Thursday, October 11, 2007

Gambling in Vegas...or the equivalent of it in the IF world

So, after really no thinking at all, we decided NOT to do the IVF with genetic embryo testing. $20K is way too much money to spend on a possibility. We just aren't into flushing that much money down the toilet at this point. Not sure we will ever be into that, actually.

Dr. Surrey at CCRM told us that in our case doing an IUI would be like gambling in Vegas: the odds are certainly stacked against us. We figured, using his analogy, that there are also circumstances where people beat the odds and win big. So, that is what we are going to do....gamble.

We are all set to do an IUI (with injectables) cycle in November. My biggest hope at this point is that it does not affect the travel that Matt has scheduled for that time. It will be within days of his planned trip, so we are cutting it close. At Kaiser, though, they do not do IUIs in December....and I plan to travel to Chicago in January. It is now or not for quite some time. We chose now.

Here is the rundown:
  • call the clinic on CD 1
  • go in anytime prior to CD 5 for ultrasound and bloodwork
  • take clomid on CD 5 through CD 9
  • do injections of either menopur or repronex (FSH) on CD 9 and CD 10
  • go in on CD 12 for ultrasound and bloodwork
  • wait for natural LH surge (no trigger shot for this cycle!)
  • after surge is detected, schedule IUI for the following day (I think)


  • We are not putting a lot of faith or hope into this cycle working. We do know the odds. Even if it does work, I would have at least a 30% chance of another miscarriage. We are willing to take all of the chances, though, because an IUI cycle will only cost us about $1000. I like betting in small amounts.....

    We will keep you posted. This cycle will be completed prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Keep us in your thoughts and wish us luck. We could use some....