Unexplained Infertility...are the odds any good for sucess with IUI or IVF?

im almost 24 and have been TTC for nearly 2 years - have been told it's unexplained, husbands sperm is fine, my tubes are clear. had clomid for 2 cycles and nada, now trying it again for 4 cycles and doc is telling me to go for IUI and then ivf, i just feel like im rushing to the unnatural methods too fast but at the same time im losing hope so i want to try everything. do u think it's too early for me to consider IVF? xx

IUI worked for me and I had a similar diagnosis.

You should be able to get it on the NHS.

It's a bit like animal husbandry and not especially romantic but it gives the sperm more chance to get to where they need to go.

Good luck.

Congrats to Gmakes3 Upwind what clinic in Sweden were you considering? I am thinking of going to Scandinavia and am considering my options. I am going straight for IVF, but really my decision is based on reading more success stories about this method. I am 36 and after a lap and dye in July I have to wait till December to even get a follow up appointment let alone get put on any lists . So, I am going to seek treatment privately.

Congrats to Gmakes3 Upwind what clinic in Sweden were you considering. I am thinking of going to Scandinavia and am considering my options. I am going straight for IVF, but really my decision is based on reading more success stories about this method. I am 36 and after a lap and dye in July I have to wait till December to even get a follow up appointment let alone get put on any lists . So, I am going to seek treatment privately.

Haven't read whole thread, but I would go straight for IVF. I spend years doing IUI and AIs and then got pg on first IVF. I did nearly get hyperstimulation though which was not good. I think IVF is worth a try - if nothing else it speeds it all up as 3 tries seems to be the point at which you're likely to get pg. Unexplained infertility is awful but IVF does, quite often, seem to get around whatever is causing the problem. Lots of luck.

hello I have a ds of 7 me and dh have been ttc for 4 years, we had lots of investigation then were labled unexplained secondary infertility. Our area doesn't offer iui or ivf on nhs so we went private.

Our consultant said to try iui first because a) it is about a third of the cost of ivf and b) while we go through iui it may show up where our problem is.

We were sceptical as success rates are v.low but we tried iui in july and we are now 9 weeks pregnant and on cloud 9.

ps our iui cost just under £700 was easy and painless sending you best wishes and baby dust

I've had 2 complete IUI cycles and one failed (too many eggs) all were unsuccessful. So I'm not a fan of this treatment, like an earlier poster I found it terribly invasive and time consuming with the scans and clinic appointments, My judgment my be clouded by the fact that it was unsuccessful, but DH has said he will never do any more IUI as he disliked it also. We have also had one full IVF cycle and a frozen transfer, both also unsuccessful, but personally I found the IVF easier. There was so much less guess work, each stage felt like a mini success. successful stimming, egg collection, fertilisation, thawing, dividing etc, despite the overall out come I know DH and I can make an embryo (albeit in a perti dish) Our next step is find out why we are unsuccessful at implantation stage and then we might just crack it. (I'm 31 btw and have been ttc for 5 years)

Speak to you consultant, IUI may be your bingo treatment and you can still be on the ivf waitlist doing something proactive iykwim. I wish you all the best. I?m glad there are some good IUI stories here and please don?t be put off by mine. As I see it you have everything to gain and little to loose.

Thanks for the congrats. Sadminster it was stimulated both times. I was lucky to get NHS for the first as we got the GP to send a referral 2 weeks before I was 35. I say lucky because I did not know what the cut off points were. This time we had to pay but when it works its the best money ever spent.Always wanted a big family but if its 3 under 3 then its a bit of a challenge.

Claire. As GMakes says, they wash the sample (and it comes back pink!) Amongst other things, it increases the motility - in my DH's case, his motility (which was already pretty good) went up from 76% to 94%.

GMakes - congratulations! My blood test levels were so low they made me repeat them twice (all fine now) so I knew there was virtually no chance of twins!

Gmakes3 that's great news! Congratulations!

Was it a natural cycle IUI or was it stimulated? I don't suppose the NHS paid for it either.

Hi. yes they do wash it first, I guess dh swimmers are lazy and need a leg up. V excited/nervous but have also been told may be twins as v high levels in blood preg test. Won't know for another 10 days.

dunno what happened there but it was meant to say 'Congrats Gmakes3!'

Congrats !

With IUI do they do anything at all with the sperm before it is inseminated? Have I read that they can 'wash' it extract the best swimmers or have I been having odd ttc dreams and have made that up

Had IUI after ttc 7 years (unexplained fertility), was 36 and worked 1st time. Now 38 and just had 1 cycle of IUI and again worked 1st time, much cheaper than IVF and suposedly less invasive, though feels invasive enough at the time, but only have good things to say of IUI with my expierience. 1 DD 22 months and now 5 weeks preg.

We had also reached the point where my consultant had said that the next step was IVF. There is a very long waiting list in our area, so we had planned to go to Sweden to have it done as it would have worked out MUCH cheaper than having it done privately here. A couple of weeks later I was shocked to discover that I was pregnant.

I used to get extremely frustrated and when told, "relax, and it will happen" but in the end it did happen when we had resigned ourselves to IVF.

We were diagnosed with unexplained secondary infertility after ttc for 4 years after my dd was born. Did clomid which was vile then went straight for IVF - we were told chance with IUI was no greater than with well timed sex. We were given about a 60% chance of success with IVF & did get pregnant but had a second trimester miscarriage.

I then did an ovulation induction cycle (though I ovulate normally) & got pg with my ds. It was basically what you do with a stimulated IUI cycle - injectable FSH - but with just sex. So who knows what would've happened if we'd opted for IUI originally. Next pg was spontaneous although sadly I miscarried at 17 weeks.

My DB and SIL have unexplained infertility.

They have had IVF three times and got pregant each time.

Now have 3 DC's.

there is definetly hope.

I think that there is only a point to additional tests if they will change treatment. I assume you both have a healthy lifestyle and you've been charting at some point?

Have you also had a hysterscopy and laparoscopy? They can be done together, and my gynae claimed it was the only way to really check the tubes and uterus for problems. He was not keen on IUI for unexplained infertility, claiming that studies and his experience had both shown it to be little use. I fell pregnant naturally in the end.

I had unexplained fertility as well (am 39) and we decided to try IUI (with Clomid) privately while progressing through the NHS system for IVF. I know the statistics aren't great but I was keen to try something that was less invasive to start with (it's also a lot cheaper privately), as there was no real reason why it wasn't happening. We were lucky - it worked first time and I'm now just over 7 weeks . My cycle is pretty regular so I didn't need that many scans to work out when I was going to ovulate.

If I'd had the three sessions of IUI we'd planned for before moving to IVF, I realise I might not have been so positive! It might be worth finding out if you can have IUI (on the NHS) while you're on the waiting list for IVF so you don't waste too much time. The statistics for IVF are much better but the treatment is also longer and more time-consuming.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I'd still love to know what was stopping us conceiving natually but I'm not sure it's that easy to have all these extra tests.