My First Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

Last cycle, I performed an at-home-insemination. It was nerve wracking and it didn't work. Time to get the experts (ie, the RE) more involved in my quest to be a single mom by choice. It was a new quest and I didn't have time to meet with her face-to-face prior to ovulation, so I tried the at-home method, so as not to lose the cycle. I watched TONS of YouTube videos on home insemination in advance to prepare myself. When that cycle wasn't successful, it was time to move on to an intrauterine insemination or IUI.

An IUI is where the sperm is washed (removing the semen), counted and inserted directly into the uterus. This bypasses the cervical mucus and reduces the risks of a "hostile" environment for the sperm. I was using donor sperm, which means it was frozen and then thawed. This means the sperm only lives for about 12 hours. The egg once ovulated lives for about 12 hours, so the timing of the procedure is critical. The RE has me take an Ovidrel trigger shot, 36 hours before the procedure. This improves the odds of the sperm and egg meeting in a timely manner. The success of an IUI is about 10%. That decreases further with my age and the use of frozen sperm. It beats a 0% chance and at this point, it's really the only option I have. (Save finding a man with great sperm who is going to give it to me fresh and for free. Don't even get me started about the testing and screening process. No random sperm in my who-ha!)

Check out this video for a recap of the first half of the cycle through the ovulation prediction kit (OPK) and Ovidrel trigger shot through the insemination. It was exciting and new! Did we make a baby??