Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Inching Along....
The insurance fiasco is almost finished. Today, I sent in the last appeal letter and all dates of services are now being reviewed! I have the advocate looking to see what Anthem needs to approve these services.
That comes to another discussion that we maybe facing: Continue with the same office, continue with a different office or just give up. I'm about to get a second opinion to make sure I'm making the right decision. This office I'm at diagnosed me with Unexplained Infertility with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. What happens if they tell me I need to do IVF and that doesn't work? What would happen if I did that procedure, go to another doctor and find out a diagnosis? I would be so pissed because I spent two years basically burning the money that could have been used to get me better and to try again. There is one forty-five minutes away and the one that we go to is about an hour and forty-five minutes away. Takes my insurance and everything.
I should have been doing this sooner but I was on the fence. I have been taking Red Raspberry Tea Leaves in a pill form to improve my lining. What is that you say? It's a natural herb that most women use to strengthen the uterus, promote blood circulation, and ease menstrual cramps. It's also used in the 3rd trimester to ease labor pains. Before you go jumping to the nearest herbal store to get some, there were lots of warnings to be aware of:
- Don't use it past ovulation! Very important that you start the regimen the day that you get your period and stop when you ovulate. Not only because it won't matter too much because it's passed the point where you may have conceived, but also because if you thicken your lining too much and it sticks, you could get a miscarriage because it's too thick! This is why trying to conceive (TTC) can be so tricky and take so much time to sustain a healthy pregnancy.
- Take what is instructed! If the bottle tells you to only take two a day, then take what is prescribed. You should only have up to 1,000mg of this stuff or you could have bad side effects.
- Don't take it with other fertility medication! Another big and important thing to consider. The reason why you should take it because if you use ART or use, say, Estradiol with it, you're going to overstimulate yourself. If you were going for an IUI, the doctor may cancel that procedure because of that reason.
- It may take a couple of months to work (or may not work at all)! I wish I could say this is the end all solution to having a healthy pregnancy (trust me, with all the crap that we've been through I wish I could say this is the case!) but every woman is different. It could help me but may not for some. When I looked up reviews, some say it could take five months to be effective.or it may not work for you.
- As always, speak to your doctor or RE to see if it's right for you!
I just started taking it and I can feel it working, blood flow wise. I really hope that this helps because Estradiol has so many side effects and makes me very sick sometimes. With Red Raspberry Tea Leaves, the only side effect that I've experienced was nausea. Because the hubby is having back surgery, so I'm taking this to prepare my body so when we're ready, my uterus is strong enough.
Labels: Estadiol, infertility, insurance, IUI, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, Red Raspberry Tea, TTC
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
TTA even longer :(
Well, the hubby got his back surgery all set and it will mean that we're going to wait much longer to get back on the TTC train. He'll be out of work for 4-6 weeks and will be on disability until he's medically cleared. Which means I'll be the sole provider for the house. And I'll have my in-laws watching him.
Yippie. /sarcasm
Labels: back surgery, TTA
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Finally!!
Anthem has finally paid the IUI package! It included the sonograms, semen wash and the procedure, which totaled $640. It took most of the HRA account and only had to pay like $100. So, I only have about $500 left to pay so I can actually go back and do more procedures. Hopefully this will set precedence and no matter if we start next year, they won't be pulling this shit. I'm just so relieved that was taken care of and don't have to worry for the next time and that follicle scan was covered too.
I'm just hoping that the others are fixed very soon so we can get a credit that could hopefully be used for future treatments or to put in the housing account. We're still talking about going back, but we're having fun by ourselves. I think we're going to wait until next year because we want to go on a Disney Cruise and go to Universal Studios. He has been wanting to go to the Harry Potter part of Islands of Adventure but with everything that went on at once, just couldn't go down. Even though Disney is renovating, it won't be done for quite some time. We've never been on a cruise and it goes to the Bahamas. I think with all the hard work with getting this done, we can use that money to breathe just a little bit and go on a relaxing vacation to somewhere we may never go to once we have children.
Labels: Anthem, Cruise, Disney, Harry Potter, insurance, Islands of Adventure, IUI, TTC, Universal, vacation
♥ About Me
My name is Jessica and I'm 31 years old. I live in WNY, married to the love of my life and have two adorable kitties and pup! I work from home and absolutely love it! Gotta pay the bills, y'all!
Even though most of our time together has been blissful, there is also some pain to our story. In 2005 I had an ectopic pregnancy and in 2010 I had a missed miscarriage. An ectopic is when the fetus implants somewhere else, rather in the uterus (most common areas are the Fallopian tubes). A missed miscarriage is when the body still thinks the fetus is alive when it passed. After the two losses, we went to an RE who then diagnosed us as Unexplained Infertility and Reoccurring Pregnancy Loss in 2011. May 2014 I then miscarried again at 5 weeks with a chemical pregnancy after our second IUI.
If things couldn't get any worse, I was then diagnosed with Narcolepsy after I was misdiagnosed with being clinically depressed. After the lengthy battle of getting that diagnosis out of my medical records, we are still up in the air if we plan to adopt. Most adoption agencies will not consider adults who are diagnosed with this or any other mental illnesses all in the name of keeping the child's best interest in mind. This fight was just for my sake because agencies still frown on me because of my recent diagnosis. But the hypocrisy in all of that is where is CPS keeping that perspective to a drug addicted mother who can't take care of her kids but still keeps those she reproduces with a "sperm donor"? What is wrong with me being an adopted mother because I'm a Narcoleptic? I routinely make sure I take my medication, follow a strict diet, go to my routine medical appointments to ensure my medication is working, and pursuing job opportunities. Ahh, because it's medical expenses that my health insurance covers but it makes them think I don't have any money nor energy for that child. right.
♥ loves
Of course, my first love will be my adorable hubby! He's my rock and is there when I need him the most. I don't know if I could get through my dark days without him. I love to watch movies, playing video games, working out, and listening to music. Both of us are Disney fans and love going down to Florida every now and then.
♥ Desires
Movies
Music
Coach
♥ Acroynms that I use
BFN: Big Fat Negative (home pregnancy test result)
BFP: Big Fat Positive (home pregnancy test result)
IUI: Intra-uterine Insemination
IVF: In Vitro Fertilization
OPK: Ovulation Predictor Kit
RE: Reproductive Endocrinologist
TSH: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
TTA: Trying To Avoid
TTC: Trying To Conceive