IUI vs. IVF

by tresmathews, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

Wow that is alot for IUI I have friend that just had it done and it was a max of $2000. IT would be best to talk to a fertility clinic and see what they think is your best option. they can do things such as S/A for DH and U/s for you and tell you what the best option is.

by susanelizabeth, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

May I ask, what is IUI????

by Buckeye1, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

To: diggy

I don't know your situation, but I have tried both and I got pregant twice with IUI (both miscarriaged) and I'm currently 8 wks. pregnant through IVF.   If you ovulate on your own the doctors can monitor you through u/s and trigger your ovulation and time IUI appropriately.  If this is the case, the cost should come way down.  If you don't ovulate, the costs go up because the fertitly drugs are very expensive.

The only benefit to IVF is that you know that a fertilized egg(s) is put back into you and you know the quality of the egg(s).  They grade the eggs on a scale of 1-5.  1 being the best and 5 being the worst.  I can also tell you that IVF can sometimes be very stressful.  At one point, I was getting two shots in the stomach and one in the butt everyday.  I am now getting one shot of progesterone once a day in the butt and this will continue until 12 wks gestation.

It's a hard decision to make but I was lucky enough to have insurance to cover everything at 100%.  The one thing the doctors should have told you is that your chances of conceiving and delivery a baby go up considerably when you do IVF.    If you have any specific questions about either procedure, please let me know.

Wendi

by diggy, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

To: buckeye1

Thanks for the info... Congratulations!!

My insurance doesn't cover any of the medications. I think that is why it is so expensive.  I have a consultation with the doctor next Monday to go over my options.

I have been monitored the past 3 months, with ultrasounds and blood tests, using clomid.  I ovulated...intercourse and nothing.

So I will just ask more questions to find out my options.

I am finding out that IVF is more extensive than I thought.

I am sure if we decide to do it... I will be asking you even more questions!

Thanks.

IUI- inter-uterine-injection

short description- the doctor injects the semen directly into the uterus.

by dreamreacher, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

Hello.. I have had an IUI done three times. I conceived the first time I had one and the third time I had one. I am shocked at the cost you mentioned. It only cost us $220.00 to have an IUI done. Of course we didn't have any medications or anything like that, just the IUI. I have a beautiful two year old that I had with the first IUI. Good luck with your choice!

Robin

by nanakay, Nov 22, 2004 12:00AM

i have to agree with dream reacher...i had IUI done and we payed a total of $330.00. that included the consultation seman wash and insemination. (we also had no drugs)

i also agree that you should seek a profetional opinion on what is your best bet. if you are ovulating on your own then you could do just fine with just the insemination....i don't think it is really a simply of a question as you are hoping for.

good luck to you

~nanci

by mine02, Nov 23, 2004 12:00AM

Hello ladies, I am also considering ICSI which is the more suffisticated IVF. The doctor thinks, it is the best option fior us as my DH has a very low sperm count. Medically, I am supposed to be fine But we had Tried ICSI 4 times with no pregnancy. We always have good embryos put back but no implantation. We are now thinking of trying another private hospital in January but will not be paying as much as we did in the previous ones because We intend to share our eggs. Does anyone Know anything about egg sharing? Hear in the UK, It is now becoming popular. I need some advise ladies. Thank you lots.

Sorry for my lond epistle

by jenn30, Nov 27, 2004 12:00AM

I just finished my IUI yesterday, my doctor gives a 24% chance of becoming pregnant, this whole procedure has cost me about 1600.00, I needed meds to help me ovulate and to help try to keep from miscarriage if I am pregnant. My doctor also gives a 50% success rate with IVF, and again the cost you said sounds like what he said. Good Luck!

by bbum, Nov 29, 2004 12:00AM

diggy,

Here are some thoughts from our eveprience :

- 4k for IUI is way too much. Should be no more than 1.5k per cycle (even with multiple IUIs in one cycle). Maybe there are very few clinics in your area, so the clinics may be taking advantage of that.

- Normally doctors recommend no more than 5-6 cycles of IUI, before recommending IVF. The pregnancy success rate varies from about 5%-15% per cycle, depending upon your age, FSH/Estrodoil level. If you are older than 38-40 or your FSH is above 10, they may recommend IVF. IUI is a lot easier (normally clomid for 5 days) than IVF in terms of medications and stress.

- IVF eliminates a lot of unknowns that IUI doesn't. You would know if the embryo has fertilised (or not). They have a much better idea of the quality of egg. Also, the can do ICSI if there is male fertility problems. It gives you lot more control overall. The success rate vary from 10% per cycle to 50% (depending on age, quality of embryos, number of embryos transfered, etc).

For older women (say at age 40), only one of 3 or 4 four egg is chromosomely normal (on an average). Which means you will need 3 or 4 cycle (and then everthing esle has to go well) to get pregnant and deliver live birth. With IVF they will (try to) retrive between 10 and 15 eggs in one cycle (although the cycle may be 2 m/s period long). Of which about 5 will be good. If 80% fertilise, you will still have 4 embryos to transfer and implant. The quality of embryo (depends on how the sperm and egg gets along!) will mostly determine the pregnancy and live birth rate. One good quality embryo will have about 20 to 25% chance of live birth. The overall odds (and hence the chance of multiples) go up, if you decide to transfer more embryos.

In general, if time is against you, IVF is the best option.

Chek out this website for IVF. there is awealth of information here about success rate, etc etc.

