Anyone Had IUI Procedures?

T.,

You've got some tough choices ahead. I have PCOS, and went to a dr. who treats people with PCO - he was the one who diagnosed me.

Clomid didn't work for me (6 cycles worth) before going to a fertility specialist (reproductive gynecologist/surgeon). There are many things that can interfere with conceiving - blocked tubes, autoimmune antibodies, swimmers (has Dear Husband seen a urologist yet? He could have a varicocele - my DH did).

If you try clomid, I'd only do 2 cycles before moving on to the specialist. (I'm in the Indianapolis area and can let you know who I went to if you're interested.)

We decided to go straight to IVF because we were going to spend the money on injectibles anyway, but if the IUI didn't work, then we'd have to pay for another cycles worth of injectibles, and we didn't see any point in that. Like my OB and the specialist said, there was enough stuff affecting our trying to conceive to go straight to IVF (blocked tube, autoimmune antibodies, PCOS, etc. etc. etc.).

If Clomid doesn't work, they'll probably want to do a hysterosalpingogram to check to see if the tubes are open or not. See if the dr. is planning on doing a laparoscopy to aspirate any cysts, and see if they can be done at the same time. (hysterosalpingograms are uncomfortable.) They'll also check for stuff like endometriosis at the same time and or possible uterine polyps....just trying to see if it's there or not trying to rule stuff out.

From there you guys can decide whether to try something like IUI or IVF or something. The meds can range in cost from about the high side of $2000 - $5000 depending on what they find.

An IUI procedure itself can run up to about $2000 vs. about $4000-5000 for an IVF procedure (this doesn't include the bloodwork and sonograms before and after the procedures).

Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions.

B.

I did clomid and I now have a beutiful baby girl who is 4 months. I did 2 rounds of the clomid, you take the clomid for 5 days then they do an ultrasound to see if you have produced a follical on your ovary that would work. Somethings they will then give you a shot if they think it could makea baby. They will usually do it for 3 times then take a break and restart. It really is stressful though, just like any other way of trying to get pregnant.

Hi T.,
I've been sitting in your shoes...it's a tough place to be. I agree w/ Mi's post about finding a fertility specialist. After reading what some of the other women (who responded to your question) wrote, I'm so thankful we were at a specialist.

Clomid can definately help you get pregnant, but it can be dangerous to your system if you take it too long...that's why it's important to find out WHY you're having issues first, in my opinion . Testing is important...finding and fixing a blocked tube or finding out that it's your hubby's fertility issues...before you take the meds is important...

alot of time, money, and emotions can be spared w/ a few little tests...(I say this as a girl who was on the Clomid plan while going thru the testing. The results showed my hubby had fert. issues, so I was taken off of Clomid and we were jumped right to the IVF step...which we've decided to adopt instead)...anyway, all that to say, I would have been on track to spend alot of money, time, hope, etc...on the Clomid, Clomid w/ IUI, and HMG w/ IUI timeline...but testing revealed and saved us a year's time and money.

I'm already writing a book, yikes!! I promise, I'm getting to the info you asked about!! But I just wanted to let you know that my son (who's 3 1/2) was so very easy to conceive. One night! Turns out, he was our miracle conception...but my first doctor had just assumed that since he was so easy, Clomid would quickly fix it.

Clomid does increase your chances of getting pregnant. It works on many aspects of your cycle. It's not safe to be on for a prolonged amount of time, but statistically, most people get the most benefit within the first 5 months, anyway.
Each hospital/fertility center has their own statistics, but I can give you the information I had received from the Cleveland Clinic Fertility Center.
The number one factor in conception is the mother's age, most statistics are based on the average age between 30-42, you're younger (This is what my doctor explained to me, I'm 28), so your chances of conception will be about 5-10% higher...
anyway, I just pulled out my notes the doctor wrote...

on Clomid w/ intercourse every other day for days 10-20 it's a 40% chance of conception w/in 4 months.

on Clomid w/ IUI (which by the way, is $251 at the Clinic)increases your chances by 5-10% (so about 45-50%)

on Clomid, the chance of multiple birht is 8%

Super Ovulation/HMG w/ IUI (runs about $2-3k) increases your chance of conception by another 5-10% (so you're at 50-55%)

HMG w/ IUI, the chance of multiple births is 20%

I hope that helps! A helpful book is called Taking Charge of your Fertility. Just remember, make decisions based on what's right for your family...
Good Luck!

