Cycle #7, IVF #1: Medication Ordering Debacle

IVF is about to get r-e-a-l! I start my first IVF medications in a few days.

The problem: I didn't received a call from my pharmacy to place my order.

Why meds are needed now: 

1. My injections class is on Wed, 11/18. I need to bring all medication with me. Mostly so they can verify that you have everything for your IVF cycle (no last minute freak outs if something is missing). 
2. My first injections start on Thurs, 11/19! First Lupron shots. 

DAY #1 (11/12)

Call #1: The Pharmacy. My IVF calendar advises that if I don't receive a call from the pharmacy by one week of starting meds, to give them a call. As of this morning (11/12), I haven't received a phone call. Therefore, I call the pharmacy. They said they haven't received the prescription request from my RE's office. The pharmacy confirmed their fax #, just in case and said to have my doctor's office send in the prescription request. 

Call #2: The RE's Office. I call my RE's office to let them know that the pharmacy hasn't received the prescription request. The nurse has a fax confirmation that says it was submitted and received on 11/9. We confirmed the fax # was correct and she said she will re-fax this morning. She advised me to call the pharmacy back this afternoon if I don't hear from them before then -- that way the nurse can re-fax (if needed) and so that I don't get too far behind schedule. 

Side Note: This isn't the first time a pharmacy has "lost" a prescription fax request. It happened for a few of my IUI cycles. The difference was, I was dealing with a local speciality pharmacy and it's quicker to get the medication. This time around, I'm dealing with my insurance pharmacy (now that IVF is a covered service) and I think they'll be shipping it to me (instead of a personal delivery to my front door). 

Call #3: The Pharmacy. Waited and waited, but no call from the pharmacy. When afternoon rolled around, I gave them a call back. "Amazingly" the rep was able to find my info that was sent on Monday (when the earlier rep was not). However, I was in the wrong department - I needed to go the "Specialty Pharmacy".

Transfer #1 to: the Specialty Pharmacy. They've received the prescription, everything is OK with it. However, my benefits haven't been confirmed. So, they transferred me to the "Benefits Team."

Transfer #2 to: the Pharmacy Benefits Team. Rep said that they just received the request earlier today. Rep said she has to work on it and will give me a call back by the end of the day. That even if things weren't approved, she would call me back just to give me a status update. There may be additional paperwork that needs to be completed by my RE's office and/or Insurance.

Side Note: Never received a call back on this day (as promised) from the Benefits Team.

DAY #2 (11/13)

Call #4: the Pharmacy Benefits Team. The Rep called me the next morning to give me an update. It turns out that there are "prior authorization" forms that need to be completed by my RE's office. So, the Benefits Rep contacted my RE's office and faxed them the forms. Now, the Pharmacy Benefits Team is waiting to receive the completed authorization forms from my RE's office... all before I can order. The Rep said she would call me back once she received the authorization forms.

All I could think is: tick-tock-tick-tock. Time's a-wasting! And, how much is this going to cost me?? 

Side Note: No call back...  

DAY #3 & #4 - Closed! The Weekend :( 

Tried not to freak out all weekend waiting and wondering if I would get this all sorted out on time.

Thoughts: Injections class is Wednesday and I start my first shots on Thursday. Will this get resolved on time? Ugh. 

DAY #5 (11/16)

Call #5: the Pharmacy Benefits Team. I called and left a message for the benefits rep. 

Call #6: the Pharmacy Benefits Team. Received a call from the benefits rep, letting me know everything has been approved and I can order. She transferred me to the scheduling team. 

Transfer: to Scheduling. Of course they call while I was at the RE's office for my appointment for my Saline U/S and Trial Transfer. So I told them I'd have to call them back. 

Call #7: Scheduling. After my appointment, I called them back and was FINALLY able to place my order. The only hitch, they said that the Progesterone In Oil (PIO) was only good for 30 days. I'm not scheduled to start PIO until after Egg Retrieval (ER) on about 12/10... So the PIO can go bad before then. So, I opted to not order PIO right now and will order it closer to ER. 

Final Verdict: medications arriving on 11/17/15. 

Never thought it would be so difficult to order my medication! During my IUI's I had no problems from the local pharmacies, they were quick and efficient. But now that my insurance has finally kicked in, it's like running around in circles. <sigh>  Hopefully I won't have to go through this again and this IVF cycle will be a success. This was just so frustrating.

DAY #6 (11/17)

Medications Finally Arrived!

Ok, I have to admit -- I was expecting a box of meds. I received two boxes of meds. I wasn't really intimidated with all the injections that I have to do during IVF... not until I received all these medications! It's a bit intimating seeing it all there. I quickly refrigerated the appropriate medications and went through the boxes. Honestly, I'm not really sure how to "verify" all the meds! But luckily tomorrow, at injections class, I'll get everything verified and get a better handle on all of these meds.

IVF is about to become a real thing now... I keep thinking about it and wondering how it's all going to turn out. One step at a time...

The rest of the week: 

• 11/18/15 @ 9am: Injections Class
• 11/19/15: first Lupron injection! 
• 11/20/15 @ 11am: First Acupuncture session. 
• 11/21/15 @ 1pm: Our ADOPTION!!! 

For more details on my IVF process, see my IVF Calendar/Timeline.