So earlier this week I thought I might be getting a new protocol to boost our chances. But I didn't. Here's the email from our IUI nurse.
Hello A,
I did speak with Dr. M yesterday afternoon. He informed me that he is
happy with the way your cycle went. I discussed that fact that you have
limited tdi samples. He suggested you verify with the donor bank if in fact
there is a limited supply as you may very well use up 4 just with the next
few attempts. Success rates are about 25% each time you try, so 1 in 4
attempts yields a pregnancy.
We can try adding injections to your protocol which usually increase the
number of follicles produce. This does not increase your chance to conceive
as the percentage is still 25% BUT it does put you at higher risk of twins
of which if you were to conceive with the cycle, it is a 25% chance to be
twins.
Another option is to go for IVF. Success rates for your age group is about
69% with 25% risk of twins as well. IVF is quite costly at about $9000
including the TDI sample, but not including injections and other drugs.
There is a preparation phase for IVF which would need to take place before
proceeding, this takes approximately 1 cycle to prepare.
It is understandable that you may wish to try to use the same donor, however
it is not really recommended to tailor your treatment protocol or put you at
higher risk, using more aggressive treatments in an effort to work around
the availability of one particular donor. Dr. M used the analogy of a
button that you may like, on an article of clothing and because you like
that particular button, you buy all your other clothing to go with that
button. So, most would not likely purchase all other items using the one
button as the focal point.
To summarize, he liked how the cycle was going so far and would prefer to
continue that way for now. If you are interested in any of the other two
options let me know however he really would rather you try to open your
options for the TDI sample selection instead of putting yourself at higher
risk using injections to work around one selection.
Let me know how you wish to proceed. If you have further questions please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Take care,
L
GNT/IUI Nurse
My reply to her was Thank you L. I will review this with my wife who is against having twins! Haha So I'm guessing we will stick with the same protocol this time around.
