First IUI and the Two Week Wait
The past two weeks I've been in the midst of my first IUI cycle. Here's a breakdown of how the cycle went.
In the exam room on the day of insemination. Masks required now because of COVID.
I called the fertility clinic on cycle day one - scheduled to come in for vaginal ultrasound on cycle day three.
Day three's ultrasound was to check that there are no cysts or unusual growth on your ovaries. They also took a blood sample to check for pregnancy (came back negative, obviously). I was then given a prescription for Clomid, which was a small pill I was took on cycle days 3-7. Clomid stimulates the ovaries, in the hopes that more than one egg follicle will develop. Thankfully I did not have too many side effects from the drug, some say it can cause moodiness or hot flashes, but I felt fine.
On day twelve I went in for another ultrasound to check the follicle development. A cycle can get cancelled for various reasons which are outlined in this helpful website HERE if you're really interested in finding out more. Thankfully, my ovaries were very happy and produced three good sized follicles (two in the left ovary and one on the right). I also had a nice looking uterine lining, at 8mm. I was told to take the trigger shot that evening and come back in 36 hours for the insemination.
So, that evening, Brandon and I got to experience our first at home shot. If we continue fertility treatments into IVF, we will need to get very comfortable with at home injection, but at least we got to start with just one. The shot was given into my stomach and thankfully Brandon was willing to give it to me, as I laid on the floor and tried not to laugh. The shot contained Ovidrel which stimulates ovulation, or the release of a mature egg.
Our first at home fertility injection.
Thirty-Six hours after the trigger shot I was back at the fertility clinic for insemination. Brandon dropped off his sample ahead of my appointment, so they were able to clean and count the sperm. It was very surreal attempting to get pregnant in this way, so clinical and impersonal, but hopefully it works. I was pleasantly surprised by the picture hanging on the wall in the exam room - a mountain view. While that is not uncommon in a Colorado based doctor's clinic, I did take it as a good luck sign.
Excited to "see" the mountains from my exam room.
The insemination itself took only about five minutes, after I confirmed that the sperm sample did in fact have my husband's name and DOB. The procedure caused a little bit of discomfort while the nurse inserted the speculum, it was similar to the discomfort of a pap smear. She said I might feel a little cramp when the catheter enters the cervix, but I thankfully didn't feel anything. After it was done I was told to lay down on the table for 10 minutes, and then I was free to leave.
So, at this time I am both pregnant and not-pregnant. I really hate these two weeks every cycle. Looking for every little possible pregnancy symptom, avoiding alcohol and other off limit pregnancy foods. The buildup before that day you can finally pee on a stick to see if it all worked. Following these two weeks I will call the clinic with the result of my at home test. A positive means I will come in for a blood sample to confirm, while a negative means we can start another IUI cycle next month.
So, we're hoping and praying that this works. I'm trying to stay realistic and remind myself that we still only have a 10-20% chance of this working. Apparently the chances of positive results increases slightly on your second and third cycles, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and just stay focused on the present. And, as we know from our previous pregnancies, a positive test does not always result in a live birth, so even a positive test means we still have weeks and months of waiting and stress.
Here's to hoping...
Em
🙏🙏❤️❤️
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