The SI Undergraduates: Syringes, Yoghurt Pots and Legs in the Air part 4

[MrsKin90]

I hope this name is okay. It's late and nobody is volunteering so it'll have to do 😂

Starting yet another thread on self insemination before our other one kicks us out!

Welcome to THE most supportive group you could wish for if you’re starting or you are already on a self insemination journey.
Remember, nothing is TMI and you are not alone. 💖

Err tagging at random but likely to forget someone...

@Makingnumber2
@Janefx40
@primrosechill
@Sydney1986x
@Birchybirch
@Lori23TTC
@Oilyoilyoilgob
@Carol1980

I know I've definitely missed people 😬 sorry!

I'm not tagging our bfp ladies right now (would you want to be tagged?! I've no idea) but hope they keep an eye on us and chip in often with wisdom and support ❤️

@MrsKin90 bmi gives me the rage too, it can’t be one size fits all on height, that’s my opinion anyway 😌 bmi at our local ivf has to be under 30 so I’m ‘safe’ as such but I expect (which is fair enough) to be told getting to 25 or under will give me optimum health. I will most certainly be sticking to my bag of crisps or mini cheddars, I need some fun in my life 😂

@suzy124 hello and welcome to the thread! I hope you have all the luck in the world trying to SI and this is the best place to be for it-we’ve had lots of ups and downs together on these threads. I started out this journey last year feeling so alone but this group is wonderful.
My husband has erectile dysfunction/delayed ejaculation, we see a psychosexual therapist which has been fantastic for us and last month did the full deed over ovulation. It’s getting much better but as SI keeps the pressure off it’s been a godsend.
We use SI currently as our main method, it’s helped to keep intimacy and ttc separate in a good way 😊
He normally pops a deposit in a cup, either of us then keep it warm for 10 mins to liquify then I use a 5/10ml syringe with a cushion underneath me and my legs up in the air resting against the headboard/wall. Bring myself to orgasm at least once and try and keep in this position for as long as poss. The last couple of cycles I’ve also been inserting a softdisc overnight/all day to try and keep the sperm near my cervix.

This is a lovely group to be happy, sad, up, down-anything you want in what can be a very lonely and sometimes sad time. It’s so supportive here, wishing you lots of baby dust on your journey 💚✨

Thank you @MrsKin90 😊 that would be so amazing but fully expecting AF to show as it feels too good to be true that my body would be in a place to fall pregnant again so quickly after the d and c- but you never know!!

@suzy124 DH and I have been ttc number 2 since June last year so nearly a year but we only started using the SI method in December I think it was. Due to DH’s DE we were struggling with him actually ejaculating on the key dates during FW so looked to find another method and this group is a god send! I fell pregnant using SI on cycle 3 but sadly it was a missed MC/empty sac pregnancy. We started using just syringe and pot method similar to others. Then on cycle we conceived I had put a soft disc in after SI but only did that once on one of the days. We aim to SI every day of FW. This cycle we have done 4 SIs and I’ve put a soft cup in every time afterwards. This cycle I’ve also started keeping pot warm on my tummy Under my top to help it liquefy- didn’t used to do that previously. I then suck it into syringe and insert, I try to depress syringe when I’m O-ing. This cycle I’ve found that a lot of the semen is staying in syringe sort of behind the presser- not sure why- it’s annoying. Maybe syringes are dodgy. But I just empty what’s left into soft cup before popping it in. Then I do 10 mins pelvis tilted with pillows under bum. We use round ended 5ml syringes from amazon. I also started taking conceive plus fertility support and Ubiquinol 100mg supplement about 3 weeks ago and will keep going with those til we fall pregnant.
Hope this is helpful!

@Sydney1986x how did your therapy go? I’m glad you have a nice weekend to look forward to ❤️
I think I’m DPO2 so in my tww now, I had some sad news yesterday so feel a little all over the place but I hope a BFP in a few weeks will make things better 🤞trying to stay positive!

