# how do you pay for your treatment?



## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

ok girls i know this is a personal question but hey we have talked about much more personal things.

We have now paid for

2 x IVF 

1 x FET 

We have been very lucky and had 2 lots of drugs funded by the gp.

We had a a grand from my parents on our first go that was money left by my nan when she passed and also had crimbo/birthday presents as money

we have remortgaged once for the last cycle and the ivf and fet before that were paid on credit card so this was paid off when we remortaged.

Now i am going without everything and i know that sounds extreme but its true and im also working extra hours and saving really hard. Luke pays if we go out anywhere and thats rare now.

We have gone without lots of things over the last few years and haven't had a holiday since out honeymoon, we do go off drifting and things but its not the same as going to some hot and relaxing with your other half.

I hate the money worries that go with treatment and from the money i have spent i have nothing to show just a longer sig on here and heartache.

I hope that i get the dream before money stops us trying saying that i would beg borrow and steal for this girls.

maybe 6th time lucky for me


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## CookieSal (Jun 24, 2007)

For us it was something we took into account when we bought our house and we worked out the mortgage so that some of the profit from my flat was kept in reserve for tx.  Whether I will be able to accept and stop when that fund runs dry is another matter though and I don't know where any further money would come from then....I guess I would ask mummy and daddy if I honestly felt I still had a chance of success at that stage.


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

i hate to ask but have you put alot away

i will always be 100% honest with you girls and at the moment i have 3550 saved, thats is 800 left from last cycle, 600 from selling my motorbike and the rest is me working hard and saving.

it really hard for me to see how much we are spending when i see nice things i want but this is so much different to wanting something nice like a new car, its changed your whole life forever


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## CookieSal (Jun 24, 2007)

Yeah, a fair amount.  Should be enough for 3 x DIUI and at least 2 x DIVF with possible frosty transfers (if I had a good response).  Sad thing is, we need the money for new windows, probably a new car sooner or later (as both are fairly old now) not to mention any kind of holiday etc.  One of us needs a pay rise and soon!    I considering setting up a standing order to start boosting the fund and being very careful about what I spend over the coming months.  Horrible to have to think like that but I want this more than anything, it's so important.


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

i really wish i had started saving years ago now i have to save, something somewhere tells me i can not give up

money is a massive massive issue for us but i have to say there are people that are worst off than us so in a way we are luck

i think the time it gets passed the 10k mark i will get scared, i try never to add it all up as that scares me


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## CookieSal (Jun 24, 2007)

Seems so unfair too - I mean obviously my circumstances are very different but for you - it's not your fault you have had health issues that mean you need tx to achieve something which is a natural longing for so many women.


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

what i hate more than anything is failing and then worrying about when/if we can go again that is partly why we had a break this time so we could put a little bit away so at least something is there if we fail

does that make sense?


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## CookieSal (Jun 24, 2007)

Total sense - that was why I had my meltdown this time.  Financially we were still OK to hit the next cycle but the uncertainty surrounding the blob and the future implication practically tore me apart.  In all of this we are constantly seeking hope - whether it be the next scan, the test date, the next cycle and if that is taken away, it's hell.


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## ANDI68 (Aug 17, 2007)

For us Kara, we have saved, which isn't going to last forever ... not at roughly £4.5K a shot.  

We've spent on our first and second cycles: £3,543 and thankfully the ICSI was NHS

This cycle the drugs were more expensive, even though I bought them direct but ended up buying more than I had to.  So far I've spent £1,341 on drugs and know I will probably have to buy more Puregon next week and gestone.   So with the ICSI cost this cycle is going to be about £5,000.

It is very hard, I've changed my job to cope with the process but now I can't save anything.


