Alexia - very glad to hear that you and your OH have sorted things out!
Just to echo what others have said about sex while trying to conceive - it really is the worst. There have been many, many times when I didn't really feel like it but had sex anyway, although I do enjoy it in the end. I can totally see how it really damages people's sex lives.
Re losing an OPK - this is TMI but I once left a used sanitry towel on the sink in my (family) bathroom when I was younger. I still cringe thinking about it!
Re IUI - I've written a description of what happened for me below for those who are interested. Had definite ov pains yesterday, so fingers crossed that the sperm and eggs met up today.
Pre IUI - doctor referred me to consultant at my local hospital, after tests confirming that I ovulate, and that OH's sperm count is normal (also, in my CCG, they fund 3x IUI and 1x IVF - I'm not sure how common IUI is elsewhere).
IUI - you call the hospital when you start your period, and they book you in for a scan on day 5. Sadly it is based on availability of appts, so you might not be able to be gotten in on some months.
They scan your ovaries and lining, and keep notes of how big any developing follicles are. They take funny polaroids of them! From day 5, you start on gonal-f estrogen injections which stimulates your ovaries and the follicles to grow.
A few days later, so maybe around day 9, you return and they scan you again and adjust your dosage if needed. They'll tell you how your follicles and lining is getting on. From this point, they scan you every day or every other day as you shouldn't be too far off ovulation.
I went in on monday, (day 10) then tuesday, wednesday and scheduled my IUI for thursday. On Monday my eggs were given a double dose of estrogen but on tuesday more small eggs had grown instead of the big ones growing more. But by Wednesday, two eggs were a viable size (over 1.6cm) so they gave me the trigger shot (hcg) and scheduled my IUI for thursday. (I should say they had also been doing ovulation tests on me, but they hadn't yet come up positive, so they decided to trigger ovulation so it wasn't missed over the weekend).
The trigger shot makes you ovulate around 36 hours later, so I was scheduled for the IUI at 9am (so I should have ovulated before 8pm that day which was day 13 of my cycle). I also had to fill in consent forms saying that I had been informed about the risks, including of multiple births, and my partner had to sign ones about the use of his sperm.
One hour before the IUI, I dropped off my partners sperm at the lab for them to wash it and select the best ones to be inseminated. (He produced the sample at home at 7.15am and I had it to the hospital by 8am).
When it was time for the IUI, I undressed the bottom half, and lay on a bed in a treatment room - one of the fertility sisters who I see for all my appts did the procedure. My OH was there with me and held my hand. They put in a speculum to prop open your vagina, then insert a long thin catheter to put the sperm in as high up as possible. I had some very brief cramps during the procedure, but overall it was definitely no worse than a smear test.
The nurse let me know that I should expect to get or not get my period two weeks from Thursday, and not to take any tests before then as the trigger shot can cause a false positive. Weirdly, I was tempted to take one just to see a test with two lines!
Oh and she said to take it easy for the few days after the procedure.
Our chances are about one in five, so I'm assuming it won't work but I am trying to do visualisation of happy sperm meeting eggs (hilarious stuff!) and implanting. Assuming it doesn't work, we'll be back there for a second try in May (april is out due to easter closing at the clinic).