Clomid, Medicated IUI, or Straight to IVF?

It is so hard to know how long to stay at each level of infertility treatment. How many months on Clomid, how many IUIs (artificial inseminations) and how many cycles of IVF is reasonable before moving to donor egg? What is the best way to manage your fertility dollars and still get pregnant? Our guests were Dr. Alison Zimon, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF, and Dr. Samantha Pfeifer, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

Hit the Highlights
  • What has been the standard fertility treatment protocol in the past for the average infertility patient-assuming her infertility is female factor or unexplained?
  • How many months is the usual suggested time to try Clomid (clomiphene citrate)?
  • How effective is Clomid?
  • What are other drugs are similar to Clomid which are the first line of attack against infertility?
  • What other options are available in the form of oral medication?
  • What are the differences between these medications?
  • If one is not effective, should you try a different medication?
  • Is there a cost difference?
  • What is the multiple birth rate with Clomiphene Citrate or Letrozole?
  • Does the effectiveness of Clomid or Letrozole decrease with age?
  • What can I do to increase the effectiveness of Clomid or Letrozole or other oral fertility medications?
  • Does the effectiveness of Clomid or Letrozole decrease with repeated cycles?
  • Does Robutussin increase your chances of getting pregnant?
  • What is a medicated IUI cycle?
  • What type of fertility medications are used with intrauterine insemination (IUI)/ artificial insemination?
  • What are the disadvantages of an injectable medicated IUI cycle?
  • Tell us about the FASTT (fast-track and standard treatment) Trial Study that was designed to determine if it was best to do a couple of cycles of injectable IUIs or go straight to in vitro fertilization?
  • How large was this study of artificial insemination with injectable gonadotropins vs. IVF?
  • Did it decrease multiples?
  • Is it more cost effective to do intrauterine insemination (IUI)/ artificial insemination with injectable gonadotropins or in vitro fertilization (IVF)?
  • Has there been other research along these lines?
  • How effective is intrauterine insemination (IUI)/ artificial insemination with injectable gonadotropins with women over 40?
  • How much does an average IUI with injectable gonadotropins cost vs. an IVF cycle?
  • What are the main disadvantages of IUI with injectable gonadotropins cycles?
  • Is there a way to avoid higher order multiple fetuses with medicated IUIs?
  • Is there a way to avoid twins and triplets with medicated IUIs?
  • How effective is an IUI/artificial insemination with Clomid? How much more effective than just Clomid with sex?

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Image Credit: Sky Noir