@suzy124 welcome! I hope this method works for you like it has done for many women on this thread, it does help with some of the pressures of ttc.

My hubby suffers with performance anxiety so can’t finish in me, we have been ttc for 20 months, never been pregnant before so when in my tww I never really know what to look for 🤣 my symptoms are different for every tww and I’ve almost stopped getting my hopes up now as you just can’t tell!
We have done lots of different methods, soft disc, syringe (various different sizes) but this cycle I got hubby to do it in a soft disc, while I put some pressed in me, I then syringed the swimmers up into a vaginal applicator after about 5 mins, very slowly press the syringe down while trying to O as the same time - this can be tricky! I then leave the syringe in for 30 mins with my legs up, take it out and replace with soft disc which I cover in pressed all around the inside then try and O again - I don’t always tho.
Then keep my bum elevated if possible abd sleep with the disc in.
We tend to do every other day once my opks start to show a line and then everyday if hubby can when I get a high/peak OPK until my bbt goes up and I know I’ve ovulated.
And don’t worry if you are not able to O like that I’ve easy up on it and they can it can help but it’s not essential, I brought a bullet vibrator to help and it’s so much easier now!!
Good luck! X

That didn’t make sense - the end was meant to be ‘I’ve read up on it and they can help but it’s not essential’ ❤️

Wow so many replies! Thank you every single one of you for the warm welcome and sharing your stories/method with me, I find it very helpful.

I just have a couple of questions (sorry if they're dumb!):

• In terms of warming the sperm for 10mins to make it liquefy, is this only important for the action of sucking it from the pot into the syringe? My OH deposits directly into syringe and then I'm inserting into myself asap so the swimmers are only out of the body for a a minute or so. I always figured the less time in the air the better?

• Do you think it's essential to use a fertility lubricant? Pre-seed made me burn so can't use it, tried BabyDance last cycle and seemed ok but I'm not a huge fan of using lubricants in general as I'm quite sensitive. Been trying to get myself 'in the mood' while OH does his thing so there may be more fertile CM but I'm pretty sure you produce it whether you're aroused or not?

• When depressing the syringe, is it important to aim towards cervix? I've never been able to find mine, so I'm just slowly syringing without aiming any particular way and hoping for the best.

@Janefx40 I'm so sorry for what you've been through but also amazing to hear that IVF has been successful for you. Are you planning to try another cycle again soon? x

@Carol1980 I'm really sorry that you have suffered two MC's, but like you said there's a little glimmer of hope in there in that it definitely works (I know that doesn't take the pain away) x

@Oilyoilyoilgob That's amazing to hear that therapy is working for you and were able to dtd last month. My OH has been referred for his DE, but honestly I don't really see him going along with therapy even if it's offered. So yes, SI is a godsend! x

@Makingnumber2 That is strange about the syringes, does sound like they may be a faulty batch as I've never seen this happen before. I take it your ovulation day is regular each month if you SI every day of FW? Mine varies each month so have been using SMEP as don't want to wear OH out before I get positive opk! x

@Lori23TTC I am the same in the 2ww, I seem to have new symptoms every time but they turn out to be nothing. I told myself not to symptom spot this month but it's impossible! And thank you, I do hope not being able to O won't matter much, I've read conflicting things about whether it actually helps or not x

@suzy124 and @Lori23TTC I agree if anyone struggles to orgasm, during nov/Dec/jan with my very poorly cat and losing her and stressing over miscarriage I just couldn’t orgasm every time we did SI. My brain was just shut off due to depression.

The way I take it, it can’t be that every baby on this planet was conceived when a woman orgasmed. I’ve read that the cervix dips for the so erm during orgasm so I’m sure it helps but if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t happen 😊

I’ve bought pre seed but never used it!

Lori I’m sorry you’ve had sad news, I hope you’re ok 💚

@Sydney1986x if you had it, I hope therapy helped you and hope you’re ok.

