Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got lucky on my first try. It does happen!

Me too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three. None worked. Natural cycle IVF did. IuI is kind of a scam, IMO.

There's a bunch of people on this thread who have kids via IUI, please explain how it's a "scam".

I posted above that I moved to IVF after failed IUIs; not the one who used the word "scam" but I kind of agree with PP, bc its all about how its administered. I have a friend in Philadelphia who got pregnant from an IUI, she was monitored by her doctor in advance of ovulation to track the size of the lead follicle (similar to IVF) and then did a trigger shot followed up with a blood test confirm the trigger and time the IUI. It worked.

Meanwhile, I did 3 rounds of IUI at SGF with me peeing on a stick at home to look for LH surge and calling when I think it happened. I just remember talking to my nurse bc I keep peeing and peeing for days and didnt see a clear line. She was pretty unhelpful about what I should expect to see. The tests were just ones i bought at CVS; SGF had no recommendation on a reliable OPK (I asked after the first failure). Same thing happened 2nd time so at best it was an educated guess. After 2 failures, they gave me a subcutaneous trigger shot (all my IVF triggers have ben intramuscular) but no confirmation blood test.

Overall I really regret the money and time I wasted on the IUIs given the minimal education. I am deep into my IVF journey now but I look back and think I was new to it all and didnt know what questions to ask or that I needed to speak up for myself/self-advocate and to press the pause button if you dont think something is right.

This was at SGF? I'm really surprised, but maybe it depended on your diagnosis? I have PCOS, and I was VERY closely monitored at SGF through 5 IUIs. Went in every other day to track growth of lead follicle, trigger followed by bloodwork, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m doing my first IUI cycle and I want to make sure I’m being monitored like everyone suggests. I went in for baseline bloodwork and sonogram, then started 5 days of clomid that day. I go back three days later (Thurs) for bloodwork and IUI. I’ll get a trigger shot at some point, and insemination next week. Is this sufficient monitoring? Any tips or things I should be making sure the RE does?

Sounds a little off. Monitoring means you are getting ultrasounds after finishing your clomid doses to make sure that follicles are forming, are the right size to trigger, that the uterine lining is thickening, and that there aren't too many mature follicles (for risk of multiples). You also don't typically get bloodwork on IUI day. A typical schedule might look like:
- baseline monitoring and bloodwork on day 3ish
- meds for next 5-7 days
- monitoring beginning a a day or two after you finish meds - bloodwork and ultrasound
- next steps depending on results would be trigger, wait for more growth, or take another dose of meds to get more follicle growth
- more monitoring as you go through next steps
- trigger shot and IUI next morning

It's possible your RE's office just didn't give exact timeline since it's your first cycle and there are a lot of factors that determine your exact timing. But if they're not monitoring after your meds for follicle growth then that's not correct.

Anonymous wrote:I’m doing my first IUI cycle and I want to make sure I’m being monitored like everyone suggests. I went in for baseline bloodwork and sonogram, then started 5 days of clomid that day. I go back three days later (Thurs) for bloodwork and IUI. I’ll get a trigger shot at some point, and insemination next week. Is this sufficient monitoring? Any tips or things I should be making sure the RE does?