Anyone starting IUI soon?

[aaLaa]

I have a clinic appointment tomorrow, I think to start injections, feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing, looking for others experiences and general chat/support.

This is the first cycle, anyone else in a similar position??

Ummmmm. I have been lurking. Had IUI a week ago but sperm count/motility plus my age means it will literally be a miracle if it works this month. So I'm a week away from OTD and totally calm in a "oh well" way :(

When is your OTD? If it is any help, I always did a home preg test on my BFN and BFP cycles and all were accurate by 13 dpo. I had a trigger and an additional shot of hcg 7 days post iuI....

Best of luck to you xxx

Thank you so much!

Sorry to hear things are difficult at the moment - fingers crossed for you!

My OTD is the 4th. I haven't had the chance to become much of a POAS addict, to be honest. My short luteal phase means that I normally start spotting on day 24-25th of the cycle so AF normally catches me before I have the chance to get a BFN.

They have increase my dose of progesterone precisely to stop the early spotting though, so I need to remind myself that lack of AF = BFP.

Wow. Hi. I due to start my first medicated IUI this week. I'm tying myself in knots already as AF is due today but hasn't arrived yet... I have been every 28 days for 21 years - did anyone else's cycles gone crazy just prior to starting?
I felt like it was coming early so ordered all the drugs but now feel completely normal!! It was 2 days late last month as well... I guess I'm winding myself up and confusing my body!
I just wanted to say thank you to all the people whose posts I've read over the past few months whilst I've been lurking... So many positive stories and such a strong support network. I think I'm going to like it here x x

Hi girls unfortunately I'm back, I had my bfp a few pages back but unfortuately had some bleeding a week after bfp and after a week of waiting I got the news I'd had a mc. So have pretty much finished bleeding now so just have to wait a few weeks for af to appear and hopefully we can try iui again.

Erica I def know what you mean about waiting for the call about blood tests it was awful. My clinic don't do a blood test to confirm bfp they just ask you to do urine test, the only reason I had bloods was due to bleeding. So I'd do a home test first just to prepare.

Good luck for everyone testing soon x

Welcome Hare!

This is a good place to talk to people that understand the real meaning of going a bit crazy when it comes to monitoring AF, ovulation, follies, scans & pissing on sticks!

I also feel completely normal, no PMS no preg symptoms. Then again I'm on lots of progesterone and progynova so I shouldn't expect anything to feel 'normal'.

There was a lady earlier that got her BFP just when she was meant to start her IUI treatment so knows... are you going to test??

Flower I am so sorry. My second mc was exactly the same. I just wanted to hide under a rock. Hope you have a chance to treat yourself and do nice things. On the positive side, my cycle went back to normal straight away. Sending you lots of hugs. xx

Hi Erica, definitely no BFP for me before starting, i'm married to a wonderful woman who just doesn't have the bits that could make this less difficult!! Still no AF, the more I think about it, the more I think I'm scaring it away. We've waited so long to start the process, I just want to get going!!

Flower, I can only say how sorry I am, I can't imagine how you must feel. x x

Morning ladies,

BFN for me. So sad. Starting to get the 'this is never going to happen to us' thoughts... Really feel like having a chat with my gyno, I guess I need some reassurance... But what can he say apart from 'keep on trying?'

At least I got the news at home and I can get cuddles from the husband before I have to get on with my day! Planning to have lots of cake and coffee and attend the absolutely most hardcore exercise class I can find.

Good luck everyone!!!

E x

Flower - I'm so sorry you are back. How sad it wasn't a sticky BFP. It seems so unfair when you consider what we have to do in the first place. Look after yourself for the next few days x

Erica - sorry - a very unMN hug for you. I hope you feel better in a few days after the cake.... Have you thought about accupuncture? I think you said you had a shorter literal phase and I think it can help with that....

Welcome hare. Your comment above did make me smile :) we are in the same boat DIUI albeit for different reasons :)

I'm already stepping up my exercise even though I'm 4 days from OTD. I know it cannot have worked this month and taking it easy -easier?!- just makes me grumpy.

