The life of an IUI patient....

I will preface this my saying that every IUI patient is different. Not every woman will use the same protocol (types of meds, doses etc.) but, this is a little insight my "agenda for the next couple of weeks.

Upon, finding out that Monster cyst was gone I was sent to meet with a nurse that went over all my meds. Thanks to the Infertility board on thebump.com, I was pretty much "in the know". The nurse was surprised. I totally think I deserved a sticker.

Anyway, here's how it's gonna go....


CD 3-7: Clomid 100mg


CD 9: 150iu of Follistim (done in the stomach below the bellybutton on either side)


CD 12: We will go in for a monitoring appointment. At this appointment the RE will determine how big the follicles are and whether or not we are ready to trigger. The trigger is a shot of Ovidrel. Ovidrel is used to trigger the release of a mature egg.


If the follicles are not ready then we will need to keep going back until they are. Once we get the thumbs up the shot goes in. It will be done the same as the Follistim.



The day after the trigger, we will go in for the first IUI. For those who are unfamiliar with what an IUI is here is a description:

1. The woman usually is given medications to stimulate development of multiple eggs and the insemination is timed to coincide with ovulation - release of the eggs.


2. A semen specimen is either produced at home or in the office by masturbation after 2-5 days of abstinence from ejaculation.


3. The semen is "washed" in the laboratory (called sperm processing or sperm washing). The sperm is separated from the other components of the semen and concentrated in a small volume. Various media and techniques can be used for the washing and separation. Sperm processing takes about 30-60 minutes.


4. A speculum is placed in the vagina and the cervical area is gently cleaned.


5. The washed specimen of highly motile sperm is placed either in the cervix (intracervical insemination, ICI) or higher in the uterine cavity (intrauterine insemination, IUI) using a sterile, flexible catheter.

The intrauterine insemination procedure, if done properly, should seem similar to a pap smear for the woman. There should be little or no discomfort.
Most clinics offer for the woman to remain lying down for a few minutes after the procedure, although it has not been shown to improve success rates. The sperm has been put above the vagina and cervix - it will not leak out when you stand up. Source

My RE does this B2B (back to back), meaning we will go in for the first one and then come back in the next day and do it again.

Once the procedure is done I'm sent home to wait. Hopefully during this waiting time all of Mr. Love Bud's little soldiers are having an easy time finding the egg I worked so hard to grow and release. You'd have to think 5 million+ sperm could find one tiny egg?!

The RE's office likes to wait 16 days before having you come in for a Beta. The reason for this is A) you might get AF before then and B) making sure there is sufficient time for the HCG shot (Ovidrel) to leave your system since it can cause a false positive. For the most part that shot is gone in about 11-12 days so I will have taken an HPT by then.

So there it is. My life for the next 2 weeks! If all goes well we'll find out around our anniversary that Little Love Bud is coming. If it does well.....I'll find a nice big bottle of wine and celebrate that way!