Hi there,

Clomid didn't work for me (with PCOS) injectables with IUI's got me pregnant everytime BUT I would miscarry before even seeing a heartbeat. Thus, my Dr said my eggs weren't very good and didn't recommend IVF.

I HAD TO HAVE Metformin, are you on it? (or Gluphoage) it is awesome for PCOS patients to help regulate you.
Promitrium doesn't not help regulate you or help ovulate. Only bring on menses.
After an ectopic pregnancy - natural conception while on metformin - and loosing our left tube and ovary, the one left really stepped it up ;)
We have a 2yo girl, a 1 yo boy and due with a 3rd boy in Novemeber and all conceived naturally ;)

Best of luck!

We tried clomid twice. The first time, my follicle (egg) was very large, which translated to no egg, but plenty of pain when the follicle ruptured. The second time, I had a good follicle, and we did the HCG shot to release it, and unfortunately, it didn't work that time either. The next month when I thougth I was ovulating, I went in for an ultrasound, and there was a follicle! The doc said I was ovulating on my own, so I didn't need to take clomid anymore. We had no success again that time, or for many (8) months after. It was very upsetting - each month we just "knew" it was going to work, and each month we got negative results. We finally decided to give up. I was at the doc's office and told her our decision, and we scheduled my birth control shot for the next month. I was on my last day of my period (I was only having them every other month although I was ovulating each month), and she told me to give it a try one more time. For some reason she thought I was ovulating that early in my cycle, and I wasn't testing myself until the very end of ovulation (basically missing our chances). We tried one last time, and next month my twin boys will turn one! I don't know if I ovulated that early every time or if it was just that one time, but you might want to check your ovulation for something like that. Are you ovulating on your own? I was afraid of clomid. It made my ovulation very painful. It gave me a false positive pregnancy test (which was VERY upsetting). It caused pregnancy symptoms (false hope) when I wasn't pregnant. One of my friends used clomid, and she got pregnant with QUADS! I was a twin (fraternal), over 32, and that mixed with clomid gave me a 90% chance of twins. I didn't think I was ready for twins (or more), so I quit with the clomid the first chance I got. I guess God knew I wouldn't want to go through pregnancy again (I was sick the entire time, carpal tunnel in both hands, developed a heart murmer, my thyroid became overactive, very high blood pressure, lots of swelling, and the placentas started clacifying for no known reason, putting the babies at risk), and he really, really wanted Tyler (baby A) to have a brother, so I got them both at the same time! It turns out I was ready for twins, and I think my doc is a genius! I hope I didn't scare you, but I wouldn't want you to think it is a sure-fire cure for infertility. I don't know if everyone had problems with pain/symptoms while on clomid, but most of the people I know did...and I would have loved to be warned about that before I started it. I know how hard all this can be, but hang in there! Don't stress out about it too much - "giving up" is when many get pregnant because the stress and pressure is finally gone. Good luck and I hope you have success!

BEFORE you do that.....do ALL YOUR HOMEWORK on nutrition & fertility. THERE IS A MULTITUDE of info out there that talks about how the chemicals we put in our bodies and the lack of proper nutrition are a huge contributor to these problems.

When I was growing up.....it was RARE! NOW..it's almost an epidemic. WHY.....our food and environment have so many "toxic" chemicals that prevent our bodies from doing what they were meant to do. In addition, most American diets are CRAP! How can you expect the body to function like it was meant to if you don't put in the proper nutrients?

No one expects their car to drive itself if they don't put the proper fuel in it!

We used the IUI and Clomid procedure for about 5 months. We had been trying for about three years to get pregnant. Initially we went to the OBGYN and they just had me on Clomid. After several rounds of Clomid and no success they sent us to a fertility specialist. There is where he suggest the IUI and Clomid combo. Along with taking the Clomid you need to give yourself a HCG shot one before the IUI procedure. The HCG shot releases your egg or eggs. You give yourself the shot in your stomach or thigh. We always did the stomach area. It's not to bad. The IUI procedure is quick and painless. After three rounds of that and no success, I had the Laproscopic surgery done. There is where they found I had a small case of endometriosis and a block tube. One month after the procedure we did another round of IUI and Clomid and we were successful. Today we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. I would suggest talking to your doctor and asking whether or not you could be considered for the laproscopic procedure first or any other tests before starting up the IUI's. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me ____@____.com