IUI

I had 5 medicated IUIs that all failed. The actual IUI was also really painful for me. But I've heard that's not typical. But I have endo, not PCOS, so I'm not sure my experience is very relevant for you. In general, I think it's valid to start w/ IUI since it's so much cheaper/less invasive. But I'd maybe go into with a plan in mind for how many you'd be willing to do. In retrospect, I think 5 was probably too many for me.

I have PCOS and had 2 medicated IUI cycles that both failed. IUI is less invasive and of course cheaper. But my doctor wanted us to try 2-3 IUI cycles before moving on to IVF. I stopped at 2 failed IUIs then moved on to IVF. Good luck to you

I have PCOS and have done 2 IUIs and because of them, I have 2 children! For my oldest, I did letrozole 7.5mg with metformin and a trigger shot, he was born February 2022. With my second, I followed the exact same medication protocol and my daughter was born October 2024! IUI works for some and not for others, but it costs a lot less money than IVF so it's worth trying it first!

3 IUI 1 canceled round due to no growth. Letrozole 2 rounds (1failed to grow follicles) 2 clomid. None resulted in pregnancy. IVF resulted in my 2 beautiful babies

Interested on answers! I'm doing this as well starting clomid next month!! Good luck, you got this!

What are the medications and shots like? Did any of you experience any side effects?

@Jessica are you speaking of the medications for IVF? If so, I didn't really have any side effects outside of bloating and mood swings. I psyched myself out thinking I wouldn't be able to inject myself but after the first night, I knew what to expect and then it became the norm and easy for me. Currently awaiting my frozen transfer in January

Medication for IUI was just letrozole for me. Very few side effects. On a high dose I would be a bit bloated and sore around ovulation. Only shot is a trigger shot. I only needed that for 2 of my 5 IUIs. The rest I ovulated on my own. Shot wasn't bad at all. I had a friend do it for me.

@Taylor awesome, my doctor is doing Clomid. I was explained that it grows more than one follicle and since the quality of eggs aren't known we are going to grow more. I tried Letrozole last month. Did you do IUI?

@Patrice My doctor ordered Letrozole and the trigger shot for me. As long as the saline comes back clean she recommends trying medicated IUI as the first step. I think I’m thrown for a loop because I conceived spontaneously with my first just using timed intercourse.

Clomid and letrozole are very similar. They both increase the likelihood of your follicles growing to become dominant. It definitely can result in multiple follicles releasing in a cycle. My 5th IUI I had 4-5 big follicles and still didn't get pregnant.

@Jessica When I had my medicated IUIs, they prescribed just the 5mg of letrozole without trigger. Good luck to you

@Taylor I'm sorry to hear that. I hope your day comes soon!💕

It's kinda odd I'm being prescribed it because I ovulate alone and don't have PCOS or anything just unexplained fertility. I'm hoping this new process is the thing we are needing🙏🏻🙏🏻

I was ovulating without letrozole too. But my cycles were kinda long. So letrozole helped me ovulate more often and increase the chance of multiple eggs releasing per cycle which therefore increased the chances of one of them getting fertilized.

I have PCOS and did 3 IUIs. I did one with Letrozole and the other two with injectables. I responded well to the medications, but all were unsuccessful. My fertility specialist was ok with us doing a fourth, but advised that after 3 IUIs, the chances of success significantly decrease with each one. I didn’t have any crazy side effects from any of the medication and the IUIs were quick and painless!

@Meghan I hope you get your miracle soon!

@Stephanie sorry I guess I should have followed up all of that! I got pregnant after my first transfer. I have the best 2.5 year old girl! We are actually getting ready to do another transfer in a couple of months!