9 cycles, CCRM veteran ask me anything (yes, bfp)
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
OP: I really don't know what the difference is btw Cornell and CCRM. All I can say is that CCRM has a great lab and does CCS testing. The CCS testing was big for me because what I valued is knowing. I needed to know if my eggs were all defective and I needed to move on. But generally, CCRM is a machine. You go there and they have their own office building 20 miles out in the Denver suburbs (like Ashburn basically, but with a mountain view). There are five doctors and like 50 nurses and just a ton of people in and out for appointments. But the machine works well. You have your own primary nurse and she coordinates most everything for you. There are frustrations but at the end of the day everything happens on schedule and when it needs to.
Costs - the cycles are about $13K a piece and meds are extra. If you're a poor responder you know that means thousands extra each cycle. Then if you need a nurse to help you with injections while you're there that's more. Then last minute plane tickets aren't cheap and you're in a hotel a minimum of five nights and you need a rental car. It costs a lot. There is a bit of a break if you do three cycles, and since you're most likely banking embryos and then testing all at the end if you have DOR, then that helps. CCS testing is another $7K on top of it which is why you bank rather than test every time. There isn't any insurance plan around here I'm aware of that CCRM takes and they definitely don't take MDIPA because I had that for my local cycles and CCRM doesn't take it. Last year I took the medical expenses deduction on my taxes because the costs were well in excess of the minimum you need for that. It is truly expensive and a huge commitment. But I couldn't see wasting more money locally (even if was much cheaper per cycle) when it wasn't working and I wasn't getting the information that I needed. If you come to the point of doing donor egg, you'll need money for that too since that is even more expensive than regular ivf. This is just a terrible process. |
Anonymous
| Did you get monitored locally while cycling with CCRM? If so, what clinic monitored you? I have a in-person consult with them next month. Do you think it's worth it to switch if I don't have DOR and have had success locally before (just not again even with PGS normal embryos)? |
Anonymous
Not OP, but I did local monitoring with both SGFC and CFA. I know Dominion does it as well. |
Anonymous
| CCRM takes United Healthcare PPO. |
Anonymous
|
OP: I did local monitoring at Shady Grove. I wanted to comment on this because what I found surprising is that the results I got from the local monitoring did not always match up with what CCRM found when I came in to their office. Most of the time it was the same, but for my cancelled cycle Shady Grove told me I had four follicles and a few days (like 2) later after I travelled to Denver, CCRM said that I had one and that it was really small. I basically had a crying meltdown in the waiting room because I was totally unprepared and jacked up on hormones. Just warning that not all who monitor are good at it, but I had different people do it almost every time.
United Health Care - I also had United (I had two policies for a while to try to cover this better) and they took it for blood work and some of the visits but the policy sure didn't cover IVF. |
Anonymous
These posts were really helpful, thank you to the OP and those who also chimed in. It was really kind to share this information. I'm thinking ahead a cycle, in case the one I'm in now doesn't work, and wanted to see if this poster could answer some questions about ORM? Travel/lodging costs to Portland might also be less for me, and I'm wondering whether they were successful for you? And if you have any tips... Thanks so much in advance! |
Anonymous
| Laying it on thick, CCRM marketing person! What's the going pay for this? |
Anonymous
Nope, I'm the PP. An actual real living breathing AMA patient at a local clinic that hasn't been able to freeze a single embryo of mine. With only enough insurance coverage and savings to do one final round of IVF, and I want to make it count. |
Anonymous
I'm the ORM PP you quoted. I was successful and would be happy to answer any questions. My doctor was Dr. Hesla who I really like (although I didn't have any issues with Dr. Schoolcraft either). He was also very open to questions. I really struggled with whether to do genetic testing on my embryos (because that is what led to my failure at CCRM) and spent a lot of time talking to the embryologists there (two of whom have English accents, which made everything they said sound lovely to me, ha). You could do a phone consult and see what they say. I never looked into Cornell, but think that may also have been a good fit for me given what I've read on DCUM. |
Anonymous
|
Thanks for your reply. I'm interested in the CCRM frozen embryo transfer approach. I didn't have anything to freeze in my first cycle, so I wasn't able to see whether that would have made a difference. But I don't think my body is receptive to a fresh cycle ET after all the meds. I don't have any testing to back this up -- and my lining has always been more than adequate in three IUIs and my first IVF. I just beleive that I would do better with a FET approach when my body is back to normal. That what I feel in my gut.
We'll see what happens this second round locally. And then I'm moving on to a place with better stats. I have a relatively flexible schedule so travel isn't impossible me. It's just more about cost and a clinic that gets results at my age. (41) |
Anonymous
|
I am on the second round of the CCRM family building program. Thanks for sharing.
|
Anonymous
| OP - Do you have your baby home? I sure hope so. |
Anonymous
| OP here - my daughter is five weeks old and is sleeping peacefully now. It took four years to get here but it was definitely worth it. |
Anonymous
| I'm very happy for you, OP. Thanks for the update, and best of luck to you and your daughter! |
Anonymous
| Can I ask what supplements you were on and when you were asked to get off them for FET? I ask because my RE doesn't "care" if i'm on them, so i'm on Ubiquinol etc on my own, but am having an FET so maybe I should stop? i'm not taking DHEA for what it is worth. thanks |