Iui People Step Up And Share

[cookie70]

OK,


Who has experience doing a IUI at home? I am open and seeking you help with.

What kind of cath to use?
How far in?
other thing to worry about?
Timing with frozen sperm?
can a plain Joe REALLY do this?


LET THE EXPERIENCE SPEAK

[Hulahoop]

The only one of your questions I can give an opinion on is the last one about the average Joe, and my feeling is that, as much as I trust my partner (more than I trust myself) in all things--including using a speculum to check my cervix every night and giving me an HcG shot--I wouldn't want to ask her to do an IUI. I have a high pain tolerance and no issues at all with pap smears and any kind of ob/gyn things, but even IUIs at the clinic can be a little intense. My nurse practitioner sometimes has to give it a few tries, and she does it all day long!

We ARE going to do our first at-home vaginal insemination tonight, though. I totally dig the "doing it yourself" aspect of it, and of course the at-home part. But getting into the uterus is a whole 'nother thing, in my opinion....

If you do opt for it, i wish you the best of luck!

[frog]

We've done them at home, but using a midwife.

[AngelaM]

We've done them at home, as have others. Have you searched the back threads? Many people have posted about their experiences...

[Twylightdove]

We did it at home before we switched to a kd. We were taught by our midwife. My partner is a nurse and so was trained in sterile fields already. It really isn't that hard. I would see if you can find a midwife in your area who will do the first one for you and teach you how to set it all up. I think that is the best way to learn but if you can't find one willing in your area there is a thread that a bunch of us posted our tips on. We'd just have to find it.

As for timing, it is all about reading your signs. As much as I hate to admit it since I hate the little buggers, I found OPKs to help a lot in timing my insems. I did 2 IUIs a cycle with the first one 24 hrs after my OPK surge and the second 12 hours later.

[snoopy13]

We did 4 or 5 IUIs in 2 different cycles at home. Actually, as it turned out, on vacation -- both times were at the beach! well at a house by the beach to be more precise... we had 2 different friends assist each time, one a nurse and one a nursing student who worked at an abortion clinic. I was the hand-holder and my partner was the recipient. It went fine, though we did not conceive. If we had continued, we may have switched to a clinic as my partner was feeling like she might be more comfortable w/ something less DIY. We got supplies from online vet clinic (tomcat catheters) and the rest our nurse friend and other inseminating friend supplied.

now i'm the one trying to get knocked up. we were (again!) away during my fertile period, but happened to be an hour's drive from our occasional known donor - we'd rather work with him than the identity release frozen donor but he lives in another place 3 hours away and we all travel a lot and now he's expecting a daughter in a month or less! but anyway, we bought 2 IUI vials in case we got back in time to be with someone to assist us but instead did one ICI at home before we left town and then 2 fresh ones while away.

even though i'm old (40 in a few weeks) we might have a shot with non-IUI as i seem to have a good supply of fertile mucus! my preference would have been to throw an IUI in the mix but it didn't work out -- I'd be comfortable with a non-medical person doing it if they were coached ahead of time by a trained person and felt confident about maintaining sterility -- but probably not for my first time!

jd

[Lingmom]

We did our own fertility in general... but we did IUI in a clinic. Several were painful and even though my partner is a doctor, I preferred having someone else do it.

[anniedare]

I learned from the local uni's science library. It wasn't any more helpful than the internet, frighteningly. But no one was hurt, so here's what I know:

What kind of cath to use?

Foley, can be ordered with sperm shipment. teeny syringe, not the 5 ml type

How far in?
a speculum would help. A typical cervix is about a cm long, so don't aim or too much further than that. You'd rather do a great inter-cervical insem than scratch the interior of the uterus (at least, I guess that's the choice I'd make...)


other thing to worry about?

Vision is limited. That's why they use those stupid, unnecessary, painful flipping pully things (forgot the name) at the doc's office. Take your time and it should not hurt at all. Also, we once had a dr. do a terrible IUI in which he introduced air into the uterus, causing extreme cramping and vomiting and bleeding on the way home. None of this is normal! If you mess up so badly, look out for signs of infection and boost your immune system to no end for a few days afterward.

The bright side is that you can't do much worse at home than many trained obs are currently doing.


Timing with frozen sperm?

Later worked for me AND dp despite all evidence to the contrary. Successful cycles: me = 31 ICI and 35 hours after surge IUI (freaking out since I had to wait for the dr to open to go get my sperm -- I usually feel that I ovulate soon after surging).
DP = 15 and 30 hours dpo

can a plain Joe REALLY do this?

YES. Your doc is no more trained than this. I read their textbooks. The most concerning thing is not getting air into the uterus. Tap the syringe well.