I’ve been suffering with head pains and now body pains, no other symptoms linked re AstraZeneca so I’m hoping when it started last week it was due to my period, and I think I now feel a bit run down and aching joints from my second mmr. I’m back working so feeling brighter and still just looking after myself as well as I can mentally and physically, including trying to be in bed for 9pm 👵🏻😅

Hope everyone is ok xx

Thanks for those msging me to check in, much appreciated. Going to read through now and catch up.

@Lori23TTC I am sorry you got some sad news, I hope you’re ok? Really hoping you get your BFP too, wishing you all the luck in the world!

@Oilyoilyoilgob I did have therapy thank you, it will so helpful, validating and just good to have someone not give me the whole ‘it will happen when it happens, I don’t know what to say, when you relax it will happen, stop stressing’ which everyone else seems to tell me. I will be seeing her fortnightly.

AF has been an absolute nightmare, SO painful but my bloating is starting to ease now. My fertility monitor has arrived so setting that up this evening.

Hope everyone is doing ok x

@Sydney1986x so pleased to hear it went well, that’s fantastic news, and great it’ll be every fortnight for you 😊 It’s definitely good to unload on someone not biased and like you said not saying the absolute (yet normally well intended) shite that gets said.

A client/friend ended my day talking about a room in our house, all very innocent and normal but finished going out the door with ‘it would make an amazing kids playroom’ well that was like a dagger to my heart. They have no idea about struggles/miscarriage/ivf consultation but I really really wish people would bloody think.
This is why I never, ever make comments to friends about engagements/marriages/babies.

It’s so painful hearing it and like you said, the ‘just relax’ ‘etc etc It’s just so frustrating 😠😔

Urrrrrgggghhhh I got the dreaded ' honestly if you stop stressing or thinking about it you'll get pregnant ' from someone who's hubby just needs to look in her direction and she's pregnant !

I honestly wish if folk don't know what to say that is constructive then just shut the fuck up!

Anyway, I've had a raging headache all day and this cold i caught is definitely hanging around a bit more than I'd like but 🤷‍♀️

Now 3dpo, took my second dose of progesterone cream and hopefully it is working ! Also bought some of that low strength aspirin to take one a day too 😁

Hopefully this is our month ( again) we managed to do 3 SI's and 2 BD where hubby was able to 💦 so best of both worlds this month really !

@suzy124 I am BEYOND interested as to how your man is able to ejaculate straight in to the syringe ? Please explain !!
You can either wait for it to liquidate or draw it straight up in to a syringe, I used to just immediately draw it up but because it's quite thick sometimes it's better to wait a little bit.

@Carol1980 aaaargh the comments! To be honest yesterday I just wanted to stop being a nice adult and say Fuck You to her. Literally tell her to fuck off.
But instead I just smiled while dying inside and said ‘we’ll see’. I told her late last year we were trying to have a baby, she got pregnant within two months of trying which of course is fantastic, but I just wish people would bloody think before spewing words out 🙄

Good luck to you in your tww and to everyone else coming up to SI and tww.

Hope everyone is alright xx

@Oilyoilyoilgob thing is she knows that we've been trying for ages 🤷‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

@Carol1980 see this is where my mind just goes ‘huh’? They know we are trying (I’d told said friend in December that we’d already been trying for months) so the fact that I’m not pregnant may well indicate there are issues there.

I just want to knock my knuckles on their foreheads while shouting ‘think’! God I’d actually love to do that. Or just tell them to shut the fuck up 😅

Sorry for ranting but it’s actually made me feel really good imagining the bollocking I want to give everyone that says flippant comments 😁

@Carol1980 your guess is as good as mine! He does his thing separately to take the pressure off and was the one to actually suggest doing it this way. When we started initially with the cup I found it stressful trying to get it all into the syringe and felt like was wasting loads, especially if there wasn't much to work with.

Oh and I can't believe how ignorant some people are, you ladies have shown more restraint than I ever would!

Anyone coming to the end of their 2ww? AF is 4 days away and cramping still ongoing..

