Newbie with questions!

[geekmom2b]

Hi, everyone!

I've been lurking for a little while now--my partner and I have been awaiting the green light to start inseminating, which we just got today!

But now we have a question. We're going to start out the way our doctor suggests and just do one IUI each cycle at her office. Since we're only going to be needing one unit a month, at least at first, is it worth it to reserve multiple units in advance?

We're kind of in the dark about some of this stuff, in spite of doing lots of reading and research, since we don't know anyone who's ever done it. And we want to do it the best way possible, so any help you can give will be greatly appreciated by two nervous geek girls in Toronto!

[Coco99]

Hey there !



To answer your question, YES it is SO worth it ! When we did our first insem, they only had one unit of the donor we wanted. We ordered that and went ahead. When the insem didnt work, we found ourselves having to order again 12 days before the next insem (cycles turn fast you'll see, when you find out it didnt work, the next try is less than two weeks away !). Anyway we tried to order and they were out of our donor... so we had to pick another one PRONTO, we only had like 2 days to do so if it was going to be shipped on time... and once again, they only had one unit ! This happened again the next month, they were again out of our TWO donors and we had to pick a third ! Now, we ordered three units of our third donor. They will be waiting for us at the clinic... so MUCH less stress in the event that our third try is also a bust !

We are also in Canada and we used Xytex, its a great bank but the canada office often seems to be out of stock, even when it "seems" available on the real xytez website. If you see a canadian compliant donor on the American Xytex site and that they say they dont have any in Canada, insist to have them order it... it IS available for them to order in the States if its available on their website.

Coco
xx

[venustx]

We did one IUI per month (well, when my sorry eggs would manage to mature...) and we bought 6 vials initially. Coco is so right about stressing about buying more in just a few days, and if you care about getting a particular donor, they may be in quarantine or sold out when you are ready to buy.

Good luck to you!

[2happymamas]

We also bought numerous vials before we started inseminating. We knew that our donor was very popular and wanted to make sure we had enough. In addition, we thought I would get pregnant very quickly and wanted to ensure that we had enough for future babies, as we wanted to use the same donor for all of our children.

If you want more children and using the same donor is important to you, I would recommend buying more than one vial. Especially if he is limited in the number of remaining vials.

[KnittingTigers]

Buying ahead can definitely reduce some of the stress, but there are a few questions you should ask-

1. Once you buy those vials, can you switch donors later if you want to? I bought a bunch in advance of a donor I liked, who had limited inventory. However, after not getting pregnant four months in a row, I decided to switch to someone with a much higher sperm count (and then got pregnant on the very next try). Luckily, my bank allowed me to swap all the vials for a one-time $50 fee. But, I hadn't checked that ahead of time, so I got lucky! Also, once sperm leaves the bank and travels to your clinic, it is never exchangeable, so make sure you ask about sperm count (and anything else that's important to you, but I really do recommend a high-count donor) BEFORE you make the purchase, and BEFORE the sperm leaves the bank.

2. If you do get pregnant quickly, will you want the extra vials? If you are planning on buying extra for the future, this isn't an issue. But if not, make sure you know the bank's refund policy. Mine does not do refunds.

In general, I found it helpful to have a list of four or five donors I liked. That way, I felt like if something wasn't working, I always had other options. And, I have to say that the donor who eventually did the trick was actually at the bottom of my short list (ie. my least favorite). I ended up trying him simply because I was sick of not being pregnant, and he had a much higher sperm count than anyone else. And you know what? The second I got pregnant I didn't care which vial it came from, I was just so happy to have a baby growing inside of me!

Good luck! I hope that your road to conception is short and sweet!

[geekmom2b]

Thank you so much for your answers and all the suggestions. These are exactly the kinds of things we need to know!

I hope to read and post more here in the future. It's really great to find people who are going through the same thing we are. Right now it doesn't quite seem real that we might actually have a baby soon, so it kind of helps to hear what we have to look forward to. (If that makes sense.)

Thanks again!

[FtMPapa]

Which bank are you using?

I have great things to say about Repromed - if you talk to Mary, she'll send you profiles by e-mail at no charge.

Also, they're local to Toronto, so the shipping is way cheaper. I ordered each month, never had an issue, but I had three donors picked out, and if they were out of my first choice, I would have moved to #2 without thinking about it.

Good luck!