I know it has been awhile since I updated and that is mostly because we took last cycle off of treatments and I decided to give myself a mental vacation from the infertility world. Well, as much as I could. Since, the last go around was unsuccessful we met with a new doctor. We are super excited about this change as we feel this clinic actually sees us as people and most importantly listens to us. It helps that insurance covers some of the procedures there too. After looking at all of our records, the doctor could tell we had been doing all that we could but he was not really sure that the pervious clinic was holding up their end of the deal. I completely agreed. He was very direct and to the point and because all previous attempts were unsuccessful we all agreed it was time to step up the game. In infertility treatment that means IUI, intrauterine insemination.
IUI is exactly what it sounds like, artificial insemination that takes place inside of the uterus. Good thing is it does not mean a lot of changes from previous treatment. I’ll still do all the ultrasounds, blood draws, and shots but at the end we will go to the clinic for insemination instead of doing things the “natural way.” This is what we assumed would be the next step so we were not surprise, but it is a little disappointing that it has come to this. It is kind of like the finally straw that says, this really is not going to happen naturally for us at all. Insemination makes it sound like a sure thing, which is far from true. Given my situation and current treatment I have around a 20% chance of becoming pregnant during a cycle, IUI will increase our odds to about 25%. I know it does not seem like much but at this point even a half a percent is a big deal. We are hopeful that the next few months will be our time because the step after IUI is a large one. IVF (in vitro fertilization) would hold much higher success rates for a couple our age, but is a lot more demanding in all aspects. It is a multi month journey, with the usual procedures plus egg retrievals and fertilizations. It also comes with a very large price tag and ethical concerns. IVF is still a forbidden land for some, especially specific Christian communities. To be honest it was one of those arguable topics that I did not take a real stand on until it became personal. When I realized that it is a possibility that IVF could be the only way I could carry my own biological child, it did not seem like such a bad thing. We do that often; don’t care until it directly affects us. I can clearly see both the arguments for and against IVF, and know that if our time requires IVF it will present new challenges. I really hope that is not where we are headed but I cannot ignore that is likely. In the next couple weeks I am going to use this space to look at the ethical, emotional, and mental concerns of both IUI and IVF.
