I need your opinions...

All of you know we are actively TTC...on to our 3rd month of IUI this week. But a few things came up last night when DH and I were talking. The first was him saying he hoped the IUI would be on Saturday because he is not sure if he can be late again for work. Originally this wasnt suppossed to be a problem but I guess its turned into one at work for him. Even if he goes to just "drop off" the day of the iui, the earliest they have is 7:30 am, he wouldnt get to work till 8:30 and he starts at 6 am so he's 2 and 1/2 hours late. My job doesnt like me being late AT all either but will deal with it. DH basically said, why dont we try the "old fashioned way"...and I dont know how I feel about this.

The second issue is I desperatley need to lose some weight. Im not comfortable at ALL where I am at and am kinda scared of getting PG and adding weight on , and I dont think I would be good at gaining only the minimum ...

BUT...theres no guarentee that I will even get PG on this IUI or the next...its always a WHAT IF...

So Im really really confused about wondering if we should try naturally for say 2 cycles and that gives me time to drop some weight and us both able to start taking time off work again or if I will kick myself for waiting and not doing the iui's.

I want a baby so badly NOW that Im so hesitant to wait.

And would it be bad to say lose the weight, then get PG, gain more weight , only to have to lose it again?

Any advice or opinions...What would you do in my shoes?

Thanks for listening....

Re: I need your opinions...

I am sooooo IN YOUR SHOES on this one.

First, I completely empathize with the grueling decisions we have to make every month. If this IUI does not work this month I think we will be taking tome off as well. You are already medicated this month right? IF I were you I would probably do it this month and then take some time off. But that decision is a very personal one and you both have to be comfortable with it.

As for the weight I am with you again. Before my son was born we were TTC for a year and when I lost 50 pounds I got pregnant on my own. Well I gained back that 50 during my PG and have only los(and kept off) 20 since I had him almost 3 years ago. I am constantly struggling to lose weight and scared to death about what size I will be when I am 9 months PG. But for me with all the trouble we have been having I feel like I dont want to wait just to lose weight. BUt again that is totally just my feeling and everyone has their own feelings about this.

I am not sure if I helped you make your decision at all, but mostly I wanted you to know you are not alone on this.

Re: I need your opinions...

I'm also going to sympathize with you...

Although I am not doing IUI's, IVF is the only thing that can work for me (if it can), I'm facing the same decisions...

I put on about 30 pounds in the last 3 years...since we've been TTC. Since this is probably my last IVF whether it works or not, I'm wondering if I should wait to lose the weight (just joined a gym, but still can't control my eating) before this cycle. I can't imagine being pg and gaining more weight, I'm so uncomfortable as it is...but then I think that I will have to wait until next year to cycle. And, who knows if I will really lose the weight by then?

It's driving me nuts.

Re: I need your opinions...

I have very mixed feelings about IUI's and why they are done so much.

It depends on the reasons why you are doing them, whether you should try naturally. Usually if you have male factor issues, the iui's may help.

IUI's are unlimited in NY if your insurance covers infertility. It is my theory that in NY the Re clinics push them and never suggest natural cycles because they get paid more for a IUI. IuI's require so little of the RE's time that it's very cost effective.

I speak to women internationally on fertility friend, and it's so rare to see them do IUI"s unless they live in NY. I started putting the two things together.

I conceived naturally, 'twice". Since I started doing IUI's I haven't conceived at all. I used to think, that IUI's wouldn't hurt and only help the chances, but I am not so sure anymore.

I know of a girl who was ttc with IUI using a sperm donor. She was single and chose to be a mother. She was still 'dating' an ex of hers, that she once conceived with yet miscarried. Her "ex" did agree to father her child if she chose to go that route. She tried several times and failed. Her ob/gyn, told her, just go try the old fashioned way, since you conceived that way once. He said obviously the greatest success is that way :) Lo and behold, she got pregnant naturally and has a beautiful son.

Tomorrow is cd3 for me and I am going to express my feelings about IUI's with my RE. I am at the same point you are Donna. Not because of the time restraints, because I am on a leave from work due to all the RE visits, but because there is just a part of me that feels IUIs may not be in the best interest for all people.

Here is some very interesting information I have found.

Ideally an IUI should be performed within 6 hours either side of ovulation — for male factor infertility some doctors believe after ovulation is better, otherwise chances of success are higher with insemination before ovulation with the sperm waiting for the egg. When timing is based on an hCG injection, the IUIs are usually done between 24 and 48 hours later. Typical timing would be to have a single IUI at about 36 hours post-hCG, though some do it at 24 hours, and some clinics are reporting better results when doing the IUI at 40-42 hours post-hCG. If two IUIs are scheduled, they are usually spaced at least 12 hours apart between 24 and 48 hours after the hCG. Some reports show no increase in success rates with two IUIs, but others suggest it may increase success as much as 6 percent.

