has anyone had a HSG Lipiodol test?
- Thread starter hoochie
- Start date
hoochie
Registered User
hi newbiekt, i remember u from my last concerned post about TTC. thanks for the assurance. well Dh and i decided to get things checked out afterall. results came back and found out dh has poor quality sperm as well as "lazy" sperm. doctor thought it would be better to check my tubes as well. but at the moment, he reckons IUI wouldn't even do it, we would need IVF. talk about a total shocker to us both. i had orginally decided that if all came back fine then we would just let nature take its course. but now it doesn't look to be that way.
Hi Hoochie, I'm sorry you've had problems.
My (un-professional) advice is to go with IVF if your doctor says IUI will probably not work.
IUI is more tempting since it's more affordable and less intrusive.
But take it from someone who did 1 month of Clomid / ultrasounds, and then 3 months of IUI, and failed at all of them. We wasted four months of medical procedures, not to mention heartbreak every time it didn't work. We also wasted about HK 20,000. And then we STILL had to go through all the pain and cost of IVF. If I had a time machine and could do it all again, I'd jump right to IVF.
My doc explained to me that women's problems were actually sometimes easier to deal with -- ovulation can be controlled with medication and tracked with scans. But male problems -- which is what we had -- are hard to do anything about.
All IUI does is simulate natural sex, just with better timing and slightly better placement. But if the sperm is no good, it's no good. Whereas IVF actually forces the sperm to meet the egg.
Plus, my doctor said that if I chose IVF, I chose opt out of getting my tubes checked, since IVF bypasses that part of the process anyway.
Of course, you might also want to get a second opinion. You don't want a doctor pushing you into an expensive treatment you're unsure of. But if a second doc looks at the sperm numbers and says the same thing, you might not want to waste months on IUI.
IVF is a huge decision. It's very expensive, especially if you are uninsured like us. And it requires minor surgeries. So think it through. I just don't want other women to waste time and money like I did. Good luck!
PS. How old are you?
My (un-professional) advice is to go with IVF if your doctor says IUI will probably not work.
IUI is more tempting since it's more affordable and less intrusive.
But take it from someone who did 1 month of Clomid / ultrasounds, and then 3 months of IUI, and failed at all of them. We wasted four months of medical procedures, not to mention heartbreak every time it didn't work. We also wasted about HK 20,000. And then we STILL had to go through all the pain and cost of IVF. If I had a time machine and could do it all again, I'd jump right to IVF.
My doc explained to me that women's problems were actually sometimes easier to deal with -- ovulation can be controlled with medication and tracked with scans. But male problems -- which is what we had -- are hard to do anything about.
All IUI does is simulate natural sex, just with better timing and slightly better placement. But if the sperm is no good, it's no good. Whereas IVF actually forces the sperm to meet the egg.
Plus, my doctor said that if I chose IVF, I chose opt out of getting my tubes checked, since IVF bypasses that part of the process anyway.
Of course, you might also want to get a second opinion. You don't want a doctor pushing you into an expensive treatment you're unsure of. But if a second doc looks at the sperm numbers and says the same thing, you might not want to waste months on IUI.
IVF is a huge decision. It's very expensive, especially if you are uninsured like us. And it requires minor surgeries. So think it through. I just don't want other women to waste time and money like I did. Good luck!
PS. How old are you?
I totally agree with Gracey and also did lots of failed IUI's. Sounds like you might need to consider ICSI where they actually put the sperm into the egg. If it helps my sister and her husband had similar issues, added to which she was having a premature menopause at 32 and they got pregnant with twins on their second round of IVF.
hoochie
Registered User
thankyou so much for the replies. it's a great comfort for me. And i am also sorry that you have had difficulties in concieving too. we are not insured so yes IVF would be very expensive for us. we are seeing Dr Lo who from this forum sounds very professional and one of the best in his field. I do believe that if he said IUI wouldn't even work, then it's not worth trying. However, IVF is very expensive for us and we're afraid of it failing. we wouldn't have money to go another round.
At the moment DH is recommended to take a healthier diet, vitamins and Zinc (very important) and hope that it can improve his sperm mobility and morphology and retest again in 3 months. and if the retest come back with no improvement, then we will have to save up for IVF. Oh so stressful.
At the moment DH is recommended to take a healthier diet, vitamins and Zinc (very important) and hope that it can improve his sperm mobility and morphology and retest again in 3 months. and if the retest come back with no improvement, then we will have to save up for IVF. Oh so stressful.