TTC Tuesday: What it takes

Here is what it will take to get me pregnant. And here is why it is so upsetting that at the end of a cycle, I may not end up being pregnant. Infertility is tough, people. Mentally tough. CD1-3: CD is cycle day. When I start my period, I call the doctor to schedule a baseline ultrasound appointment. This isn't the kind of ultrasound where they wave a wand over your stomach. Oh no. This is internal. When you are on your period. Pleasant, right? This appointment costs $127. CD3-7: I take some sort of fertility drug that causes follicles to grow in my ovaries. Follicles=targets for the sperm. The more the better. But not so many that they would cancel a cycle due to fear of me becoming the next Octomom. 5 days worth of pills is $15. CD9 or 10: Another internal ultrasound to check on the progress of my follicles. We hope for 2 that are large enough in size to be good targets. If everything is good, the doctor instructs me to give myself a hcg shot to prepare for the IUI. This shot will trigger my ovulation 36 hours in the future. This appointment costs $127 and the hcg shot costs $60. CD11 0r 12: The man produces his sample at home, I drive it 12 minutes to the hospital in my armpit to keep it body temperature, hoping that I don't get pulled over or get in a car accident. They spend 1 hour "washing" the sample, getting all the bad sperm out of the way and leaving only the good stuff behind. I go to the cafeteria or sit in the waiting room for an hour. I get called back, weighed, blood pressure and temperature are taken. I undress from the waist down and wait for the doctor, nurse and sample to enter the room. A catheter is put inside of me and the sample is injected into my uterus. This appointment and procedure costs $162. Two days posts IUI-CD 24: One progesterone tablet, inserted vaginally, twice a day. These pills cost $15. 14 days past IUI: Blood test. If it is positive (GOD Please give me a positive test soon), I go for another blood test two days later and continue those progesterone inserts until I am 10 weeks pregnant. Total cost for ONE IUI CYCLE: $506. Our insurance covers 50% of the cost. Thank goodness for that because it we had to pay $1,012 per cycle, we might not be able to do back to back cycles. That's some serious green, yo. Chances of getting pregnant: About 7%-10%. This is what people who can't get pregnant naturally go through. Not to mention time taken off of work for these appointments and the side effects from the fertility meds. Any questions? Please ask!