Infertility Support Group
In vitro fertilization is one of the most common and utilized ways of treating conception problems. This support group is dedicated to those beginning their journey with IVF and needing support. Join the community and share your experiences, advice, and story with people going through similar challenges starting a family.
So we're finally there. My husband & I have been trying to conceive for 31 months now & with the help of our Reproductive Endocrinologist & after several different various attempts we've finally decided to try IUI. We would have earlier but since IUI's here cost $2,500-3,000, we had to take our time budgeting wisely to save up money. Plus we wanted to exhaust absolutely all other medicines with TIC before trying IUI.
ANYWAY, enough about that. What's matters is that's where we are at now. I am on CD 11 today & I had a sonogram. My lining was 7 & I only had 1 big follicle, it was at 18. My estrodial number came back at 104. I just took my Ovidrel shot tonight at 10 pm & we're going in Friday 36 hours later at 10 am. Anyway, I'm kind of curious about the process. Trust me, I have thoroughly studied up on the logistics of it all & how it all works but I am looking for personal experiences. I had an absolutely awful, awful, AWFUL HSG & I'm worried that this experience will be similar to my experience with the HSG. If you had a severely painful HSG, was your IUI experience painful as well? As far as the catheter insertion was concerned? I'm not sure if anyone will really relate there. The catheter wasn't exactly what hurt me...it was finding my OS to put the catheter in that hurt. FOUR Dr's couldn't find the damn thing. They used suction & their own hands to twist & contort my cervix until they could find the os. However, since then, my RE performed a pap to see what the heck their problem was & he said he's unsure as to why they couldn't find it. It's like a cul-de-sac up there & the position of my OS was as near textbook perfect as he'd ever seen. So I know they probably won't have that same issue but I'm still pretty terrified that they might run into an issue there.
Do they take blood or do sonograms on the day of IUI's? This really doesn't matter either way...I'm just one of those women who really feels most comfortable knowing EXACTLY what to expect. I know this is all something I could ask my Dr's office, & I planned to but I just got it scheduled today & had a toooon of papers to sign (did you have to do that? I had about 30 pages to sign) & it was all kind of overwhelming, I ended up forgetting to ask. =\ I'm going to call tomorrow but sometimes they take a while to return calls, I may not hear back from them before my appointment on Friday morning!
Also, I've heard that for some reason, IUI's don't usually work in the 1st or 2nd round...has anyone here at all had success on the 1st round? 2nd? If not, how many are you on/did it take? Sorry this is a little all over the place & I know IUI posts like these are extremely common, I just really wanted to come here for encouragement & insight. I'm so nervous.
ANYWAY, enough about that. What's matters is that's where we are at now. I am on CD 11 today & I had a sonogram. My lining was 7 & I only had 1 big follicle, it was at 18. My estrodial number came back at 104. I just took my Ovidrel shot tonight at 10 pm & we're going in Friday 36 hours later at 10 am. Anyway, I'm kind of curious about the process. Trust me, I have thoroughly studied up on the logistics of it all & how it all works but I am looking for personal experiences. I had an absolutely awful, awful, AWFUL HSG & I'm worried that this experience will be similar to my experience with the HSG. If you had a severely painful HSG, was your IUI experience painful as well? As far as the catheter insertion was concerned? I'm not sure if anyone will really relate there. The catheter wasn't exactly what hurt me...it was finding my OS to put the catheter in that hurt. FOUR Dr's couldn't find the damn thing. They used suction & their own hands to twist & contort my cervix until they could find the os. However, since then, my RE performed a pap to see what the heck their problem was & he said he's unsure as to why they couldn't find it. It's like a cul-de-sac up there & the position of my OS was as near textbook perfect as he'd ever seen. So I know they probably won't have that same issue but I'm still pretty terrified that they might run into an issue there.
Do they take blood or do sonograms on the day of IUI's? This really doesn't matter either way...I'm just one of those women who really feels most comfortable knowing EXACTLY what to expect. I know this is all something I could ask my Dr's office, & I planned to but I just got it scheduled today & had a toooon of papers to sign (did you have to do that? I had about 30 pages to sign) & it was all kind of overwhelming, I ended up forgetting to ask. =\ I'm going to call tomorrow but sometimes they take a while to return calls, I may not hear back from them before my appointment on Friday morning!
Also, I've heard that for some reason, IUI's don't usually work in the 1st or 2nd round...has anyone here at all had success on the 1st round? 2nd? If not, how many are you on/did it take? Sorry this is a little all over the place & I know IUI posts like these are extremely common, I just really wanted to come here for encouragement & insight. I'm so nervous.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU!! I will keep my fingers crossed for your BFP!!
First off wishing you the best of luck!! I've had 2 IUI's and an HSG. For me the HSG was painless. But my IUIs were a little uncomfortable because they had to clamp my cervix and then use something to open my cervix. The Dr and nurse acted like I should've been freaking out and the look on my husbands face when he saw the tools freaked me out, but it was just uncomfortable not painful. Supposedly I have a high tolerance for pain according to them, but I've had friends who have had IUI's and say they're painless. I ignore being uncomfortable by trying to imagine what my baby is going to look like and envisioning those little swimmers meeting the egg. Best of luck to you for success and a big BFP!
Everyone pretty much covered all you need to know about IUI's, I just wanted to say good luck!! I hope this cycle you get the BFP that you deserve!!!
Susan
xoxoxoxo
Kisses,
Susan
xoxox
However, for me the catheter never hurt. It's so quick. They only thing for me was my last IUI, I overdrank water ( you are supposed to have a full bladder so they can find it better) I had to pee so bad, I though I was going to die waiting the fifteen minutes on the table afterwards. I ended up getting up early and running to the bathroom, all the nurses were like, "Are you okay???" I hollered out, "yeah, just have to PEEEEEE!"
I will be doing my first IUI in a month or two. I am freaked out for the same reason as you. My HSG was HORRIBLE. There were 3 doctors and a nurse and they spent 45 minutes trying to insert the catheter and it hurt so bad. The whole time they were pushing and prodding...I have to wonder if they messed something up down there. Plus I react to iodine contrast and even pre-medicated I had a lingering reaction once the meds wore off.
I did that BEFORE going to a fertility specialist and he thinks they performed the procedure incompetently because of that and one of my fallopian tubes didn't show up on the x-ray. He said he would've sent me to this other place he sends his patients to where they know what they're doing and how a woman's body is made, etc. So he recommended redoing it before trying IUI. I seriously took MONTHS to think about it because I felt so traumatized by the first experience. But with the iodine allergy, I really don't want to.
Finally, last week he said it's not a requirement to have a second one done to do the IUI, that the risk is the same if we were to TTC naturally (which we can't because of performance anxiety). So now I am ready to try IUI and after reading your post I feel much better about what to expect.
Take care!