The stats:
-Follistim and IUI cycles are typically 28 days in length and have a 15% chance of producing a live healthy baby in 9 months. If I am pregnant, there’s a 20% chance its with twins and a 1% chance its with 3 or more.
-IVF cycles are about 50 days long and have a 40% chance of producing a live healthy baby in 9 months. If I am pregnant, there’s a 10% chance its with twins-but no more than twins because only 2 embryos are put back in.
OPTION 1
Start nightly injections of follistim on Monday 10/11/10 to force these ovaries to make 3-5 nice sized follicles and then do an IUI around the 25th of October and find out by November 6th if that cycle worked.
If it is a FAIL, then an ultrasound will be done to make sure the follistim didn’t create any cysts on my ovaries, as long as there are no cysts-a repeat of that cycle will start on Monday November 8.
If it is yet another FAIL then we will begin to ramp up in december for IVF in January 2011.
OPTION 2
Begin the IVF ramp up starting Monday 10/11/2010, with egg retrieval around mid November, and embryo transfer around thanksgiving.
If it is a FAIL, take a cycle off and do it all over again in January or February.
Ok ladies, so the question is…
WHAT WOULD YOU DO???
Becoming Parents 
I stumbled onto your blog this morning shortly before I took my first pregnancy test post Clomid/IUI cycle. Sadly, it was negative. I had vision problems on my high doses of Clomid I can’t go back on it. Coincidentally, I am faced with the same options you listed today. I’m tempted by IVF, because if it works…then I can freeze the remaining eggs for future pregnancies (best case scenario). If it turns out that I can produce the eggs with IVF but not carry…then I have frozen eggs that I can use with a surrogate. IVF seems more of a pass/fail. If it doesn’t work at all (worst case scenario)…then I know with certainty and can start the adoption process. Less time wasted? Follistim, although less invasive seems like there is more uncertainty and room for heart ache. Price will play a big roll for me.
I’m glad I found your blog and hope it is okay if I posted a link on my own blog to yours. You have done such a great job of explaining the whole infertility process. Friends and family can learn a lot about the details through your blog. If it’s not okay, let me know and I’ll remove the link.
I’m interested to know what you decide. Which ever it is, I’ll be rooting for you!
Johanna-Ugh! I am so sorry this cycle was a bust for you too!! Ugh, Blech, and Arggggh! Please keep me posted as to what you guys decided to do-it was amazing, we both went back and forth easily 3 times before deciding on an entire round of follistim and double IUI’s for this cycle. It was not as easy of a decision as I thought it would be! Where in this world are you located?! Thanks for stopping by! Brooke