# home di?



## harmony802005 (Mar 8, 2006)

hi there ladies
I have a question hopefully me and my partner have found a friend who will donate but the last time i done home di was about 4 years ago i was wondering if someone could refresh my mind in what i have to do as i cant quite remember,thanks for reading this love harm xx


----------



## snagglepat (Sep 13, 2004)

Hi Harmony,

The home DI thing is pretty simple really. You do need to get your cycles figured out which I know with PCOS can be a bit of an issue. I ended up on Metformin and getting scans at the local NHS fertility centre to pinpoint my fertile days but you might be able to do this on your own too. On the cycle we got pregnant we inseminated a day or two before the hospital advised me too as my instincts (and ovulation pain) said that I needed to do it sooner. 

As for the business of inseminating, your friend simply needs to do his thing and leave you the sperm in a clean, dry plastic container. Something like a yoghurt pot should do fine, but we bought a small stash of sterile sample pots from a medical supplies web site and used a fresh one each time just to be safe. Then you draw it into a syringe (again, we bought a stash of sterile 5ml ones and used a fresh one each time) - you might need to wait a few minutes for it to liquefy before you can do this, lie down with your hips under a pillow and insert it. Most people choose to lie still for a good 20 minutes or so, or to alternate lying on their back and on each side for a while to ensure the sperm has really coated the cervix. After that it's up to luck and fertility magic!

I know how scary it can be coming off the hard drugs with endo, but in the end it worked well for me. I was so used to tuning out my body, particularly the fertility bits of it that I don't think I was anywhere near the right head space to get pregnant until I'd been forced to face my body and my pain and find a way of connecting with it. In the end we saw a naturopath who really changed my diet to help with the PCOS and endo, and with getting pregnant (I had to radically increase my protein intake and cut out all refined carbs and sugars, amongst other things). This did have a positive effect on my pain levels too. I also had weekly acupuncture and listened to Natal Hypnotherapy's 'prepare to conceive' CD daily on the cycle we conceived. Who can say whether these things helped or not at the end of the day but it made a big difference to me to feel as though I could actually live in my body and be in tune with what I was feeling. After all, if I was taking all kinds of drugs to try not to feel as though I was living in my body, how was I to expect a child to want to come and live in it? This might be a bit too hippified for you, but it's where I got to and what worked for me. The only prescription painkiller I did stick to was diclofenac suppositories. They were really effective for me and they might be worth a try for you if you haven't given them a go already.

On the very plus side pain wise, once I got passed the first month or two of pregnancy (which were surprisingly painful as my uterus got used to stretching) I experienced no more endo pain. And it's not come back yet (though I've not started my periods yet, probably because I'm breastfeeding). I have no idea if it will return when my cycles do, and how badly, but having this respite from it has been wonderful. 

The biggest positive of course, has to be our daughter. I'd go to hell and back for her and the joy she gives us every day. I do sometimes wonder whether my body was in some way punishing me for not giving it the chance to get pregnant for so many years with the endo. I hope it may have forgiven me now. The signs so far are good...

Good luck!

Gina. x


----------

