Self insemination - Any success stories?!

@TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks I think it sounds worth giving it a go! What's the worst that can happen? It's not like these things can make us any less pregnant than we are!
I'm absolutely relieved AF is here tbh. I'd have preferred a baby but four days of not knowing what was going on was making me lose my mind.
Comfort eating is a hard one to crack isn't it?? Especially when ttc and with the world going to pot it's to be expected!! You can definitely lose that little bit if you put your mind to it though 😊 one pound at a time.
I'd previously lost 2.5stone and kept it off for three years. I still had at least two more to lose but since coming off BC in July I've gained 2 stone back ☹️ my eating hasn't changed that much so whilst some of it is definitely chocolate some of it must be hormones. It's so disheartening but I'm just going to use it as an extra distraction from waiting for a baby and see how I get on!😊

@TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks I hope this cycle works for you 🤞 I've never heard of ubiquinol, what does it do?
@DeeDee9898 thanks so much! 😊 Amazing it worked for you so quickly and so simply too without lube etc. Lovely to hear something positives. Congratulations! I hope you have a happy and wonderful nine months 🤗

I'm CD1 today. After deciding/announcing AF was here a few days ago I had no spotting or bleeding of any kind and my bbt started to climb back up. Shot back down today though (18dpo according to my temps) and my period has finally properly started. I was so annoyed to have a late period and no pregnancy but glad to have an answer one way or another. This cycle has been such a weird one all around. Fingers crossed for a more standard cycle this time around. 😌 I'm trying to hold off the fear that this is never going to work and my eggs are bad or something. I'm going to focus on being a bit healthier this cycle as I don't know what more I can do other than losing some weight!

We didn’t use any preseed or any special lube. BF felt the pressure was too much so I left him to do his business in a cup then I did mine. I left it for around 15 mins and I also had an O when inseminating sorry if it’s TMI. To us, doing it separate stopped the pressure we were putting on ourselves So was much more relaxed. I also kept my legs in the air after each time although I’ve read it doesn’t really do anything but there was no harm in trying :)

@DeeDee9898 congratulations! Thanks for sharing this has given me more hope. Any tips or tricks to share?

Hi all, just seen this thread and don’t know if it helps but for some positivity, I’m currently 8 weeks conceived through self insemination. It does work :) it took us 3 cycles so we were quite lucky but it can happen

Hi all.

Congrats to our buddy who got pregnant! (Sorry, it was downthread and I can't be *rsed to look up who it was exactly). I said it would work 😊.

As to syringes:

I had five, and used one for each cycle. I rinsed out the syringe and pot the day after I had inseminated and made sure it was dry when inseminating next time (every other day).

No need to use sterile ones. Penises aren't sterile either (though, yeah, if you're prone to infections, it may not be a bad idea).

@MrsKin90 haha yes, impatience and good humour seemed to do the trick back in March.

Welcome, @Lori23! It's so uplifting to have some wonderful strangers to talk to.

@LuckyFlash I do dispose of syringes but I bought a bulk of 50 for 10.99 - they're individually packed and sterilized, too: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NADHMKT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8 Not sure if you have to and cleaning them with hot water is probably completely fine as MrsKin90 said but I'm prone to infections so would rather not risk it ;)

@TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks it's been a while since we've heard from you - hope you're doing okay?

Big virtual hugs to you all x

Amazing that he was more receptive this time!! Hooray!

I reuse for as many times as I can keep it clean. The most important thing is to make sure it dries before the next use. I just clean it with hot water. When I start to feel like it isn't cleaning I use a new one.
I just bought some cheap ones on Amazon 😊 no need to go all expensive!

Thanks for the welcome! I brought the subject up again today after DTD with no success last night and this time DH was much more receptive! Progress.
So now I’m going to buy the kit for next month. There seem to be so many options (and some insanely expensive!). I thought I’d just buy some deposit cups and a syringe and start there. The ones on amazon are all disposable syringes so you buy in bulk. Obviously this makes sense from a medical POV but does it for this? Do you all dispose of the kit after each go or use the same stuff with a thorough clean? (Possibly a stupid question as I’m not sure how clean you can get a syringe).

@primrosechill you've made me feel better about just getting it in there 😂 glad to know impatience pays off!

@Hawse lovely hear success stories!! Thanks so much 😊

@Lori23 welcome to the thread! Isn't it nice that there's a small bunch of us? I'm so glad I found this thread. It's so lonely not being able to talk to anyone about it so good to know we're all in it together! Happy Peak Fertility Day to you!! 😊

Hey, I'm new to the thread and to mumsnet!

It's so reassuring for me to hear of other ladies in this position! My husband and I have been ttc since we got married last June and it unfortunately hasn't happened for us yet, we started insaminating a few months ago to take the pressure off as hubby sufferes with performance anxiety.

I cant talk to anyone about it and all I keep hearing is pregnancy announcements so I thought this might be a better chance for us as as other months we have missed o day as he hadn't been able to dtd.

I got my positive opk today so hoping to do it later! We also insaminated last night as I felt like it was coming!

