Point of clarification {IUI related}

PCOSbaby · November 2015

Why is it said that the first IUI probably won't work? Can someone please explain this to me? Did your RE tell you this?

I've seen several people mentioned this however, there's really no explanation thereafter.

I'm supposed to have my first IUI in December and my RE said we have a 20% chance of it working. That's about the same as a healthy couple.

ultratomato · November 2015

My doctor said the same thing about iuis and the chances. What medication are you taking? @PCOSbaby?i did 3 iui on clomid and none worked and I just did my first iui with follistim injectables

cmm012 · November 2015

My RE did not say anything about the first IUI not working. I asked one of the staff members how many IUIs work the first time, and she said she had seen quite a few. I'm optimistic.

PCOSbaby · November 2015

@ultratomato I will be doing Femara and triggering with Ovidrel.

@cmm012 I asked my RE and some of the nurses th same question and the answers remained pretty consistent.

Thanks!

bsckgb7 · November 2015

Are you saying by saying the 20% number means it "doesn't work"? I have never heard anyone say the first one doesn't work. If you are going to get pregnant via IUi its likely to happen within first 3 cycles. A lot of your success rates depends on your diagnosis.

ultratomato · November 2015

@PCOSbaby stay positive and try not to think about all the statistics out there

riveridgional · November 2015

I've heard a lot of people throw that around on here as well, and it always bothers me because it simply has no medical support. Generally speaking, your chance is the same for the first 3 iui's. After the third (with no other changes to medicine), the chance decreases. I believe this is simply because it hasn't worked in 3 prior. I believe people are probably just throwing it out there that they don't expect it to work in order to lower their expectations.

Best of luck to you!!

amandaleigh2181 · November 2015

I was just talking with my DH about that this afternoon. I've heard that and don't understand what would increase it after the first try unless the meds are changed each time. It doesn't make sense that it wouldn't work the first time but, I'm no expert and just hoping for the best.

PCOSbaby · November 2015

@bsckgb7 20% chance it will work.

@riveridgional Yes, he did mention that the chances are lower after three failed attempts. "Just throwing it out there to lower expectations" seems to be the reasoning along with repeating what they heard someone else say without verifying. I don't know...

BTW, congratulations to you two on your BFP!

@ultratomato FX this is it for you!

riveridgional · November 2015

@PCOSbaby Thanks so much! I'm still in shock since I got to the point I thought I'd never see a non-trigger induced BFP! Hopefully you'll get yours with the first IUI! You're finally on level playing field with the other lucky fertile people!! Once we were on level playing field, it took us 3 tries but something obviously went wrong with the first since I started heavy spotting really early for an unknown reason. Our second time, we only had 1 mature egg (a fluke cycle as my RE said). Third time was a charm on level playing field!

mskeenan · November 2015

I mean I think it's like saying that most people even without IF issues won't get pregnant the first month they try ! Fertility meds essentially are supposed to make our chances of conceiving about the same as someone without IF (depending on your reason for IF). If you think about it that way - don't get your hopes up if the first one doesn't work . That's not to say it won't - it very well could ! I think its just harder to accept a negative after taking so much effort to correct our chances of conceiving to "normal " . But like anything if at first you don't succeed just keep on trying !!

wifeinraleigh28 · November 2015

I agree with what @mskeenan said. I think a better way to put it rather than "it probably won't work the first time" is that statistically speaking, less people are successful on their 1st IUI than on the 2nd and 3rd IUIs. It's completely statistical, and is probably due to a variety of causes. A lot of times for your 2nd and 3rd rounds the RE has been able to adjust your medication dosage/combos appropriately to increase your chances, to name 1 possible reason.

Really, no one will probably get pregnant any month they try, because even a fertile couple only has a 20% chance of conceiving each month! So much is left up to chance. (IVF is excluded since that actually DOES tip the odds in your favor).

The point I'm trying to make when it is all said and done... NEVER give up and just keep trying until you get your BFP!

KidShrink · November 2015

*bfp mentionned*
I think he just told you that not to get your hopes up too high (just like anyone who's TTC shouldn't expect to conceive the first month and freak out if that doesn't happen). I personally got my BFP on my first IUI, but a lot had been done the month prior (hysteroscopy and laparoscopy, with lots of stuff fixed). So maybe it would have worked without IUI, who knows? The tough part in this is that we have very little control, and we want to hold on to whatever piece of hope we can get....then the doctors are there to bring our expectations back in line with reality. I'll still have my fingers crossed for you that the first one does the trick!

PCOSbaby · November 2015

My RE has high hopes for us, especially since I had lap surgery three weeks ago. I only became discouraged when I saw posts on here stating that an IUI typically fails the first time around.

In school I was always the kid that asked "why" to every question! Thanks to your responses my anxiety has decreased.

@KidShrink I've been waiting on a success story after the first IUI. Congratulations!

pamelated · December 2015

My RE told me that the reason the success rates of IUI drop after 3 tries is because the pool of people who are still trying to get pregnant at that point is very different. Essentially, a lot of people drop out of the sample because the IUI worked in one of the first three tries and the people that are left in the sample after that will likely need more advanced treatment. It's just a statistical thing. (I'm about to start my 4th IUI cycle).

PCOSat25 · December 2015

I have never really heard anyone say that the first IUI probably won't work. I don't think there is any basis to it. I would imagine the first three IUI have similar percentages of success based on age and dx. I do understand there is a drop off after 3 a @pamelated explained.

I think people probably say it because if you look at the statistics of just that singular IUI, the success rate is only going to be somewhere between 15-25%. So if they are just using the work probably to explain the most likely outcome, it is true that it probably 75-85% won't work. But it still CAN AND DOES work. And that is why we try

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