Onward

I will begin my fifth round of Clomid tomorrow, second round with this new doctor and the monitoring. Pretty much the same drill as last time, minus the water ultrasound. When I finish Clomid, I start the OPKs. If I see a positive, I will go in for an ultrasound to see how many follicles matured to guess my chance of multiples. If I don't get a positive, I go in for an ultrasound and have another hCG trigger shot if everything looks ready. I'm hoping I won't need the shot this time. It was bothersome.

I've had a few people ask me about the cost of my cycle with a specialist. I know a few friends are considering seeing one, but are afraid of the cost. I don't mind breaking it down for you. This is just how much I paid (rounded to an easy amount), and it's definitely not universal for every doctor, and would depend on what treatment and medications you need. It has ended up being much less than I had anticipated. It doesn't hurt to go check it out! It's absolutely and completely worth it.

*Edit* This is what I paid straight out of pocket without help from insurance.

Appointments:

• Baseline- $200
• Follicle check- $200 
• *Second follicle check- $200 (This is not always necessary every cycle).

Medications:

• Clomid- $20 for 100mg dose. It goes up or down depending on the dose.
• hCG injection- $60
• Progesterone- $45
• Baby aspirin- Didn't cost enough to factor in. One bottle is about $3 and it lasts for about 4 months.
• Prenatal vitamins- About $5 a month.

Tools:

• Ovulation predictor kit- It costs $35, but I can use one kit for 2-3 months. So about $12 per month.

Labs:

• Blood pregnancy test- $45. 

Optional:

• Pregnancy tests- Depending on how much you test and which tests you use, this number would vary a lot. I have had good experiences with Wondfo tests through Amazon. That is to buy 50 tests in bulk for only $16. Perfect for POAS addicts like myself.
• Preseed- If you need lubrication, it's safe for sperm. Regular lube from the store has the wrong acidity and can be harmful to sperm. 
• Softcups- Holds everything in there in case you need to get up and can't lie down for a few hours.

So for one cycle, without any optional items, would be about $580.

Add in the possible extra follicle check appointment, and it would be about $780.


We will be taking a long distance trip and visiting some friends in early April, so we hope we have some very good news to share with them all in person.