IUI vs. timed intercourse- opinions please!

CAS218 · February 2014

Hi ladies!
Just looking for some advice...
Me and DH have had all the testing done. I have gone through 6 rounds of clomid w/o any ovulation. Was also put on Prometrium 3x with no results.
I am starting injections sometime next month depending on if my cycle decides to come on its on or needs provera to jump start it. The doc is giving us the option of either doing 'timed intercourse' or IUI. I have done some research and know that the success rate is 10-30% more successful with IUI.
DH and I have talked about trying without IUI the first round or two, if negative results then going to IUI. The only worry is the doc has said after 4 rounds with no success he would move forward to IVF.
I was wondering if anyone had input on this? Should we not risk 1/4 of our chances w/o IUI? Has anyone had or heard of success with the 'timed intercourse'?
I feel like research can only get me so far, I would greatly appreciate anything you ladies have to offer

Thank you so much for any of your input!

Pintobean39 · February 2014

I'm on my second cycle of injections with TI. My Dr didn't even offer me an IUI. I'm assuming because I had 3 mc in 5 months so getting pregnant isn't my problem.

I'm curious what other have to say.

pmpknbride · February 2014

What is your diagnosis? If you have any MFI I would go straight to IUI. The decision to do IUI was difficult, but now that I'm doing it I'm happy I went that way. We do not have MFI so we still BD on the night of trigger and the evening of IUI. So technically if we ever get a BFP from an IUI cycle we'd never know for sure if it was from BD or IUI. I'd go with the IUI, I like to think of it as stacking the deck in favor of a BFP. Good luck with whatever you decide!

rox825 · February 2014

First, the decision of when to move to IVF is yours as a couple, not your doctor's. If you want to do more than 4 cycles that's your choice, unless your RE has some clear reason to push you to move on faster (severe MFI, severely diminished ovarian reserve, blocked tubes, etc).

If you're not ready to jump to IUI yet, you could certainly start with TI+meds for a cycle or 2 before moving onto IUI, depending on your insurance coverage, finances, patience, comfort level with IVF, etc. The general rule is to change things up after 2 cycles of the same protocol. So you could try 2 medicated TI cycles, then 2 medicated IUIs, then 2 IUIs with more aggressive meds, etc. IUIs will increase your chance of success though.

Good luck.

chickysue · February 2014

I think it's personal. I am choosing to stay on TI this cycle again. We never had a chance without clomid + ovidrel at all. I want to try a couple of times without IUI. I will do IUI if this cycle doesn't work.

I was conflicted for a few days, you will make the right decision. Follow your heart, but your chances are going to be better with IUI.

RunCC37 · February 2014

Injects are expensive... I'd do the IUI. If it were Clomid or one of the oral meds, then I'd think twice about TI, but if you're going to go with injects... All in!

rox825 · February 2014

RunCC37 said:
Injects are expensive... I'd do the IUI.

Oh yeah, I missed that part. With injects I personally wouldn't do more than 1 TI cycle.

ronniesgirl1981 · February 2014

I'm in the IUI camp. Here's how I see it: If you just do TI and get a BFN, then you will second guess your decision to just do TI. If you go right to IUI and get a BFP, then who cares if TI might have worked!

But there is no wrong answer here! Good luck with whatever you decide.

Kam10 · February 2014

Since this is going to be our first medicated cycle with the RE, we have decided to do TI as long as our post-coital test comes back alright. We were able to get pregnant on our own previously, so our RE is supportive of this. We were told that because DH has no known issues that IUI doesn't improve our chances by much, so we would like to try TI for a few cycles. It's a personal decision, but this is what we are comfortable with.

We are currently on Femara. If we go more than 2 cycles with TI, or if we have to switch to injects we'll go to IUI no matter what.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

ttuprincess · February 2014

I am doing injects + TI this cycle. I had long talks about the options with both my DH and my RE. We have no male factor issues. My RE says with DH's numbers the difference in success rates for TI v IUI is almost nonexistent. My DH is more comfortable with TI so we are going that route. If this cycle fails and we decide to cycle again we will likely move onto IUI. I understand the belief that if you are already spending the money for injects it is beneficial to go all in, but in the end, it is a very personal decision about what is right for you. Good luck with whatever you decide.

sadiebbhill · February 2014

If your husband has a MFI, then definitely move forward with the IUI. My DH has a morphology issue and our RE told us that we had a less than 1% chance for TI to work. So our decision was a no brainer. But do whatever you feel is right! There's no right or wrong choice.

CAS218 · February 2014

Thank you so much ladies! DH only has very mild issues- slightly lower mobility numbers than RE would prefer. I have PCOS, insulin resistance, and metabolic disorder - Endometrisis and HSG testing all came back normal.
The RE told me in similar cases like ours that if no BFP by 4th round the likelihood of having positive results on the next rounds is slim to none. Money is also another factor as to why we are thinking TI first. But RE did not tell me about doing TI + IUI and I am definitely going to bring that option up to RE and DH! I like the idea of stacking up our chances!!
I really appreciate all your inputs very much!

so glad I found this forum

ronniesgirl1981 · February 2014

@MeatandBandP I'll second that, but I couldn't recall the exact figures.

ttuprincess · February 2014

MeatandBandP said:

RunCC37 said:

Injects are expensive... I'd do the IUI. If it were Clomid or one of the oral meds, then I'd think twice about TI, but if you're going to go with injects... All in!

This 1 million percent.

It's funny so many say their RE says there are no difference chance wise with IUI and TI. My RE, both my old and new, say that if you haven't gotten pregnant in a year with good timing, your chance of success with TI is about 5%, with IUI it is between 15-20%

*****
(Sorry I am mobile and my ability to quote is all messed up)

Our problem is that I don't ovulate (or at least strong enough). Even with clomid I have not had even a chance of getting KU because I don't ovulate "in phase". So the thinking between TI v IUI for us is that the trick is inducing a nice strong O. If we can get that to happen (finally!) then TI v. IUI is not seen as an issue. Of course I would only probably do one TI cycle, but I see the reason why my RE thinks it is worth trying TI at least once.

cymber217 · February 2014

Is a post coital test the one where you have sex one day and come in the next and they check your cervical mucus to see if any sperm are in it? I had a test that did that and they saw no sperm the next day. I am just trying to figure out what tests ive had bc everything moved so fast and nothing was really explained to me. sorry for the random question i just saw someone talking about it.

as for your question i think if you have come this far go for the iui!

Lillovebug79 · February 2014

I agree that it's totally a personal decision. From what my RE told me, IUI is the most successful in women who have ovulation issues and combine it with injects. It is actually less successful in MFI and unexplained. That sort of bummed me out because we are MFI and I thought that IUI was all we would need. But how she explained it is that with MFI, the chances of success with IUI are greater than with TI but not as good as when ovulation is the issue (if it is helped with meds) or even unexplained IF.

If your only issue is inducing ovulation, I would definitely maximize my chances with IUI. But only you know what feels right to you. Follow your instincts.

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IUI vs. timed intercourse- opinions please!

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