Things have been a little crazy in the Goss house. We had our appointment with another doctor (Dr. G.) for a second opinion right after finding out that my mom has been diagnosed with B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She has already begun her chemo treatments which is making it harder for her to keep up with some of the day to day tasks leaving us to try and help fill in the blanks.
Our second opinion appointment went well. I really liked the office-I was taken back immediately and it was so quiet! My other doctor's office (Dr. B.) is always loud and bustling. It was very refreshing to visit an office without 18 pregnant women in the waiting room with another 20 babies and/or toddlers running around. (Yes, you are sensing some of my bitterness which isn't a proud moment. However, sitting your infertility patients to wait for their appointment for 2 hours next to babies and pregnant women is a cruel form of punishment.)
Dr. G. was very straight forward. Basically we have three options:
1.) Continue with clomid and IUI-success rate of 8%-cost $500 including medication
2.) Begin injectable hormones with IUI-success rate of 15%-cost $1,500 plus medication around $1,000
3.) Begin IVF-success rate of 45%-cost $9,000-$11,000 plus $2-3,000 in medications
On our own we only have a 1-2% chance of getting pregnant...
She kept warning that option 2 with the injectable hormones is risky. It isn't monitored as closely and therefore twins occur 25% of the time and triplets 1%. She also said this method can cause a fluid build up which lands you in the hospital.
We personally ruled out IVF a long time ago-it just isn't for us. The way she was describing option 2 it was something that both of us said we wanted to avoid. So we are left with trying two more clomid & IUI cycles or moving on to adoption. Currently we are taking a break from everything. They always say that stress is such a big factor in infertility and right now I am under a huge amount of stress. Our plans are to keep discussing our options and if we choose two more IUI to complete them by the end of the year. Our three attempts per lifetime of IUI that were covered by insurance have already been used but some of the ultrasounds should be covered and since we already met our deductible I would like to have all procedures by the end of the year.
I am so emotionally torn. Currently I am leaning more toward moving on with adoption. I realize that IUI is simple in comparison to IVF and other options, however, it is still stressful. Long before we were trying to conceive I would say that I thought adoption might be the right choice for us. I can't understand bringing a baby into the world when there are other ones without homes. I think God knew all along what was best, and was preparing me for what was to come.
Your continued thoughts and prayers are always appreciated. I would love to hear from you. Remember: You are not alone. There is NO shame in your story. And sometimes, just letting it out makes you feel so much better.
~HUGS~
