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need advice- keep going with IUI or do IVF?
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Anonymous
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two failed IUIs. paying for everything on my own. told that IUI has 15-20% success, where IVF b/c i am young, blah blah has approx 60-65% success rate. each additional IUI will cost approx 2k, whereas one IVF cycle will be approx 12K (including meds). if i do shared risk, that means 20k plus meds.
it seems to me that if i keep going with IUI, i am just delaying the inevitable (IVF). 2 questions- -how much harder is IVF physically then IUI? I know the process, but I want to understand from someone who has actually been through both. Is it THAT bad? -financially, what makes more sense?? HELP!!! Thanks in advance. |
Anonymous
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I'm sorry that you are going through this. IF sucks.
I did 3 IUIs and none of them worked. I was disgusted with the low success rate and decided to go for IVF. Are you ovulating? Do you know why you are having trouble getting pregnant? I think that might make a difference in my decision. If it was me, personally, I'd go ahead and do IVF. |
Anonymous
| I've done both and depending on the problem, I'd probably give IUI some more time. IVF sucks. I did injectible IUI cycles and I still found the IVF cycle to be 10 times more grueling. Not to the mention the fact that my IVF failed and the financial waste makes me sick to my stomach. But like the PP said, it really depends on what your specific problem is. |
Anonymous
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prob is that i don't ovulate- PCOS. the meds are "fixing" the problem, but i'm not getting pregnant. i have no issues responding to the meds. the problems seems to be that the sperm and egg aren't meeting/fertilizing/ whatever. IVF takes that out of the equation.
this will be my second child- had #1 on first IUI attempt. patience is not one of mu finer virtues, and i am getting really fed up with this whole thing. IVF has to be the way to go then, right? thanks again! |
Anonymous
| to 1:31- can you please describe why you found the IVF more grueling?? Thanks! |
Anonymous
For me, I found a big difference between one shot a day vs. the four a day I was on for IVF. My stomach was covered with bruises to the point that I was running out of available space for injections. I didn't have any bruising with the Bravelle that I used for my IUIs. Menopur also hurts like hell. Then, there is a lot more monitoring involved plus the ER and ET. I was also in fairly significant pain for 4 days following my egg retrieval. Finally, there are all of the post-transfer drugs -- baby aspirin, estrogen, progesterone suppositories, PIO shots. Plus, your HCG shot will be in the middle of the night vs. a normal time with IUI. I am a SAHM with a toddler at home which I think made the entire process more stressful. I'd have to take my shots at a specific time but my daughter would be waking up from her nap, need a diaper change or a snack and I was really stressed about taking my meds at the right time but also being a good mom to my daughter. Plus, I suffer from fairly significant migraines and the drugs that I was on caused me to have pretty severe migraines. Maybe my case was unique because other people go through multiple rounds with no issues. I decided that one miserable cycle was enough for me. Good luck with whatever you decide! |
Anonymous
| 1:23, thank you so much. i am also a SAHM to a toddler. what ended up happening? do you have a second? |
Anonymous
That really does sound awful! I've done IVF a few times and was on a much different protocol -- only two shots a day, both sub-cu, then the trigger shot. All were around 9 p.m. every night. Afterwards I had the suppositories, but no PIO shots. I think all of this depends on your diagnosis and prescribed protocol. So, OP, find out what IVF would involve for you, with your diagnosis, and see if that gives you any more information with which to make a decision. IUI was never an option for us (male factor issues), so I can't really compare the two, and while IVF is no fun at all, it wasn't nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. |
Anonymous
OP, what PP describes definitely happens to some people. Other people have a fairly easy time. I have been on multiple protocols, and I can say some were much harder on my body than others. I also suffer from migraines, so the hormonal overdrive isn't the greatest for that. I am an early 30s poor responder. For DC#1, I was on a lupron protocol, and then the next (successful round) moved to a microdose lupron protocol. At that time, I didn't think the side effects were that bad. Now trying for DC #2 -I will say I find the shots more painful (I think my tummy is a little more stretched from DC1, and that is causing the difference), and hormones, just crappy -I am on an antagon protocol right now. The one thing I will say about Menopur -it burns, but the burning goes away within a few minutes (at least for me). I found a lot of emotional relief when I turned to IVF for #1. Going for IUIs was draining, and I at least felt like even one round of IVF would answer a lot of questions (how is my egg quality, will my eggs fertilize, etc). Good luck with whatever you decide. |
Anonymous
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OP, what is your diagnosis? Just PCOS?
