If you've been reading this blog for more than three months you would know that when Brian and I were first diagnosed with Male Factor Infertility, we sort of made the decision not to have kids at all. We didn't swear it off forever, but we decided that we weren't going to pursue any treatments- therefore assuming it would never happen for us. It was a resignation of sorts, some might even call it a white flag. We were just so exhausted from the 16 months of futility. A few weeks later we decided not to make any decisions at all. For at least a year. And then a whole 2 weeks after that, we were all of a sudden ready to discuss our options. Partially thanks to our RE, who made things even more complicated by giving us two very different choices for conceiving.
In one hand we have the option of using Donor Sperm, also referred to as Donor Insemination or DI. The main reason we have considered it is because of our concerns with chromosomal abnormalities on Brian's side. Which according to our RE may not be a factor at all, as he once thought. It is not very invasive, costs about one thousand dollars, and has up to an 80% success rate each try, in the first 6 cycles. But with that comes a lot of emotional baggage that you can read about here.
And in the other hand, we have Invitro Fertilization with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Or IVF w/ ICSI. Which means I get a baby that is half of me and Brian. IF it works. There is only a 40-60% chance. I would have a few weeks of hormone injections, followed by an invasive process to harvest my eggs under sedation and local anesthetic. Once they are (hopefully) fertilized they would insert the fertilized egg into my uterus using a catheter. Oh and it costs like $15 grand.
So basically we've been flip flopping between using DI or IVF. First no kids, then IVF, then Donor, then IVF, then Donor again and we even got so serious that we looked into specifics on donor profiles.
This week we are back to IVF, deciding that we'll try it once and if it doesn't work we'll move on to donor.
Next week: Abduction
4 comments:
I think you can sue your RE for whiplash...
Melissa, Abduction is always at the top of our list as well. It just seems so much less complicated than adoption. :o) I know it is a tough choice and I know that you guys will make the best decision for your situation in the end.
Carli
Brian sent me a text after it published. He said:" Risky, but cheap!"
Melissa- Wow, you have some difficult choices ahead of you. It's such a personal decision too; there's no right or wrong here. Like you, I can clearly see the pros and cons of both scenarios. And you know what? It's okay to change your mind. Change it as many times as you need to before you feel at peace with your choice.
PS- I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries here, but I would recommend stearing clear of the abduction option. :) Haha.
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