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

omg don't add it up thats too scary lol

i think if the money element wasn't there i would be fine as im so used to cycling now , it part of my life


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

you know me i always have to ask the question

im not gona add mine up sod it lol


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## popsi (Oct 11, 2007)

Kara.. well we are only just paying for our 1st ICSI this time, as last was NHS, we are putting this on an interest free credit card, not to use the little we have saved, as we will pay that off because we know we HAVE to or be charged, whereas with the savings it would be slow to replace, and we dont have that much saved, we have always lived life the the full, and once we had a couple of grand have taken off away, or bought something, or done the garden etc.. so we have not been good on the savings .. but to be honest I am glad because if we had 15k in the bank it would be tempting to spend it all on tx and have missed out on so much ... we dont plan having another go after this, go onto adoption, but not saying for certain yet as who knows... and to add fuel to this we are off to buy a new tv for our bedroom tomorrow for me after my ET (as I am hoping to get that far this time !!) 

Sorry i have waffled now .... but thats me lol x


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## larkles (Jun 29, 2005)

Hi Kara
Had to chirp in on this, so far a scaringly £50,000  but last and 10th attempt in July then will throw in the towel, we have remortgaged, saved, busted our guts out-but all in the process of learning   of what we both crave  

Good luck to everyone   

Larkles
xx


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## Moth (Apr 17, 2008)

Larkles - Wow, i think Kara has the right idea - don't add up the cost! LOL Good luck for your tx in July . My first house i bought didn't cost that much!

Kara -well done on your savings - 'save' is sadly a four letter word in my vocabulary  I'm glad you started this thread Kara as i've been thinking about it myself. The few people who know of our situation seem a bit shocked when i mention the money worry, they say, _''well it'll be worth it in the end''_ Which if you get a  then of course it's more than worth any money you've spent - and i feel guilty mentioning the cost of tx - but it is a huge worry. I know it's going to really affect me if the tx doesn't work as i'll be worrying about what happens next.

As you know, i am self funding (due to my age denial ) So, when i found out in March that i would be going down this bumpy road of IVF i obviously looked up the costs. I'm pretty sure that we'll have to have ICSI, which of course it that little bit more expensive. Dp and i agreed that we would have one tx cycle and that's all. But once we start, i'm afraid that i will have this overwelming desire to continue with another tx (should i need it of course!) We don't live a frivolous lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination, and in the 8 years we've been together we've only had 4 holidays - like with everyone, our wages seem to disappear on everyday living and keeping a house and 2 cars.

It's a bit of a double whammy really isn't it - not only do we have a hard time getting what most people find so easy to do - we have the stress of the money side of it too  Maybe i need to get an additional job  No, definately not -i've just talked myself out of that one! I'll have to consult with you ladies about where to get drugs for tx from. Should i not get them at the clinic?

Anyway ladies, apologies for the long post - just remember, life is still for living and you should all still try and have a few little treats in life - even if it's just a meal, the cinema or a day out now and again - we have to stay sane 

Moth x


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## Laura36 (Jun 27, 2007)

Good thread Kara.

We've been on the IVF NHS list but as I didn't produce enough follicles I was converted to IUI. When I checked with Debbie she said that as it was a clinical decision it won't affect our free IVF go.
Therefore now that the IUI was a BFN it's onto the free IVF in July/August.

Apart from that we have set aside since last summer some of my bonus (enough for an IUI probably £1200 ish) plus I'm expecting this summers bonus to be almost enough for an IVF (almost £4k I hope) should we need it.
Beyond that who knows.... DH is ultra cautious with money and won't let us spend unless we have it saved (very sensible but bit boring as I'm def more inclined just to spend and worry later, lol).  We haven't yet had the conversation about how many tx's we would do.  If we carried on beyond these 3 (above) then I guess we could raise the money. Or wait for next year's bonus but I'll be 35 later this year.

Luckily I have a really good job but on the downside it's pretty stressful especially during tx and the issues DH & I had a few months back.  I also have to do quite a lot of travelling & overnight stays which I don't really enjoy.  I would love to get pg and go part time or get a new less stressful job - well, I can hope  

Fingers crossed we'll all succeed on our next tx cycles and won't need to worry about the cash!!


