Good luck on WW - if you can (I know it's hard with a kid), attend meetings that really does improve your success. I thought I'd hate them, but in my 3 months or so of not belonging (I thought I could do it alone when hubby came home - totally can't!), I really miss it - everyone is going through it together, and you do well together. DM me if you have any questions - happy to help with that.

Also, one reason to consider not going back to CFA is because you've been with them so long. A new place might give you a new set of eyes. Just a thought.

Hi OP:
I don't know much about NCIVF (my doc said it wasn't worth the cost, since it is about maximizing your chances, really - and we have male factor, not female, so we need to allow more eggs to fertilize).
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I go to GW and have never once had anything said about my weight.
The OB I went to for my pre-conception meeting, that I'm actually not going to use because getting Sibley is a pain in the butt, only said that because of my weight, she would want to do extra monitoring for gestational diabetes. And my current PCP, whom I love but I have to leave because I'm moving to MD IPA for IVF (but will go back to her after this year if I can) never made me feel bad about myself, either.
Medical care is about surrounding yourself with people who make you comfortable - now, my doc DOES say, "I'd love if you could lose ____lbs" and when I lost a lot, was a great cheerleader.

Find providers who care about you as a whole patient. I would think that a for-profit place like DF or SG cares a lot about its statistics.

Try GW if you can. I've been very happy with the attention and honesty there. I am hopeful that they can get us to have a family.

(the docs I mentioned above were Snyder at Foxhall and Lucas at Contemporary Family Medicine, both of whom I will not be using while I have MD IPA, but highly recommend if you are concerned about preachy weight loss advice from docs).

I also recommend Weight Watchers - I lost almost 75lbs with them. I gained a bit back since my husband returned from his deployment and finally got back on WW with meetings. I hate to say it, but it really does work and I was a skeptic)

Good luck!

Why oh why did I read the comments?!? But it is a great story. Stupid comments section!

Thanks for the link!
As far as I know (per opks and charting) I ovulate a few days early so hopefully that is a good indication for blood

I'm on tap within the next 10 days or so for my day 3 blood work - I'm 31, and we're an MFI case. However, I'm really starting to worry that I will have something wrong on my blood work to make everything more difficult than it already is.

Is there anything I need to look out for? Or anything I should be doing to make my blood work the best it can be? I've lost a lot of weight in the last 2 years (gained some back when my husband got back from deployment...double edged sword, that!) and am working on going back to losing it, eating right, and working out a lot. I just don't know what to look for in terms of blood tests.

I've never had a doctor tell me anything about my blood work besides they'd like me to lower my cholesterol more...

thanks in advance.

Anyone signed up for the 13 Nov class at GW? Ours was moved b/c of the storm.

I went off when my husband left for afghanistan, so well over a year ago (August 2011, we were married March 2011). Upon his homecoming, used back up methods.

Turns out he has pretty bad MFI and we're starting the IVF process early next year....hopefully it works and hopefully on my day 3 blood test, we don't find out that I'm f'd up too.

If I were you, knowing what I know now, I'd prepare for the worst JUST in case - get your FSH and all that checked, and ask your husbands to get an SA. You wouldn't want to spend 6 months trying only to find out something is wron that you could have known from day 1. Our RE said we were very smart to get checked out early on since my DH was born with two undescended testes.

So, in short, you never know - and information is power. I would go off the pill STAT and use condoms.

(I wish I'd known earlier as I'd have saved a lot of money on birth control!!!! oh well!)

I don't know anything about Betas (haven't started a cycle yet), but I wanted to say good luck!

Which doctor are you with?

Keep us posted!

I hope so, and good luck!

We are scheduled for their ivf class on Tuesday, but not sure if it's a go because it isn't that important compared to monitoring and whatnot, but good luck and be careful!

My husband has low morph and count, and the RE said not to bother with IUI or NCIVF, saying the odds they would work are the same as regular intercourse. With regular ivf, you would hope to freeze some to use later.....
The RE said that we could do NCIVF but he doesn't recommend it unless there are issues with mess becaus of the cost.

I am 31 (32 in march) so time is a tiny factor in us going right to ivf, but at the same time I trust when he says that it probably won't work. We are with GW. Starting a cycle ASAP in 2013 with new insurance, but heads up I'd you change to md ipa, it's hard to get an appt for the referral.

Good luck!!

Hi PP
I am with GW too....do you mind sending me a note so I can learn about your experience with them?

I have been very happy so far but would love to talk to someone wo worked wit them recently. I can post my email here if ou ant send messages.

This would be very helpful! Thanks!!

17:53....
Congrats!
Which RE did you use?
Did you use regular ivf or with ICSI?

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I never got my refills from Aetna. They basically said that the medication that my RE ordered, which they approved but sent only half of the amount ordered, was medically unnecessary. If it was medically unnecessary, why was it approved the first time (even if only half of the amount was approved). Also, what makes Aetna think that they know more about what med i need for fertility treatment than my own RE.

Wow - this is insane.

Perhaps there should be a letter written to OPM signed by all those who had issues?
OPM should not be part of an insurance scheme that intentionally screws people over, which Aetna does (I haven't used them for fertility - switching to MD IPA).

I also think the "three attempt limit" is crap. Perhaps the cost should shift, but there should still be coverage.

My husband and I will likely start our first cycle in January or February with GW Fertility.

Before I knew we had "male factor" issues, I had set up to be patient of Dr Snyders at Foxhall/Sibley. However, I now am changing insurance to MD IPA during open season to try to make the fertility treatment SOMEWHAT affordable (and really, I should be greatful that there are options for covering this, even if it's not ideal).

I got an appointment for a PCP that takes MD IPA at GW (first available was January 14th!!!) - I figured going to GW would make it easier with the referral process and whatnot because of their electronic system.

However, I haven't seen an OB at GW. Do you think I should try to establish myself as a patient with them prior to starting IVF in the hopes that it will be successful and I'll need to find one that takes MD IPA?

If so, do you have a specific doc at GW that you like?

I'm not attached to Foxhall/Sibley and frankly have thought of changing simply because Sibley is a PITA to get to...

thanks, all!

Even though I go to Bang at the Verizon Center, I prefer Shea at Bliss downtown - she's so gentle and the environment is so relaxing that I want to live there. They do a "betweeny" which is a little more than a regular bikini but not at all a brazillian. I highly recommend it.

FYI, I tried to preemptively make an appointment with someone who takes MD IPA so I could avoid an IVF delay as much as possible, and the FIRST appointment at GW MFA for a new patient was Jan 14th 2013 so if you're thinking of changing and will need a referral, get in there.

That'll delay us, for sure.