{Resolve pairs with Bill Rancic}

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Via

Resolve and Bill Rancic are pairing up to raise awareness on Embryo Adoption. This is an option not a lot of couples know about. Embryo adoption most often occurs when couples who have attempted IVF and been successful, have extra embryo's left over. They will then donate them to another couple who are in need of good embryos. More information about embryo adoption can be found on mydestinationfamily.com.

Personally, I'm so excited to see Bill Rancic speaking out about Infertility. I am a dedicated viewer of his and his wife, Giuliana's, show. I think all infertile couple's can relate to them on one level or another.

Do you think embryo adoption is something you would consider?

Infertility Tax Credit?

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There is a great article in the Washington Post about the tax credit that is going to Congress. It's called the Family Act of 2011. This credit would create a tax credit for couples needing fertility preservation or undergoing In Vitro Fertilization.

Currently, the Resolve association is heading up the push behind this tax credit. They have created a facebook page so you can follow updates and raise awareness for the cause.

What are your thoughts on the bill? Is this something you would take advantage of?

{National Infertility Week, April 24-30}

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RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association, is holding a challange for the week of awareness: Bust a Fertility Myth.

You can be an infertile, friend, family or just love to speak out about Infertility to participate.

During the week of April 24th to April 30th.

Choose one “Infertility Myth to Bust” or make one of your own.

Go back to your blog and explore that “myth” in a post. Expand on the idea, tell a story, write poetry, say it with photographs–any way you want to explore that “infertility myth.” Posts can go up any time from April 24 to April 30. Please start your post by placing your chosen “infertility myth” at the top of the post.

Add a link at the bottom of your post to this url giving a basic understanding of infertility: http://www.resolve.org/infertility101 and this url giving the background of National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW): http://www.resolve.org/takecharge

Go to RESOLVE's website and fill out the survey. It will then appear as part of this challenge and all blogs on the list will be considered for RESOLVE’s Hope Award for Best Blog presented at the 2011 Night of Hope. RESOLVE will also be featuring a link to the blog on http://www.resolve.org/.

They will also be compaigning on Facebook and Twitter:

1. Tweet about your "Bust a Myth" blog submissions using #Bustamyth.

2. Update your Facebook profile with the link http://www.resolve.org/bustamyth to promote your blog to your friends and family.

Let's all rally together the week of April 24 and support a great cause! I know this is a while off so I will be sending out a reminder so everyone can get their posts together.

Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

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Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

"There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books,

but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed.

I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child.

I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body, I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.

I have succeeded.

I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immerse power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother."

~Author Unknown



Infertility - IVF Odds of Success

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I was reading this article the other day and thought it was a good article about IVF. It seems the success rates of a live birth are holding steady but are still giving many couples the dream of being parents, 41.3% (for women under 35) to be exact.  

It seems several years ago, SART (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) started encouraging doctors and patients to limit embryo transfers to one in healthy, younger women. It seems that the overall number of embryos transfers from 2003 to today has dropped from 2.6 to 2.0. For us being out of pocket, I would rather transfer two embryos and hope that having twins is the worse thing we have to worry about.

What did you think about the article? Also, don't forget to check out Spotlight On Infertility to see real faces of Infertility.

ref: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-ivf-20110307,0,7693033.story

New Urologist

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Yes, another Urologist!

About a month ago, I was reading this blog and she had just found out she was pregnant (naturally). I've followed this blog for a while and knew that they had been having problems for years. I also remembered that the last time I had checked in her husband had zero sperm, so I was very anxious to hear how they finally conceived on their own. After reading through the last couple {months} of posts, I started to think she was copying our story there were so many similarities.

First similarity was that her husband had low testosterone and was put on testosterone replacement therapy. This was something we {Chris and I} never really talked about here but he was on testosterone injections for most of last year. After 6 months of testosterone injections we found out that all this does is stop the production of sperm.

Second, low sperm count after testosterone replacement therapy.

Third, low LH.

I couldn't take anymore. I had to know how they got pregnant on their own. Finally, there it was in plain sight: Infertility Urologist. Who knew they existed? We didn't and no one even told us about seeing one.

I called our Reproductive Endocronologists office and asked for a referral. They sent us to Dr. William J. Sommers. I called and made an appointment for March 8, 2011. He ordered more blood tests and more ultrasounds for Christopher but we should hear back in two weeks with the results.

With the results we could have three paths according to Dr. Sommers:

1. Drug Therapy to try and naturally increase Chris's testosterone which in turn would increase his sperm count

2. Another procedure for Chris. This one being outpatient though.

3. IVF

Once we get all the information from the tests ordered we will make our decision but we are continuing to save for IVF. The savings plan is going really well and I will update you soon.  

Will the Focus Touch change Infertility Treatment?

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I recently read an article about a product called the Focus Touch. It's an $80 intracervical insemination device that you can buy over the counter. The inventor: Steve Bollinger (pictured above) is trying to bridge the gap between intercourse and IVF.

I have to admit when I first started reading I was very intrigued. The article states that intracervical injection is not as widely used as it was because it doesn't reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases like intrauterine injection does. Plus the success rate for an intracervical injection is about 10 to 15 percent compared to IVF which is about 15 to 25 percent. The biggest reason that Bollinger states he wanted to invent this device is that most Infertility Treatments are so impersonal. 

I know what your thinking..how does this thing work? Bollinger says about the Focus Touch: 

 "A small cap sits at the tip of a specially designed condom. During intercourse, the cap collects the semen and then is removed and fitted onto the end of the Focus Touch. The tube is then inserted into the vaginal tract until it rests against the cervix, placing the semen in close proximity to the woman's cervical entrance. The cap can stay inside the woman's body for three to five hours before being pulled out by a string, much like a tampon."

