Inconceivable: At a crossroads after the third failed IUI

I had no idea that after your third failed IUI, you get "the talk." I was expecting to walk into my doctor's office and set up my fourth IUI. No worries. With insurance only covering three IUIs, I figured they would tell me my financial responsibility and that would be that.

Not exactly.

Once the insurance benefit is gone, my doctor wanted to make sure I knew all my options. So she started going over all the tools she has in her fertility kit - mainly IVF. She wanted us to know our options so we can financially plan for where we want to spend our money.

It was all a blur. I immediately got scared that she was telling us that IVF was our only option. (That wasn't the case, but I was overwhelmed and confused).

She broke down the IVF treatment info and the levels offered. There are different IVF procedures - it isn't just a one-stop shopping thing. There are embryo genetic testing options.

One IVF option involved a plastic tube thing. I think she said I'd have to incubate the egg myself - like a chicken sitting on my own egg?? (Once again, I was quite overwhelmed so I will be going back in for more clarification on this one!)

I broke down in tears. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. Were we so bad off we had to do IVF now??

She said no. She just wanted to make sure I knew my options. I told her we wanted to do another medicated cycle with an IUI.

I did opt to see the financial department for info about all of these IVF options. The lowest was around $6,000 and didn't include $2,000 worth of meds. The highest was $23,000 and didn't include up to $5,000 worth of meds.

I asked the financial department if anyone has ever passed out when they saw the numbers. She didn't laugh or smile. Apparently, this stuff is no longer funny to her. I had to laugh to keep myself from crying.

I gathered the paperwork and focused on our fourth IUI. If that works, I wouldn't have to worry about all of this, right??

Our fourth IUI was our best one yet with three large follicles and such a great sample from my husband that the doctor put a sticker on our paperwork and gave us one to take home!

The two week wait was brutal. I had back aches (which I had with all of my pregnancies) and other signs. I was cautiously optimistic.

Then, I got my period. We are headed to yet another doctor's appointment week to find out what's next. I'm utterly heartbroken, confused and terrified I'm going to have to sit on my own egg.

How many of you have done IVF? Can you fill me in on the process? ​