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## ANDI68 (Aug 17, 2007)

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/articledisplay.jsp?article_id=8270939&section=Planning


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## Scouse (Aug 9, 2007)

Moth said:


> 'save' is sadly a four letter word in my vocabulary
> Moth x


That made me  Moth because it could have been me!
We have borrowed and credit carded our first go, this time i'm selling my endwoment - we had intended to do the same as cookie, keep back some csh from our flat sale, but of course when that fell through we had to get the money from somewhere??
But I couldn't / don't want to add up all the cost - I know larkles we are now where near you! 
Wishing you a success with your last attempt............and all you ladies whatever attempt you are on!


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## ANDI68 (Aug 17, 2007)

I read back over this thread for some tips or inspiraton, just in case I've missed some easier common sense way of raising cash .... nope I hadn't  

I'd had 2 cycles when I originally posted here and now after 5 cycles I've almost spent £20K on treatment and the things associated with it, I just wonder where you all are with how you've managed to fund or plan to fund tx.

Is it wiser to keep any savings and put it all on a 0% credit card or not?


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

you could but if you start paying interest use the saving , also make sure they dont charge to pay by credit card too

we had a massive break inbetween our last cycles and i saved like mad and went without everything, all i brought was petrol and the odd meal at the harvester with you girls, it was hard but it was the only thing we could do


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## Laura36 (Jun 27, 2007)

OMG Andi, £20k is a lot!!

I think we've paid for 1 IUI and 1 IVF out of our 4 cycles.  One was NHS IUI and other NHS IVF.  So we haven't spent that much.  Our next cycle (Donor Egg) will cost 3900 euro.  I have used my last 3 bonus's for tx.  Lucky that I have that option I know. Timing of my bonus in 2010 (  I do well enough at work this year to get a bonus big enough to cover the 3900 Eur) is just a few weeks before the cycle.  Thank god for the 11 month waiting list as we're broke at the moment.

I just hope that all the hard work and hours I have put into work this last 9 months is going to be spent on a worthwhile successful tx next July


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

another way which we did was cancel crimbo, yeah its hard but why waste money on pointless presents or if you cant do that limit the amount you spend, just get a small gift. 

ebay things, anything you dont want or need


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## Laura36 (Jun 27, 2007)

I still think we should be able to ask for 'fertility gift vouchers' from all our relatives for birthdays' and christmas.  Last Christmas I'd have much rather had a box of menopur than a bottle of perfume, lol.


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

we did that too one year and ended up with 500 quid, i didnt have presents for a year as all i wanted was money. even my boss gave us money instead of a gift


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## Cath34 (Oct 14, 2008)

Well girls, I think I win the prize!!!  If we're talking about how much treatment has cost, I started IVF March 08 and thankfully I am now pregnant sept 09 on my 6th cycle with Dr Gorgy In London.

I have spent almost 40k between IVF and immune testing and treatment. I will need IVIG every 3-4 weeks throughout pregnancy at £1350 a go and NK tests need to be redone periodically at £650-£700 at time so theres lots left to come!!!!! 

I hope you all feel a bit better now   x


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## ANDI68 (Aug 17, 2007)

I will have to write a note to Santa I think  

Laura, I hope your next 9 months hard work will have a fruitful result too


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## Laura36 (Jun 27, 2007)

Thanks Andi.

Cath, that's an amazing amount of money! Now that you are pregnant is the ongoing IVIG not available on NHS? Sorry if that's a really dull question but I don't really know what IVIG is.


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## popsi (Oct 11, 2007)

good luck with how you decide... we choose not to go down that road as we could not afford it and felt life too short to give up our lives,  (our choice only and i admire you all) .... decided to adopt instead.. so sorry no advice to give but GOOD LUCK ! xx


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## kara76 (Dec 14, 2004)

the finanical issues is why i am still campaigning for more funding as i have been in the situation where we have had a failed cycle and not had 2 pennies to rub together and i really am not joking and at that point be really didnt think we could afford anymore treatment. before our last cycle we made a choice that we could not let yourself get into anymore debt for treatment so even though i had a massive break waiting for an op in a way it helped cause we had to save the money first.

we have gone without lots but always keep up out hobby of drifting as we felt we still needed to enjoy life a little and this made having no holidays etc etc bearable

in reality girls none of us should of spent any money for our first 3 cycles and this sucks.


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