Decisions….

We had our follow up appointment a few weeks ago and discussed with our doctor what our options are now that we know that a tube is blocked. The doctor explained that the only way to know 100% if it is completely blocked is to do surgery, but he is convinced that it is due to the dye not flowing out at all on the HSG. Based on the scenario of a blocked tube, we were given the following options:

Do nothing and continue trying on our own (yeah right!)

Try IUI again

Have surgery to completely close off/detach the fallopian tube and then try on our own

Move on to IVF

Have surgery to completely close off/detach the fallopian tube and then do IVF.

Mark and I had already discussed before the appointment that we definitely wanted to do something other than trying on our own, or doing another IUI which we had already tried twice with no success.

The doctor explained that some studies have shown IVF can sometimes have a lower success rate with a blocked tube without surgery. After discussing the details of the surgery along with the details of the IVF process, and our doctor’s opinion on if surgery was necessary at this time, we decided to not do the surgery yet. Mark 100% does not want me to have to have surgery if it can be avoided, and our doctor believes that there is not enough of a difference in success rates between having the surgery and not having the surgery before IVF. Since we are blessed to have some insurance coverage for IVF, we decided we would probably try IVF first, and if it did not work, we could always revisit having the surgery before doing IVF again.

We didn’t give the office our final answer that day. We have taken some time to think about and discuss what we feel is the best decision for us right now. I am typically a very indecisive person, however with this whole infertility process I have known exactly what I want to do with each decision we have been faced with which is a blessing, especially for Mark who has to deal with my indecisiveness on a daily basis! We took into account that since we have insurance coverage to help with the cost of IVF (even though it will only cover one round, we are very lucky to have any coverage at all) that we kind of have an almost free shot once at IVF. If it works the first time, we not only will have our baby, but will also not have to worry about having the surgery.

So, it’s official, we will be doing IVF in December!

We are both nervous and excited, while trying not to get our hopes up too high as it is common to have to do multiple rounds of IVF before it is successful. We appreciate the continued prayers as we prepare to begin this next part of our journey that is somewhat scary and unfamiliar for us.