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 @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.

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.

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

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

@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!! 😊

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).

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!

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

@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

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry I haven’t posted for a while! We have only managed to inseminate 3 times this cycle. Because I don’t know when I’m ovulating and my cycle is irregular I’m going to do a test in a couple of weeks time if AF doesn’t appear before then.
I’m thinking if I’m not pregnant this time we will see about starting IVF again as soon as possible.

I hope everyone is doing okay.

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).

I was just reading on another thread about the supplement Ubiquinol, is anyone else taking this? I'm thinking why not alongside Proceive which I've just started taking. Hopefully it can't hurt!

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

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

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 :)

@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!

@DeeDee9898 - Congratulations that's amazing!

@MrsKin90 - Thank you 🤞
I was reading Ubiquinol is useful because it helps with the energy required for maturing eggs. Apparently our body creates it naturally but as we get older it generates less of it. I'm thinking of giving it a try along the lines of the why not theory!

I'm sorry to hear AF has arrived. Best of luck with the next cycle. I'm feeling down too. Exactly the same as you I need to lose the half a stone I have put back on since Christmas. I've only got my junk food intake to blame, comfort eating I think!

@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!😊

Congratulations @DeeDee9898 this gives us all hope! I wish you a happy and healthy pregnancy.

We have been ttc for 10 cycles but now we have gone down the insamination route to take the pressure off.

I'm currently DPO4. Xx

Thank you :) we were trying for about 8 months previous the traditional way but wasn’t happening. I don’t know if it’s because we took the pressure off or what but it’s worth a try. The syringes and cups were cheap enough off amazon to try out as well. Good luck to you all

Any updates from anyone? 😊 How is everyone getting on? AF is over for me now so getting ready to start again!

@MrsKin90 I hope this month is full of BFPs🤞🏽I just tested on FMU at 8DPO and got a bfn. Will try again in a few days x

I am DPO9 and just holing on to see how many days I can go without testing!

I hope there are lots of positives soon too!

DPO8 is still quite early so you could get a positive in a few days 🤞 xx

Hi everyone,

Yes good luck @MrsKin90 I hope this cycle is the lucky one.

@Lori23TTC - Best of luck to you, the waiting is the worst!

Sadly AF has arrived again for me. Each time I wait I still have that hopeful feeling. Although I'm disappointed again, the hope is still there, I suppose that's a good thing.

@drrb - I am sorry to hear about your BFN, 🤞 for the next one.