I'm thinking of you ladies who just received the bad news x

Thanks ohdaddy,

Starting to get really annoyed and 'why me????' now. I looked into acupuncture and discarded it because it was so expensive but may have to reconsider.

I know about feeling grumpy about taking it easy. I am now resenting every missed spinning class that would have made me feel slightly less crazy!

I have an appointment with my gyno tomorrow to discuss what we do next. I am thinking two more attempts at IUI and if that fails... IVF? Not sure we can afford it but I am not ready to give up yet... I really wish we knew if there is anything else wrong with us. Short luteal phase seems to be sorting itself out with cyclogest and the sperm was fine after being washed etc. What is going on?????? wails

Special unMN hugs for flower and good luck to Wishy tomorrow!

Erica - I'm so sorry for you. I hope your appt tomorrow gives you some new hope.

Ooh Daddy - how many cycles have you had? And is it perfectly normal for your cycle to go nuts and not turn up just before you start? I'm not medicating or anything yet, just need AF to arrive so we can get on with things... I'm normally bang on 28 days. I can see how easy it could be for me to over obsess about ttc...My poor wife.

Hare - my cycles went bonkers with the stress of it! Late ovulation/no ovulation etc whereas they were and are fine, normally. It's bizarre isn't it? At one point my clinic thought I was early menopause because my blood tests were so off - I'm not! I had to distract myself each month for it to settle.

Erica - it worked third time for me with first DC. And that was the cycle I did accupuncture. I also used accupuncture with DC2. I guess that's why I rate accupuncture but I really should follow my own advice and do it again! I think it clears the imbalances we all have.... I really hope it works for you next time. Have you been trying a while before doing IUI? Is your DH doing anything too?

Thanks ladies!

I spoke to a really lovely acupuncturist when I was considering it a few months ago. The price and the commitment (12 sessions over 3 months to start with) put me off but I think I'm going to reconsider.

We started trying in August 2011 and I was pregnant in October. Mc-d in December.Got pregnant again in October 2012 and mc-d at 5 weeks. 2013 was pretty shit, my mum was very sick and then passed away last summer. We decided to get tests done in September 2013, tests came back normal, tried Clomid and HCG shot in November, December and January 2014 and first IUI February 2014.

So there has been a lot going on but yes, we've been trying for nearly 2.5 years...

My husband is trying to be healthier, specially in the days leading to IUI. Event though his initial sperm tests came back normal, the count and motility were not great in the samples for IUI (second time he had a really nasty cold, not sure that had anything to do with it). So maybe there is a problem there too?

Gyno told us that the sperm was fine for IUI after 'washing' but maybe it is part of the reason why I was not getting pregnant naturally...

Erica - poor you - what a rotten time you have had.

I'm obviously no expert but I definitely didn't have that much accupuncture. I think I had a couple of sessions for DC1. I then miscarried a year later so used accupuncture maybe three times to conceive DC2 and then had it weekly for a few weeks and stopped. If that makes any sense! Like you, money was/is tight... Where are you based?

Before we discovered we needed DIUI I looked into sperm health - it's just as important and there are various supplements eg well man multivits. I was also told then he should limit alcohol (he doesn't smoke). Oh and avoid hot tubs and tight pants.

Sorry if that all sounds patronising - tell me to shut up! :)

Of course now we are DIUI he happily drinks beer and lays in the hot tub whilst I chew my fingers pondering whether not to exercise. Mmm!

Thanks daddy ! And not patronising at all, all advice is welcome! And your comments about the husbands chillin' while we chew on our nails made me laugh!

Just back from the gyno... I am having a laparoscopy on Tuesday to find out if I have endometriosis. I have no symptoms (apart from the infertility) but my gyno thinks it's better to discard or confirm and treat if possible before moving on with more IUI or whatever. Does the fun ever end??

On the one hand, yay! We may be closer to find out what is going on! We may hopefully discard, or laser away, more obstacles on the way to pregnancy!

