Home IUI/ICI???

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:53 am

My DP and I are planning our first IUI/ICI at home. I am looking for anyone that has suggestions or any helpful hints. We are both pretty new to this as far as at home goes. I am hoping to start with her next cycle.
HELP!!!

nicolamark · Post by **nicolamark** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:06 pm

Good luck girls! do you have a donor sperm yet??
Will u use a known donor??
I have had iui but in a clinic and not at home, so cant help you with that bit!
x x

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:41 pm

we will probably be using a known donor. We are meeting him tonight. . . a friend of a friend. We still have to talk and work out all the bugs. I also have a friend who is an attorney and deals with this kind of stuff often, so he is going to hooks us up with the necessary paperwork to keep everyone honest and happy and comfortable with the situation.
I have done alot of reading about IUI and ICI at home and I am hoping we can be successful. I have read that many people are, guess we will see. . .if not then we get to pay big bucks for the Dr.

Amy (34) & Sharon DP (37)

Henrietta · Post by **Henrietta** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:30 pm

Hi Girls,

If you do ICI doctor says it helps for you to have an orgasm because when you have an orgasm your uterus contracts and sucks the sperm right up to the uterus. Which is a good thing. Make sure that when you do IUI that the sperm is washed because unwashed has seminal fluid and dead sperm. Uterus can only take .5cc at a time before it starts to cramp and expell the sperm because dead sperm and seminal fluid cannot swim up. So it would only be expelled and may cause infection. Usually on a regular ejaculate only the live stuff swims past the cervix the other just drips out. Me and my partner have an 8 year old that was done by ICI and happened on the second try with an orgasm. Now we are trying again and this will be my first cycle doing IUI. We are letting the doctor handle it this time around. Although, we did order the home insemination kit just in case doctor is not in, we are ready to do it at home. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Good Luck ladies, lot of baby dust to you.

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:59 am

Thank you so much Henrietta for all the info. I have new questions daily. We did meet our donor Friday and he is wonderful!!!! Meeting with the attorney this week.
We have not really tracked DP's cycle until this month and we want to try this month. So. . . here is my quesitons . ..
She usually has pretty clear signs of O. The mucus, and most of the times she can feel it. She is currently on her period and will be for probably 3-4 more days. When should we start using the OPK???

nicolamark · Post by **nicolamark** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:21 am

Glad to hear that u liked your donor!!! thats great!!!

How many day's is your partners normal cycle???

Mine is usually 27-33 days which mean that ovulation is from days 13-19

So I would in my cycle start on day 12!!

however these damn kits only have 7 tests, and be pepared to use 2 month!! buy on line to get them cheeper!!!

the best time to test the urine is at 11am as thats when LH is at its strongest, so then it takes 36hrs to get the sperm in to egg, from the time the LH surge happens, til the time the egg dies off is 36 hrs!!

So then you would have from 11am (when u got surge) to 11pm the next day!! makes sence???

I would if i was you try to inseminate the sperm later that day and again the next day!!!

How will you store this sperm from the donor??

When i was doing it, i was doing with a clinic so was having scans and they could tell the size of follciles!! so i knew when to test, and usually LH happened 2-3 days laters!!
I was testing at 11am and again in the evening just in case!!!

If you dont know the day of the cycle lenght then i would start using the test kit at the 1st day the CM changes to elastic, stretchy and clear, slippery stuff!!!

Good luck, let me know how it goes!!!! x xx

So if she's on period now, thats day1, so your're looking at about 6 april for LH and shortly after for Ov and insem.

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:33 am

Her cycle is usually 28 days. We have not been tracking it for long. She started period on 22nd in the afternoon, today she is very light, not much at all.
I am worried about her getting +OPK and me being at work. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts 3 days a week. What if it is + at 11am and I am at work, will it be bad to wait until 8pm that night??? and then do it again at 8pm the next day????
Our donor is ready - on call. He is also in health care but we can call him and he can come after work or before work. With all luck he will be working on our side of town that day. And he only lives about 20 minutes away. This way we won't have to "store" the sperm.
I am open to all suggestions. We have not done this at home before, so I am reading all that I can. I think being a nurse makes me a little more comfortable with the actual procedure, but since I have never done it, i just want to learn all I can before it happens.
I did get all the legal papers done today for our donor so all is well and ready to go. Just need to get her ready! : )
Amy (34) & Sharon DP (37)

nicolamark · Post by **nicolamark** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:56 pm

Well, if your nurse, thats good!!!