Well first month using the syringe method and AF has arrived.

This month dh did it in a cup and then sucked it into a syringe (I tried to do that part but it literally made me gag ), meanwhile I inserted some pre seed 15 minutes beforehand and then inserted the syringe, had an orgasm and then lay still for 30 minutes. Does this all seem ok?

Any tips for next month?

@inkworks273 sorry to hear AF came. I'm not as experienced in the syringe method as some of the ladies on here but it sounds like you did everything right. I also prop my hips up when lying still just in case gravity helps! Fingers crossed for you this cycle!

@suzy124 Thanks! I put a pillow under my hips to help with that. I've just ordered the clear blue digital ovulation sticks too so hopefully I'll have all bases covered.

@inkworks273 think I'm gonna try those too if this month goes tits up. I'd be interested to use them alongside my remaining cheapies and see if the clear blue gives extra warning.

Why does everyday feel like a year when ttc? Before it felt like I was always on my period!

Hello ladies, just checking in after a week of silence - I can see a few new names on here, hello @suzy124 @inkworks273 and anyone else whom I might have missed!

@Oilyoilyoilgob that's amazing news about your AMH, this is going to play in your favour if you do decide to do ivf in the end - I believe both you and @Lori23TTC mentioned this might be the next step for you ❤️

Also so pissed off with the "just relax" / "it will happen when you least expect it" comments. A friend of mine announced she is pregnant, naturally, despite the two of them dealing with PCOS, endometriosis AND male factor. I am so chuffed for them because it is a literal miracle but also the dark side of me instantly goes "if they can do it with all these obstacles then why the hell isnt it happening for us?!" I suppose I should find this encouraging actually.

So, we're doing ivf - I'm on day 10 of stims today and my egg collection is scheduled for monday. So far so good - I have some mild side effects of the hormones but nothing major and the follicles are growing as expected - I will either have a fresh transfer this cycle or freeze all the embryos for the next one, depending on blood test results today - tbc. I am just excited to be trying something new tbh and find the whole process quite fascinating.

@Carol1980 sorry this round didn't work out for you and hope you're doing alright.

Big hugs to everyone, especially some of the "oldies" on here (hi @MrsKin90! 👋🏼) Thinking of this thread often and love what a supportive community this is - I still massively believe in SI and wish you all the best ❤️

@primrosechill it’s SO good to hear from you and I’m absolutely delighted for you that this stage of ivf has been good so far-fantastic news 🥳😊👏🏻 Let us know how your blood tests go.
You sound in a really great place and great news there’s been no major side effects!
I really really hope this gets you your BFP.

We have a zoom consultation with the ivf consultant at 6pm this Wednesday, I’m looking forward to finding out more about starting the process 😊

I’m cd 13 and up to now no raising levels on my opk. I’ve really suffered with bad head pains since Easter Monday and then effects from my second mmr, but I’m still eating healthy and we are just about to go for a big fat walk. I’m determined to lose at least another 7lbs and continue to get physically fitter.
The sun out is definitely lifting my mood, and I hope it’s out for all of you lovely ladies xx

@Oilyoilyoilgob have a lovely walk! Yes the sunshine makes a big difference. Sorry about your horrid head - hope it passes soon and you get you OPK surge

@primrosechill lovely to hear from you. Glad it's going well. Best of luck for EC on Monday and presumably for taking your trigger tonight. Top tip - prepare it 15 mins early so you don't have to feel stressed at the time of injection. Good luck!! Xxx

Thanks for the tips @Janefx40 - I followed it and just did my trigger shot, exactly to the minute at the prescribed time. Taking it out and prepping a bit earlier deffo helped ☺️

@Oilyoilyoilgob sorry to hear about the headaches, hope it's nothing serious and gets better soon. Exciting that you are having your ivf consultation on wednesday - maybe we can have a "sister" IVF theead to this one haha, similarly to the graduate one for the pregnant ladies ;) but of course keeping everything crossed that this is your cycle and you get your bfp xx

Hi ladies hope all are well x

With the lifting of travel restrictions in Scotland we took advantage and went to our holiday home at the cost on Friday and it was bliss !!

