IUI experiences?

[RubaiyatOfAnyone]

I’d be really greateful if anyone could share their experiences (and particularly any opinion on the efficacy) of IUI?

I’m in a bit of a weird situation - i had a MMC in August of last year, and was told not to try again for at least one cycle. Just after that DH got a new job that takes him to high Zika areas every few weeks. The advice is not to try to conceive for 6 months after visiting these areas, and we’re obviously not going to have a clear 6-month window any time soon. Add in that i’m 40 and cannot hang around, we have decided to try IUI instead, using sperm frozen before he first travelled.

I am naturally worried about the whole thing - expense, risk of no success, having to possibly proceed to ivf due to age with another whole lot of expenses, etc. Any positive stories would be very gratefully received.

[MissConductUS]

I got pregnant with my first by IUI. It's not a long or difficult procedure. The success rate really depends on your fertility and the quality of the sperm. It helps by getting a concentrated sample of the sperm in the best possible location.

For me the cost was covered by insurance, but if you're paying out of pocket it's a lot less than IVF, so definitely give it a go first.

Good luck.

[RubaiyatOfAnyone]

Oh, thank you, that's a lovely first response to get :-)
I could see so many discussions on here of IVF and relatively few on the success or otherwise of IUI. Also - congratulations!

[MissConductUS]

Thanks. I think you don't see much discussion of IUI because it's a pretty minor procedure and will have been tried already by almost everyone doing IVF.

I was 39 when my first was born and 41 with number two. The second was a happy accident. We weren't really trying, just not using BC. My fertility specialist told me that it's quite common for a successful first pregnancy to clear up fertility issues and to have the next one the old fashioned way.

That first DC is off at uni now and the second is in the process of applying. Great kids, both of them.

[Zest11]

Hello,

I am able to have 3 IUIs on the NHS before trying IVF for unexplained infertility and so we are doing that as it is less invasive and I thouht it would be less emotionally draining! I have had 1 which failed and had my 2nd last week. The procedure is really straightforward. I took clomid at the beginning of the cycle, went in for a scan on day 10 to count the follicles. Then I went in for the insemination which is just like a smear test or less painful than that around a day - 36 hours after the LH surge. Sorry I don't have a success story...

[CritterTamer]

Hi OP
Of course it's entirely up to you which route you go down, but I would tell you the advice I was given by my clinic - at age 40 the success rate of IUI is around 5% per cycle which is similar to trying naturally. The IVF success rate at that age is 15-20% per cycle, so having limited funds we opted to go straight for IVF and put our money where the best chance was. Two IVF cycles later I'm now 20 weeks pregnant with twins and do put that success down in part to being able to pick the 2 best of our 11 embryos after watching them develop in the embryoscope for 5 days. Not trying to influence you either way but if your funds are limited then its worth considering whether you will still be able to afford IVF if the IUI fails.

Good luck whatever you decide to do 😊