New to IVF - Infertility Message Board

PamCS · 07-22-2004, 08:28 AM

This is the first time that I have signed up for a message board. I have read in a few, so I guess bear with me in the learning.
My hubby and I have decided to try the IVF. I really don't know what to expect and am kind of wondering on what to expect and the price of the meds definitely worries me. Prior to this we had a tubal pregnancy 5 years ago, and have been trying ever since. We went through some testing a couple of years ago and there seems to be no explanation why. Last year we started doing clomid. Did that for 4 months with no success. Then we have now gone through 3 IUI's, also with no success. So now we are proceeding on to the next step. We are in the process of doing some of the testing for the IVF and meet with Dr for results on Aug 3 then need to set up the orientation meeting. Any advice?

dh22 · 07-22-2004, 04:45 PM

IVF is a lot of waiting and a lot of money if your insurance doesn't help you. BUT it's worth trying. Luckily i got preg on the first try but they say and average of 3 tries will get you preg. there are alot of financial programs out there to help so you don't have to fork over your arms and legs....
the meds are the most expensive especially the first time around but if that's what it takes then it's worth it.

sadie1969 · 07-22-2004, 05:19 PM

Pam.. I am new to this as well.. My insurance won't cover mine but I will come up with the money some how.. It scares me to think I may have to do this more than once.. I will be watching to see what others say to you.. I'm curious as well. I see a lot of positive results here in this forum... My doctor did advise me that if I am reading forums to realize that everyone is different and if some have bad side effects or bad stories not to worry that everyone will be different. I wish you all the luck... I don't start my meds until September.. & by the way I am petrifed of the injections.. but that is just me..

SaDie

cindyn · 07-22-2004, 08:20 PM

PamCS, dh and I have been ttc for over 2 years. We were diagnosed with unexplained IF, although during my IVF cycle we determined that I probably have a mild case of PCOS due to how well I responded to the meds. We tried clomid and IUI, and they didn't work so we turned to IVF. I am happy to say that we got pg on our first try - we just found out this week that we are pg. Dh and I talked about IVF a lot before pursuing it. We felt that it was worth a try.

IVF is time consuming, emotionally and physically taxing, and can be a significant finacial burden (depending on your insurance). We felt it was important that we were both committed to it before starting, and we were. I'm not going to tell you it was easy compared to other treatments - it wasn't. It is the most intense of them all. But, don't let that discourage you from trying. To us, it was worth it, and we knew going in that we might not get pg from IVF, but it more than doubled our chances according to the RE's stats.

Prior to us starting IVF, I read lots of books, websites, etc - checked out tons of books from the library. I put together a list of questions for my RE. Then the three of us sat down to discuss it (RE, dh and me). Once we felt all of our questions were answered and that we were comfortable with the responses, we decided to continue. IVF is definitely a personal decision between you and dh. I wish you all the best in your decision making process.

dh22 · 07-23-2004, 02:56 PM

the big thing to remember is that if you are willing to try it be willing to deal with it too. no one i have read about has had a "perfect" ivf cycle. we have all gone through it. there are some that got it on the first try and some on the 4th or 5th. you re is right everyone is different but with these forums i have found that some one has gone through something at one time or another. it may not always be the same person but usually someone can relate to your expereince. and if not well there is alot of encouragement here that can help you cope. realistically we are all here because we aren't being sucessful with out "assistance" in some way or another. so for the most part we have all gone throught the drama of "why me!!!!" or "what did i do to be this way?" just be sure to be open and caring to each others feelings because it is very emotional.
i felt like i was going through it alone for a while. i had to take the shots, i had to take the nasal spray 3x a day, i had to have the "surgery" , i had to have the pain of OHSS, i had to have the trigger shots, I had to have the blood taken... all he had to do was put his guys in a cup! BUT he was very supportive and through it all he was there to hold my hand. he even told me through the worst of it that if he could take the pain he would and regardless of the out come he knows that I am stronger than him to go through it all. after all of that i knew that it brought us closer together. now we are 12 weeks pregnant and dealing with a whole other set of emotions brought on by hormones... i have a feeling this will never end.
I will continue to pray for all of you that regardless of the situation try to relax... my re said that the more comforable and relaxed I was the better chance i had of concieveing. stress can play a horrible role sometimes.

Baby dust