obligatory photo

There's a lab where I work, complete with lots of staff running around in white coats and safety glasses all day. Sometimes, they receive things by FedEx or UPS that require refrigeration. Those boxes usually have a big red sticker on them announcing that they have special temperature requirements, "Please open Immediately."

I had my drugs delivered to work since no one would be home when the FedEx truck came around and I didn't want umpteen gajillion dollars worth of IVF meds sitting unattended by my front door. The drugs arrived today. At my work. Someone from the lab saw the red sticker and took my box. Luckily, before I even had a chance to look in the mail room for my expected delivery, she brought it to my office and apologized for assuming it belonged to the lab. Luckily, she didn't open the box. I would have had a lot of explaining to do, although with all the insulin needles in there, someone may have just presumed that I was diabetic.

The loot:
1 package Leuprolide, 2-week kit (Lupron)
5 Gonal-F RFF 900IU pens
1 dose HCG
Doxycycline
Methylprednisone
Estradiol
2 boxes 15ct. Crinone 8%
Far too many needles (I lost count at 80)
Alcohol prep wipes

These drugs cost me just under $130. The pharmacy doesn't provide pre-insurance prices on the receipt, but I was curious what this would have cost me without my special extra insurance. Dr. Ask (I like him better than Dr. Google, not sure why) sent me to a web site where I was able to plug in the drug names and my doses to find out the retail price range for each item. I was shocked, and once again incredibly grateful that the wonderful Patient Coordinator at my RE's office had steered me in the right direction. I ended up with several generics instead of brand-name meds, which is OK with me, but these still would have cost over $1300 had I gone out of pocket.
I asked the pharmacy when I placed my order if deducting the leftovers from last cycle would save me any money. Nope- so I went ahead and filled the whole shebang as if there were no crinone or Gonal-F already in my house. When this cycle is over, I will donate whatever I have left to whomever needs it. I know I'm lucky to live in a state that mandates fertility coverage, even if my employer and C's union are exempt from the mandate. And I'm lucky to be able to afford the extra insurance that's alowing us to pursue IVF. If there's any way to share some of that "good" fortune, I'll do it. We all need all the ammunition we can get to beat IF.