Help--I'm new with questions

Hi I hope someone can help me. I'm new here and have a question. I've been seeing an RE for a year (Exactly). I have unexplained fertility issues. I've had 3 IUI's with clomid as well as timed BDing with clomid. I recently has surgery to remove some fibroids (which my doctor said were never an issue getting PG. They might have been an issue with m/c so he felt we should remove them. He wants us to do one more cycle IUI and Clomid-now that my fibroids are gone. Anyway,here are my questions.

1. Would you do another cycle of IUI or move onto injectables?
2. What do injectable do? Do you do injectables with IUI or IVF?
3. How does it increase you chances?
I'm so confused and I was overwhelmed at his office yesterday. I left very frustrated.

Sorry for rambling....it's been a long year



Thank you so much!! I look forward to talking to you.

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

first of all welcome and
I have had 7 iui's and right now i'm beginning my ivf cycle. My 2nd, 3rd, and 4th iui's were with clomid. my 5th 6th and 7th were wilth injectibles. People do injectibles for different reasons, some people don't respond on clomid. I did respond on clomid and I was on the lowest amt., but after my 4th iui I wanted to try something different. It was a personal choice. the RE would of kept me on the clomid if I didn't want to switch. My last iui they upped my dosage so I did produce a lot more follies than before. Clomid tells your brain to produce more FSH and injectibles just add more to your body. You can do more iui's but with injectibles if you want. when you move on to ivf you have to take a much higher dosage than with iui. If you think you might end up doing ivf, then maybe trying the injectibles is not a bad idea. good luck!

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

Have you had an HSG or Saline Sonogram?
I would do both of those before pressing forward.

If you have done both tests and your tubes are okay - I would do one or two IUI's with injectables and then move towards IVF.
If you haven't had success with Clomid/IUI after all this time there isn't much reason to continue. Besides, Clomid thins out your lining which makes it difficult for embryos to implant if the egg did get fertilized.

Good luck.

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

Hi and welcome.....I did 3 cycles of Clomid 100mg/ IUI and conceived in 2005...We are now trying for #2 and did 5 cycles of Clomid 150mg/IUI and are now moving onto IVF...Your RE may have a plan for you on whether he/she would like to switch to injectables w/ IUI...My RE was strongly against it because he felt I would over respond and have a very high risk of multiples( I have PCOS and always have lots of tiny follicles).From the way it was told to me , Clomid produces less follicles however IUI/injectables is harder to control because depending on how well you respond to the meds is how many eggs might drop at once..With IVF its more controlable because they mature the eggs and remove them before they drop and can then control how many embryos are put back in (and yes, the meds are injectable)...It is a very personal decision- But IVF for the most part has a much higher success rate and cost can be a factor if insurance does not cover it...Hope I didnt confuse you Good Luck !!!!

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

I had fibroids and I removed them via myomectomy. The removed 8 fibroids- each the size of an orange. They were located on the outside not in the cavity. I had a laparascopy to remove my tube last week which also revealed that I have scar tissue (adhesions) from my myomectomy on my uterus. I waited to do IVF b/c I didnt have the insurance coverage then. If I were in your shoes, I would go straight to IVF before devoloping scar tissue.

Good Luck!

ETA: I also wanted to add that Fibroids do GROW back!

Message edited 1/25/2008 8:00:37 PM.

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

Thank you all for your help. My tubes are clear and I had a saline sonogram. My cavity is not distorted by the fibroid that I still have.
My insurance covers 25,000 lifetime. I've already had 3 IUI's-how much does each one cost? I don't want to run out of coverage if we do need to move to IVF.
I'm so confused.
Maybe we'll conceive naturally this month and I won't have to worry about it.......

Re: Help--I'm new with questions

First, Welcome! I did 4 IUIs and then got pregnant with IVF.....An IUI with injectibles makes the possibilty of multiples greater then 2 much greater! That being said, I have had friends that have had to then have a reduction.

I would move on to IVF because it is more controlled. Good Luck to you!