Personal stories about tubal infertility treatment

These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions.

Karen, age 36: Since we learned that I have blocked fallopian tubes, we've been going back and forth about what to do. Time is ticking away, so we need to act soon. I've decided that I'm willing to have surgery and keep trying to conceive for a year. My hormone tests tell me that I'm still fertile, and who knows—maybe we could actually have more than one child after fixing the problem. If not, we're considering adopting.

Marianna, age 26: I was shocked to learn that my fallopian tubes were so badly damaged by the chlamydia infection I had a few years ago. My doctor says that we can try surgery to repair the tubes, but that my best bet is trying in vitro fertilization. We can't possibly afford in vitro fertilization, and we're lucky that my insurance will cover the surgery, so I'm going to have the surgery and see if it helps.

Teri, age 39: Now that we're ready to have a child, we're really ready! We don't care what it takes. Our doctor tells us that in vitro fertilization is really our only choice, considering my age. By the time I have my tubes repaired and start trying to get pregnant, I'll be too old to have any other options if that doesn't work. So, we're going to go for it and do the in vitro fertilization. We figure we'll try it three times and hope one of them takes.

Anne, age 30: I'm told that I have a small blockage in one of my fallopian tubes that can be treated without surgery. The doc says she can put a little plastic catheter in my fallopian tube to open up the blockage, and I have a good chance of getting pregnant after that.