Self insemination - Any success stories?!

[TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks]

Hi everyone,

I have NC'd for this to save our blushes!
DH and I have just had our first round of IVF which was sadly unsuccessful after an early miscarriage.
We have 2 frozen embryos but we would like to TTC naturally for the next 6 month's first in the hope the IVF hormones might help boost our chances.
DH has always struggled to ejaculate inside me when DTD. Therefore we have decided to try self insemination in the hope it will take away some of the stress.

I would love to hear any success stories.

Also which insemination kit did you buy?

Has anyone tried a soft cup / Ferti Lily conception cup after inserting the syringe to help things along?

Thanks everyone!

Hi OP,
I just wanted to wish you luck. I didn't want to read and run! Sadly I don't have any advice to offer but would be very interested to hear responses from others.x

I know a lesbian couple who did this. It worked!

Hi OhioOhioOhio,
Thank you for your message. This is really great to hear.

We used a soft cup as had similar problems as op. It was really easy to use and worked on the first attempt with no problems. We had been trying for over 5 years before then.

Hi transformandriseup,
Thank you for your message. Congratulations on your success that's great to hear.
Would you mind me asking.....
Which soft cup you did you use?
After inseminating did you bend the cup bit back like a mushroom shape and then insert?
How long did you leave it in place?
Sorry for all the questions, I am clueless about this process and we need all the help we can get!

All I know is my friends used a turkey baster. Honestly.

Hi OhioOhioOhio,
Thank you for the tip! Maybe we should save ourselves some money on one of those kits and just buy a turkey baster!

There's a site called Put A Cup In It that has a quiz to help you choose a cup to suit your anatomy. As a cup user, Idt say get it up there with a baster and then put the cup in. I can imagine being able to fd amd insert a full cup. Good luck.

Its brand called soft cup, they're available on amazon and are a great alternative to tampons. The shape is totally different to a moon cup and are much thinner and more flexible. The actual cup part is a really thin membrane.

The only advice I can offer is after the insemination lie with your legs up and your bum tilted up, for half an hour or something! My friend struggled for a long time to get pregnant and someone told her to try this and she got pregnant the first try and then again after her first!
Sending you luck and best wishes! 🍀

Hi Her0utdoors, fedupandlookingforchange and bobstersmum,

This is all really helpful advice thanks so much.

Yes - worked twice for us. I had absolutely no faith in it but I was completely wrong!

Hi @aboutbloodytime123,
Thank you for your message. That's great to hear, I'm so glad it worked twice for you! It gives us some hope!

Do you mind me asking if you used a syringe like the ones you can get in the self insemination packs?

I'm also wondering about sterile pots. Should we use a new one each time just to be extra cautious or sterilise a pot after its used and use again? I.e with something like Dettol and boiling water?

I’m following because I’ll try anything now 😂

Do you think you’d do it the same amount of times you’d DTD in a cycle? Or just a few times around OV?

I was thinking of using the preseed applicator... 🙈

Hi @Mooey89
Thank you for your message, I'm with you, we will try pretty much anything now too!
Our plan is to use the syringe 3 times a week!
When we saw the consultant this week (follow up appt after failed IVF) we explained we were TTC ourselves for the next 6 month's which she thought was a sensible idea. I asked her about ovulation kits and she said they are a waste of time. Nobody has said this to us before.
So we intend to use the syringe 3 times a week inbetween my periods which are now irregular and I have no idea when the next one is due sadly.

I'm not sure about the pre-seed applicator, is it mainly a lubricant?! 🙈
It would be good to hear how you get on and what equipment/methods you use!

The lubricant comes in a tube but you get a number of syringes with them which resemble a calpol syringe so you can draw up the ‘liquid’ and then inseminate...

Hi Mooey89, Thank you, I will look into this!

I just wanted to say thank you for the comments so far and the PM's it has been really helpful.

DH is having trouble maintaining erections and I have finally persuaded him that we need to try for a baby!

It works for months at a time, DTD twice a week. Then it doesn’t work! His GP gave him viagra which seems to work most of the time. But the past couple of days it’s not working at all. Fertility tests have all been fine.

So looks like we may go down the self-insemination route. Just frustrated that we can’t be like everybody else, having lots of sex!

Hi @PlomBear ,
I am sorry to hear you have had similar difficulties, but very pleased all your fertility tests are fine.
I think it is a good sign that your DH is okay for months at a time. (My DH sadly has this difficulty almost all of the time).
Perhaps you can alternate between DTD naturally as and when things are working well and self inseminating?
Please don't feel concerned by the 'everybody else is having lots of sex' thing. I think the issues we have discussed on here are much more common than we realise.

@TurkeyBasterHopeItWorks
Hi Turkey sorry I didn't see you had replied. The brand we used was Instead Soft Cups which I bought from Amazon. We put a bit in the the actual cup too and then pinched the opening together and fed it in and then opened it flat against the cervix. I think I then left it in for 12 hours. It didn't hurt and you can easily forget it is there. Sorry if too much detail but it's hard to explain other wise.

Yes, worked three times for us.

Hubby has ED too.

We used an insemination syringe and a pot which I just rinsed with water the day after. We didn't use a soft cup or anything, but I always inseminated before bed, to limit back flow but also so I didn't have to lie there waiting.

I propped my bottom up with two pillows.

Other than that, we used ovulation tests mainly because pregnancies were close together and because of planning/time, I didn't want to constantly inseminate for fear I'd miss my fertile days. First pregnancy (when I was still regular like clockwork) worked on the 7th attempt. Other two on second.

Hi @transformandriseup ,

Thank you for your message, don't worry it's not too much detail, the more information the better!
I'm definitely going to try the soft cup idea.

Hi @kikibo ,
Thank you for your message, this is really helpful. I'm so glad to hear it worked 3 times for you.

Bump!