second bfp - IUI #4

After 3 failed IUIs we were placed on the waitlist for a clinic where we can obtain IVF. However, because we were not able to get an appointment before 7 months (not until 6 October), we were allowed to continue with the IUIs in the meantime. For this cycle, preparing for our fourth IUI, I was on gonal-f alone from cd 3-7 at 50 iu / day. A scan on cd 8 showed 1 follicle @ 20 mm, 1 @ 15 mm, and 1-2 smaller follicles. We were told to discontinue the gonal-f and trigger that evening and that I would obtain the IUI cd 10. Even though cd 10 is early for ovulation we were told that my lining looks "fine".

We BD'd in the evening on cd 8, giving DH a 38 hour hold before he collected the sample for the IUI. DH gave me the ovitrelle trigger jab that evening as well, 36 hours before the IUI. When we went in for the insemination on cd 10, we were told that DH's post-wash concentration was 50 mil/ml, the highest we've had yet. The insemination took place 3 hours after DH produced the sample. An ultrasound scan confirmed I hadn't ovulated yet, but that it would occur within the next 24 hours or so. After the IUI we BD'd in the evening about 12 hours later, and then again in the morning after another 12 hours.

This cycle was textbook regarding my bbt chart. A decent O-spike and subsequent high temps. In the evening on 9 dpo as we were lying in bed I could feel an unusual warm pressure in my abdomen. This is when I believe implantation started. In the morning on 10 dpo I felt af-like cramps and my temp dropped 0.3 C from the day before (this was one of my most accurate temps), but by the afternoon my symptoms were already gone. The next day my temp rose slightly but I had no symptoms and I felt like my boobs were losing their soreness and sensitivity (this always happens to me before af shows). I thought I was out and became extremely depressed, telling DH that I didn't know how much more I could take.

At 12 dpo my temp was back up but without symptoms I just assumed that my temp dip and implantation symptoms on 9-10 dpo were a fluke. Still, decided to test that evening due to the high temp. Bfp, light, but clearly visible without squinting.

Here are my wet hpts from 12 dpo forward. The pictures were taken at around 5 minutes, using smu with a 5 hour hold (with the exception of 12 dpo, which was an evening test).


One thing is clear, and that is that the tests look better than in January, when we had the chemical pregnancy (see earlier post). In January, I could feel that something was not right. So far this time, everything seems ok. We're still being cautious though, and realise that if this does succeed then we will have beaten the odds, which are stacked against couples using IUI in cases where the male has morphology < 5% and the woman is > 35 [1].

Here is this cycle's chart



[1] Y Sun, B Li, LQ Fan, WB Zhu, XJ Chen, JH Feng, CL Yang, and YH Zhang, Does sperm morphology affect the outcome of intrauterine insemination in patients with normal sperm concentration and motility?, Andrologia 44 (2012), no. 5, 299-304. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2012.01280.x/abstract]