(in)fertility extras

1. IVF drugs are expensive. For the third and last cycle, we were lucky enough to get all of the stims donated - a handful of vials of Repronex from a nurse at Cornell, a huge batch of Follistim from an internet friend in NJ (who, at that time, I'd never met in person), some more Follistim from a NY friend (passed under the table at a Starbuck's), and more Repronex plus a huge bag of assorted syringes from another IF compadre in NY. I did have to buy the microdose Lupron and the trigger, but I think the cycle was blessed by the good karma of all those donated drugs. When I was done, I passed on the extra Follistim to another friend (under the table at a Mexican place in Grand Central), and she got pregnant on her next cycle. And I turned in all the extra syringes to the RE's office for them to use in training classes.

2. Peer support is really important. It's one thing to talk to friends and family, but talking to people who've been through the process, or are in the middle of things, is a good way to learn things and share experiences good and bad. Through on-line resources like Resolve, Inciid, and IVF Connections, you may find peers who are local or age-similar or diagnosis-compatible. And, of course, there's blog-land: there are lots and lots of infertility blogs.

3. A hot washcloth compress immediately following an injection of progesterone in oil is a wonderful thing.

4. Don't forget about taxes. Specifically, infertility treatment is a medical expense that can be included on your tax return if you meet the threshhold (meaning that your expenses are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income) and you're intemizing deductions. In each of the two years that we were spending piles of money on drugs and doctors and procedures, W. and I filed our taxes separately, because the threshhold against only one income was lower and we could deduct more of the medical expenses.