I did decide to reach out to the clinic the day following B’s procedure. Once that occurred my nurse responded that she was unexpectedly out for a week and is working on my prescriptions and medication protocol. Again, working in healthcare, I find it strange that you have no coverage when one is unexpectedly out of the office.

I noticed I do have trouble advocating for myself as I feel I maybe come off impatient. One of my friends reassured me I am not though my messages are direct and factual which is not something we always see, especially in the south. My nurse did not seem off put by my message following up on next steps. I had to ask again about a doctor’s note for flexibility at work as these are all morning appointments which occur an hour to an hour and a half away from work/ home. I ended up mentioning that I am a clinical provider myself and I am trying to limit disruptions to the patients that I care for. Trying to humanize that although this may be a taxing journey I still want to be able to provide quality care to those I am working with. I finally received my doctor’s note at 6pm on Friday going into a long weekend.

Two prescriptions were sent to my local pharmacy the day I reached out and the rest of the prescriptions were sent to a speciality pharmacy through my insurance. That night I was getting messages back to back with updates on their progress. I was concerned that a pre-auth for medications would take a while longer to come back but all medications were approved the same day. I am grateful that insurance is covering these medications as for this first cycle it will be around $290 for medication and supplies. Without insurance coverage it would have been approximately $28k just for medication and supplies for this cycle.

I had to call the speciality pharmacy to schedule my first order. That was an overwhelming experience as I was “walking in blind”. The pharmacist answered the phone and inquired when do you need your medications? I did mention this was my first time and I have no idea how this benefit works. This sweet pharmacist, Lisa, kept calling my sweetheart and walked me through the process in a 20 minute phone call. The benefit of a speciality pharmacy is a pharmacist is on call 24/7. Lisa noted that she herself went through IVF and so have the other pharmacists so they have a wealth of knowledge per her report. This cycle of medications should arrive on February 22nd.

B and I had to read through 30+ pages of waivers and consents. Though I’m glad because it does bring up great talking points such as what if one passes away what happens to the eggs, semen or embryos? What happens if the parties divorce? This was not an exhaustive list though these are factors that need to be considered and addressed to move forward. We completed the assigned modules for how to administer subcutaneous and intramuscular injections. I definitely was squirming just watching the modules even though they were not on a live person just an animated character. I am not worried that the injections will hurt or be painful I just do not like to see needles penetrating the skin (to think I grew up wanting to be an anesthesiologist is laughable at this point).

My anxiety has increased as it is hitting me that we are actually beginning this journey. Of course I am excited but it’s just a whirlwind of knowledge, information, medications and schedules. I start taking Estrace twice a day on Monday. Thank goodness for this long weekend to help us prepare for what’s next to come.

-A