Injectibles

Our eligibility meeting with the research doctor at Penn is scheduled for early Monday morning, but like most true IFers, I am already bracing myself for disappointment.  Even though we have passed through the initial phone screening and they were able to answer all of my questions, there is still a chance that we will not be eligible for the study, and we will hopefully find out for sure during the meeting on Monday.

As I described in the previous post, there is a one-in-three chance that we will be placed in the Menopur group, so it is likely that we will be assigned to take either Clomid or Femara again.  Last night, I discussed with C whether we or not we would like to continue with the study if we are assigned to the oral meds group, and he seems to want to try.  He figures that any chance is just that, a chance, and we should take anything that is financially feasible before looking into IVF.  I guess providing all of those "samples" for IUI is less traumatic than he lets on...

I also had to bring up a third option.  If we are placed in an oral meds group, we can always back out of the study and talk to the RE about trying injectibles OOP.  Even though she usually skips over injectibles after oral meds and moves on to IVF, I think that she would allow us to try it given our financial situation.  We can't really afford to try a Menopur/Follistim/Gonal-F cycle OOP, but is is certainly more feasible than IVF and some creative budgeting could allow for it. 

Like a typical IFer, I am getting ready for the eventual disappointment and trying to come up with a backup plan.  Some might say that I am putting the cart ahead of the horse by over-analyzing each step and not waiting until I have real news and information from the eligibility meeting, but there is a reason for that.  IF is one of those situations that is truly out of the sufferer's control.  By constantly planning and making alternate arrangements, an IFer feels more in control of the situation and can bounce back from failure more quickly by moving on to Plan B.  I hope that this study works out and allows us to try a new protocol without the pricetag in the thousands, but if it doesn't, it gives me some hope to know that we can potentially try an injectible cycle or two in the near future.