Cervical Mucus and Insemination

[dykemom]

Hi girls,

I'm doing a home insemination with fresh sperm\donor. I heard that Robitussin thins out your CM and helps sperm get through. I am only doing an IVI though (intravaginal insemination) and it will only be inserted into my vagina near the cervix.

Does the syringe bypass the CM and therefore Robitussin is not needed? Or is it a good idea to get the Robitussin since the sperm will have contact with the CM?
Thanks!!!

[kkearney1982]

Unless you bypass the cervix entirely (through IUI), your spermies could live in the CM for days. I did Herba-tussin (no chemical additives, just the active ingredient and some flavoring) and evening primrose oil capsules, and noticed a difference within a day.

Good luck!

[dykemom]

Originally Posted by kkearney1982

Unless you bypass the cervix entirely (through IUI), your spermies could live in the CM for days. I did Herba-tussin (no chemical additives, just the active ingredient and some flavoring) and evening primrose oil capsules, and noticed a difference within a day.

Good luck!

Thanks. So I shouldn't thin the CM out with Robitussin then, since the sperm needs to live in it?

[quasar]

Thinning out the CM helps the sperm 'climb up the ladder' into the cervix/uterus (sorry, I watched some NatGeo special on TTC and this was the analogy they used. ). It's kind of like if you imagine a person swimming through water versus syrup. The closer you get to watery CM, the better for insems since the sperm has an easier time getting through it. I only used the robitussin for one cycle, since after that we ended up doing IUI's. If you're doing fresh sperm that isn't washed and just doing vaginal insems, the robitussin would possibly help things out.

[2ezforyou]

Hey kkearney1982 - how long before attempting IUI did you begin taking these? Just curious. We're going to try IUI in a couple weeks after taking a year off. I am starting Clomid, and then we'll IUI two weeks later. Just wanting to have every possible angle covered. Thanks!!!

[elismum1908]

I just wanted to add that you need to be sure you get the right formula of Robitussin if you are going to do it. Buy the plain kind with no letters after it. The only active ingredient is guaifenesin. It is very important to avoid the versions that contain decongestants as those may dry up cervical mucus.

Best of luck!

[erthe_mama]

You can also get guaifenesin tablets prescibed to you by your doctor.

[BunnyLullabye]

Or Mucinex or a store brand of Mucinex. Again make sure it's only the guaifenesin and not anything else. That's what I'm doing and it's seemed to help a lot. I'm taking the Safeway brand and I think they run around $7 or so for 30 tablets if I'm remembering right.

[Cananny]

how much robitussin you take?

[CrystalPerez]

This is very interesting! How much do you take and when?

[quasar]

If you know when approximately you ovulate, you can start taking the meds about 3-5 days before then and on the day of ovulation.  The dose I've seen is 2 tsp (200mg total),  three times a day.  Again, if you're doing IUI's you don't need to take it since the sample bypasses the cervical mucus and goes directly into the uterus.

I tried looking up my chart where I used it, but I must not have written it down.