Looking for mamas who conceived via IUI

[happy2bamama]

Hi there,

I am posting this here instead of in the infertility forum since I am looking for some insight from some IUI graduates :)

I would love to know how many IUIs it took for you to conceive and also, how did you cope during the end of the TWW (or in general)?!

After 2+ years of waiting and hoping while TTC naturally, we are going the IUI route. We did two this last month and they didn't work (I'm not pregnant). All my numbers and anatomy are great - they said I was the "picture of fertility" and DH's sperm are average - not great, not bad. And it's just mind-boggling how we could have three eggs (thanks to Clomid) and DH's sperm put RIGHT where they need to be, RIGHT when they need to and still nothing. I'm starting to get a little down, like there's something that's not allowing this to happen and I thought I'd post here to get some inspiration from those whom it's worked for. 

Thanks in advance 

[wishin'&hopin']

For DS, 2nd IUI.  For current pregnancy, 8th IUI.  (It's about a 20% chance of getting pregnant per IUI and I think it takes an average of 6 cycles of IUI to get pregnant).  

[CI Mama]

We worked with donor sperm. We did 4 rounds of IUI starting in April 2007, and ending when I got pregnant in January 2008. There were lots of "pauses" in our process because I didn't respond well to clomid (produced too many ripe follicles, and I wasn't interested in becoming octomom). I also discovered a fibroid that had to be removed, and that slowed us down. The round that was successful included a shot of hcg prior to insemination.

Waiting is hard. I wish I had some magical solution for making it better, but it never stopped being hard for me, until I was finally pregnant.

Good luck!

[happy2bamama]

Thank you ladies, for your replies :) It is inspiring to know that it can work. 

Wishin'&hopin' - how did you hang in there for 8 IUI's? Did you ever get down about all the time commitment, hormonal roller coaster, cost, etc.? Aside from the waiting being hard, knowing that the next however many months are going to be spent on a hormonal roller coaster is not my favorite thing. 

For both of you, is there any wisdom that you have not that you're looking back? Sometimes in the midst of things, it's so hard to see the forest beyond the trees. Were there any things you'd do differently or things that you were glad you did?

And btw, I have a 6-year-old DS and it took us 1.5 years to conceive him. We didn't do anything fertility-wise - just kept keepin' on. So this is all new territory for me.

Thanks, again :)

[wishin'&hopin']

The 8 IUIs for our second child (the one currently gestating) were undergone by my wife (we're a two mom family and used frozen sperm from a donor).  Over the course of the various 2WWs we tried to plan lots of fun/relaxing things for the latter part of the 2ww (dates, fun with friends, browsing bookstores) but overall it was pretty crazy making.  Additionally, after 4 IUI for my wife, we switched to me and had our son.  The more recent rounds (my wife) were made easier by having a child already (2.5 y/o), we had to look outside of ourselves in order to parent.  

The biggest thing for us was that my wife was on clomid for the first four cycles and clomid gave her horrific panic attacks and depression.  The latter four were on femara which did not cause the severe mood changes that clomid did.  I highly recommend looking into femara as an alternative to clomid if the clomid is causing mood changes/disorders.   Knowing that we had choices and being able to collaborate w/ our RE (we switched REs) was really, really helpful. A therapist AND alternative therapies (alongside the protocol suggested by the RE) helped both of us to feel that we were doing "something" proactive in the process.  

Edited by wishin'&hopin' - 12/11/12 at 6:09am

[CI Mama]

I should clarify that prior to doing IUI, we did 3 rounds of "at home" insemination with donor sperm, before we realized it was a total waste of time & money. So our process was really 7 tries over 15 months, and that did feel like an eternity.

Things that helped us get through:

--We found a really great nurse practitioner who provided a lot of support through the whole process. She was always trying to figure out what we could tweak for the next round in order to increase our chances of getting it right. The whole process was far more technical than I expected it to be, so it was very helpful to have an expert who could recommend next strategies. Although I did a lot of reading, it was overwhelming to try to figure that out on my own.

--Couples therapy.

--We would have a "treat" on deck at the end of the 2WW, so that if we weren't pregnant, we still had something to look forward to (going out for a movie, opening a bottle of wine, etc.).

--For me personally, I had to allow myself to think up a "back-up" plan if for some reason it never worked. I had to believe that my life would be fulfilling even if I never became a mom. Doing so allowed me to be less frantic about the process. I'm not sure that would work for everyone, but it was helpful for me.

Good luck. I hope you are successful soon!

[KnittingTigers]

My DD was conceived after six cycles of unmedicated IUIs with frozen donor sperm, with one early miscarriage along the way. My current pregnancy (twins!) was the result of the fourth IUI. Some thoughts from this time around- I did one unmedicated cycle (nada), followed by two clomid cycles. In addition to making me feel terrible, the clomid thinned my uterine lining out to the point of barely being in the adequate range. After that, I insisted we switch to Femera, and got pregnant immediately.

Good luck! It's a tough rollercoaster, for sure...
 

[happy2bamama]

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories (and tips and tactics)! I am realizing how much of a journey this is rather than a quick fix. Honestly, 6-8 IUI's might be past my limit - I am so inspired and amazed by how you all kept keeping on.

Interesting about Femera being easier to tolerate than Clomid. Last month, I was CRAZY on Clomid, but so far this month, I haven't even noticed it.

I love the idea of having a treat if we're not pregnant each month. A deep tissue massage would suffice :)

And, I think being busy and distracted is key too. For this cycle, the 2WW is really busy with out of town company and birthday parties and such, so I am happy that I will probably not be as connected to the painstaking waiting.

I so appreciate your thoughts!

[KnittingTigers]

Originally Posted by happy2bamama 

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories (and tips and tactics)! I am realizing how much of a journey this is rather than a quick fix. Honestly, 6-8 IUI's might be past my limit - I am so inspired and amazed by how you all kept keeping on.

Interesting about Femera being easier to tolerate than Clomid. Last month, I was CRAZY on Clomid, but so far this month, I haven't even noticed it.

I love the idea of having a treat if we're not pregnant each month. A deep tissue massage would suffice :)

And, I think being busy and distracted is key too. For this cycle, the 2WW is really busy with out of town company and birthday parties and such, so I am happy that I will probably not be as connected to the painstaking waiting.

I so appreciate your thoughts!

Good luck! It's crazymaking, for sure. There is no sperm in my life or relationship, and when I was TTC the first time, I didn't have coverage for any fertility stuff and was a poor grad student who couldn't afford IVF, so there wasn't really another good option. I wanted a baby, so I just kept going. This time around, we probably would have moved on to IVF at some point, since we make more money now and have good insurance. I'm also older (36, as opposed to 31 when I conceived DD), so that factored in.

Do be careful with the clomid. I assume they are monitoring your uterine lining, etc. Make sure you ask how thick it is, and if it's on the thin side, consider switching to Femera. I am convinced it's what did the trick for us. One month on clomid I felt all the early conception signs (cramps starting at 6dpo, etc.), but never got a BFP. I think I had an egg fertilize, but my lining was too thin to successfully implant. Also, even though I produced fewer eggs on Femera (two, as opposed to five or so with Clomid), we got pregnant immediately on it, and they both fertilized!

And yes, definitely treat yourself when things don't work out! Self care is so, so important.

[EstherK]

We tried for 14 months; this was round 4 of Clomid. The first 3 months 50mg and intercourse and this month 100mg and IUI... Got our BFP today!!!
Good luck to you!

[deborahbgkelly]

You might check the Infertility One Thread Graduates: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1371020/infertility-one-thread-graduates-winter-2012-2013