Failed IUI

[BleuM]

Started bleeding today. It’s very period like, not light at all. Anyone got any advice about going forward? Anything would be appreciated.

[Twiglet2]

I’m so sorry 😢 my advice from personal experience would be to start thinking of moving to IVF we wasted a lot of time on IUI and it’s success rates are much lower and other than egg collection I found the process about the same mentally and physically, although obviously it can work and has worked for others 🤗

[BleuM in reply to Twiglet2]

Thanks, unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to afford to go down the route of IVF. I have purchased 3 straws from same donor so have another two chances at least. Just unsure whether to wait or keep going.

[Twiglet2 in reply to BleuM]

I can understand wanting to go for the IUi from a financial perspective but I actually found the IVF round worked out about the same cost in the long run as one straw of sperm produced 6 embryos for us.

6 xIUI with not even a hint of a BFP at ~£2.5k a time using donor sperm would be £15k vs

£5k for IVF + £1k for sperm plus the £3k it cost for the 2 additional frozen transfers was only £9k and higher chance of success (worked for us) ….

That’s why I wish I could have told my younger self just to use the straws and ££ on an IVF round to save time, money and heartache and just wanted to pass that perspective on in case it helped anyone else as no one at our clinic explained this to us very well at the time

If you haven’t tried medicated IUI yet then that’s maybe a route to go down if you are wanting to continue with IUI 🤗 xx

[BleuM in reply to Twiglet2]

Yeah that would’ve been nice to have that explained as possible option. I was just under £4K for sperm on IUI, I’m using donor though.

Thanks for passing that on hopefully someone else can see this and find it helpful.

Have emailed result to clinic so hopefully hear from them some time this week they might suggest that if not I’ll ask if that’ll help increase my chances. 🫶

[km307 in reply to BleuM]

Unless you’ve paid for a set number of IUIs, then IVF would def still be an option. I used donor sperm and the quality required for IUI is higher than needed for IVF, so you would def be able to use the same straws for IVF instead. Like twiglet said, over a number of cycles, it can work out cheaper, although the medication is also more expensive for IVF. Definitely worth looking at medicated IUI though to give yourself the best chance. I hope the clinic can help explain your options x

[BleuM in reply to km307]

Only purchased straws so should be able to use them in any treatment cycle I choose I’d think. Definitely worth looking into. Thanks 🙏 x

[polykleitos]

Hello, oh I'm so sorry to hear that

In deciding if you want to go straight into the next round, I'd see what your doctor thinks. Their advice should depend on how many IUI attempts you've had, whether you've been on medication, and any individual factors in your medical profile. If you've been unmedicated, they might consider trying you with medications. They might also have learnt some thing from this round/previous rounds about when you should be triggered and have the treatment.

In my case, I had 4 unsuccessful IUIs. My personal preference would have been to do all them all back to back (more or less) because I felt a lot of time pressure. However, it might not be possible to go back to back depending on your clinic's scheduling. Also, I know other people who review their nutrition and lifestyle before gearing-up for the next attempt.

Whatever you decide, with three more vials in the bank, you're well set-up for success. I wish you all the very best xx

[BleuM]

Yeah hopefully I’ll get some answers as to why it didn’t work before trying again. I was just really weird as I was more late than usual with my period and it felt like it had worked maybe that was just my mind playing tricks on me.

It was the two week waiting game I found really hard so maybe having a break between might be better although like us all my biological clock is ticking.

Sorry to hear about your failed attempts 😢 I can’t imagine how you got through that.

Sending you all the baby dust possible for your own success journey x

[ttcsolomummytobe]

Hi, I had light bleeding, that good heavier and I was told to take a pregnancy test the following morning and call my clinic with the outcome, I did 3 unmedicated IUI and know of them worked, I did it as a single person and had also bought 3 vials from the same donor. My first period came 9 days after my IUI, second 12 and 3rd 13th... Really no way to explain it. Also clinics don't seem interested in investigating till 3 haven't worked the they suggest medicated.

Also I know a few others have advised looking at IVF so I'm just echoing what they said but I think that's my biggest regret, wasting time and money on IUI, aslong as your donor sperm is suitable (IVF or ICSI are options) then you may be able to change.

Financially wise my IUIs cost me around £10k with the 3 cycles, donor sperm and all the LH/preg tests. Stress wise it was so really hard going with the constant LH testing and unknown.

My mild IVF (due to start soon) will have cost me £4k with sperm and all tests, another £1k if I get any for the freezer. Although I haven't started the meds yet so can't comment I feel like hopefully atleast there's more investigation or things to find out from the IUI re egg quality etc.

It really is just a numbers game but sticking out the 6 IUIs as suggested would have left me very little to go on to IVF and know I could give it my all.

[BleuM]

So strange especially when they aren’t medicated so can’t be that to explain why later than usual. I’m sorry you have yet to have success and been through all that.

I’m definitely going to be looking into IVF as like you said, few of you have recommended it and I know you guys will be saying it from the good of your heart not because of clinical statistics.

[Mcher]

Hello, I'm really sorry. This process is exhausting. I've had a few friends do IUI that did not take on the first attempt and ended up working on 2nd and 3rd. They didn't have any fertility issues but in same sex relationship. I've also heard (although no idea if it's true), they average is around 5-7 attempts. I also think it is down to luck. I tried 1 IUI and then I moved over to IVF due to my endomitrios diagnosis. Like others have echoed the cost for IUI with donor sperm is still so high so IVF might be a better option if possible. Sending well wishes x

[BleuM in reply to Mcher]

Hi

It really is isn’t it, comes with a wave of physical, mental and financial problems. Just trying to do something that comes so naturally to millions of others.

Sending you lots of baby dust 👼