You know how I like to be prepared (IUI)

DangerMuffin23 · October 2013

So I'd really like to hear any stories about your first IUI. What you were expecting, what actually happened, what it felt like, how long it took, what the procedure consisted of. I can read a lot in books, but you ladies have lived it and I'd like to hear anything you're ok with telling me. My guess is that the IUI itself is similar to the HSG (insertion through the cervix), but it's just a guess.

PinkinProvence · October 2013

Nope nothing like an HSG!

I would go into the office at 8:30 on the designates morning and wait for DH to give a sample. He would then leave and go to work. I would wait for about 40 minutes for it to be washed and prepared.

I would be called into the procedure room and the doctor would insert a speculum and catheter and she would press the syringe and it would take 1 minute. It did not hurt. I layed there for about 10 minutes, got dressed and went back to work.

When is your IUI?

sparklingdiamond · October 2013

When I had mine, DH went earlier in the morning to give his sample. Then I came back a couple hours later. I got annoyed because they were running behind and I was in the waiting room forever. But the actual procedure itself was really quick and painless. Then I laid there for a few min and then got up and went on with my day. I was expecting it to hurt, but it didn't at all!

sweetpotato123 · October 2013

Yep- can't add much more to what Pink said. My first was uncomfortable I think due to poor timing (my cervix wasn't as soft and not much mucus). It should really be pain free.

Be prepared for the fun of vaginal progesterone suppositories after.

And try not to get discouraged if the first one doesn't work (easier said than done). I'm here for you if you have any questions or just need to vent.

DangerMuffin23 · October 2013

Thank you ladies, that's very reassuring. I have to tell DH the news tonight and want to be prepared to answer any questions he may have. Our followup with our main doctor isn't until next week but I'm 99% sure IUI is our next step. The assoc doctor who did my hsg yesterday answered some questions I had and she recommended IUI based on his chart and my findings so far (nothing else that's due to come back on me would inhibit IUI). I would like to proceed as quickly as possible, especially because DH is like me, and if he has a plan he'll have less time to get depressed on wallow in this. I don't know how he's going to deal with this. He's never believed there was anything wrong with either of us and poo-poo'd me reading the books like "what to do when you can't get pregnant". Therefore I'm not sure how informed he is on the procedures other than IVF. I've tried to give him random doses of small info over the last year. Hopefully, after he takes it all in, he can be a little relieved that we know what the problem is but that there is a solution.

RockABye · October 2013

I had no idea what to expect with the IUI. The insertion was actually pretty much the same as the prep for the HSG. It was like a pap but hurt a little more. It wasn't unbearable by any means, but definitely uncomfortable. That's the ONLY part that was similar to the HSG for me though. The speculum and I do not get along so there was a lot of pinching and pressure. That's just my experience though. Inserting the catheter didn't really hurt, again just not comfortable. It came out once so she had to re-insert it on the first IUI. The only times it hurt (VERY briefly) is when she poked me wrong. No biggie though.

When she pushed thesperm in, it didn't hurt at all. NOTHING like the HSG there, for me anyway. The first time I felt nothing, subsequent IUIs, I had a little cramping while she was injecting them, but nothing major at all. After my second IUI, I actually did ovulate (first one was a false alarm) and I was pretty crampy for the rest of the day. I am 99% positive that was due to ovulation and not the IUI though as I now know that it's normal for me to get really crampy and sharp pains during O.

All in all, the procedure from start to finish took about 10 minutes maybe. Pretty quick. While it was uncomfortable and did kinda hurt, the worst part by far was the fact that I had to have a full bladder and I seriously thought I was going to pee on the RE! As soon as she was done, I got to pee, then came back in and she did an internal sono. This has been the routine for all my IUIs.

Oh and as far as timeline.. I dropped off Dh's sample then came back about an hour and half later for the IUI.

amccul20 · October 2013

PinkinProvence said:

Nope nothing like an HSG!

I would go into the office at 8:30 on the designates morning and wait for DH to give a sample. He would then leave and go to work. I would wait for about 40 minutes for it to be washed and prepared.

I would be called into the procedure room and the doctor would insert a speculum and catheter and she would press the syringe and it would take 1 minute. It did not hurt. I layed there for about 10 minutes, got dressed and went back to work.

When is your IUI?

this is exactly how it was for me.

easy peasy and painless.

seahorse01 · October 2013

Mine were the same as above, other than we had like a 2 hour window between DH giving his sample and the actual IUI.

I had some mild cramping a few times (we did 5 or 6 total IUIs), but none were really painful overall.

One thing I did not expect leading up to the IUI was how many monitoring appointments I needed. I was going every morning I think the few days leading up to the actual IUI because they were checking follicle growth so closely. That might have just been with my inject cycles though, it's been a few years and I have a terrible memory.

JLyn821 · October 2013

The other ladies have already said it all best.

My IUIs were pretty easy and painless. DH and I would both head to the doc. He'd give his sample. We'd go get breakfast. Then we'd go back for the IUI. I'd lay there while they inserted the speculum and catheter. Doc pulled it out and I laid there another 15-20 minutes. Then we went on with our day.

IUIs are nothing like HSGs. Well...mine weren't. My HSG was very painful and uncomfortable. If you had an easy and painless HSG, then IUI would be the same.

spin25 · October 2013

I had some cramping with IUIs, but they weren't anything like my HSG. IUIs were quicker and less painful.

ecinereb · October 2013

Like others have said, my IUI's were quick and easy. I had some mild cramping after both.

nfp147 · October 2013

Like the other ladies have said, my IUI was quick, easy and absolutely painless. Way easier than a HSG and easier than a pap.

poppies717 · October 2013

I'm going to be the odd one out. My IUI was painful. It was nothing compared to the HSG, but they had trouble getting the catheter through my cervix. Ouch! I stayed lying down for 15 minutes afterward.

You know how I like to be prepared (IUI)

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