Old "Turkey Baster" Method

Deelo&KerryBDeelo&KerryB Posts: 2
in LGBTQ+ Couples

So our insurance doesn't cover "infertility" treatments - we tried telling them that we have been "trying" to get pregnant for years! And for some reason, my wife and I can't get pregnant. LOL! I'm being facetious. Anyway, since it's cheaper to not go to a doctor; we are going to attempt at-home insemination with our donor sperm. We are using 13500. After a lot of research, purchase and use of ovulation kits (two different kinds), basal thermometer, The Stork (insemination tool...aka turkey baster) and polling our friends who have recently given birth (through the use of a doctor), we purchased our vials and we will be trying this week. I'm old AF (42) but very healthy except for weight (no meds, no conditions, active, very regular periods). I was told I have the same chances as all the other women (all ages) trying to get pregnant. I'll keep you posted.

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  • OurAdventureOurAdventure Posts: 97

    We were told for 3 months that our IUI would be covered by insurance, as no diagnosis of infertility was required. Our doctor went to bill our insurance company and that's when we found out that we were told the wrong thing. My wife needed to be "exposed to sperm for 12 months" in order for them to cover the IUI. We mentioned this to our acupunturist (we're doing EVERYTHING for success here) and she suggested to ask the Doc. what their cash price was. Point is, the IUI went from $3650 to $1300 if we paid out of pocket. If you don't have luck with this method, you may want to call around and check on the Cash price of some of the RE doctors.

    I've seen many ladies have success with this method! Baby dust to you!!

  • BeaBeaBeaBea Posts: 44

    I tried doing it at home too, with all the same tools (not the Stork, but everything else). I was a healthy 34 year old with regular periods and regular ovulation. I wasted so much money! Thousands of dollars! I found out later that my follicles were not maturing fully on their own and was ovulating too early. My second medicated IUI (Clomid & Ovidrel) worked and I’m 36 weeks pregnant now. I urge you to at least get blood work & a follicle count ultrasound done before you proceed with trying at home, especially since you may have a short time window in which to get pregnant. I don’t want to sound negative or discourage you in any way, but you do not have the same chances of getting pregnant as anyone else. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!

  • 1love1heart1love1heart Posts: 7

    @gcjh if you dont mind me asking what steps did you take? My wife and I tried through IUI it worked on the first try but we miscarried. That was in early March of this year. We have finally decided to try again but this time to save money we are going to try at home. I'm nervous and scared it won't work. Do you have any advice?

  • gcjhgcjh Posts: 32

    @1love1heart the steps we took were tracking my ovulation at my last known cycle time and also once my tracker stated I was high scored in ovulation I took an ovulation test to confirm and then once it stated I was I used the pre-seed lubricant just 15/20 min before unthawing and inserting the specimen with the moise baby syringe once I finished I laid back and relaxed by listening to music and wait for about 30 min before getting up and since that it begin a waiting game. Which two weeks I was pronounced pregnant.

  • redynsredyns Posts: 7

    I would be ago over the insurance company that suggested "exposure to sperm" for 12 months. Um, do they live with you? How the hell can they prove that you HAVEN'T been? Just because you're in a same-sex relationship? How do they know you haven't had a known-donor supplying you on the side? Or that, forgive my bluntness, aren't sleeping with a man to get pregnant? Its Just such a ridiculous rule that has no basis of proof

  • OurAdventureOurAdventure Posts: 97

    @redyns We asked our insurance company just that, how do you know what we've been "exposed" to! We were told we would need a letter from our OB or RE saying we had been actively trying with exposure for them to consider it. No OB or RE in their right mind would allow 12 cycle of IUI before recommending moving on to IVF. They said the 12 month guidance is what's told to them by the RE of America Assoc. but we all know REs advise moving to IVF after 5 or 6 failed cycles. So I'm not sure where that BS comes from.

  • OcohgrlOcohgrl Posts: 6

    Hi, I know your post was from 8 months ago and would love an update! I hope you’re already expecting. :-) if not, I wanted to share our story. Long post to follow: My wife and I were 39 and 34 when we started trying 3 years ago. Both very healthy, regular periods, etc. She tried a few rounds of IUI before doing any testing ($700/ vial of sperm + $300 Insem fee). Then the doc recommended hormone and HSS tube test (about $700 total). Turns out, her egg count was low. That led to 3 rounds of drug assisted, doctor monitored IUI (approx $2300 per round). Clomid & menopur to pump up the eggs and a trigger shot to control ovulation. For 3 rounds, she had 2 or 3 follicles that looked ready to go. No success. We were very resistant to IVF at $16k + drugs per attempt. That next month, Suddenly, no amount of menopur was able to coax a mature follicle- and that was it. The chances of her getting pregnant dropped to less and 5% using any method. We moved on to me. Now we were determined. I was younger and we went straight to testing. I had a slightly slow thyroid- went on meds immediately- everything else looked perfect. Tons of follicles. For 3 months, we tried IUI. No luck. We decided that we were already spending so much and we were scared to waste any more time... we went for a round of IVF. The day before egg retrieval, it looked like I had 18 mature follicles. Turns out we got 9. I was nervous... by day 5 (blast phase), we were left with 1. 1 non genetically tested embryo = 30% chance of implantation success. We were devastated! I didn’t want to talk about it for a month. I was hoping for 5 or 6 embryos on ice - planning 2 babies, 2 years apart... We regrouped and decided to go right rudder and revert to a totally drug free, no pressure round or 2 of IUI with a different clinic, different donor (because my acupuncture doc was convinced it was the donor). No luck. We decided to double down and retrieve more eggs. More drugs, including HGH (steroids) directly into the ovaries daily. Again, follicles looked stellar... again, over half were not actually mature. We got 2 embryos that round. We decided to implant 2 in January. Miraculously, both stuck and I’m now 14 weeks pregnant. It has been a long, emotional, expensive ($68k) journey, but we made it. My unsolicited advice? Get your TSH, AMH levels checked and find out what your egg reserve looks like. Make sure your uterus looks good to go with a vaginally ultrasound. Take out a loan, go straight to IVF. The emotional strain and the TIME we lost on IUI... I’m not going to say I have regrets, because it has all worked out and I’m SO thankful. Just wanted to put it out there as something to think about.

  • Deelo&KerryBDeelo&KerryB Posts: 2

    Thank you all for your posts. We were not successful with the four vials we purchased. However, we couldn't continue because of financial reasons...we could not afford a loan more than $5000. So, I cant continue unless I come into money. 😔

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