Looking for help, advice, guidance, anything(22)
rachelann
Posts: 2
Hi everybody. Um. Im brand new here so just thought I'd give out my story and see if anyone else has gone through something similiar.
First off I'll be 22 in a few weeks and I'm single, never would I have thought that I'd be considering donor sperm, I always had the image of the husband and the nice fairy tale. Its not that I'm giving up on that, more that I'm considering other options. I've always wanted to have kids young and I figure I would start looking at my options.
A second reason that I've begun looking into this at such a young age is that my mom had fertility problems having me. She had to go through all the medications and injections to finally be able to have me. I'm an only child.
I'm only considering this now, but would like to wait a few years. Maybe really start when I'm around 25. I've already talked to my mom and grandma who have both said they'd support the choice, but of course my grandmother would love the traditional route, but knows I'm stubborn when I make a decision. My friends are also supportive. I make a pretty good living for a 22 year old. I'm a respiratory therapist working at a hospital and am currently getting a bachelors in health care management. I make a pretty decent living and have always been on the more mature side of my age group since I grew up with more adults than children my age.
I guess my ultimate questions are how did you decide to go this route?
How much average is it?
Anyone near my age that has gone through the process? If so, do you regret doing this so young?
How did you best prepare?
Thank you all so much in advance, I feel like my head is spinning...
First off I'll be 22 in a few weeks and I'm single, never would I have thought that I'd be considering donor sperm, I always had the image of the husband and the nice fairy tale. Its not that I'm giving up on that, more that I'm considering other options. I've always wanted to have kids young and I figure I would start looking at my options.
A second reason that I've begun looking into this at such a young age is that my mom had fertility problems having me. She had to go through all the medications and injections to finally be able to have me. I'm an only child.
I'm only considering this now, but would like to wait a few years. Maybe really start when I'm around 25. I've already talked to my mom and grandma who have both said they'd support the choice, but of course my grandmother would love the traditional route, but knows I'm stubborn when I make a decision. My friends are also supportive. I make a pretty good living for a 22 year old. I'm a respiratory therapist working at a hospital and am currently getting a bachelors in health care management. I make a pretty decent living and have always been on the more mature side of my age group since I grew up with more adults than children my age.
I guess my ultimate questions are how did you decide to go this route?
How much average is it?
Anyone near my age that has gone through the process? If so, do you regret doing this so young?
How did you best prepare?
Thank you all so much in advance, I feel like my head is spinning...
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Comments
First off, I am in a same sex relationship so for me to become pregnant, this was the only way for us to go.
I think the cost will vary from doctor to doctor and also depends on your insurance. I filled my first medicine yesterday and it only cost me $1.56. All bloodwork, testing, etc is all covered for me up to the point of an actual "infertility" diagnosis. Don't forget about FSA dollars because this can be used for your office visits and medicines as well. The actual IUI procedure at my doctor is $1430 and that does not include any of the medicines, ultrasounds before, labs before, nata. That's just the actual procedure. The vials from the cryobank vary in price but don't forget to figure in shipping which can run close to $200 if you're not in the area to do a pick up! Our doctor required 2 vials so just for us to get the vials to us it cost us $1100 + $185 shipping. Also factor in the cost of buying up for the option to see donor child pictures and other info on here which can cost upwards of $200 and only lasts for 3 months I think.
I am a little older than 22 (haha actually 10 years older) but I remember when I was 22 and when I look back I cannot imagine having a child at that age...even at 25. I feel like I am much more settled and comfortable in life and have done most of what I wanted at this point. And whatever else I want to do, I can always bring baby along. Travel mainly. We are big travelers!!
Hope this has helped somewhat. Good luck on your journey and keep us posted!
I think knowing your mom's situation, I would definetly talk to your OB and have a baseline done. Find out what your FSH, AMH & Estradiol levels are, and then see what they recommends.
Am older than you and if I knew then what i know now I would have started way earlier 22 may be young and you may just meet the one.
I would say set some goals and timelines, do some research ,however I think starting a visit with your OB would be a good place.
As far as cost it sure varies from doctor to doctor, however some insurance companies cover the iui's or IVF so compare your insurance coverages.
I'm 24 and am pregnant for the first time through donor IUI. I'm married, but my husband has no sperm because of a Y chromosome microdeletion. We started trying to conceive when I was 23.
Insurance covered all infertility tests for my husband and I and covered the IUI itself. I have a lifetime maximum of $15k that my insurance will spend on infertility treatments so I was lucky there was nothing wrong with me. I live near a CCB storage facility so it was only $100 for shipping to my RE's office.
Donor sperm is expensive! If you choose an open donor it can cost up to $750 a vial (depending on whether you purchase IUI or ICI sperm). My RE's office washed the sperm before the procedure, so I could buy the cheaper ICI sperm and still do IUI. Look into what your insurance covers. Some plans might even cover the sperm itself, although mine didn't. I felt very strongly that all of my children have the same genetic makeup and be true, full siblings so we bought 10 vials. This is something you might want to think about. Some people like the idea of having different donors but I wanted as close to a traditional family as possible. It can take multiple attempts to be successful with IUI but cumulatively there is a high success rate. I was lucky and had success on the first try with a natural (unmedicated) cycle. I bought 10 and now it looks like it will be too much since I definitely don't want 10 kids!!
Given your mother's experiences, I would recommend having some tests done just to make sure you won't have any issues.
This has been a wonderfully positive experience for me and shopping around for the perfect sperm was fun for my husband and I. Finding out he had no sperm was extremely difficult for both of us, but CCB was able to give us what we wanted and couldn't get naturally.
Hope this helps!