Our very first IUI - intra-uterine insemination

I ovulated last night! We arrived at the doctor's office this morning at 7:45am and immediately had another fabulous ultrasound. There were two enlarged follicles, one at 14 mm (too small), the other had already released the egg. Yay! Wait, no! Usually they try to catch it before ovulation occurs - did I call as soon as I had a color change? What? What does "color change" mean? The instructions for using the ovulation test were confusing. I clarified with Dr. Miller that I should call when the lines were the same color - that is the definition of a color change. The nurse said a color change is when a line appears at all. Well, a line was appearing from the first day I started taking the test (day 9), so this makes no sense to me. They will be speaking with the doc to decide what to do next month. He may decide to change my meds or put me on injections to be able to better pinpoint my ovulation.

We went on with the regularly scheduled programming anyway as the egg can live for up to 24 hours, so the insemination may still work. They drew some blood from me, then sent Rudy to "the special room". I then received a giant shot of Hcg - the shot didn't hurt, but my backside was pretty sore afterwards. But, it was not as bad as the pain I was having last night where my ovary is - it was ovulation pain! Duhhh!!!

Oh - more about the ultrasound. The nurse said my right ovary is tucked under my uterus, so it has less wiggle room. So, when it swells up, it is like being stuck in a vice, thus the extra sensitivity. My other ovary is not touching my uterus, it has more room, however there were no mature follicles on that side. I wonder if that is normal? I will have to see next month if my other ovary produces any eggs. Hmmmm...

Rudy came out of "the room" and we waited on the couch for a while for the specimen to be prepared. About 20-30 minutes later we were called back into the stirrup room (named for the stirrups I have to put my feet in every time I enter that room). The nurse brought the specimen in and gave us the sperm analysis - 25 million sperm! Wow! She said anything above 5 million is good, so a very good specimen. The little guys had been spun around til dizzy to remove all the non-swimmers. They were also mixed with a medium to eliminate the sperm anti-bodies. It was pink for some reason - I read somewhere that they put pink dye in it.

I put my feet in the stirrups, and the nurse put in the speculum. She then proceeded to clean out my cervix and said this may be uncomfortable since I have just ovulated and my cervix would be sensitive. It wasn't so bad - like a pap smear. Then, she did her thing. I guess they put in a thin tube up into the uterus, I didn't watch. Then, inject the sperm. Not a very romantic moment in my life, but Rudy did sit next to me and hold my arm. I felt a little crampy - especially at the end when she finished, OUCH!!

I laid on the table for 12 minutes, then got dressed. All done! Tomorrow I start prometrium (progesterone), then go back next Friday for another hcg shot. I will go in for a pregnancy test in two weeks.

I am feeling pretty crampy - it hurts when I cough and pee. I laid in bed for a few hours and am now lounging on the couch. I am supposed to take it easy for a few days, so I am! Emotionally, I am feeling ok. I am definitely stressed, we have a lot of stress in our lives right now on top of dealing with infertility.

I really, really hope we get pregnant so our infertility journey is over. Something good has to happen to us soon, we have had too much bad stuff happen and it is time for a turnaround.