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At-home IUI

post #1 of 35
4/7/09 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
I *know* there's been a post on this recently but I cannot find it.

We want to do IUI at home when we start next cycle. We will do the first one at the midwife's office ($200?!) so we can also get a lesson and stuff, then we'll do the rest at home.

Where can we buy what we need to do the IUIs? I looked on line but I'm not even sure what needs to be in the kit? A 3cc syringe comes with the sperm, and I know we need sterile gloves, sterile covering for the "workstation", catheter (what size?)...what else?

Thanks!
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post #2 of 35
4/7/09 at 9:18pm
Hi Milletpuff.
We've done at home IUI. My partner was taught by a midwife friend how to do it when we were still doing frozen. We still use the IUI caths for our vaginal insems because it is easier to control. We get them here: http://www.zdlinc.com/iui_and_insemi....html#zavosiui
You'd think we could find it cheaper, especially since Jake is a Nurse Practioner, but this really was the best deal we could find.
Good luck!
post #3 of 35
4/8/09 at 3:41am
Thread Starter 
Hi fellow Portland womb! Thanks, this is great. Anything else that you buy?
post #4 of 35
4/9/09 at 3:15pm
You'll also need a speculum, and a good flashlight (I've heard headlamps work well since whoever is performing the IUI won't be able to hold a flashlight).

Good luck!

Lex
post #5 of 35
4/17/09 at 6:14am
You do not need sterile gloves, especially if you do not touch the IUI catheter. We did almost a handful of at home IUI's with no sterile workstations or gloves. We were just sure to be careful with what the end of the IUI catheter(where it goes into your uterus). Never had any bad outcomes. We did, however, get these two small children that now follow us around...
post #6 of 35
4/17/09 at 10:11am
"We did almost a handful of at home IUI's with no sterile workstations or gloves."

As a student nurse I do want to say here that it is important to keep things as sterile as possible! Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) are common and NOT something you want to get! Some people are lucky, but don't take chances. It is not difficult to sterilize, so no reason not to be "extra" careful. Just a friendly tip.
post #7 of 35
4/17/09 at 12:43pm
Hi Tricia,

The catheter is not a urinary catheter, but rather a catheter that goes through the cervix into the uterus.

I seem to remember having to have a tom cat catheter used for one of mine, it's called that because it was originally developed to catherterize male (tom) cats.

FWIW, my old RE did not use sterile gloves. She wore latex gloves, yes, but from a box, not sterile surgical gloves. The catheters are single-use, they're in sterile packaging, so if you maintain the sterile field by not allowing anything to touch the cather, you'll be fine.

Incidentally, there's no such thing as "sterile as possible" things are either sterile, or they are not. It's not like "clean" - clean is a continuum from filthy to clean, but sterile is dichotomous.

You need to keep EVERYTHING as clean as possible, and you need to keep anything that goes into the cervix sterile (except for the sperm - we want the sperm to be non-sterile!)
post #8 of 35
4/20/09 at 11:54pm
for ZDLINC products go to Ebay Store Zavos Fertility Store, we got our Catherters for 9.00!!!
post #9 of 35
1/31/10 at 4:57pm
Has anyone used this catheter? It has a flexible curve to it, seems like it would be more comfortable? It also says this one is specifically designed for human use. We are thinking about DIY IUI soon.

http://www.zdlinc.com/iui_and_insemination.html#zcat
post #10 of 35
1/31/10 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 
That link goes to the zcat one and I can't really tell from the pic, but I don't think that's the one we use. The one above it (Tomcat? Oh my, that name!) looks more like the one that we use. It did flex/curve a little, and sometimes that was more needed because of the position of my cervix and sometimes not.

We get ours from the midwives' office and they are about $10 each? Or a little more maybe - all the supplies we need to do 2 IUIs run about $40.
post #11 of 35
1/31/10 at 9:17pm
My partner and I did at home IUIs and posted a review of of different catheters on our blog:

http://figboiler.typepad.com/figboil...that-kind.html

After the review, we used a TomCat on our next insemination and it worked! Justine's now 24 weeks pregnant. Good luck with at home IUIs.

-boo
post #12 of 35
2/1/10 at 2:51am
I want to say that we used the Zavos AI kit (the one for $25). We had used Tomcat catheters a couple times, but I think that the Zavos was a little sturdier for IUI use, and longer. Tomcat catheters were easier to come by for us than the Zavos because they are used in the veterinary field on male cats that have urinary blockages. It was great to have the supplies readily available, but they bent a little too easily.
post #13 of 35
2/5/10 at 8:29pm
boolery Thanks for your blog. It was very helpful.
I have the Z-cat catheter. We plan to do the IUI next cycle, I will post a follow up at that time to let everyone know how it went.

I am excited to do this ourselves because I believe my ovulation window is short and this allows us the option of doing the IUI exactly when little cervix is ready (soft and mushy) rather than wait for an appropriate appointment time.
post #14 of 35
2/15/10 at 5:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by boolery View Post
My partner and I did at home IUIs and posted a review of of different catheters on our blog:

http://figboiler.typepad.com/figboil...that-kind.html

After the review, we used a TomCat on our next insemination and it worked! Justine's now 24 weeks pregnant. Good luck with at home IUIs.

-boo
Thanks for the info, I used your reviews to (1) find and (2) choose catheters for our IUI later this cycle.
post #15 of 35
2/15/10 at 6:54am
I have a side question about this?

Are any of you using freash sperm, I was told it needed to be "washed" first because it contained things that while useful in the vaginal environment could be an irrataint to the inner uterus? Have you heard this, did I missunderstand?
post #16 of 35
2/15/10 at 9:41am
adorkable, no you did not misunderstand, fresh sperm must be washed!!! not only could it give you cramping/severe cramping but it can cause infection which can lead to other very bad things.
post #17 of 35
2/15/10 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by •Adorkable• View Post
I have a side question about this?

Are any of you using freash sperm, I was told it needed to be "washed" first because it contained things that while useful in the vaginal environment could be an irrataint to the inner uterus? Have you heard this, did I missunderstand?
Fresh sperm must be washed for IUI. Some clinics will wash fresh sperm for a fee ($100), although, if DP has motility issues already, the washing will make it worst.
post #18 of 35
2/15/10 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by milletpuff View Post
I *know* there's been a post on this recently but I cannot find it.

Is this the one you meant?
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1178590
post #19 of 35
3/14/10 at 10:13am
For those of you doing at-home insems...Did you get a doctor to sign off for the sperm to be delivered directly to your house?

We have been in contact with a few RE's and none of them agreed to sign off on anything like that. They of course will do it in their office for $1000+

So frustrating!
post #20 of 35
3/14/10 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by unoriginal View Post
For those of you doing at-home insems...Did you get a doctor to sign off for the sperm to be delivered directly to your house?

We have been in contact with a few RE's and none of them agreed to sign off on anything like that. They of course will do it in their office for $1000+

So frustrating!
yes, my regular OB/GYN signed off on the paper for me. she wanted to do preconception lab work, like test for disease and such, she also wanted to see DP for an appt and test her for all of those things, just in case. but then she signed the paper and we faxed it to our bank. we use midwest sperm bank, their sperm is fairly cheap and comes prewashed with the syringe and catheter in case you want to do at-home IUI. we just love MWSB! the director is the one that handles most everything, it is a two women show there. and it seems like we get very personalized care there. she ships for overnight delivery and it arrived on our front doorstep.

good luck! and keep trying to find a doc that will sign off... i have read that some ppl have a hard time finding a doc to sign but just keep looking until you find the one that will.