The more you know about fertility treatment options, the better you'll be able to make treatment decisions.
For example, if you're concerned about getting pregnant with multiples, you may pass on IUI treatment and skip to single-embryo transfer IVF, or maybe mini IVF. Or if you need donor eggs, but don't have the funds for the high cost, you may want to consider donor embryos, which cost significantly less.
Something else to know is that, generally, it's not worth doing the exact same treatment more than three times in a row. If three months of Clomid at the same dosage doesn't help you get pregnant, it may be time to increase the dosage, change the treatment protocol, or move on. If three cycles of IUI don't help you get pregnant, that may mean it's time to move onto IVF.
I can't tell you how many women have told me stories of taking Clomid for over five months at the same exact dosage level, or women trying six or more IUI treatments. Statistically, the chances for success begin to drop after the fourth failed treatment, and generally, more than six months of Clomid or six months of IUI is not recommended. You're not just wasting time and money by sticking with treatment that doesn't work, but also wasting your emotional reserves.
Some couples insist on multiple IUI cycles because they are concerned with the high cost of IVF. However, if IUI treatment is unlikely to succeed because of your age or cause of infertility, you're just throwing away money that could be saved for an IVF treatment, which may have a much higher rate of success.
More about fertility treatment:
- IVF Procedures, Risks, Costs, and Success Rates
- IVF Success Rates
- How Much Does IVF Cost?
- What Is Mini IVF?
- What is IUI?
- IUI Success Rates
- What Are Gonadotropins?
- Clomid FAQ
- Fertility Treatment Stress: How to Survive Your IVF, IUI, or Other Fertility Treatment Cycle
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