On the other hand, I'm totally bricking it. I have never been under general anaesthetic and I am the most squeamish person in the universe.

Obviously, the idea that I may have untreatable endo and I'll never be able to have children is to horrendous to consider right now.

Hey - doesnt sound like you do have endo though? I thought it was rarely symptomless? Hopefully you can cross it off your list soon. My clinic tested my AMH level a few years ago when I stopped ovulating, citing menopausal concerns. I knew I wasn't and that the non ovulation was frigging stress!!

Again, maybe not very helpful, but my friend just got pregnant after a year of trying. She saw a (non conventional) nutritionist who had her up her intake of good fats, reduce her running a bit and take a seaweed supplement. I think she was just a bit worn out. I do think fertility clinics are great but they have us jump to IVF very quickly....

Yeah, my doctor told not to be overly concerned since it seemed unlikely, only 20% of endo cases are symtomless. However, better to discard it.

I think it's partly because we are living in an African country. There is no social security obviously and our private healthcare only covers 3 attempts at IUI, .so the idea is that we make sure that we are not wasting 'attempts', if that makes sense.

I am feeling fairly zen about it (just scared of general anaesthesic!). TTC is starting to feel like a never ending life project full of hoops we need to jump through!

I totally agree with you with you. I wish stress and generally feeling a bit crap was taken into consideration! I can't believe they dropped the 'menopause' bomb without further tests!

How are you daddy? When are you testing?

xx

So Africa isn't that convenient for an acupuncturist in Guildford then

I don't think clinics do understand. It's all so medicalised. Obviously DH and I have no choice but to go down this route but the stress takes its toll. There is an organisation called foresight that gives lifestyle advice/vitamins etc that claims to have a better success rate than ivf which fascinates me....

Anyway OTD is Tuesday when AF is due. It's complicated by the fact that Mu clinic requires a blood test due to HEFA regulations and my clinic is an hour's drive meaning time off work so I have to persuade my friend to take the bllid and post it!!

I hope you are doing ok and remaining zen like? I totally agree about the hoops in life bit. I have always seen it like that. I tell myself it's baby steps each test/scan etc.

Christ - tonnes of typo - on my phone. Blood, not bliid :)

My wife and I got a negative, well we didn't even test as Aunt Flo started on Saturday morning. Now we are hoping to get another go in two weeks. We are unmedicated but are wondering about medicated. For those of you who are medicated what are the reasons?

I am sorry mrs w

My understanding is that medicated increases the number of follicles and therefore overall success rates. Bit you are then more likely to have twins :)

Mrs W - my wife and I start our first cycle tomorrow. I'm going to be on Suprecur & Menopur injections... I think it was given as 30% chance per cycle but with 20% chance of a multiple - multiples work for us given how bloody expensive it is!
Sorry it didn't work for you this time, fc for next. Where are you based?

Good luck hare - really hope it works for you both!

I know stories are anecdotal but menopur got my friend preg with DIUI...

Hi Wishy,

Sorry to hear. It's such a blow. Hope you and the wife have the chance to do some nice things together.

I ovulate fine on my own but with Clomid, I produce 2-3 follies which increases the chances of pg. Also increases changes of multiples, as Hare says, which I would be fine with, to be honest! :)

I think we may look at using Menopur the next cycle - read somewhere that injectables increase the quantity AND quality of the eggs? Our health insurance will pay only for one more attempt so need to give it our best shot (so to speak!).

Good luck everyone!!! xx

It is a big blow for sure you kind of spend two weeks dreaming of what could be and then thats torn away.

We are based near London and are having treatment at LWC. Just emailed them to ask about a medicated cycle as if we choose to do one we would have to start meds today I expect. This whole process is just so expensive. Onwards and upwards.

I know mrs wishy - the twoweekwait following fertility treatment is 14 days of dreams. And you are told to "relax". Yeah right, at a grand a shot!

Good luck everyone next month xx I hope it is your time xx