An IVF update... plus expected IVF costs

I have a couple of IVF updates. First, DH did his fourth semen analysis on 12/8. We had to trek through the snow to do that, which wouldn't be a big deal for most people, but we live in Louisiana so it was a huge deal for us. We will receive those test results on 12/15. This will determine if: A. The Clomid has stopped working and we have to go back to the donor sperm route, B. The Clomid has increased his counts enough that we can try naturally for a while or do IUI, or C. His counts are still around the same as last time and we will proceed forward with our IVF plans.

We of course expect it to be option C, which is fine now that we've already come this far. We are saving every bit of money that we can for IVF and we are just ready to start a family.

Our second update is that my local RE is insisting upon me getting a follow-up ultrasound before they will monitor me for my out-of-state IVF cycle. The problem is, they can't do the ultrasound until CD 6-10 of my next cycle, which overlaps with when I should be starting IVF stims.

However, my amazing New York RE is allowing me to take birth control for about a week after my next cycle starts to give me time to do the ultrasound and then start stims immediately after. I'm very happy with this solution!!


Now on to the "fun" stuff - insert sarcasm here. IVF costs a crazy amount of money as most people know. My local RE is great, but he's very, very expensive. Here are the costs if I did IVF locally:

Cycle Cost including ICSI: $15,200.00 (includes 1 retrieval and 2 transfers if the first doesn't work)
Pre-Cycle Tests: $1,200.00
Medications: $3,000.00 (estimated)
Total: $19,400.00

We just can't swing that, and even if we could, that's a LOT of money! So I searched elsewhere and stumbled upon CNY Fertility Center. Now I've read some less than stellar reviews on their success rates, but for their amazing price, I can do 2 cycle there for less than the price of 1 cycle locally so I feel like it's a gamble I'm willing to take. Here are the estimated costs for doing IVF in New York:

Cycle Cost: $3,900.00 (includes 1 retrieval and unlimited free FETs for up to one year after your retrieval)
Pre-Cycle Tests: $150.00 (they let me waive almost all of the testing)
Monitoring: $1,000 (doing this at my local RE)
Medications: $2,100.00 (they let me order from overseas which saved a ton of money!)
Travel: $1,500.00 (this includes flights, hotel room, food, car rental, etc.)
Total: $8,650.00

This is still a lot of money obviously, but I'm saving almost $11,000!!! We have been saving every bit of money that we can, including asking our families to just give us money for Christmas and getting a loan from a family member. But it's all going to be worth it!