Continue with IUI or jump to IVF

harleyquinn0621

hey ladies! I know this is a question only I can answer but I was hoping to get opinions

i went to my followup appointment with my RE today- she said the same thing I keep hearing..all my blood results were pretty much normal and that she is diagnosing me with unexplained IF - the only thing she didn't like was my TSH, although it was still normal she wants a better number, so she is retesting it and may put me on Thyroid meds

she said I could keep trying IUIs but she suggests I jump to IVF bc of my age 

I've only done one IUI with a previous RE I wasnt happy with- which I paid out of pocket for

my insurance covers a lifetime limit of 6 IUIs- so I could exhaust those...or I could jump to IVF (which would be all out of pocket)

im leaning towards exhausting my IUIs first- but is that just wasting time??

ReesaAnne16

Hi @harleyquinn0621 I think many women have struggled with this decision, and it is is ultimately your decision. 

If my insurance paid for 6 IUI's I would definitely go that route (that's just me, because we're paying OOP for IUIs right now, and not sure if we can afford IVF)

Did your RE give you success rates with IUI vs IVF for your situation? What about success rates for someone in your situation who is a year older? Would your RE allow you to do back to back IUI cycles? if so, it's really only the cost of a few months of treatment that could potentially save thousands.
That being said, I've seen ladies on here who are just DONE with treatments and jumped to IVF early on because they could afford it and it has a higher success rate. You could always start with IUI's and if 1 or 2 don't work, move on to IVF.

Just putting in my thoughts; it is not an easy decision. Good luck with whatever route you choose. 

clt2pwm11

As you said, it is a total personal choice, and whatever you choose is right for you. That said, if I were in your shoes, I would use up some of the insurance paid IUIs as reesaAnne16 said. I may not do all of them, but I'd be willing to try it at least three more times before moving on. At the very least, you would be doing SOMETHING which might result in a pregnancy while saving up money for IVF ( I would have to save up anyway! Your financial situation may be different than mine.) 

halfanewt

Echoing previous posters, if it were me, I would use up some covered IUIs. I'd also want to figure out if the TSH/thyroid would make a difference first, but I definitely see the draw of IVF with its higher success rates... But then again, I don't know your full situation. 

Kept us posted. Good luck with whatever path you take! 

Jaje09182010

We  must have similar insurance! I just made this decision because I have done 4 IUIS without success and I wanted to use a frozen embryo I have so badly because we have just been trying so long and really not believing in the IUI working- but I have decided to go through the IUIS first- IVF without insurance help can get SO expensive, I did that a few years ago because my company just added infertility to my insurance plan last year but with IVF its not just from the upfront costs but the meds, and the storage, and extra lab work....

harleyquinn0621

good morning ladies! thank you all for your input... although its a very personal decision, it's also a very difficult one- not only emotionally but financially

we do not have the money from IVF, however my mother is willing to gift us the money if we want to move forward- i just dont know how i would feel taking that kind of money from her, especially if the IVF fails

i think we've decided to go forward with IUI with injectibles. a little more expensive than clomid but waaaaaaay less expensive than IVF...... i'm not sure how many rounds we're going to do but i also don't think we're going to move to IVF at any point.. we'll never have that kind of money and there is just too much pressure if accepting it from someone else

i am going to wait to get the TSH results back- i am also probably going to wait until Jan to start the IUIs because i want to give myself time to lose some weight and get healthier - I want to give these the best chance possible

lablover78

Hello again! I might consider looking into reproductive immunology just to make sure there are no other issues if you do move on to IVF eventually. Maybe look for a naturopath that is knowledgable in epigenetics.
https://mthfr.net/mthfr-and-thyroid-disorders/2013/07/18/


https://mthfr.net/is-mthfr-affecting-your-pregnancy/2013/05/24/

harleyquinn0621

@lablover78 thanks for the info! i'm a little concerned bc there are only three REs in my area, and i've seen two of them lol i'm not sure if the other tests for this

seethosestars

I think this really is a personal choice.  If I was you I would definitely try the "free" IUIs first.  I would need to save up for IVF anyways so I wouldn't be ready to jump to that.