Should we try IUI or go straight to IVF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I advocated for IVF above and wanted to add that when I went through IUI, the oral meds were more challenging than the IVF injectables. I feel like this is common- climid in particular made me rage and cry. IVF offers so much more control, not least the PGS testing. (I did 2 retrievals; 19 eggs removed and fertilized; 8 embryos made it to 5-day testing but ONLY 2 from the 2nd retrieval were normal! One is my healthy child I had a year after starting IVF.)

*clomid in particular

[Anonymous]

Honestly, at 41 we didn't even bother trying naturally. Went straight to IVF.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Many thanks to everyone for their thoughts and advice.

Re: IVF medication -- I've just always been concerned about the potential long-term health risks of IVF. I know most of the studies (and meta-analyses) don't show a significant correlation between use of the drugs and long-term health problems, and it's hard to disaggregate the medication from the other factors inherent to the subset of women who do IVF. But I think my desire to have a 2nd child outweighs these indeterminate risks, as well as the more immediate risks of pre-eclampsia, etc.

Also as folks have mentioned, I think given my age, it would be in our best interest to start IVF sooner than later, and not waste time/psychic energy/money. I don't know how many cycles of IVF I may go through, and I know there are many potential bumps along the way that could set us back months as well.

DH and I discussed this again last night, and I think we are now inclined to go straight to IVF, and skip the entire IUI exercise.

Fingers crossed, and thanks again, everyone.