[dameraison]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum, but my partner and I have been trying to conceive for two years. I am 37, and he is 45. The first year we tried the old-fashioned way, but this past year we have gone the high-tech route. Since we live in Massachusetts, the process is actually covered by our insurance, and we are trying at a highly regarded teaching hospital which just happens to be within walking distance from our home. It is wonderful that our costs are so minimal, and it should be reassuring that we are at such a great hospital, but…

I (we) have been frustrated by the process. The insurance co. requires us to jump through all kinds of hoops in order to get each procedure approved, and they have also delayed and misdirected approval letters, causing further delays; the mostly wonderful doctors have made several misdiagnoses, and I have had to make countless phone calls and then wait for months to get appointments with specialists (not the reproductive endocrinologists, but various kinds of neurologists). The end result: only six of the past twelve months have been spent on actual treatment (3 IUIs and 1 IVF). We are finally just about to start our second IVF (I am on preliminary birth control pills now). I am going bananas with the usual anxiety, and it is augmented by all of the delays.

Any advice on managing health care?? I have started keeping detailed records of all my consultations, and I am generally trying not to take no for an answer when it comes to arranging appointments, treatment, and so on, but there is only so much I can do. I’d be especially curious to hear from people who have also tried to navigate the murky swamp of health insurance and hospital bureaucracy.

Thank you all, and good luck to all of you.

Him: 45, no problems
Me: 37, endometriosis, 2-3mm microadenoma on pituitary gland