Some doctors will base timing of IUI on a natural LH surge. In that case, a single IUI at 36 hours is the norm, but doing them at 24 hours is also pretty common since ovulation may be a bit earlier. When two inseminations are planned, they are usually timed between 12 and 48 hours after the surge is detected.

The egg is only viable for a maximum of 24 hours after it is released.Searching through about a dozen medical journal articles and a number of web sites resulted in a rather wide range of statistics. Basically the odds of success are reported to be just under 6 percent and as high as 26 percent per cycle. The low statistics are with one follicle, while multiple follicles resulted in as high 26 percent success. Another influencing factor is sperm count. Higher sperm counts increase the odds of success; however, there was little difference between success with good-average counts and those with high counts. The overall success rate seems to be between 15-20 percent per cycle, judging from the articles which will be abstracted below. The rate of multiple gestation pregnancies is 23-30 percent.

Current research indicates that washed sperm can live 24-72 hours; however, it does lose potency after 24 hours. Another issue with IUI is that the sperm can keep on swimming beyond the fallopian tube, so the ideal window is really within 6-12 hours of the egg being released, with a larger margin before ovulation than after since the egg's viability is shorter. Sperm can live up to 5 days in fertile mucus, 2-3 days being pretty common, so combining IUI with intercourse may provide better coverage.

Losing weight can definitely change your system around. Actually even 10 lbs can do it. The fat cells are where estrogen is stored. Estrogen is a major component when ttc. A slight drop in weight can make a difference.

I need to take my own advice and lose some weight. Sometimes when our goal for weigh loss is to "look good" it can be overwhelming. We all want to weigh 120 lbs but in reality that goal can be far fetched. Losing weight for TTC purposes can just be a few lbs and easier to achieve.

I think I am going to hit the gym this cycle :)

Message edited 10/26/2005 9:00:20 AM.

Re: I need your opinions...

Just wanted to say you're not alone with these thoughts/issues

IMO I would do the IUI on Sat. Then if needed take a break after this cycle, I hope this is it for you

As for the weight, I could def. afford to lose some but I find it so hard to do so. I have started to eat better and exercise but it's not coming off like I want it to.
for me I'm just going to deal with it, hope I get pregnant then worry about losing it then.

baby dust to you!!

Re: I need your opinions...

I think we all feel the way you do. I would love to lose weight and have been trying. For some women, I really think losing weight is more difficult for whatever reasons. I have learned through the years, that I will never be model thin. I'm just not built that way. I have stopped beating myself up about it and stick to eating healthy and trying to be active. Other then my being overweight, I'm completely healthy and that is the most important factor.

I'm in my 2nd medicated cycle and will be having my second IUI some time soon. Since I don't ovulate on my own, I am not really sure if the IUI is completely necessary. One would think that as long as I can get the egg to drop, why not try naturally? I will complete 4-5 and then I'm going to take a break.

I think you have to really think about what you want. The weight shouldn't be a deciding factor unless you are so unhappy with it.

I really hope this cycle works for you as well as all of us here!

Re: I need your opinions...

This is a great thread and it's very interesting to see the stats on IUI. I don't like the fact that washed sperm can't live as long as if they were in CM but I wonder if my mucus is hostile. I never had a post-coital test as many RE's do not perform this test anymore because CM can vary month to month. We do not have a male factor either and so I guess the reason we are doing IUI's is because we felt it would up our chances.

On the weight issue, I think no matter how big or small we are we all have our comfort level on what weight feels right for us and when we bypass that point by a few lbs it's upsetting to us. I have a friend at work that was a little overweight when she got pregnant. When she found out she watched what she ate so closely and did not really gain that much weight through the pregnancy.

I think that I personally feel that I have gained some weight since I began taking clomid. I have a very bloated feeling all of the time and though I usually excercise 3-4 times a week my DH has been giving me a hard time about the excercising because he thinks that I should be taking it easy. It sounds like all you ladies think working out is good for you while TTC so do you think it is safe to workout in your 2WW? The Dr. who did my IUI this month told me that perhaps I should take it easy for the next two weeks and avoid the gym.

Re: I need your opinions...

Thank you ladies, all of you for your advice.

Of course after this mornings questions, I got a surge on the OPK today!

SO- we are gonna go ahead and do the IUI tommorow , get some extra BD'ing in and take our chances. Im going to reduce or watch what I eat for the next few weeks regardless.

THANKS ALL

Re: I need your opinions...

good luck tomorrow. Hopefully after this you wont need to have any more questions.

Re: I need your opinions...

Good Luck tomorrow!!!!!

Re: I need your opinions...

Thanks all!

Turns out the OPK was wrong ( stupid Answer opk , which I used to love!)

My blood work today showed me not yet surging. So I will probably have the IUI over the weekend. But thanks guys!!!

Re: I need your opinions...

Pretty scary that the Answer OPK was wrong. Really scary actually, and sad. Best of luck to you this weekend! Keep us posted!