Fingers crossed for all you ladies you are amazing. So glad I have people to talk to about this! Xx

@Hawse congratulations that's so encouraging to hear! I tried pre-seed but unfortunately I had an allergic reaction 🥺

In case it helps anyone, our self insemination baby girl is due June 3rd! It took us about a year using the method, but we kept at it, and it eventually worked. For us, it was more about my vaginismus and other pelvic pain than anything on the male side.

ps: we didn't use anything fancy. I got some syringes first from the NHS for free, then we used Amazon to get baby syringes and used Preseed. Thats all we really needed.

Hi @LuckyFlash - welcome to the thread! My husband was really onboard from the beginning but I suspect it's because the problem is on "my" side (I suffer from vaginismus so penetration is tough) and he just desperately wants to become a dad. One thing that we've quite enjoyed about the process is the fact that it takes the pressure off intimacy and keeps the sexy times really sexy if you know what I mean - I would imagine that sex can become quite stressful after a while if you're constantly thinking about conceiving so knowing the difference between "now we're just getting frisky for ourselves" vs "now we are inseminating to make a baby" has been really healthy for us, I think.

@MrsKin90 sorry that AF got you - so frustrating. Keeping everything crossed that next month is you month!!

@Makino We used to liquify the sperm for 15-20mins because we were told that makes the application easier. Then the month I actually got pregnant we felt more impatient so generally just inserted the sperm after a few minutes only - and that's the month it worked, so I don't know what to believe any more LOL.

@drrb you're so lovely! 😊😊 I had a big cry and got it out of my system. I'm okay now. I'm lucky in that I can choose to work at home right now whenever I wanted so I chose to work from home today so I can have my cat and my coffee machine as comfort 😂

@LuckyFlash welcome!! I can't remember my husband's reaction if I'm honest... I'm not sure I waited for one. I just said 'I bought syringes, let's make a baby' followed by him asking if it works and how we would do it. If he was horrified I was too busy naming our future children to notice.
We incorporate it into our usual ummm.. routine, it's a bit tmi for a public chat even for me (and I'm not shy!) So I'd be happy to private message (is that a think on Mumsnet? I'm still new) but probably don't want to embarrass us all by putting it on here lol others on the thread might be less prudish than me!!

Hi everyone! Can I join? I just posted a topic about self insemination and then found this thread straight after!

We have been ttc for 3 months and DH has major difficulty finishing inside me. We’ve tried lots of ways of keeping him relaxed so it happens but no joy so far. I have suggested self insemination but he was slightly horrified at the idea. Obviously we would all prefer to conceive by DTD but I just can’t see it happening for us. I suppose the other issue is that DH’s issue is caused by medication that lowers his libido so he rarely masturbates. I think possibly he’s worried that he will struggle to perform on his own as well as with me.

Did anyone else’s partner need some convincing or were they just happy to take the pressure off (as I thought DH would be!)? If so, any advice on ways to convince him this is worth a try and or ways to make insemination still feel nice and not clinical. I think his main issue is the memory of conceiving our first child being not a pleasant one.

@MrsKin90 oh sorry you've had a horrible morning, it hurts when you've tried so hard, that was me last month when AF arrived. I'm here if you want to talk, cry, anything you need really! Get through the next few days and I hope next cycle is the one for you x

@Makino I do allow the sperm to liquify for 15 minutes prior to putting it into the syringe. I watched videos on YouTube where others had done this as it's easier to syringe 🤷🏼‍♀️ I'll try anything in the hope it works! Good luck x

@Makino I don't actually but think maybe you should? I do leave it in the syringe keeping it warm with my hand for a couple of minutes before I 'use' it though.

Just updating that AF came today. I cried all morning and now I feel better. This was the month we tried our hardest and I ovulated earlier than usual and everything seem to go really well. Fingers crossed for another early O so I don't have to wait 20 days for another egg. Do other people let the sperm liquify before sucking them up? 😂

Hello ladies just wanted to ask do you liquify the semen before insemination? If so, why and for how long x

@MrsKin90 thanks for the advice regarding bubble 😊 from what I've learnt so far on MN is you are not out until AF shows

@primrosechill it's a horrible position to be in, but like you said the silver lining is you know insemination does work for you. I also suffer from vaginismus and am using the 1ml syringe too as it's comfortable for me as well!

@drrb ha! I sure hope those rumours about fertility increasing after miscarriage are true - this, and the fact that I managed to get successfully pregnant through insemination in the first place, are the only two silver linings right now! Because I've been bleeding for so long, I have actually started considering TTC even before my first period arrives - so I can start doing it sooner. But then I think that if anything was to go wrong again, I would blame myself for not letting my uterus fully recover first, so I will most likely wait for that first period after all. So much blood in 2020!

Re the bubbles - honestly, I wouldn't overthink it like @MrsKin90 said, but I find that pushing the air out first and then taking up the sperm really slowly does help :) what kind of syringes are you using? (How big are they?) I used the super small 1ml ones (like this: www.gompels.co.uk/terumo-centre-tip-syringe-luer-slip-1ml-100.html) and I found that I would get less air trapped in those - they were also super comfortable (I suffer from vaginismus) and ultimately worked.

@MrsKin90 - sorry about your BFN, although obviously check again tomorrow if AF doesn't arrive! Glad to hear that you are doing better health-wise and keeping positive. It's so nice to have this forum and know that other people are going through similar stuff.