Group Therapy: Is IVF worth the cost?

By ANONYMOUS

I’m 34.  My husband (turning 30 this year) and I have been trying for a baby for 6 months.  I met my husband when I was 31 and we married 1.5 years later.  We decided to wait a year before trying to have kids.

I’ve had horrendous periods for years and occasionally miss work due to the pain and their heaviness.  Ten years ago I was in agony and drove myself to hospital and waited 2 hours in emergency to be seen by a doctor who told me it was “just a bit of endometriosis” with no information about the possible effects to my fertility.

At that point I had was not in a relationship and did not think I was ever going to meet someone to have a family with.

I went to my regular GP last year & was referred to a gynecologist last year who did surgery and told me I had a pelvic infection (an STD). We were told that if we had no luck after 6 months that we should seek help sooner rather than later.

This year when I missed work again due to my period I went to see a different GP because my regular one was unavailable. The GP referred me to a specialist in Brisbane, who also performed surgery and on Wednesday I was told that I have Stage 4 endometriosis.  Apparently I’m up there as one of the worst cases this doctor has seen.

I will need more surgery to disentangle my insides and then IVF to have a baby.  I asked what he thought of the previous doctor’s diagnosis and he told me I had been misdiagnosed.

I went into shock and still feel like I have been punched in the stomach.  I feel like I have been mislead and am malformed.   I even felt like my husband should leave me to start a family with someone who could conceive naturally.  (He told me I was being ridiculous.)

I don’t know where to start.  We’re lucky that my husband had stood his ground on having private insurance.  (I had been prepared to ditch it due to the cost).

I have read the comments in the article about women wanting the cost of IVF for surrogate mothers to be fair.

I realise that I am not the first person this has happened to, but would like to know… now what?

Is it worth the cost for IVF?

Any advice for Anonymous?

This writer is known to Mamamia but has chosen to remain anonymous.