IUI

Roustabout wrote: »

I've had IUI and am currently 27 weeks pregnant from the second round! I was on a stimulated cycle so apart from the injections, there's nothing to it really. It just takes a bit of planning your life/work around the scans/IUI cos there's no real wriggle room once you've started down the road of a cycle. It is painless though. I'm the same age as you and also have good egg reserves and had no explanation for infertility.
It's an emotional roller coaster but you know yourself best. I wish you the very best of luck and encourage you not be get disheartened if things don't go to plan initially.

Thanks for that. Lovely to hear a good news story!

I'm self employed so thank God I can control my diary around appointments.

So much for that ;-(

DH got completely stressed at the doctors orders and couldn't preform and so we haven't been able to have sex either last night or today. I know it is not his fault but I am so p***ed off.

We are heading on holidays tomorrow, and now we are both miserable. He is really angry at himself and defensive and I am trying to pretend that it is ok when really all I feel like doing is crying.

I feel really alone in this. Spent lots of today wanting to go and get drunk. This would not be a good idea as I am a recovering alcoholic, haven't drank in over 7 years. Today was bloody hard though.

cinloom wrote: »

Hi i was wondering if you decide to try IUI, how long it takes to have an appointement and get it started ?

Are you with a clinic already?

If not, they will have to get bloods and other screenings done so it can easily take 2 months.

Had my pre period scan this morning to prepare for IUI, only to find out I have a cyst so they can't go ahead with the IUI in December. To add to the general misery they won't be able to do it in January either as they will be closed for Christmas at the time that I would need my next scan so it will be February before it can go ahead.

Gutted is the only word I can think of to describe it.

Sorry for bumping thread, but figured it was better than starting another IUI thread.

I went for my baseline scan this morning and there was a cyst there so no IUI next month either.

The nurse that scanned me said that she would discuss it with the doc and ring me back, which she did this afternoon.

When she rang she said that the doc wants me to take the contraceptive pill next month to clear up the cyst and that they will so a baseline scan to make sure that it has worked. All fine, all makes sense to me.

I asked her what would happen if the cyst was still there next month when they scanned and she said that it would mean that it was a permanent cyst and they would just ignore it.

I am wondering if anyone else has experience of this? I didn't know there was a difference between temporary and permanent cyst to be honest!

Not looking for medical advice, just wondering if I picked her up right. I suppose my thinking is that from what she is saying they can go ahead with IUI one way or another in March - which would be lovely as a thing to aim towards. Just a bit concerned that I might be missing something.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Neyite wrote: »

Please do.

And icky is fine too. That's what spoiler tags are for.

Thanks.

Ok, the starting point is a baseline scan. Taken either just before your period or on the first day of your period. i have never found these scans to be painful, though I know a friend of mine found them very uncomfortable so I guess it depends from person to person.

I first baseline scan I had uncovered a cyst so the IUI couldn't go ahead. The next month, the baseline scan showed the cyst again so they put me on the pill for a month. The next month the baseline scan showed the cyst much reduced so they were happy to go ahead with IUI.

I was given a perscription for purogen injections and pregnal.

I was really nervous at the thought of having to self inject (as DH is terrified of needles and would faint if he had to do it!) but actually it is fine.

There is a procedure to it, in terms of preparing the injection pen and the dosage but the nurse in the clinic (I am with the Cork Fertility Clinic) explained it in detail. For me, it was important that DH was with me when I did it, just for the first few anyway, so that I had someone to double check what I was doing but maybe that was my paranoia! I did not notice any side effects from the injections.

I started the injections on a Saturday and the following Friday morning I had another scan. This showed normal follicle development. The booked in another scan for the following Monday. Again the scan showed normal development so the booked another scan for the Wednesday morning. At that scan they told me that the IUI would be the following day. I had continued the daily injections until Tuesday night.

At the Wednesday scan when they confirmed the IUI for Thursday they told me that the daily injections were now finished. They injected me with the Pregnal in the clinic. The nurse warned me that some people found the injection painful and found the injection site was itchy or irritated afterwards, but thankfully I didn't experience pain or irritation. Again I noticed no side effect to the pregnal injection.

I was booked in for IUI at 2 on the Thursday. DH had to produce semen sample between 11.30 and 12.30 and drop it to the clinic. All went fine, until he got a call from the clinic at 1pm to say the sample was not of sufficient quality to use. He had previously gone through semen analysis and there were no issues so this was a complete shock.

Horrible situation for DH as he then had to hightail it to the clinic and produce another sample on demand, as it were. Thankfully we was able to perform and the second sample was fine. The nurse mentioned that maybe some of the first sample was spilled and he didn't notice or something like that.

This meant that I didn't know until 5 to 2 whether or not the IUI was going ahead. Safe to say that if stress stops IUI from being effective this month will be a washout!

For the IUI itself, I was brought into a scan room and met with a technician. Same procedure as a scan, strip to the waist, legs in stirrups (all that lovely dignified stuff!)

They checked both my name and DOB and DH's name and DOB a number of times, as I guess they need to be absolutely certain they are using the right sample for the right person.

The procedure begins with the technician inserting a speculum. Not pleasant, but no worse than a smear test. She then inserted a catheter in order to insert the prepared semen. To be honest, I didn't feel that at all.

That was the end of the process. She removed the speculum and I was able to get redressed and head home.

As for aftercare, I was advised to take it easy for a week. No gym and no long long walks, but apart from that I can work and get on with life as normal.

I have felt quite crampy since. I am not sure if this is just a side effect of the procedure or a sign of other better news, but I am guessing the former.

I have a baseline scan booked for Thursday week as, if this doesn't work, I intend to go for IUI again next month. If I don't get my period by that weekend then it will be time for a pregnancy test.

For now it is all crossed fingers and novenas ;-)