Road to IVF
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
I am going to update you guys on my IVF journey BUT before that, here are the important things your need to know:
- If you are Singaporean, you are entitled of the government grant of both IUI and IVF procedures that they called it ART (artificial reproductive treatment). Currently only 3 government hospitals are running ART: SGH, NUH and KKH.
- You can also use your medisave for the balance payment, thus you don't need to fork out or save so much. Yes, I did have that concern before that IVF costs $10 - $15k but don't worry, you can use medisave up to $6k on your first treatment.
- On top of all these, you need to be married and tried for at least 1 year, the better if you have any complications like endometriosis, polyps, irregular menses.
So here's the breakdown from Jan 2020:
So you see, we don't really encourage to go private as you may have to fork out more but if you go for comfort and speedy treatment and have lots of saving, you could try.
| ART cycle (fresh embryo transfers) | ART cycle (frozen embryo transfers) | |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizens | 75% (up to S$7,700) | 75% (up to S$2,200) |
| Singapore Citizen + PR | 55% (up to S$5,700) | 55% (up to S$1,600) |
| Singapore Citizen + Foreigner | 35% (up to S$3,600) | 35% (up to S$1,000) |
And all these subsidies are for 6 cycles! Three fresh and three frozen cycles.
On top of that, for medisave (this includes both IUI and IVF):
| IVF cycle | MediSave withdrawal limit |
|---|---|
| Lifetime Withdrawal limit | S$15,000 |
| 1st attempt | S$6,000 |
| 2nd attempt | S$5,000 |
| 3rd and subsequent attempts | S$4,000 |
We did the 1 IUI cycle previously and used medisave, so we are now on our first IVF but 2nd attempt, capped at $5k. FYI, last year, IUI was not subsidised. It is either cash or medisave of starting from $2000. But from Jan 2020 onwards, government has given 75% subsidies (up to $1000) so the rest you can pay either cash or medisave.
*Please note that this bill is only during IVF procedure. Most of the tests and procedures are not subsidised such as husband's blood investigation ($200+), thallassemia test, HyFoSy, ultrasound ($100+), IVF counselling ($90) and many more. The IUI/IVF procedure will be billed after the procedure ends.
For me, I had many investigations previously in KKH that I didn't need to go through anymore in SGH such as HyFoSy (hystero-salpingo foam contrast sonography) where they put a dye to scan and see the whether there is a blockage in the fallopian tube or growth in your uterus. During this test, they found out I had 2 polyps which is as big as 2cm. If you want to know more, can read it here.
First step: make appointment to any Polyclinics saying you need referral to go for fertility check at any respective hospitals you chose. Usually the appointment will take in a month's time.Second step: prepare all the documents, and for ladies out there, please track your monthly cycle at least for a year so that the doctor can record and see a pattern for further investigation. Ask your gynea as many questions as possible, get everything check on that day. For me, when I saw my gynea, I did my pregnancy test done so I don't need to do it again in the hospital, did my ultrasound check, get my blood done. Usually the FIRST time you meet them, they will suggest to take pills. They would want you to try to conceive naturally (with aid of pills) for 3 months. As I mentioned in my previous post. Clomid didn't work for me, I changed to Letrozole. Then added Metformin into my pill cocktail. Do lots of research, an extensive one. You can watch Youtube too for more information.*Note from my doctor, Metformin is not a weight loss pill but because of the reaction of the pill (nausea, stomachache, diarrhea), you will lose weight. The pill is to combat insulin resistance, for diabetic patients too. I am not diabetic but because of PCO, I might be insulin resistance.Third step: After all investigations and testing, doctors will ask which option do you want to take, IUI or IVF? To me, IUI success rate is much lower than IVF, thus I encourage to go for IVF straight. I regretted not doing that earlier but such as blessing too that I am not stuck with KKH. Most people would have the idea of having to go KKH because it is women and children hospital BUT currently it is overcrowded with non-Singaporeans too. You won't get the best service and treatment (based on experience and asking around).Fourth step: Go for IVF counselling. There will be a video for us to watch and feedback with the nurse and understand more on the process and payment, risks and success rate.Firth step: Did had to do our blood test (Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis and HIV - mine got additional on glucose) and semen analysis (for volume) again as the last round, during IUI had expired. All valid for 1 year except for HIV which is 6 months. And additional follicle scans (I did in February but they only checked on my uterus and not my follicles, egg counts. They will call you again after their team meeting if they needed more testings. For us, we had to do another round of blood test (to check for diabetes) and semen analysis (to see the nature of the semen from the head to body and tail) before meeting the doctor. The nurse said that we might have to go for the ICSI to get better results.
And your IVF journey begins! I am nervous as my appointment was pushed twice because of our results and need further testings. I am mentally prepared to do more, may be there's egg retrievals with no implantation in between. Let's wait for the doctor meeting and get our treatment sorted.
You can check these websites for more info on subsidies:
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