I went to the doctor and all I got was a huge hole in my bank account

You've seen those T-shirts in tourist shops and airports. "My grandma when to Europe, and all I got was this crummy T-shirt"

That is how I feel at times when I am dealing with insurance companies and paying my infertility bills with nothing to show for it. If I had a viable pregnancy or even better a real live child, dealing with the bills would still be a headache and a stress, but I think I would be able to handle it a bit better.

I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent on the phone with insurance companies. And word to the wise, if you are lucky enough to have insurance cover a portion of your infertility treatments, make sure you cross every "T" and dot every "I" because inevitably there will be some loophole you missed and you will still be out quite a bit of money.

You need to check and see if you doctor is covered, and usually get preauthorization for it.

But don't think that's it. Make sure the lab is covered.

Oh, and then make sure the hospital or facility is covered, along with the anesthesiologist that will come with if if you are doing IVF.

And then hope, but don't get your hopes up too high, that the insurance company will process all of the claims correctly. Because if not you will be explaining and reexplaining your insurance coverage to a myriad of well meaning people who will send your claim to reprocessing only to have it not reprocessed correctly. Oh the joys of having infertility insurance-and it is a joy because I know without it our dreams of having children would be that much smaller.

But just remember to "pack your patience" (as my husband and I say when going on an airline trip) when dealing with this aspect of infertility.