Is IUI a waste of time and money?

Question

Hello! PCOS here, TTC for about 13 months. First IUI scheduled for this cycle. The more I’m reading the more I hear “don’t waste your time or money”.. I don’t think my RE would suggest it if there wasn’t a chance, but I guess the chances are very low. Is this just a step to cross off the list before IVF? Thanks so much for your help!

Answer

Internet says 20%. The fine print on our highly rated infertility clinic IUI paperwork said 8-10%. And we are both in our early 30s, healthy, no known infertility cause, excellent bloodwork, etc. 
If you have an ovulation disorder, like PCOS, then ovulation inducing drugs and IUI are going to have a better chance of working. 
I think there’s so much we don’t know about infertility. So many causes we don’t yet understand. 
That being said, it has worked for some people with other causes of infertility. We decided to give it 2 tries and stop. I don’t regret trying the IUIs because I think I would have always wondered whether it would have worked. We had to pay out of pocket. If my insurance covered it I would have tried a couple more times. I’m satisfied with our decision. We are now waiting for IVF Sept 2020. I found a new job that offers a one time $10,000 infertility benefit, but I have to be employed a year to be eligible. So I’m impatiently waiting 😏

Answer

I have PCOS and got pregnant from our first IUI after multiple failed cycles of trigger with timed intercourse. No male issues here either. Everyone is different, you’ll just have to make the right choice for you and your partner.

Answer

As long as its medically an option (not an option for those with blocked tubes for example) then I think its personal preference. We decided to try IUIs because we were unexplained and had no reason to believe through testing that we even needed help and wanted to move things along with as little intervention as possible. Our Dr said maybe we just needed "a little nudge". Well, 3 IUIs failed for us and even then we decided to try naturally for 6 more months before we moved onto IVF. Looking back, I dont know that I personally would've changed anything because if the result had been different, I would've been happy with my decision. So its rough. If I didn't care about the whole "natural-ish" thing then I 100% would've gone straight to IVF and not dabbled in the small bumps in pregnancy chance comparitively.

Answer

It was a waste to me. I have PCOS. My husband has no issues. Hes actually above average. 2 failed medicated TI cycles and 3 failed IUIs before moving to IVF. 1st IVF cycle worked. Everyone is different tho, so it's a tough decision to make

Answer

We have MFI sorta (we started using supplements and his is normal now) but we will do up to 4 IUIs before moving to IVF we will take  a break before going to IVF to save up. Ours is about 700$ each so no where near as expensive as IVF. Yes the chances are about equal to a normal couple just normally trying but for us it is worth trying. IVF is last resort and it isn’t a guarantee it will work either

Answer

I personally didn't try it, but only because we had been trying 18 months and have zero infertility coverage.  We were eager to maximize our chances.  Such a hard decision!

Answer

If your insurance will cover IVF then I personally wouldn’t waste time doing iui’s.

Answer

You will never know how IUI works for some and not others. Granted we did 3 medicated iui’s all failed unexplained and no male factors. First Ivf cycle worked. If you need peace of mind at least try 1.

Answer

Depends on you (and sometimes insurance requires a few rounds). But iui for me with male factor was only a 12% chance. For no issues I think it’s 20% chance. 
Ivf is 50% or higher if you do genetic testing. 
We skipped to ivf. It’s a lot. I did one round and had 22 self injections (and I think that’s on the lower side) blood work 15 times and 10+ vaginal ultrasounds. But... we got pregnant on the first round using ICSI. 
For me the decision was easier because our insurance covered both iui and ivf and didn’t require any iui rounds before ivf. If ivf is too expensive, then rounds of iui might be the way to go.

Answer

I’d say no even my IUIs didn’t work. I see IVF as a last resort and wanted to try everything before doing it. It’s only 15-20% success rate but some lucky people do get pregnant with IUI. Good luck on your journey ✨

Is IUI a waste of time and money?

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