IUI experience

[RoloM610]

Hi
Wondering if anyone has gone through the IUI process and willing to share their experience. Any tips or things you wish you had know before going through with the process.

I have been referred for x3 IUI cycles
TTC for just over a year now. Both mine & OH test have all come back clear.

Thanks

Same here, we are classed as unexplained, all test results were fine. I'm waiting to start our Iui treatments as well I'm curious to hear some feedback/experience.

I've been through IUI in February this year so I will give you my experience! We had an information session in January to sign the paperwork and show us how to administer the injections. My hospital only do medicated IUI so I was given 50g of clomid to take on CD 2-6 and menopur injections on CD 6,8 and 10. I had internal scans on days 6, 10 and 13. On day 13 after my scan the nurse booked us in for the IUI on CD15 and told us what time to give the trigger shot. We arrived on IUI day. My husband gave his sample at 1pm and I was booked in for 3pm. So we just had some lunch in-between and tried to pass the time, which was the worst part. At 3pm we both went into a room and checked the sample had the right name etc. It did throw me off because the washed sperm was pink! The nurse inserted the sample and then I had to lie down on the bed for 10mins. That was it!! The nurse gave me paperwork to fill in so they could know the outcome. I also asked for my next prescription of clomid which we then got from the pharmacy. I had some cramping for the next few days but all in all it was a relatively stress free experience. I went for a spa day on CD13 so I was really relaxed. It was also half term and both me and my husband were off work as we are teachers. If you can, I would take the whole day off work for the actual IUI. It is emotionally exhausting. Anyway to my utter surprise and shock 2 weeks later I was holding a positive pregnancy test. It worked! I am now 18 weeks pregnant!! I honestly didn't expect it to work. Mentally I just told myself if was another step to go through before heading towards IVF. I hope my ramblings make sense and if you have any other questions then please feel free to ask! X

Hi @DisneyGirl2387,
Thank you for sharing your experience, what was your initial diagnosis and your age?
Can I ask how easy/difficult was to do the injections? Have the meds grown more then one follicle? Has the clinic advised to take any supplements prior the treatment. And how many iui cycles did the clinic suggest to do?
Many thanks X

I'm 32 and our issue was my side, in that don't ovulate on my own without medication. I had previously had 6 months of clomid with no luck. We were planning on doing 3 cycles of IUI back to back. In our trust if we had declined IUI and gone straight for IVF we would have forfeited our IUI. Other trusts are different and you can mix and match so to speak. I was really worried about the injections but it was so easy. My husband took control and dealt with all of that. We injected into my tummy and it didn't hurt at all. Our hospital ideally wanted up to 3 follicles for maximum success and I only had 1 that had grown (23mm on CD13). They didn't mention anything about any vitamins/supplements x

Hi@DisneyGirl2387,
Thank you for your story and congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope everything goes well X

Thank you Chicasimona!
Good luck for your treatment. I hope it all goes well for you. X

I'm 40, had 3 iui done last year, all failed. I switched clinics but haven't started yet (crossing fingers for the current natural cycle of course). The process itself is easy and mostly painless. However, I found out, although indirectly, from the new specialist that the old clinic was basically setting me up for failure so that I'm forced to do ivf with them. My AMH and FSH are great, so I have a ton of eggs, due my age about half aren't good. So when the old clinic was happy with 3 follicles with only one large, I never even had a chance. The numbers the new specialist gave me are as follows - third of the eggs won't even fertilize, after that half aren't viable. So with one follicle and those numbers, the success is close to zero. For younger people it's a bit higher, but still low. People go for ART because clearly the natural way didn't work, doing iui with only one follicle requires a miracle. So keep that in mind. Oh, and the old clinic wasn't even doing an ultrasound to see if i even ovulated after the trigger.

If this cycle fails, his (new clinic) process is letrozole on days 3-7, high dose of Gonal F on days 3, 5, 7. Scan on day 9. Then I'm guessing Gonal F dose might be adjusted. But he's basically aiming for 5-6 18-20mm follicles before the trigger. In comparison, the old clinic had me start Gonal F on cd7.

Hi @KatBeCool,
I was told that my clinic would cancel the cycle if there are more than three mature follicles, as the risk of multiples is too high. I'm surprised your clinic is pushing for 6 follicles maybe just a different protocol who knows. But it is discussing they put you through this just so you start IVF.

@Chicasimona they want more from me due to my age. I was actually doing some reading earlier, one person had ten mature follicles (and yes, for IUI), that sounds a bit overboard. And don't forget, the three you want is three 18-20mm follicles, not just three total. One cycle I had 7 total, but only two were mature. Some clinics don't seem to see the difference and cancel if over three of ANY size as long as at least one is over 18mm. That makes no sense to me.

@DisneyGirl2387 thank you so much for sharing your experience, it was really helpful. Congrats on your pregnancy. Hope its all going well.
Bit personal but was there any restrictions on DTD before or after the procedure?

@Chicasimona nice to chat to someone going through a similar experience. Are you going through NHS? When are you due to start treatments? Im waiting on an initial appointment for all the information, im guessing there might be a bit of a delay due to COVID

@katbecool thanks for sharing. Hope the cycle results in a positive outcome.

Hi @RoloM610
I've done 6 months Letrozole just before the lockdown and spoken to the consultant last week who wanted to refer us for IVF. I don't feel ready for IVF as yet and we want to try Iui first, it will be self funded.
So we are now waiting for the consultation same as you, the nurse told us that the clinic is in process setting up the technology to arrange video conferences due to Covid. She has also mentioned that there are about 50 ladies on the wait list so let's see when can we start.

Thanks for all the advice and hope! Congrats on your success!.... I am 36 and have started medicated IUI yesterday, I'm taking Menupor injections for a week before I go for scans and next steps..... I am having low expectations as I am aware that IUI is not as successful as IVF, but still trying to be positive, and your success story is very comforting..... this is a paid cycle which we decided to do, so if its not a success will move on to NHS IVF.