Donor Sperm IUI/IVF- 2012

[MrsC8776]

Welcome to the new ladies!

CM~ Glad to see you back and getting started! It will go fast!

Red~ Good luck on Monday!

dodge~ I do believe what Sun said is correct. You will have to have someone else get involved in the process because of the shipping. It won't work to just freeze it and ship it. When it gets shipped from the bank it comes in a container that stays at a certain temp (frozen) and they thaw it at the clinic by leaving it out for an hour or so. It thaws really fast!! I hope you guys can work something out. Is there anyway he could travel for a day to where you are and then fly back?

 

[Redhead7211]

Well the doctor called me today and said my blood work from yesterday is 1700-something. She said to trigger tonight between 10pm-12am and then I'll be seeing her Monday morning. Everyone keep everything crossed for me!

 

[raelynn]

Good luck Red!

 

[dodgegirl]

Welcome to the new ladies!

CM~ Glad to see you back and getting started! It will go fast!

Red~ Good luck on Monday!

dodge~ I do believe what Sun said is correct. You will have to have someone else get involved in the process because of the shipping. It won't work to just freeze it and ship it. When it gets shipped from the bank it comes in a container that stays at a certain temp (frozen) and they thaw it at the clinic by leaving it out for an hour or so. It thaws really fast!! I hope you guys can work something out. Is there anyway he could travel for a day to where you are and then fly back?

Thanks. Yes we had also talked about him flying over here during my OV time....that might be the better option !

 

[cbergs]

How many donors did you all pick out before you went ahead and purchased? As of late December, we finally picked a donor (with "high vials") and yesterday, when I went to check up on him because we were going to purchase this week, I typed in his donor ID a huge sign flew across the screen and said that all his vials had been SOLD OUT. WTF?!!? In less than a month? Does this fertility bullshit ever get easier? I mean, it's been blow after blow. I am going out of my mind.

I can't believe we have to endure yet another bout of disappointment. UNreal!

I guess....another question, how do you NOT get attached to the donor you've picked so that if this happens you can just keep moving on??

Thanks!

 

[CanadianMaple]

I had been talking via email about our donor to the sperm bank. She had told me he only had 2 vials left and I bought both. I now have two in storage for months, which kind of sucks, but when I read what you went through, I suppose it's a small price to pay. I'm so sorry that happened to you, that's really frustrating, especially when you think of the time you take to make sure you have the perfect one.

I guess there must be a reason this has happened in the grand scheme of things. Once you pick your new donor and have your baby, you wouldn't be able to picture any other baby. (So easy for me to say though, I get that...) One other thought would be to email the sperm bank. They could be releasing more soon or may have some ordered canceled or a waiting list or something...

Good luck Redhead!

Dodgegirl- Glad he's flying in for your ovulation time. Good luck!

 

[cbergs]

Yeah, I hear you. I called, and they have just one vial left. Not sure it's worth it. As much as I want to buy it, I want to try and use the same sperm for siblings...sooo annoying!!! According to the california cryobank, if I did use the one vial, and then someday wanted children from that donor again, I can pay $1750 to have him re-located, tested, and then the fees for more vials. I think that's pretty much insane.

But it definitely sucks. His baby picture was like straight out of a catalog. And he was cited as looking like a mixture of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Chris Hemsworth! I want to shoot myself for not purchasing that sperm! Uggghhh!!!!

 

[CanadianMaple]

If you want to make sure you have enough for siblings, I would probably keep looking. It would be tempting to want to buy it. I bought the last two vials of my donor but will probably never use my 2nd vial, so someone may be able to buy that down the road. I may not hurt to keep checking in while you're looking.

This road is so, so difficult. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

[SunUp]

Good luck RED!

Cberg- SAME thing happened to us! SAME EXACT THING!! We were SOOO excited with our first choice, then bam, gone! So as time came closer to IUI, we found another newer donor... who was also great, but no luck. SO we were waiting AGAIN, trying to find the next best thing, then all of a sudden, another awesome one came, so we bought right away! Sorry it happened to you, hugs!

 

[Redhead7211]

Hi all!

Cbergs-That stinks! The donor sounds handsome! You'll find another one, it's just a pain searching. My DH and I had one picked out that DH absolutely loved, but after multiple failed IUI's we decided to switch to this guy. It's a very long, long process.

The IUI went fine yesterday. I was super nervous and she was running late so I was going nuts. She said the sperm was a good sample that had 13 million potential baby makers in it. She had a hard time manipulating my uterus and cervix. She had the table angled back and I had to push down on my uterus. I had absolutely horrid ovulation pain during the IUI and for the remainder of yesterday. I was doubled over in pain, couldn't really walk or anything. Now I just have a lot of pressure, but I went to work and lived. I just have a lot of pressure on my butt (TMI I know sorry!), I'm not sure what that's all about. I'm hoping that all of this pain just means that the timing is perfect for the IUI.

I hope you're all doing well!

 

[Redhead7211]

MrsC-do you have any delivery plans yet? You're pretty far along mama!

