We took many, many steps before we considered in vitro. We weren't in a big rush. We had no "known" issues. We were still in our mid-30s. We were curious why we couldn't get pregnant and wanted to know "the why." Plus, in vitro is one of the most expensive fertility options out there and $12K isn't a drop in the bucket for us. So we were okay with baby steps when it came to our infertility.
But as Dr. Vaughn, our fertility doctor said, you can choose to figure out what the problem is, or skip all of the that and go straight to in vitro, where no matter what the problem is, your chances for success are pretty high!
Here are the 10 steps we checked off before going down the in vitro route:
- Chart your Basal Body Temperature so you know when you are the most fertile
- Try an ovulation predictor kit (Not ovulating? See a fertility specialist!)
- Have blood tested for post-ovulation progesterone count
- Have urine tested for LH (High LH count? See a fertility specialist!)
- Get a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG test) to check fallopian tubes
- Check sperm count, morphology and motility (Issues? See a fertility specialist!)
- Get a laparoscopy to check uterine lining and clear out any endometriosis
- Find a fertility specialist - for baby steps, you can try IUI for a few cycles
- Talk to your specialist to see if Clomiphene is the right step for you (since we didn't have any ovulation issues, we skipped to step 10)
- Schedule a Gonadotropins cycle (we tried three cycles before IVF)
The only hiccup we had from any of the ten steps above was a fibroid in my uterine lining (found during the HSG test). My doctor couldn't remove it during the laparoscopy, so we decided to have it removed via an abdominal myomectomy before trying in vitro (since it could cause problems getting pregnant or a miscarriage if I did get pregnant).
There are many situations that warrant trying in vitro right away. Did you skip straight to in vitro? If so, let us know why...