IUI #1 was scheduled but cancelled because my husband’s specimen wasn’t good enough

zacariah88

New member
As everyone knows it’s a long road before you even get to IUI. But finally, in late October, we got the go ahead to start with the process. I was nervous because timing is literally everything and my cycle was scheduled right around thanksgiving. But, the stars aligned! I got my period the Tuesday before thanksgiving and was able to go in for my baseline sono. Clomid, follistim and Ovidrel were ordered and ready for me.

I went for the second sono this past Saturday and had some big, good lookin follicles. My bloodwork was great too. So, we scheduled IUI for Monday. Took my trigger shot exactly 36 hours before the IUI.

So, my husband was to go in at 9am Monday to give his specimen so it could be “washed” and prepped and then the IUI was at 10:45. (*side note- He gave an initial sample in October and it came back good but not great- morphology was a little wonky and it was slightly acidic. He started taking a bicarbonate supplement per doctor’s orders and my doc didn’t seem worried about anything.)

I get to the clinic and nervously await my first IUI. Then, my doc comes out and says only “we have to talk. Come on back.” I was already nervous but I knew something was up... we sit down to talk and he tells me that my husband’s specimen was basically unusable. The count was very low and he said that if he were looking at the baseline sample next to this one he wouldn’t believe they were from the same
person. I didn’t know what to say. Nothing changed. He didn’t ejaculate for 2.5 days prior to the IUI day. My doc said we could still proceed with the IUI but that if it were him, he wouldn’t do it because the sample was that bad. He said if we could. to have sex that day before 2pm. We did, but it was his second ejaculation of the day so I can’t imagine it was much better.

I am devastated. I tried not to put all of my eggs (excuse the pun) in the IUI basket but I did. Our insurance doesn’t cover anything so we paid for all the meds and appointments out of pocket. Basically feel like we wasted $2k and have no explanation for what happened to make his sample so different. We’ve been TTC for a year and a half plus. I feel defeated. And next month we can’t do IUI again because doc wants another specimen from my husband to see if it’s back to normal. My husband is amazing and positive and hopeful that we’ll get pregnant naturally and I wish I could share his optimism. Sorry this was so long, but y’all are the only ones that get it.
 
@zacariah88 Totally know exactly how that feels. Went into our IUI thinking it would be possible with that, got similar news they day of. They still did the IUI since we were there and had paid, but like you, it was devastating to get that news day of with legs in stirrups.
 
@eclarky ugh i’m so sorry! it sucks! all this time i have been blaming my endo and now my husband feels like shit too. but, like i told him, it doesn’t matter whose “fault” it is- it still hurts.
 
@zacariah88 Literally the exact same situation - I got my endo dx in March 18, proceeded assuming that was the issue, Nov 18 boom you have crap for sperm count.

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.
 
@zacariah88 I'm so sorry about what happened to you. Your husband should see a reproductive urologist. REs know a lot about the female reproductive system but really aren't experts on male fertility. The urologist put my husband on supplements (Coast Science male fertility, available on Amazon) and Clomid on top of a regular multivitamin, and his counts were good enough to qualify for IUIs.
 
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