Here we go again...

I've decided that I'm going to blog in a lot of detail about our next TTC (for those who have forgotten-TTC=trying to conceive) journey of frozen embryo transfers (FET). My goal is to educate you on what I'm going through and what your friend may be going through. It is slightly different for a military dependant but I still think you all can get something out of this.


I started the referral process today to find a local reproductive endocrinologist (RE). Now, because we live in the Air Force mecca of medical care, I get to deal with a potential challenge called Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC). In the past, Wilford Hall actually had infertility treatments available for close to nothing out of pocket. The catch is that you had to be referred by your primary care doc and then you were put on a waiting list, which according to someone I know who went there to do IVF, was a year's wait. That year long wait to do IVF is after infertility testing and three cycles of mandatory IUI's before proceeding. Then if everything goes according to plan, you can begin the IVF process during one of three offered times during the year. Because (right now) I don't need to do IVF (and frankly I never want to again) only FET's, I'm not sure what happens. From what I've heard, they don't deal with frozen embryos. Perhaps it's a storage issue. My primary doc put in the referral to them and I'm currently waiting to hear if I've been accepted into the program. For the record, I don't want to be and I shouldn't be! I was told that I should be able to get all meds for my FET for free by using the BAMC pharmacy. I will sing the praises of Tricare on that one. While all of my follicle stimulating meds were paid out of pocket, (uh, try $50/vial and 30-35 vials a cycle) all the other meds for IVF were covered under Tricare (and trust me, there were TONS of other meds). The thing with FET's is that my ovaries don't have to be stimulated...though they do have to be controlled. All of those meds are covered under Tricare. I am MORE than happy to go civilian on this and pay my co-pays. An IVF cycle in AZ ran about $6000/cycle plus meds. A FET is about $2000/cycle plus meds.


BAMC's CDC stats are great for fresh IVF, the highest I've ever seen actually. There are no stats for frozen transfers though, which is what I thought. The clinic that I want to go to has a 50% live birth rate for frozen transfers. Just so you know, that's amazing.


I still have some very, very mixed emotions about how many frozen embryos we still have. But, I am so so thankful that I don't have to do IVF again (right now) and that we have potentially 6 "tries" with the remaining babies. Our first step of this journey is underway and oddly enough, I'm excited.