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Successful At Home ICI

bignight4bignight4 Posts: 38
in Two Week Wait

Hi everyone! I have seen several posts for people looking for success stories on ICI. I just found out I am pregnant a few days ago from a frozen ICI cycle with CCB sperm. It was only my 2nd round, so my wife and I were shocked to say the least! I have only seen a couple success stories online from here, Youtube, and instagram. Absolutely not an expert or a doctor, but I did a lot of research so wanted to share a few tips I learned along the way:

  • Use 2 vials if you can, and spread them apart 12-24 hours. (I inseminated at 12 hours and 36 hours from my LH surge).
  • On top of OPKs, I bought a Mira analyzer device that gives you LH and estrogen numbers. I used it for several months before TTC. I thought it was helpful to understand when I surged vs. peaked in LH, and helped me understand my cycle. I will pre-warn that the analyzer and sticks are expensive though, but I thought well worth it! I believe it was around $200 for the analyzer and $60 for a box of 20 testing sticks.
  • Took pre-natals for about 5 months as I was readying my body for TTC
  • Stopped drinking for the past several months before TTC. This is argued a lot online, but we are spending so much for sperm so I decided it was best to do everything I could! I did drink on a very few special occasions, but once we were TTC, I totally stopped.
  • Used a TENS machine on my lower abdomen for 20 mins a night before bed pre-ovulation. Some people think a TENS Machine or acupuncture help with thickening uterine lining. I would not continue to use after you ovulate as you are sending electro-waves into you uterus. TENS Machines are like $30 on Amazon.

For the actual insemination:

  • Kind of debated online, but we bought a water bath to thaw the sperm as there are studies that show motility is better with a short water bath thaw vs. a longer thaw gradually coming to temperature in the air. The water bath was $50 on Amazon. We set the temp to 37 degrees Celsius, and thawed the vial for 5 minutes before inseminating.
  • I did not use pre-seed lube or a flex disc which is often suggested online. Pre-seed is sperm safe, but if your body is creating enough cervical mucus, you should not need it. There are no studies that show it improves motility. I also did not use a flex disc as I thought they were uncomfortable, and I was scared it would actually hurt the sperm from swimming into my cervix.
  • This is a little TMI and PG-13, but I think the number one thing to do is have multiple orgasms if you are able to. I "O'd" right after I plunged, another one right after, and 1-2 while I was propped up on a pillow. Make sure to get aroused but not to climax before inseminating too, as it suggests to your body to get ready!
  • I laid on my back in bed for an hour after insemination. My wife would help me flip over every 20 mins onto my tummy for 30 seconds or so, to make sure the sperm was hitting my cervix. Got that tip from a midwife's page.
  • We also inseminated both times at night so I could sleep and would be horizontal for several hours. I don't really think it matters much, but that's what I did.

Good luck, wishing baby dust to all the hopeful parents out there! Happy to help answer any questions, if I can!

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