No matter how many friends, family members, or acquaintances tell you about their struggles with infertility, it’s hard to comprehend the toll this deeply personal challenge can have until you experience it for yourself.
As a pediatrician, I regularly speak with new moms, and many tell me how difficult it was to welcome their new baby into the world. After all, infertility is incredibly common—1-in-6 people globally are affected by it, per the World Health Organization.
Yet when I encountered infertility issues myself, I was overwhelmed. I felt like I wasn’t in control of my own health.
Both the financial and emotional aspects of the journey were incredibly taxing. Could we afford IVF? How much would be covered by insurance? What it if didn’t work? Those were just a few of the many questions I asked myself.
I feel very fortunate to be a mom today. IVF experiences vary widely—from having a baby after the first attempt to going through multiple expensive rounds of IVF and never getting pregnant.
One silver lining in my journey is that I can now help other people who are struggling by sharing how I navigated through the difficult, and sometimes isolating process.
Patricia Pinto-Garcia is a doctor, but found her own IVF journey to be a financial and emotional rollercoaster.
Patricia Pinto-Garcia
Finding Trusted Resources and Support
Once you’ve gone through fertility testing and decided to move forward with IVF, the process can be confusing.
There are a number of steps to the IVF process, which can be difficult to follow. Plus, everyone’s experiences can differ considerably from person to person, so searching online can be a bit like opening Pandora’s box.
You may find an overwhelming amount of information that may or not be accurate or relevant to your specific circumstances. Even with my medical training, I found it hard to parse through the noise.
I always recommend others be conscious of the resources they’re reading, keeping a keen eye for accuracy.
Consider the website or social media account you’re looking at: Who authored the content? Is the writer a board-certified doctor? Is the information currently accurate, or could it be outdated?
Information on online forums or message boards can offer insight into the process and helpful tips. But information is rarely reviewed by medical professionals, and shouldn’t be relied on when you’re making personal health decisions.
Not only can medical information be incorrect, it can also be irrelevant. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to IVF.
Information from government agencies, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or articles that have been written by medical professionals are usually your best bet.
At GoodRx, we created a go-to resource, our Fertility Hub, which checks these boxes. All of our content is written and reviewed by doctors with a goal of answering direct questions so people can find the information they need.
And we’re clear about when information applies to everyone and when you need to seek clarity for your specific situation.
Beyond reading available materials online, don’t discount the value of therapy or support groups to talk through your thoughts. Connecting with others can be life-changing—including reducing stress and improving mental wellness during a challenging time.
While many women have opened up and started discussing their experiences, countless others still go through this experience in silence. They shouldn’t have to.
Understanding and Managing the Financial Burden
Not only is IVF emotionally stressful, it can be financially debilitating too. Each phase of IVF requires specific medications—some of which have a short shelf life and can’t be saved for subsequent rounds of IVF—and the cost of those medications can vary widely.
Plus, there are also so many medical professionals and specialists involved in the IVF process, from reproductive endocrinologists and ultrasound technicians, to embryologists, and more.
Each of these people come with their own costs, which add up quickly. As a result, a single cycle of IVF can range from $15,000 to $30,000.
When I was going through IVF, I was fortunate to live in a state with mandatory coverage for IVF medications. This means you can receive coverage for fertility medications up to a certain number of cycles.
But once you hit your limit, you’re left to shoulder the cost. And there’s procedure costs to consider too. Even with my employer-sponsored insurance, I had to pay very high out-of-pocket costs.
Though it takes a little work and time, there are options for fertility medication savings outside of the price you’re quoted from the pharmacy or through your health insurance.
First, I always recommend comparison shopping. Prices can vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, not unlike buying groceries or a new car. You can receive quotes from different specialty and retail pharmacies or ask your center if they have a recommendation.
When I was going through fertility treatments, my center recommended a specific specialty pharmacy but my insurance provider’s specialty pharmacy offered the same medications for a much lower cost.
Other ways you can save on medications include using your flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) funds, if applicable, or researching manufacturer savings programs.
While I purchased my IVF medications from a specialty pharmacy, I found some relevant coupons using GoodRx and called the pharmacy so that they’d apply them.
This was long before I worked at GoodRx myself, I just knew of it because I often recommended it to my patients as a quick-and-easy savings tool for prescriptions.
Back then, GoodRx had very few coupons available for IVF medications. Thankfully as more people talk about their IVF experience and the heavy cost burden associated with it, coupons are available for almost every fertility medication.
Medications are only one piece of the cost puzzle, but one where you can find savings. I accessed discounts throughout my fertility journey, which was a big relief and one less stressor during an already difficult time.
How I Regained Control
Infertility struggles can make you feel so vulnerable and powerless. The way I made it through this journey was by putting my physical, mental, and emotional health first.
To address physical symptoms and side effects, particularly with the frequent injections, I leaned into my medical training. Some of the key practices I adopted include:
- Applying ice to the injection site before or after to reduce swelling
- Warming the bottle of progesterone in oil by putting it in your bra or under your arm to make it easier to inject
- Massaging the injection site to prevent knots and tenderness
- Contacting my doctor if I felt like my soreness or swelling wasn’t subsiding
Most importantly, throughout all stages of my fertility journey, I prioritized my mental health by taking it easy and being kind to myself. In all stages of life—and especially during infertility challenges—a little self-kindness goes a long way.
Now that I’m on the other side of my fertility journey, I hope that sharing my tips as a medical professional, and as somebody who experienced IVF firsthand, can help others feel less overwhelmed and alone.
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a senior medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine. Dr. Garcia began her clinical career as a National Health Services Corps scholar and was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut before joining GoodRx.
All views expressed are the author’s own.
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