Not queer but need information

[destany08]

Hey everyone!!

I am single and looking into sperm donors. Are there any sperm banks that will send sperm to your house no questions asked? Also, like, which is self insemination? IUI?? You can do this at home yourself but how? Sorry if thats TMI. Also Im wondering about my ovulation, Im not trying now, just gathering information. Like, would taking temps every morning help with pin pointing my ovulation? Is it worth it to get an ovulation predictor?? How many vials of sperm should you get for the 3 days for ovulation?? About how much is the cost of a single try of IUI?? Sorry for the 20 questions.

[Snapdragon]

Hi,
Here is what I know of this stuff based on learning it all just recently:
See above sticky at the top of this thread for a list of some sperm banks. Many will send it to your home- you have to get a doctor or midwife (or maybe a nurse would do) to fax a signature in to approve it, then it is all you.

At home you can do- I thin kit is called ICI- just a plain vaginal insemination in which you simply thaw the frozen sperm for 30 minutes (or so) and then pullit up into a plastic syringe and insert.

As for ovulation, it is really good to get clear for a few cycles. Temping is very helpful, as are ovulation predictor kits (opks) which you can get at any pharmacy. I use "Fertility Friend" website to keep track of my chart. It is free- google it- and you can enter your info each day and keep track.
the temp taking helps afterwards as you see a pattern in which your temp rises about .5 degrees ( varies) right after ovulation. So it confirms that you have ovulated. The opk's detect the LH surge which happens just before ovulation.

We used 3 vials for our at home insem this first try here. I am still in the 2ww. I have heard of people using 1 or 2 vials, and a few using 4.

the bank I used costs $530 a vial for washed sperm, and $480 or so for unwashed sperm, per vial. Unwashed is better for at home insem, washed is intended for IUI, but can be used for ICI. We got washed only cause the unwashed of our chosen donor ran out as we were registering, and we learned that it is okay to use washed for ICI too.

So it is that, plus about 200dollars shipping plus 100 one time registration.
Ask any more questions you want to. I asked all these questions last month!

[TTC1]

I agree with Katie!
All the sperm banks will ship to your house, but you'll need a doctors signature for that. You can get your OB or a midwife if your not seeing a RE. There is one sperm bank where you dont need a doctors signature... Northwest Andrology, but they are a pain to sign up with lately. You can use both ICI and IUI vials for home insem like Katie said. People say ICI is better but IUI seems to work just as good as ICI vials, since with the IUI vials you get the strong swimmers and with ICI you get some of the dead and weak swimmers as well as the strong swimmers but they are suppose to last a little longer because they weren't washed. But I have conceived with IUI vials and know a lot of others that have as well. The single cost of insemination depends on which sperm bank you use. Also use a 1cc syringe for your insems too. Most women seem to ovulate the day after a positive OPK(not all women though). I think it's good to temp and use OPKs(especially before starting).

[lexbeach]

Originally Posted by destany08

Hey everyone!!

I am single and looking into sperm donors. Are there any sperm banks that will send sperm to your house no questions asked? Also, like, which is self insemination? IUI?? You can do this at home yourself but how? Sorry if thats TMI. Also Im wondering about my ovulation, Im not trying now, just gathering information. Like, would taking temps every morning help with pin pointing my ovulation? Is it worth it to get an ovulation predictor?? How many vials of sperm should you get for the 3 days for ovulation?? About how much is the cost of a single try of IUI?? Sorry for the 20 questions.

Self-insemination would generally be IVI (intra-vaginal insemination). IUI means intra-uterine insemination, and you would not be able to do it to yourself.

You should definitely get a book or two on the subject if you are seriously considering using frozen sperm. I recommend "the New Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy and Birth." It will tell you everything you need to know about how to perform the insemination, how many vials of sperm to purchase and how to know when to time the insemination.

HTH!

Lex

[smartycat]

Lex is right, that book is like a bible on getting pregnant using donor (+/- frozen) sperm. Also, read the Queer Conceptions thread and look back at old Queer TTC threads. You will find a lot of advice in there. Also, join fertility friend and read their tutorial on charting and temping... it is invaluable. I recommend finding a cheap source of OPKs (we liked the ones at early pregnancy tests.com) so you can test often (every 4-6hrs) to pinpoint your surge. The majority of women ovulate 36hrs post +OPK.

There is too much to tell you all in one post. But look at those above resources and feel free to come back and ask questions.