meds range from $1500 to $5000 maybe. The difference for Meds is due to how high the dosage of stims it takes to get your ovaries to respond. They are very expensive.

[mummypink]

Wow, that is a lot of money! xx

[Petal]

Thank you :-)

Im booked in at Genesis for feb, really hoping to see some more bfp's from there soon :-/// x

[rh1985]

Could not afford it on my income, I inherited money from my grandfather and set it aside for this. It wasn't a huge amount and I'm not sure how much will be left after, depends on how many tries it takes.

[gizmo77]

Gizmo, are you thinking about HT in the future?

yes *i* am thinking it, but havent really truly discussed it with DH. DD3 is only 4 mos so i have a way to go. i just turned 35 so im anxious and hoping not to have to use donor eggs. im also in california now so im closER to dr potter but he is still a 6-8hr drive from me. i also want to only have to pay for 2 cycles tops. so im trying to figure out if i should just go to HRC or go to the one thats closer to me (an hrs drive). which one would i have a better chance with?
1st step is i have to finish breastfeeding. next step is to find out if DH is okay with a 4th kid and the next is to convince him to do PGD. there s no way i will try naturally again. i just know if i do ill have a 4th girl and im not willing at this point. i love my DD's DEARLY SO much, but i am also so desperate for a boy. i keep trying to convince myself its not a big deal not to have a boy but these feelings keep coming back. and truthfully ive ONLY seen myself with boys which is such an odd thing that i have all girls!
anyway, im hoping within 2-3 yrs we can do and afford this. just wondering with so many out there doing this, how everyone is able to. and if they are in the same financial situation as us..or is it doable with less? etc. and if i wait longer will it get cheaper? just some questions in my mind!

[Tickled Pink!]

We were going to wait until March of 2013 to go HT because my DH gets a good bonus check that month but then I found out that fertility coverage is mandatory in our state and our insurance actually covers 90% of all fertility treatments. I really lucked out! I had some infertility issues back in 09 when we lived in Texas and was not covered for anything so had to pay out of pocket. My best friend signed up for a new credit card that had 0 APR for 1 or 2 years to do her IVF - that's always a possibility. Good luck Gizmo!!

[tinksmagic]

We were going to wait until March of 2013 to go HT because my DH gets a good bonus check that month but then I found out that fertility coverage is mandatory in our state and our insurance actually covers 90% of all fertility treatments. I really lucked out! I had some infertility issues back in 09 when we lived in Texas and was not covered for anything so had to pay out of pocket. My best friend signed up for a new credit card that had 0 APR for 1 or 2 years to do her IVF - that's always a possibility. Good luck Gizmo!!

Who do you have for insurance? We've got HP. I talked to Tammy about batching, but she thinks HP will force me to use any eggs. I really hate insurance companies! $1,000/month and they aren't covering ICSI (or PGD, but we knew that part). Now I find out they aren't even covering any of my prescriptions!!! WTH!?

[Tickled Pink!]

We have Blue Cross Blue Sheild (Access Blue New England). Bummer about the prescriptions Tinks!

[gizmo77]

My DH has a good job. I have known of people doing this that make very little though. It's about what you can save and what things you can cut back on. There's always a credit card too. Works like a loan essentially. And finally, some people are able to use insurance even when infertility is not an issue.

so in a perfect scenario, if you had the best insurance, technically, would all someone need to pay for is the PGD costs (about 6-7K per cycle)?

[nuthinbutpink]

so in a perfect scenario, if you had the best insurance, technically, would all someone need to pay for is the PGD costs (about 6-7K per cycle)?

PGD is around $3500-$5000. If meds are covered, yes.

[fresas]

This is a really interesting and helpful thread. The poll is great. We are nowhere close to being able to afford HT, but I think about it all the time.

[glory]

I won't lie, both dh and I work and have good jobs. I am lucky in that sense, but I think that even if I wasn't working, I would of done what it needed to get stuff done. I think that having the baby naturally and not having the sex you want is going to cost you a lot more in the long run. We used some savings but basically paid for each time cycle by cycle and didn't have the big family holiday we would of had last year.

The worst thing is that you could outlay all this money and it not be successful, that is the worst thing. I don't regret a penny I have spent now my baby girl is onboard, but if she wasn't don't know how I would feel.

I do think though that if you are in CA, then you can't go by Dr P, he is really good at what he does. I would also not wait too long, if you don't want to be pregnant again so soon, if you aren't breastfeeding you can always cycle and keep the embryos frozen. If you wait 2 or 3 years, it is just getting in that harder category and you may have to pay more for the same result of now.

Good luck, once I started discussing it with dh he got on board with it.

[Possible pink?]

It's interesting DH and I differ big time with this. We are lucky, we are doing fine financially and were able to budget for ivf without dipping into savings, however if we weren't, I was sure I still I wanted/needed to go ht. I would have borrowed/gone into debt for it. DH said if we couldn't have afforded it, there was no way he would have considered it.

[tinksmagic]

It kills me when I think of what we've spent so far (new car anyone???!!!) and now I found out that my employer may be changing insurances (for the better) so I'll have to wait 2 more months b/c FCNE rules when you change insurance, 2 month waiting even if already cycling. UGH! I'm hoping BCBS will cover ICSI that HP wouldn't. HP really ticking me off.
We're budgeting for this again, but 2 in 1 year is very expensive!

[itstime]

In our household, only DH works - we have done one cycle at Genesis and used up all our savings! Next step will be borrowing some money from FIL to try second attempt. After that may be it will go on the credit card!!!

[peonymama]

Hubby and I used savings for ours. The way I think about it is like glory--rolling the dice and having another child is a lot more expensive than doing HT. Total cost of one year of preschool for our twins is about the same price as an IVF/PGD cycle around here. The only bummer was we rent and had to use some of our house savings for IVF, but I think it will be worth it in the end. :)

[jetweb]

A lot of money.

[dreamingformylilprincess]

hi is there anyone from ireland here?

[dreamingformylilprincess]

hi how much is it uk?