Artificial insemination

[PerfectionistProcrastinator]

Hi all

I initially posted this in chat but don’t seem to have any replies so thought I’d try here.

I am getting recurrent uti caused by sex whilst trying to conceive. I am at the end of my tether.

Has anyone here used artificial insemination at home for this reason? I’m in the process of looking up all the info on it and was wanting to read some peoples experiences of it and there reasons for using the method.

Sorry, OP I haven't but I do know someone who did an at-home turkey baster kind of thing for different reasons. It worked out well. Are you using the toilet straight after sex every time? That's supposed to help prevent utis.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Glad to hear it worked well for them. I’m keen to hear from anyone who has tried it!

Yes I go for a wee after sex. To be honest it’s a a problem I have had for a long time, but with my current partner it never started until trying to conceive. It seems my body can’t take too much sex within a short space of time or I’ll be rewarded with a uti 🙄. Naturally this doesn’t go hand in hand with baby making. So frustrating!

Put Vaseline over your urethra before sex and don’t dtd more than once every 48-72 hours.

I’ve read that Vaseline is not a good idea as it clogs and hangs around for a while and can lead to infection.

I’d happily only dtd every 3 days...but when ttc they say every 2 days. I’ve told my partner that we only need to it 2 times once I get a positive on digital opk. He’s convinced otherwise as we’ve been trying for a long time. Fell pregnant fairly quickly and it ended in miscarriage at 11 weeks.

Anyhow, I’ve really had enough which is why I want to try ai.

Cranberry tablets!!! I never used to get UTIs before meeting my now husband but something about the two of us together used to leave me with constant UTIs. I now religiously take cranberry tablets morning and night and only ever get UTIs if I've forgotten to take them. They've been a lifesaver!!

Without meaning to sound crude Pink...is your husband by any chance...bigger than you were used to previously? Because although I’ve had this on and off throughout my life, my current partner is bigger and I think it hasn’t helped.

We were together for 2 years sometimes having sex 2 or 3 times a day and I never had an infection! But...we were using a decent lube which I can’t use when ttc cos it kills sperm. Preseed contains parabens which leads to uti too so that’s out. I found one in the sliquid range that’s fertility friendly and we’ve been using that but still got one this month.

We were using condoms before ttc so I wonder if that makes any difference. Anyway, sorry for waffling so much...

I haven’t used the cranberry capsules for a long time but maybe I will again. I’ve been using D mannose which is supposed to do the same but nope...still got an infection.

I seem to be fine so long as we don’t have sex lots within a few days. I feel done with trying to fix myself and really want to try artificial insemination.

I used to get recurring UTI's from sex, I drink a spoon of apple cider vinegar in water every morning and it really helps prevent them , cranberry tablets also worked for awhile too ,it took over my life I was in constant pain so do try it even for a month , you need use apple cider vinegar that has the 'mother ' in it, Braggs brand is what I use

Hi Perfectionist,

I've read that larger partners can be part of the issue, but that isn't the case with him. After reading your message, I think the main issue is that previously I always always used condoms plus the pill whereas with him I've only been using the pill/coil/other female contraceptive. Funnily enough, until you said about condoms it hadn't even crossed my mind and I thought it was probably something about his ejaculate that my body wasn't a fan of :D

But either way, cranberry tables (and either a really strong ones or two or more power strength ones) have done wonders for me! Good luck figuring out a solution for you. UTIs are so debilitating :-( :-(

That’s so weird 🤔. Because other than we’re now using a different lube, nothing has changed.

DP is the only partner I ever consistently used a condom with and the only partner I never had a uti with until we stopped using them. But a quick google shows that condoms could increase the risk of uti.

How many cranberry tablets do you take and how often?

Thanks itsagrand, I’ll try that too.