Two amazing opportunities

DH and I are at a really difficult place right now. Business has come to a crawl for me; therefore, based on previous fall and winter seasons, we will probably struggle for the remainder of the year. We didn’t utilize a student loan this semester, so all of DH’s coursework expenses will come out of our pockets. Meaning we won’t have much “extra” money to spend. Therefore, we decided early this week, we would cancel our RE appointment. My insurance wasn’t going to cover anything at all and my first visit would be $315 (not including the necessary bloodwork and tests required). Not to mention, treatment may cost us anywhere near $2K - $3K or MORE! There’s just no way we’d be able to afford this in 2009.

We knew this may happen. I, personally, have to put DH’s schooling first. In a perfect world, I’d prefer for him to be a college graduate before he becomes a father, but this isn’t a perfect world. We both chose not to go to college when we were supposed to. Now we’re ready to be parents, and now we face infertility issues... It sucks, but we’ll get through it. We always do.

With that said, DH and I were ready to put our dreams on hold until 2010 (unless it happened the old fashioned way for us!). Then I received a phone call from Chicago, and received an invitation to participate in a medical research study! I spoke with one of the Study Coordinators on Wednesday and she asked me a TON of questions! I think I was giving all the right answers because after all of the questions, she said “Well, you definitely pre-qualify to participate in a few of our studies!”

The study she recommends is a total of 6 months. Each month I would travel to Chicago for a 1-2 day visit – all expenses paid!! The drug being tested is called Flutamide. It’s used in Europe to treat PCOS. I did some reading on the drug specifically last night and found many studies that found ovulation to occur after taking this drug for only 2-3 months in annovulatory PCOS patients. The study would also evalute the effect of weight loss along and with the drug; therefore, I would be meeting a dietitian and would be put on a strict food plan. Wow! A drug that could make me ovulate that isn’t Clomid? Plus I would lose weight!? This could be good. ...plus I get the opportunity to visit Chicago once a month!? I’ve never been anywhere near Chicago! I know it sounds gravy, but there are cons... DH and I wouldn’t be able to TTC for 6 months. We would be required to use a double barrier contraceptive (ex: condoms and diaphram, or condoms and spermacide). Ugh. The study would pay $725. I haven’t been totally approved to participate. I need to go have some bloodwork done to ensure all of my hormone levels represent a true diagnosis of PCOS.

Then opportunity #2 lands in my lap... The next day I get a phone call from the RE office. I had not cancelled my appointment, at this point. Perhaps, I was hoping for a miracle and somehow we’d be able to afford to go. I was waiting till the last minute to call and cancel.

The RE office was calling to invite me to participate in one of their research studies!! This was perfect. If my test results do not come back with a true diagnosis of PCOS, I would have something to fall back on! This study was a little different. DH and I would be allowed to TTC! The objective of the study would be pregnancy! The drugs involved in this study would be GnRh or Clomid, and a combination of the two. The “value” of this study was truly unbelievable. Initially, DH and I would be required to have some testing done to ensure we don’t have any infectious diseases. I would also have to have an OB panel done (more bloodwork). None of this would be paid for by my insurance and it’s not covered as part of the study, so these tests would cost us $225. Then DH would be required to have his SA done, which he has not done yet! I would also have a sonogram and HSG performed! The SA and the HSG would be included in the study and wouldn’t cost us a penny!! Wow, what an opportunity! The cons here are: For me, Clomid = cysts... I could already have a cyst from my previous Clomid cycle, which would probably disqualify me, I’m sure... I must wait for 30 days to pass since my last Clomid pill to start with the evaluation process...and well, the $225 we must come up with by August 11th (my evaluation appointment). This study would pay $500. Less than the Chicago study, but it’s only 30 days long (one cycle) and we’d be able to actually TTC! If I do become PG, the study includes two sonograms and prenatal visits at 6 and 8 weeks, before I'm sent back to my OB for prenatal care!

These two oppurntunties are both amazing oppurntunities. Both with many pros and many cons! If I’m chosen to participate in both, I’m so torn on what to do. How will I make the decision to go with one over the other...