# iui vs ivf???



## bette (Sep 2, 2011)

hi, all!  i am new to this site, but unfortunately not new to infertility.   after 2 miscarriages, 1 ectopic, and several years of ttc, my husband and i moved on to fertility treatments.  we are on our 6th iui.  i started out on clomid and ovidrel for the first three cycles and then moved on to femara and ovidrel and then they added gonal f in there also.  last time i met with my RE he suggested we soon move on to ivf.  unfortunately our insurance covers none of it, so i am hesitant.  has anyone had any luck after their 6th iui?  at what point did you decide it was time to move onto the more expensive ivf?? next week is my next insemination and i am terrified what will happen after that. i cannot not imagine NOT trying, but i am scared to go into debt with ivf or adoption. any suggestions or positive stories would be helpful.  thanks!


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## wee emma (Nov 15, 2007)

hiya bette, i'm onto my 6th iui too. I've found that it works better (insofar as its easier - the drugs seem to work quickly for me) than ivf.

would you not be entitled to a free go of ivf? (or are you not an nhs patient?)


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## bette (Sep 2, 2011)

@wee emma- i live in the states and unfortunately we do not have anything like the nhs.  over here, what our health insurance does not cover we have to (and most insurances do not cover fertility treatments).  so they covered all the testing to find out what is wrong with me (which all i got was a diagnosis of unexplained infertility with a touch of autoimmune disease).  the iui's have totaled out to be about 400 usd (or 247.8 gbp) a month.  so, we have spent about 1,858.50 gbp in iui's and meds over the last 6 months.  one round of ivf would cost approximately 7,434.00 gpb.  and if that one round didn't work, then we would have to keep coming up with more money out of pocket every month.  
so, i guess what i am wondering is- at what point do you stop iui's because the results will prove to be unsuccessful?  has your doctor ever told you that after a certain amount of iui's it likely will not work and you should move onto something more invasive?  most people i've talked to have typically done 5 to 8 iui's and then moved onto ivf.  i guess i just feel like i am running out of iui's and my doctor has not given me a set number we will do.  he has just said that i likely need to start looking into ivf and i don't know where i will go from there because i do not know how in debt we want to go with this!  thanks for your response!
ps...sorry it hasn't worked so far and GOOD LUCK on this round!


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## wee emma (Nov 15, 2007)

i've never been told to stop either. The way i see it with iui is that you have a higher chance than just trying alone, so why not?   

your ivf is very dear? no wonder you're a bit scared. But if you're ovulating fine etc, ivf might work well for you. The statistics for it usually say a 33ish% success rate but thats an average. For you personally it could be higher


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