 

[dodgegirl]

Redhead, can u tell me more about the IUI? Im considering going that route... just trying to find out how much it will cost, i just dont like the 6 month waiting period...

 

[PiperDilly]

Did anyone in here choose to create a family using donor sperm due to very low motility and very low count? I see so many stories about people using donor sperm due to their DH having ZERO sperm but I have not been able to find anyone that used a donor for poor sperm quality etc. I feel that most people in that situation choose IVF, but is there anyone out there that decided to forgo the invasive procedures and mountains of debt and settle for donor sperm? My partner is a type 1 diabetic with very low count and motility. We are not sure if anything will be able to change this, so we are mentally preparing ourselves for the possibility that we may have to try donor sperm.


I could really use someone to relate to on this.

 

[MrsC8776]

How many donors did you all pick out before you went ahead and purchased? As of late December, we finally picked a donor (with "high vials") and yesterday, when I went to check up on him because we were going to purchase this week, I typed in his donor ID a huge sign flew across the screen and said that all his vials had been SOLD OUT. WTF?!!? In less than a month? Does this fertility bullshit ever get easier? I mean, it's been blow after blow. I am going out of my mind.

I can't believe we have to endure yet another bout of disappointment. UNreal!

I guess....another question, how do you NOT get attached to the donor you've picked so that if this happens you can just keep moving on??

Thanks!

Like CM said... if you are wanting to use the same donor for siblings it might be best to look at different ones. What I had hubby do is go through all the donors and print off the profiles he liked. From there he numbered them 1-? and we went down the list. Had number 1 not worked out we would have moved on. We didn't let ourselves get attached to certain ones. I think thats something you have to avoid when going this route. Also we never looked at pictures. I truly hope you find another donor that you are comfortable with and are willing to use. Many places will hold some for you for the future as well. Like the place we used we could buy it, store it there and if it wasn't needed we could return it for I think 50% of cost? Once it leaves the bank there is no return though.

Hi all!

Cbergs-That stinks! The donor sounds handsome! You'll find another one, it's just a pain searching. My DH and I had one picked out that DH absolutely loved, but after multiple failed IUI's we decided to switch to this guy. It's a very long, long process.

The IUI went fine yesterday. I was super nervous and she was running late so I was going nuts. She said the sperm was a good sample that had 13 million potential baby makers in it. She had a hard time manipulating my uterus and cervix. She had the table angled back and I had to push down on my uterus. I had absolutely horrid ovulation pain during the IUI and for the remainder of yesterday. I was doubled over in pain, couldn't really walk or anything. Now I just have a lot of pressure, but I went to work and lived. I just have a lot of pressure on my butt (TMI I know sorry!), I'm not sure what that's all about. I'm hoping that all of this pain just means that the timing is perfect for the IUI.

I hope you're all doing well!

Fx for this to be the one!! When will you be testing? Sounds like the timing was just right!

MrsC-do you have any delivery plans yet? You're pretty far along mama!

We are getting so close! So far no real plans yet. With hubby working in Afghanistan I'm hoping he can get a flight home at 36 weeks and the girls wait until then to make their appearance. I do think I will schedule a c section just because but there are a few things I have to think about. She said we could do an amnio at 36 weeks to see if their lungs are fully developed and if so we will do a section 2 days later. If not we do another amnio at 37 weeks. I didn't even do one in the beginning so I don't know how I feel about this. I do feel more comfortable with a section just because we are having twins. We will probably schedule the official section for 38 weeks. Only 6-8 weeks to go hopefully! I can't believe it.

Redhead, can u tell me more about the IUI? Im considering going that route... just trying to find out how much it will cost, i just dont like the 6 month waiting period...

For us I think the IUI itself was around $300. It might depend on where you live though. We went to OHSU and Oregon Reproductive Medicine. ORM liked to do monitoring and OHSU wanted us to go the natural route. I think your located in WA so both these might be close to you.

Did anyone in here choose to create a family using donor sperm due to very low motility and very low count? I see so many stories about people using donor sperm due to their DH having ZERO sperm but I have not been able to find anyone that used a donor for poor sperm quality etc. I feel that most people in that situation choose IVF, but is there anyone out there that decided to forgo the invasive procedures and mountains of debt and settle for donor sperm? My partner is a type 1 diabetic with very low count and motility. We are not sure if anything will be able to change this, so we are mentally preparing ourselves for the possibility that we may have to try donor sperm.


I could really use someone to relate to on this.

welcome! Sorry you may end up finding yourself going this route. My hubby had a vasectomy and got it reversed. It took for a little while then failed. We did start to go down the IVF route and had a TESE done. They found a ton of swimmers but funds just didn't work out for us. So we said it is best to support a family than just be able to make one. At that point we moved to donor IUI. So in a way yes I can relate to your situation but not exactly. Is there anything he has tried to increase sperm? Also I see you are in Oregon. Nice to see someone else on the boards from the same area.

 

[SunUp]

Hey Piper - our doc biopsied DH's TESE sample... originally they said they found none, but it turns out he actually had 5% mature sperm in the sample. But due to health risks, we were not willing to risk another surgery for DH... and now I am almost 'halfway' with baby boy.