If she gets +OPK at 11am for example then count 36 hrs, so u would have til 11pm the next day!!!

so yes, 8pm that night and 8pm the next night!!

Good luck!!! You might be lucky 1st try!!! but beprepared for several try's!!!

The normal conception can take anything from1-12 mths!! x x

x xx

Henrietta · Post by **Henrietta** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:58 pm

Hi Ladies,

Nicolamark is giving you very good advice. You will be ok doing it like she says. Good luck and let me know how it turns out. I go for ultrasound on Friday 30th. If eggs are good doctor will do HCG and inseminate on Saturday. Hope we all have December babies.

lots of baby dust coming your way.

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:54 am

Thank you Nicolamark, for the great advise. You too Henrietta. Ya know, I am not sure what I would do without these message boards. I think I would be going crazy with questions. Her AF stopped today, just spotting last night. So. . . I guess we will be checking CM and continue to temp every AM.
I am so excited I can't stand myself!!!! I have ordered the "do it at home" kit with the speculum and syringe and catheter and stuff and it should be here within 2 days. Hopefully I get it in time to practice a little with the speculum and look at the cervix some to get to know what it really looks like. I guess I should have gone into OB/GYN nursing instead of neuro nursing. Then I would at least know a little more about what I was looking at. LOL Oh well, it is all in the timing and fun.
Just ready for this to happen. Knowing it could take several cycles but praying NOT!
Thanks for all the advise and please keep it coming . . it keeps me sane!

Henrietta · Post by **Henrietta** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:40 pm

Amy & Sharon,

If doing ICI remember that it is important that you have plenty of CM to sustain the life of the sperm. If you see that she does not have CM in abundance take some Robitussin with Guaifenesin 2 tablespoons 3 times a day 5 days before you suspect ovulation. Good thing to check CM now until ovulation so you can observe the changes in consistency during the first half of the cycle.

Good luck, and I am praying for us to have December babies.

nicolamark · Post by **nicolamark** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:22 pm

evening primrose oil aid CM and drink lots of water, as this helps the CM too!!
Are u doing IUI or ICI???

good luck, and your'll have to let us know the out come!! xx

amysharon · Post by **amysharon** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:49 pm

We will probably be doing ICI. I got a speculum from work yesterday and tried last night to just see what I could see, and found out that I should have paid more attention when I was going through the OB/GYN portion of my nursing school. I had NO IDEA what I was looking at. It looked like there was a big wad of pink tissue in the way and that I needed to point the speculum down more but when I tried she said that was too uncomfortable. I don't have a clue if I am doing this right. Her CM is creamy color but still sticky. We did an OPK yesterday evening and it was neg. She is also having symptoms of a bladder infection. Don't know how that will play into everything. I am going to try to visualize her cervix again today when she gets home from work. I think if I try to look at it every day then maybe I will notice changes. I saw a website that showed pictures of what it is supposed to look like that is why I think I wasn't even close.
I am guessing she will O in about 5-6 days.
I am right there with ya hoping for a Decemember baby, I would even be ok with January. OK, really I would be ok with any month just want one soon.
Good luck girls

nicolamark · Post by **nicolamark** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:05 pm

Good luck to you both!! how did you decide who would carry the child??

I really hope you get your bundle of joy in 9nths!! x x

i have no idea what a cervix looks like either!!! Parhaps ICI would be better for you x xx

All the best x x

Melissa112 · Post by **Melissa112** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:19 pm

I have been lurking on your thread for a while, I hope you don't mind! I am just so excited for both you and Amy!!! (and I am doing IUI, but not a home, but I was really interested in your progress, and keeping you both in my prayers!)

I know what a cervix looks like! I do!!

Okay, it's a pink mass about the size of a large quarter, with a small dot in the middle. It's alot smaller than you think it might be, and not exactly what you probably thought you were looking for. So all that big fleshyness that was getting in your way, might actually be the cervix!

Does that help?

Home IUI/ICI???

Home IUI/ICI???

Advertisements