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Hi Leah! You are welcome to join us on IUI and Sperm Donor 6 - even if you aren't using a donor, we are all going thorough IUI - lots of support there! Smiles and Babydust...T

Hey there, i've had 3 IUIs. the process itself is simple. It will depend on what your RE decides for your course of treatment as far as drugs. I did 2 IUIs with clomid. the first with 100mg and the second with 50mg. You will usually go in the first week of your cycle and they'll do a vaginal ultrasound (putting the wand inside to see). it is similar feeling to a pap kind of. not painful for me. they will make sure you are all clear and a go for the cycle, ensuring you have no cysts etc. If it's a go, he will probably start you on clomid for 4-5 days. i did mine CD 5-9. just take the pill each morning. i had bad side effects- headaches, hot flashes, stomach issues, bloating and weight gain. Then usually around CD10 or so, i would go in for another u/s to monitor how many follicles i had and if they were growing at all. I would usually go back every other day for an u/s to check progress of the follicle growth. They will tell you how many you have and the size. they want them to be i think at least 18-25mm to be 'mature' and ready for IUI/ovulation. i had 7 mature follies both clomid cycles. which is a high response. that meant i could release 7 eggs. not every follie releases an egg per say though. only 4 of my 7 released eggs. i went on CD12 for another u/s and that is when they saw the 7 mature follies and knew we were ready to go. I did however, have poor lining- my uterine lining wasn't thick enough to support an embryo, so they gave me a vaginal suppository called estrace to thicken it overngiht. it did. clomid thins your lining, that is the one bad side effect of it. so i did a trigger shot at home that night. you give it to yourself. it will trigger ovulation within about 36 hours. so i went back 36 hours later (in the am) for the IUI. i dropped off hubby's sperm sample for washing at 8am and then went back at 10am for the procedure. it is similar to a pap again. legs up etc....they put a small tube into your cervix and 'inject' the sperm directly there. You might have some mild cramping afterwards or spotting, but my first 2 were pain free. this last one i did have severe cramping (but it was with shots, not clomid). i went in the next morning for another u/s to see if i did in fact ovulate. this isn't required, but if you insurance covers it, they like to do it. that is when they saw that only 4 of the 7 follicles released eggs. Then a week after the IUI, i went in for a progesterone check to ensure my levels were good. Then a week after that (2 weeks post IUI), i tested at home. I got a BFN both clomid cycles. I am waiting to test this Friday for my first injectable cycle.

The injectable cycle went the same way basiclaly, but instead of clomid, i injected myself for 5 nights with follistim, it won't thin my lining and produces better quality eggs. i did a low dose and had 3 mature eggs. so i am in the 1WW now! the IUI process is time consuming. i had to miss some work for it. but luckily my RE, one of the top 10 in the nation is one block from my house in north dallas. so i would stop by in the am before heading to work. the IUI itself was painless and took literally a few minutes. htey had me lay on the table for 10 min afterwards. nothing 'leaked' out and won't, other than cervical mucus. hope that helps