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Mmm, I don't know. I've been there where I wanted to move onto the IVF land. Back then I had pretty much given hope on IUIs being successful. Do you feel better about moving forward with IVF? If so I would go with your gut.

For us, the RE has given us hope that the new meds to treat PCOS and DOR can get us pregnant with at least 3 IUIs. We do also have the option of going right to IVF. We have the money for IVF and were planning on going to IVF but I think a part of me wants to see if the new meds will get us pregnant with IUIs. They are giving me the option of enrolling in an IUI 'Peace of Mind' plan, where I'm paying for 2 IUIs upfront and in exchange I can get upto 3 IUIs. (It's like a buy 2, get 1 free plan). It's $2400 for the plan. If I get pregnant the first IUI, they will refund the $1200. It is more expensive than my last clinic but my last clinic only did one insemination. My new clinic does two. Also, we will have to add in the cost of cryopreservation of my DH's sperm. That's an additional $600 per freeze/thaw. It's getting pricey but my new RE has a more of an aggressive plan.

I do, also, qualify for the IVF "Peace of Mind' plan that guarantees a take home baby, but that's in the $28K range. If I did a IVF cycle by itself it would be $14K. If our next IUIs are not successfull, we'll have to think about the next steps.

Also, for my situation, we could go straight to IVF but if we want to have a second child, I might not never know if IUIs worked for us. So that's another reason why we are going back to doing IUIs for now. Though, I'm sure I'll kick myself if we end up on our last IUI and no hope for success. With the plan, if the RE decides the first couple IUIs aren't working, they are able to transfer some of the money into the IVF plan. So it's not like I will completely lose out on my money. Sorta.

As for your situation, I know when I completed my last and 3rd IUI, I was ready to dive into IVF. I was done with IUIs. I didn't want to waste anymore money on IUIs.

Before knowing our actual cost for an IUI, I was expecting 700 to 1000 like I've been reading and we decided to give it a shot anyways. It's still much cheaper than IVF and it does work for some, so we thought maybe we'll get lucky. I was ready to just move on to IVF, but DH wanted to give IUI a shot per the RE's suggestion. (Though I'm confused cause the first Clomid cycle with her I asked if we should do an IUI instead of TI and she said it wouldn't increase chances much, but now she wants to do the IUIs before moving on... ). Turns out that for us a IUI is only a $40 copay, and the oral meds and trigger is $40 also, so we are going to give it 3 tries total before considering IVF again. If it were going to be $1k, I think I'd just move on and put that money toward something with a lot higher chance if my husband were on board with that.

@MrsTal: My first question would be: how much is IVF at your clinic?

@MrsTal: my RE had also recommended starting with 3 IUIs before pursuing IVF. We did one cycle of IUIs and DH's numbers were atrocious. When the PA called to speak with me about moving onto a second IUI cycle I asked what my RE recommended due to DH's numbers. He changed his recommendation to go straight to IVF. Your RE may change his mind. How bad were the numbers? DH's were 500,000 and 1.5 million washed with our two IUIs.

@MrsTal: That's about the same for us. I'm hoping IUI will work for us within 3-4 tries. I can't fathom spending so much. It would be really hard on us and would delay buying a home. That being said, my husband's sperm is better than good (as RE said) so, I might feel differently if he had an issue. I have severe endo and borderline DOR. My endo seems to be the main reason that IUI has a bit of a reduced chance. I had 5 maturing eggs before the trigger for this IUI, so even though I don't have a TON of follicles, at least they're responding. My last antral count was 9. Do you know what yours was? How many follicles did you have with Clomid for your last IUI?

@MrsTal: If you can afford it, I'd definitely move onto IVF. I believe for male-factor issues, IVF (with ICSI) is generally the best option. You could put those $2,000 (two IUI's) towards the IVF cost. I know it is much more expensive than the IUI's, though. But it will give you a much higher chance of success. Such a hard decision to make, I'm sure. Good luck!!

@MrsTal: I second (?) Jenn23, bluestriped bee, and CatchAFallingStar. Definitely do what feels right...but unless your RE thinks DH's SA was a fluke or would improve significantly with some medical or surgical treatment, IVF seems like a much better bet! Good luck!