How PCOS May Shape the All-In Cost of Fertility Care

You may not have known about the term PCOS, or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, until you got the diagnosis or heard about a friend or celebrity who has been diagnosed. While it affects 1 in 8 people, it can take years to properly diagnose - and has only recently gotten the attention and support it deserves. In fact, the name PCOS was recently changed to PMOS, or Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, since the condition doesn’t just affect ovaries, but alsoaffects the endocrine system and hormones.

For those with PCOS, or PMOS, fertility issues can be a symptom common. One major reason is that the ovaries may not develop an egg properly each month, so you may not have regular periods and therefore regular ovulation (making it challenging to know how to time intercourse with ovulation in order to conceive).

Whether you’re casually looking into IVF or egg freezing or ready to start your journey ASAP, it’s important to know that costs of fertility treatment with PCOS can vary from person to person. Below, we’ll help you understand how to be as prepared as possible for your PMOS fertility journey.

How PCOS Plays a Role in Fertility Treatment

Let’s start with this: Just because you have a diagnosis of PCOS or PMOS does not automatically mean you’ll need IVF, or that fertility treatment will be longer or more expensive for you. Recent research suggests that about 40 to 50% of people with PCOS do experience infertility, some of whom might need fertility treatment to build their families. But that also means that about half of people with a PCOS diagnosis don’t experience fertility-related issues and may not need fertility treatment at all.

If you’re in the first camp, you’re definitely not alone (seriously–hundreds of thousands of people pursue fertility treatment each year). PCOS/PMOS may cause what’s called ‘anovulatory infertility,’ which means that irregular or absent ovulation can make it more difficult to get pregnant.  

Dr. Arian Khorshid shared with us that, for many people with PMOS in need of reproductive assistance, the first line treatment is IUI with oral medications - and this treatment method enables most people with PMOS to achieve pregnancy without needing to move on to IVF.

And if IVF does become part of your treatment plan, the good news is that people who have PMOS tend to have high ovarian reserve - meaning your ovaries are offering up many immature egg follicles every month. That’s why PMOS patients often find that they respond extremely well to ovarian stimulation during IVF or egg freezing, and are often able to obtain a high number of eggs in a single cycle.

Why There’s No Single “PCOS fertility treatment cost”

However, everyone’s body, ovarian reserve, and response to fertility treatment medications is totally different. You may need a different dose of medication than the next person to stimulate the ovaries, and therefore pay a different price for medications. Beyond that, you may respond well to one egg retrieval and get your desired egg count with one cycle. Other people, depending on age and other factors, may need more than one cycle to yield the desired amount of eggs or embryos to build a future family. That can also change the all-in price tag.

It’s important to look at the overall cost-to-baby, which can potentially include everything from preliminary tests to egg or embryo storage, to have a closer estimate of what you will be paying for your individual treatment.

What to Consider in the Full Cost of Care

The fertility clinic quote for one cycle likely will not be the full cost of what you’ll pay.

Take the below checklist to your preferred fertility provider and ask what is included in the all-in cost, what may cost extra, and what the plan is if you need additional treatment on account of PMOS:

• Preliminary testing and bloodwork
• Injectable medications
• Check-ins with your provider while taking medication, before the egg retrieval
• Anesthesia and other egg-retrieval-related costs
• Lab services to prepare the eggs or embryos for freezing, if needed
• Egg or embryo transfers, or storage for frozen eggs or embryos

We can’t give you an exact price estimate on every aspect of your IVF or egg freezing journey, but we can guarantee you access to an all-inclusive, flat-fee program that includes full-spectrum care with our partner clinics, the best deals on medications, and all the support in the logistics (planning every appointment and test you need). Sunfish’s IVF Success Program and Egg Freezing Success Program can at least help with some of the unpredictability of getting pregnant with PCOS by making the financial part more predictable, and the administrative side of things much easier.

Get personalized support, a clear upfront price, and financial protection as you plan your next step.

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