 

[PiperDilly]

Thanks for your stories!

Yes, great to see a fellow Oregonian! You may be the first I have met on here, actually.

I really like your point here:

"They found a ton of swimmers but funds just didn't work out for us. So we said it is best to support a family than just be able to make one."

That really hit it on the head for me. That's what we are struggling with at the moment. He DOES have swimmers, but is it worth it to be paying off mountains of debt for years while trying to raise a family?

 

[Redhead7211]

Piper-My DH had a vasectomy and we decided due to cost (of both retrieval and aspiration), the chance of a reversal working, and the fact that he, and both brothers have never had bio children, it would be better in the long run if we used donor goods. So I don't have any real input sorry.

MrsC-I'm so excited for you! Plans sound good. I'll jump over to the DS and pregnancy board and we will throw you one heck of an online "welcome to the world babies" party.

Dodgegirl-I'm not a lot of help with the cost...we are one of the lucky few that until I'm 26 health insurance will cover the cost of it. We just pay co-pays, donor sperm etc. I actually had never heard of IUI before, and assumed because of DH's vasectomy we would have to adopt. The process itself isn't bad at all (physically anyway). I'll give you my abridged version from start to present.

First visit with RE-Expect for you and your partner to answer lots of questions...Frank ones about sexual partners, STDs, diet, smoking, drinking etc. DH and I had to get checked out, I had to get weighed, blood pressure taken, both of us had blood drawn. Just because of where I was in my cycle I had an ultrasound on top of an exam.

For both the natural cycle and Clomid cycle-I called them when my period started and went in for a mid-cycle ultrasound. My RE decided it was best of I took 50mg Clomid days 3-7. Clomid wasn't too bad, but it made me psychotic when I had my period and gave me ferocious hot flashes. From that point RE told me when to trigger and come on for the IUI.

For the Gonal F cycles-I called them when my period started, went in for a baseline ultrasound done within the first few days of the cycle (accompanied by blood work), a baseline ultrasound (accompanied with blood work) and then from that point was told when to trigger and come in for the IUI. The first Gonal F cycle I had was only on 75iu for a few days. This cycle I was on 150ius for 7 days and got by blood drawn 5 times.
If you end up needing injectables, be prepared for a lot of blood work, and for more of a toll one your body. Let's hope you don't need to move to injectables though!

I'm still insanely sore. Not as bad as Monday, but worse than yesterday. I haven't decided on a test date yet. AF can come potentially any time from 1/29-1/31. I'm usually pretty weak and like to test around 10piui. This cycle I feel like so much is riding on it that I'm afraid to test. I know it's premature, but this cycle has been so trying on me in every aspect, I don't know if I have it in me to do another like this. I'm trying to be as upbeat as possible and just hope that this is finally it.

Hope you all are well!

 

[want2beamamma]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on for a long time, I just thought I needed to step back from everything for a little while. I was quite upset and dissappointed from the last treatment attempt.
We have been contemplating our options IVF and trying a reversal. I went to speak with my doctor yesterday and she said considering IVF is approx $12,000 where I am and the reversal is approx $5,000-$8,000 she suggested that is the best route to go.

Now we have to wait and see how long till we can get an appointment for the reversal, is looking like atleast a year unless someone cancels ( which is highly unlikely )

GRRR now I wait I guess if we go the reversal route I shouldnt really be joining in this thread again, sorry. I just seem to be able to chat with you ladies the best.

I hope everyone has good luck with their treatments Redhead especially you. You have been trying and trying and you deserve this !!!!

 

[Redhead7211]

Want2-As a long standing member of this group still TTC I vote that you can stay and chat as long as you'd like. Can I ask you some semi-personal questions? How long ago was the vasectomy? How old is DH? And what state/country do you live in?
A year is such a long wait!! When DH and I got engaged I sent him immediately to a local specialist to see about it getting his vasectomy reversed. The estimate was nearly $20k. Just to aspirate was $10k. DH had the vasectomy around 10 years ago and they didn't give him good odds for it working. I haven't had a formal discussion with my RE about IVF yet, but in December when I went in for my baseline and found out I had a cyst, the other doctor in the practice brought it up. He said it would only be $5-7K. Isn't location funny?
I have faith that we will all have our time, you included. Feel free to PM me any time to talk.

 

[Redhead7211]

Hi ladies,

Just a quick update. I called my RE's office regarding the pain I was in, and the now discomfort I'm in. The nurse said that obviously the pain I felt initially was ovulation pain. She also said I could have been extra crampy because of how she had to manipulate my uterus and cervix during the IUI. She said what I've been feeling the rest of the week is fluid from the left over follies disappearing. She said to only get concerned if the pain gets worse, and that often pain/discomfort is a good sign. So mystery solved!

As of today I've been very thirsty, which is good for the ovary fluid. My uterus feels like there's something in it...almost heavy? I don't know how to really describe it. Whenever I cough or sneeze it really hurts. I still feel pressure on my bum (TMI I know...). My abdomen is also bloated looking. So we shall see!

Hope all you beautiful ladies are doing well!