If you are having fertility issues, and you get the chance to attend one of these FA seminars, do it. It's well worth it. I would say that they'll run more of them because the response has been so good.
I didn't learn anything new as far as the whole fertility/infertility shebang goes (I've done a lot of research, so I was mostly there to find out about the system anyway), but I did learn a couple of things about IVF which are really good to know!
A run of the mill IVF cycle will cost around $8,000.00. This is where they let sperm fertilise an egg in a test tube, without intervention (well, this is all about intervention, but you know what I mean!), so not ICSI, which we likely won't need. ICSI (which comes with a $10,000.00 approx price tag) is where they inject a single sperm into an egg, and is for couples where there is a sperm issue.
We also learned that a frozen cycle of IVF is only about $900.00, so the thing to hope for is a number of good embryos (quality over quantity though, always) from a fresh IVF cycle, and that we get some strong enough to survive the thaw (about 70% of embryos survive the thaw, so we want enough to be able to lose some, if that makes sense). This is assuming, of course, that we wouldn't be pregnant first pop off the fresh IVF cycle. There is a good chance of that happening, 40%-50% apparently, but of course that leaves a 50%-60% chance that it won't also. I'm being positive, without putting all my eggs in one basket (or test tube) so to speak.
The other thing we learned is that there are two government funded fertility clinics in Auckland who do IVF, Fertility Associates and Fertility Plus (we knew that already, the next bit is the new information). Although you don't get a choice who you received treatment through if you go fully public, you do have the ability to tweak the system a bit! Al and I both heard different things on this one, and we're not sure which of us is right (well, I'm sure I am, and he's sure he is, but that's not very helpful ... we will have to find a way to clarify it), but it's either from first point of contact with one or other clinic, you get to stay with them (as in, we have already been seen and had tests done by FA, privately, so if we went on the Gov't funded waiting list, we'd be assigned to them, even though we would otherwise have been lumped with FP), OR it's if you do an IVF cycle or some other form of treatment privately in the first instance, you get to stay with them. I'm going to get to working on finding an answer on that one though. I want to do my treatment with FA. (Yes, I know it's our treatment, but let's face it, I'm the one that's going to be injecting myself x times a day, blowing up like a balloon, going through all the hormone/emotional/everything else crap. All his nibs has to do is put up with me (OK, so his bit sucks a little too), and get up close and personal with a jar a couple of hours before egg retrieval).
What made me laugh is that at one point they showed how egg retrieval is done (a needle up the jacksie (fine, fine ...ermmm ...vagina), through the wall of the jacksie, and into the follicles on the ovaries to suck out the eggies), and everyone is just sitting there watching going "Oh ...ok". Well, when they showed how sperm retrieval is done if there is an issue with sperm in the ejaculate eg. there's none and they have to get it straight from the boy bits, and they showed a pic of the needle going into the boy bits? Every single boy in the place bent forwards in their seats and starting squirming. Very amusing.
We were also given a book (thank FA! It was really unexpected, but very appreciated! It contains lots of good information by the looks of it too ...I'll let you know) on making babies (fertility and infertility), and when we did a tour of the clinic, I received a folder full of information on IVF which I'll get into as well. I think that knowing as much as you can makes a difference, if only just to help the fear.
Even for those few things it was really worth it!
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