I'm finding that the progesterone is either a placebo for me or it is actually helping me sleep a bit better !! I did read that that was a benefit of it !

Been taking it since 2dpo, rotating the placement, so inner arms, belly and inner thigh so far.

I don't know if it's also had a positive effect on my general mood ? For some reason I feel so positive this month that we will be successful ? But might just be my silly brain playing the usual tricks on me !!

Back at work tomorrow after a lovely 2 weeks off ! Wish I didn't have to go back but we're def a few years off of my being able to go back to part time working !!

@primrosechill lovely to hear from you and that's great news about the ivf journey so far x I've got everything crossed for you x

So 6dpo today and I've resisted the urge to crack open the IC.....if this progesterone works then hopefully I'll be implanting in the next few days !

Going by last month at this stage I had a little cramping but nothing much and tender breasts, I don't have that as yet today, I did think it weird that I got it so early last month, but it used to be a definite AF symptom for me prior to my daughter being born but I think my breast feeding kinda knocked it out of synch so I get it on occasion but not every month.

I don't actually know what to do this month? Do I wait until my app tells me that I should test in 6 days 🤷‍♀️ or should I just wait until 14dpo and if it's a negative stop the progesterone cream ?

I know that right now I'm thinking awww just rellax and wait for AF to show and if it doesn't then test.....but I also know the closer I get to between 10dpo and 14dpo I'll be POS mad !!

@primrosechill pleased to hear your first trigger shot went well and glad that you haven’t had too many side effects from hormones etc.

@Oilyoilyoilgob hope your headache has gone by now! It has been beautiful weather here this weekend and we have spent yday and today lazing in the garden and walking round parks.

@Carol1980 how fab you got to go away to your holiday home! Bet it was wonderful to relax and just have a change of scene. We are cycle buddies this month as I’m 6dpo too! I had actually not been thinking about TWW at all until this morning when I had to pee twice in 30 mins before heading to park and after being there for 40 mins needed to pee again. Then once home I have deffo been peeing frequently compared to my liquid intake. All very odd. Could be something or nothing as it’s waaaaay too early for pregnancy symptoms. Although a tiny part of me has wondered if my hormone levels didn’t return totally to 0 before conceiving again, could symptoms like that show earlier as hormone levels could rise faster as they didn’t start from 0? I suspect that’s totally unscientific thinking but I have been musing upon it this afternoon but and indulging in some wonderful symptom spotting threads care of Google I’m back to work from Tues so hopefully that’ll help the time pass faster and distract me enough to avoid POAS until 12dpo at the earliest!
Thinking of everyone on the thread and hoping you’ve all had a wonderful weekend xx

Hi I’m new here! I have been TTC for 15 months and heard about SI from my friend and have been curious about it. I was wondering if someone could give me a little bit of information about how to start it and what I need ect x

Hi @HannahAD and welcome!
Things I have bought and used since DH and I began SI in December:

• 5ml round headed sterile syringes from Amazon
• Soft discs from amazon (can insert after SI or can get partner to deposit directly into the disc then insert- so no need for pot and syringe)
• Conceive plus fertility support tablets

-Ubiquinol 100mg supplement from Amazon

This cycle we are continuing with syringe and pot (we use a clean tupperware pot sterilised with boiling water about 20 mins before it's used) and I am also inserting a soft disc about 15 mins after SI. I always lie with pelvis tilted for 15 mins after SI with pillows under my bum to help. I also always orgasm after SI as I've read it may help.
I take the supplements daily with yoghurt as I've read Ubiquinol best absorbed with fatty food. We did conceive on second cycle of SI after trying conventional method for 6 cycles and no joy. Sadly ended in MC, but the method does work- so I hope it works for you and you get a sticky bean .