Managing the Risk of Pregnancy...

We've hit another snag with doing an IUI this cycle and it looks like we're going back to the old fashioned method (ha ha) for the time being.

Using a known donor requires a certain amount of risk management. First you have to pick a person you think will be upfront, honest and reliable. He has to be someone who has a lifestyle that minimizes the risk of you getting an STD. He has to be able to conform to your expectations of his role in the process. Then you decide how much testing will make you feel comfortable with his health and your own, and how much legal protection you want for your future family. Finally you decided you are ready to expose yourself to his bodily fluids and all the consequences that carries, pregnancy being just one of them.

At this point I have been exposed to DtD's bodily fluids no less than twenty times. I may have been exposed to him more times than some straight couples have sex in a year. Yet I am not allowed to make the decision to continue this process via IUI.

Here's the snag. The reason I got into nursing is because I got a pesky little DVT (deep veinous thrombosus, aka blood clot) back in 2001. I was mostly asymptomatic. The only reason they found MY DVT was because my father had two serious DVTs when he was about 45 and they decided to do an ultrasound when I reported some tightening in my calf. Good ol' family history.

It seems there have been advances in the understanding of clotting and pregnancy since 2001. With my family history, the clinic will not move forward with an IUI until I've been tested and ruled out for a clotting disorder that could endanger my health during pregnancy. I agree that I should be tested but I would be okay with doing an IUI prior to the testing. After all, we're going to stick sperm up there in the next couple days no matter what. The clinic isn't okay with the risk. So it's back to the 5cc syringe.

I'm continuing to feel discouraged about moving to IUI. Although this new clinic has been mostly cooperative with our demands that we do no further testing of either myself or DtD, I still don't like that they won't 100% allow me to manage my own risk. It's expensive and doesn't greatly increase our chances. Something like injectibles might be a better use of our funds with a better outcome. Or maybe Clomid, or something like it.

So we're going back to the drawing board. Again. We've gotten off the 'are we preggers' roller coaster and onto the 'what the FUCK should we do next' ride, but we're still in the TTC theme park of fun.