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/ART01/index.htm

good luck.

by jennyleightay, Dec 02, 2004 12:00AM

I went through 3 IUI cycles, with no luck (I think it was because I did not ovulate normally and have regular, predictable cycles). I did get pregnant on my first try with IVF. The nice thing about IVF is you know that the egg(s) are fertilized, and you know the quality of them. The hardest part is deciding how many eggs to have implanted! I was scared to death, but decided to chance it with 3 eggs, mainly because of my age (36) at the time. Only one egg implanted, which was great! I am now 12 weeks along.

I was lucky to have insurance to cover, so don't know a lot about the cost, just that it IS expensive! Also, the medicines required with IVF are expensive and not much fun! Shots everyday in the leg or stomach, and then progesterone shots every night in the butt which hurt like hell!! But it is all worth it in the end if you are able to get pregnant, right? Good luck!!!!!!

by michle, Dec 05, 2004 12:00AM

hi there girls. i hope you don't mind me joing . iam 29, hubby is 42, and we have been ttc for over 2 years. i just started seeing a real specialist. he ran the usual tests on me, and everything was fine with me, and the hubby, so it's "unexplained infertility". that's my label, lol. the RE prescribed me 100mg clomid, and did 2 iui's back to back, as my 1st course of treatment, though i do ovulate and menstrate on my own. iam now 8 dpo, and on day 27 of my cycle. i have been having af like cramping, since the procedures were done, sometimes very bad. it definately feels like af is on the way, belly cramps, and sore bb's, which is already making me dissapointed that this has not worked for me yet. i'd like to go straight to invitro should this not work after another cycle. they'll take my money, so i know there will be no argument from the doctor. succes rates "appear" to be alot higher there. i did have 5 mature eggs at the time of iui, so i was very hopeful one would implant, but i definately don't feel pg, i feel like iam getting af. has anone else who has gotten pg, had af like symptoms before hand, like she was on her way? also, when you have more then 1 egg, do more then 1 release? all of them? if not, how do more eggs increase your chances? i don't know, iam new to all this, so i have lots of questions, and my RE doesn't exactly have a bedside manner to him. thanks gals, i appreciate your help and your time. i wish i could test now, but it's too early! this 2ww is hell!! :)

by lesley1, Jan 07, 2005 12:00AM

hi everyone, i'm new here. i went for my first iui yesterday. i too only paid 250.00, which included the spermwash and the procedure. i have not been on any medications either. my husband and i have been trying to concieve since we married, 4 years ago. we found out my husband had a low sperm count and he had a surgery to help with that (correct a varicocele). our fertility doctor states his sperm count has improved .....in her words"a day and night difference". i have been doing the ovulation predictor kits and do ovulate, although it varies between day 10 and day 15. i saw that a few people were succseful on their first iui, but not many. wish us luck. this is a terrible emotional roller coaster ride.

by lesley1, Jan 07, 2005 12:00AM

hi everyone, i'm new here. i went for my first iui yesterday. i too only paid 250.00, which included the spermwash and the procedure. i have not been on any medications either. my husband and i have been trying to concieve since we married, 4 years ago. we found out my husband had a low sperm count and he had a surgery to help with that (correct a varicocele). our fertility doctor states his sperm count has improved .....in her words"a day and night difference". i have been doing the ovulation predictor kits and do ovulate, although it varies between day 10 and day 15. i saw that a few people were succseful on their first iui, but not many. wish us luck. this is a terrible emotional roller coaster ride.

by eileenmp, Jan 19, 2005 12:00AM

Hi! I'm new here. My husband and I are struggling with the decision to do IUI or IVF. Insurance is not an issue...both covered. Our big hang-up, and what nobody else here mentioned yet, is that my RE told me that the chances of dangerous multiples (triplets and up) is much more likely with IUI, and that if we're not comfortable with "selective reduction" we should proceed directly to IVF. With IVF, they would only transfer 2 embryos (I'm 35), so I would not have more than twins. We are against selective reduction but are struggling with if we should just try IUI and hope that we are not put in that position. (There is about a 12% chance of triplets or higher). Here's our dilemma...I think we're afraid that if we don't succeed w/IVF (insurance will only cover 4) we're out of hope...whereas, if we don't succeed w/IUI, we still have another option available to us. Make sense? My RE said that the fear with triplets is that of all their patients who have not reduced, 50% ended up losing all 3 babies, or delivered 3 babies with abnormalities, illnesses, etc. Sorry for all the info....did anyone else struggle with this? Good luck to all!

by JessieK, Jul 31, 2007 03:26PM

To: Everyone

Hello everyone! I am new to this site, but looking for some encouraging words. I just got my 4th IUI yesterday and am starting to lose hope. My RE says that my infertility is "unexplained" because everything seems to be working great now with my Clomid cycles. I am wondering if it has taken anyone more than 3 or 4 IUI's to become pregnant? I am trying to figure out if I am just wasting my time doing them and should move on to IVF. I hate the idea of spending $12,000 on IVF if I could possibly get an IUI to work. If anyone has any success stories from multiple IUI's, I would really appreciate to hear them. I am losing hope and ready to give up.

By the way, even with Clomid, my IUI's have only costed $342 each time.

by B&B'sMom, Jul 31, 2007 03:33PM

My husband and I did one round of clomid and an IUI and we successfully got pregnant . I'm not sure about $$ because my insurance covered all of it. I can only say that it worked for us but it may not be for everyone. We never got to the point were we had to consider IVF. But I did have a friend do it and on the first try they got pregnant with triplets. She carried them to 32 weeks and they were all healthy.

by God Bless us All

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