My opinion: This is an "At Home IUI" (intrauterine injection) so yes $80 is cheaper but there are few things that are missing from this article. First, 90% of women do not keep track of their cycles and that would be a must with the Focus Factor. Second, this "At Home IUI" doesn't require you to do a seman analysis before using the product. What if there are male infertility problems that have not been brought out by testing? Overall though, I'm very interested in this product. I love what Bollinger is trying to do...bring the "coldness" out of making a baby for those of us who aren't luky to conceive babies naturally. Do you think he's looking for Beta Testers?

So tell me your thoughts? What do you think of the Focus Touch? Would you use it?

Requesting Infertility Insurance

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I recently read an article that said Infertility Insurance will cost a company $1.71 extra per month. This was sited in a study conducted by an insurance company. So why is this not covered in the company I work at? Or all companies?

I wanted to know!

Then it clicked, why not ask? If I approach this correctly this could be a great thing for many people who work at the company I do. I wrote up a nice, quick email to my Human Resources department with my question:

"My husband and I have recently run into our current health benefits not covering Infertility. Is there a specific reason this is not in our insurance coverage? Also Is there a way that we can request that this be part of our benefits package for 2012? Or can this be offered as an extra option for us to pay a higher premium for?

Per this article (http://www.fertilitycommunity.com/fertility/infertility-insurance-costs-utilization.html),  IVF out of pocket will cost us $14,500 per cycle, with insurance it would be close to half the cost to us and this company. After lots of reading on the internet it appears that adding infertility insurance to most premiums should only cost $1 per month and can cut down on un-needed surgeries that are covered by insurance.

Thank you for your time, Christine"

Some states do have laws about insurance coverage for Infertility. If you would like to check out yours, click here. In Ohio, testing for Infertility is required to be covered but not IUI or IVF.

After a month I finally received an email back from our Human Resources department:

"I would be happy to forward your request on to the Benefits Team that makes these decisions and see if they would consider this when reviewing the benefits plan for 2012"

Not the worst answer I could have received but I still expected much more. I'm hoping that *maybe* this just wasn't something that was looked into because no one had ever requested it before. I do know that this is something your insurance company has to add on to their package.

I'm not holding my breathe or our plans to move forward with IVF on this maybe but it is promising. If you do not have Infertility Insurance, have you asked your company why it's not covered?

**Resolve's website has a great sample letter to send to your employer**

Book Review: When Nature's Not Enough

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When Nature's Not Enough

Did you know "In Vitro" in Itialian mean "In Glass" because IVF babies used to be conceived in glass test tubes this is how IVF got it's name. Now babies are actually conceived in plastic petridishes. Pretty interesting fact, huh?

When were first saw the Reproductive Endocrinologist, Dr. Maseellal, I had a thirst for knowledge of IVF but as I started reading I started scaring myself. When Nature's Not Enough was the first book I picked up that I could not put down. It was a book that followed couple's through their journey to a child. Whether that be adoption or IVF. I'm not a sit down a read a whole book in day girl but did find myself coming back to this book for comfort a lot. It was so nice to read about couple's who were facing the same issues as we were facing.

If you are looking for a book about couples and not a bunch of facts about IVF this would be one of my first recommendations to you.

How are we saving for IVF?

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Since it is now 2011, Christopher and I are creating a new budget and savings plan for IVF. Our goal is to save $1000 a month. We know it's a high goal to meet but think that it is doable if we can start cutting out some of the non-necessities and cutting back on some of the luxuries.

First, we took a look at all of our bills to see what we can cut back on:

1. Cable was the one blaring right in our face. Currently we are spending $150 a month. We have HBO, Showtime, 1 DVR, cable and internet. I called and cut out HBO and Showtime, bringing our bill to $120. Still outrageous we think and Time Warner was not willing to bring it down any further. We are currently looking at other cable companies to see if we can bring this down further. But this did however save us $30.

2. Insurance (car, home, ring, life): We just switched insurance companies last year and this saved us about $100 a month so I didn't mess with this. I know we are getting a great deal but it's worth a couple calls around to see if you can get a better deal.

Second, we took at look at the extra's:

1. Eating Out: We are spending about $300 per month on eating out and 'adult beverages'. Ouch, right!?! We have cut our entertainment budget to $50 per week, totaling $200 per month. Saving us $100.

2. Grocery Store: We are currently spending $350 per month on groceries. Usually about $75 at Whole Foods and $100 a Wal-Mart per pay. We need to cut back on the extras we buy when we go to the store. So our plan is to go in with meals planned and nothing else is being bought. Eating organic meats, eggs and milk is still very important to us so we are not going to cut out Whole Foods. But cutting down on what we buy should bring our grocery budget down to $300 per month. Saving us $50.

Third, we need to start bringing in some extra income. To me getting a second job isn't worth the extra month or two earlier it would allow us to do IVF. So here are our ideas:

1.I joined Delve Market Research hoping that I can earn some money in my off time, when it's convenient for me. Since this is not consistent work, I'm not sure I can estimate how much this will bring in.

2. We will be selling items on Ebay. Chris and I like to go to thrift stores and antique stores to find deals then sell them. We are hoping to earn an extra $50 per month.

3. Chris's web design/marketing he does on the side brings in an extra $400 per month. We never include this in our monthly budget because we don't want to ever depend on this money but it's perfect to include in this savings plan.

If we add all of the budget cuts and extra income together, that gives us $680 per month we can save for IVF. So to meet our goal of saving $1000 per month we will need to come up with an extra $320 out of our paycheck. Which I know is doable. I will be doing a monthly post about the money we have saved toward IVF and how we are doing it.