What meds have you taken for the IUIs? Injectables? |
Anonymous
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just PCOS. husband has great sperm- very high count.
IUIs will probably take EVENTUALLY, but i dont think i have the patience to wait for eventually. it could be next cycle, or could be in 5 cycles. my dr tells me that all he can do with IUIs is get me to the same % that a "normal, healthy" person has. with all that these IUIs involve, i can't wait the six-12 times that it usually takes "normal" people to conceive. i have a toddler, and no family here, so it is really wearing on me. I just want to be pregnant, and close this chapter of my life forever. was on follistim for IUIs with this round. for my daughter, i was on Gonal F, but they tell me it is the same thing. |
Anonymous
No, I didn't but my issue is AMA. The interesting thing is, I got pregnant three times naturally on my own since DC #1, including one time on the month break between IUI cycle and IVF cycle and my first was also conceived naturally on second try. I've decided to focus on acupuncture, losing the substantial weight gain from fertility treatments and managing my migraines. I'm also going to go for one more round of tests with a different doctor to see if I have any hormonal imbalance issues. If lifestyle improvement doesn't result in a pregnancy, I am okay with that. At least, I'll feel better physically because I want to enjoy these years with my toddler. Fortunately, I am married to a really great guy and he is just fine with a one child. He often says to me "one day we'll look back on these days as the best in our lives, let's not waste time worrying about what we don't have". He has a great attitude about everything! Best! |
Anonymous
If you are already doing injectable IUIs, then IMO the IVF process isn't really all that much more difficult. The retrieval can be tough - I've had three and one was bad, but two were fine (in terms of discomfort after the procedure). Overall you are jacked up even more on the meds, but that's manageable. The PIO injections suck, but your RE may have you do suppositories. To me it sounds like your concerns are really more about timing - are you OK chugging through a few more IUIs? From a cost perspective it sounds like the cost of 4 more IUIs = 1 IVF cycle. And there are no guarantees that IVF will work the first time either... Personally I'd probably do one more IUI and then move onto IVF...but only you know when you are ready to move on... |
Anonymous
| From what I've heard, success rates are very high for PCOS patients with IVF. If you're PCOS that probably means you make lots of eggs, which means lots of embryos. Assuming you're relatively young, there's probably a good chance that one IVF would give you enough frozen embryos for a sibling cycle, which ups the value even more over IUI. I would probably suck it up and do the IVF. |
Anonymous
| new poster here and just wanted to chime in to say that I didn't find IVF to be much more difficult than IUI. I did a bunch of IUI cycles and then did a total of 3 IVF cycles to conceive two children. Yes, the menopur burns a bit but only like a very mild bee sting and goes away as soon as the solution is injected. Yes, you do more shots than with IUI (and I was a very poor responder) but honestly, once you do one shot a day, it's not a big leap to do 2 or 3. For me, the big hurdle was facing the fact (period) that I would need to take shots to get pregnant. The IVF retrievals weren't fun (no one wants to go to the OR to conceive a child!) but they weren't a big deal either. I took no pain meds after I left the clinic and was up walking later in the day and back at work the next. Post transfer I took oral baby aspirin and oral estrogen each day (so no big deal--they are tiny pills) and did progesterone suppositories. Again, no big deal--and no more significant than treating a yeast infection. PIO injections are a thing of the past for most clinics. |