# 1st IUI Cycle - Medicated or Unmedicated - how did you decide?



## M2M (Sep 16, 2009)

How did you ladies decide whether to have medicated or unmedicated IUI? I keep comparing the fors and the againsts and I can't decide what would be best! We have not had any fertility treatment so far (we are adoption rejects  ...)

We'll be having donor IUI so it's going to be about £1,200 per cycle, which is a lot of money to us, and sadly we don't have unlimited resources! (Who does?!!) So if a medicated cycle will give me a higher chance of falling pregnant, it seems to make sense, but on the other hand, I would be interested to know what my body is capable of doing with minimal medical intervention... it's a tough choice!

How did you come to your decision for your first cycle of IUI?


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## joeyrella (May 13, 2009)

our clinic only does medicated IUI so i didn't really have a choice!  
i'm assuming you are IUI-ing because of being in a same sex couple and not because you have any other known fertility problems as well?  if so, i can't see any reason why you would need to have a medicated cycle, for your first go at least.  
good luck


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## M2M (Sep 16, 2009)

That's right, we have no known fertility problems and have never tried to conceive the "traditional" way, so we are fertile until proven otherwise! I would be the one TTC and I'm not convinced I have a regular cycle, so I'm charting at the moment. I'm hoping I find that my cycle is quite regular as I do have periods every month or so. I skip them sometimes though. Hmmmm.


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## MCB (Jan 15, 2010)

Hi

I have just had my first IUI (same sex couple too) and am on day 5 of the 2ww! We were given the option (at Manchester Fertility Service) of having medicated or unmedicated but  opted for a low dose of clomid to try and improve our chances, mainly because of the cost and emotional pressure in trying to get pregnant. The side effects are not too bad but I do get hot flushes and very emotional. I suppose its personal choice but we just wanted the best choice possible (although you do risk twins!)

Good luck!


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## pixielou (Nov 9, 2007)

M2M said:


> How did you ladies decide whether to have medicated or unmedicated IUI? I keep comparing the fors and the againsts and I can't decide what would be best! We have not had any fertility treatment so far (we are adoption rejects  ...)
> 
> We'll be having donor IUI so it's going to be about £1,200 per cycle, which is a lot of money to us, and sadly we don't have unlimited resources! (Who does?!!) So if a medicated cycle will give me a higher chance of falling pregnant, it seems to make sense, but on the other hand, I would be interested to know what my body is capable of doing with minimal medical intervention... it's a tough choice!
> 
> How did you come to your decision for your first cycle of IUI?


Hi,

I'm hopefully starting an unmedi iui this month. Basically I have had two so far that were medicated but never went as far as the insemination etc for various reasons, including a bit of a mess up with meds and I asked my clinic who normally only do medi iui if i can have unmedi iui they said yes a while ago. I want to try unmedi as also i want to see what my body is capable of and im not keen at all on taking chemicals/ meds etc. If I have to in the end then i will but we have unexplained fertility so think if theres nothing wrong then why not?!


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## Pepstar (Jul 6, 2009)

We are on our second IUI with a low dose of clomid this month.  We are also using donor sperm so the costs like you say are quite high.  At first we were convinced that we wanted to do an unmedicated cycle to see how my body reacted but after careful consideration (including the cost) and discussions with our clinic, we decided to go for the low dose of clomid option so that we had a better chance of a) controlling the cycle and b) hopefully getting pregnant.  

We have decided due to the side effects of clomid (dw calls me the clomid monster) that if this cycle isn't successful, it will be our last on clomid and we will move to an injectible cycle of iui.  If this doesn't work then we will probably move to ivf.  

This is a huge step away from where we started (i.e. we would try the least intrusive option available for at least 6 months) but we are finding that the whole process (regardless of financial cost) is putting a huge strain on us, particularly me as I am having to try and manage it around work (my partner has told her boss but I can't atm).  Balancing this up now, I am very glad that we started with a medicated cycle and if I was starting over, I would probably think about moving straight to an injectible cycle - that being said there are people who manage to get preganant on unmedicated IUIs so it can work!

The initial (and continuing) discussions that we have had are centred around weighing up the financial costs vs the potential risk of multiples and the potential side effects of the drugs (i.e. potential impacts on our relationship).  Oh also how long we are willing (and/or financially) able to try and also the impact in terms of work etc.

Good luck


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## Jammy J (Sep 28, 2009)

Hi all, 

Just wanted to drop in here as I am also in the same boat, am looking to start IUI in the next few weeks and unsure whether to do natural or medicated.  I have had all my bloods and tests etc and no issues detected apart from AMH was 8.3 which is not the best.
I was trying to concieve with my ex boyfriend though for 18 months and nothing happened...think I would like to try natural once just to see what happens but like everyone else really cant afford to waste the money if it is not worth it.

Many thx
JAH


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## ButterflyHen (Jan 10, 2010)

Our local clinic is Mon - Fri service so they recommended stimulated cycle as they have complete control and can avoid weekends. However having just abandoned a cycle as overstimmed as needed to delay 2 days - I'm not so sure.

Stimulated cycle is more effective but you need to weigh that up with risk of multiples and also s/e of headaches and bloating. Also I've been advised to skip a cycle before trying again until things settle down. 

Difficult choice.


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## Me and Her (Jan 21, 2010)

We are in the same situation atm. Have our first appointment next week at the clinic so we will see what they advise. We were hoping to go unmedicated as we have no known fertility issues and my cycle is quite regular although not like clockwork! The things that put us off medicated were the side effects, the risk of multiples (my 2 best friends have twins! - hard work!) and the fact that some people on here seem to have had to cancel cycels due to over-stimulating. 

I think unless the clinic advises otherwise we will have one go unmedicated and then we might have to re-consider for the next go as the money starts to run out!

I was wondering if I should be using the ovulation pee sticks this cycle so that I can tell the clinic when I ovulated this month? This might help us plan for our first IUI (which we are hoping will be soon but depends on waiting lists). Is anyone doing this?

Lots of luck to all.


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## Me and Her (Jan 21, 2010)

Bit of an update - at our consultation today they said that our clinic only do medicated with Gonal f injections.
We were a bit upset as we would have liked the choice. Apparently it gives us a 1in4 chance of twins which is quite high.

It just seems like a lot of medication when hopefully my body would ovulate on its own. I know it ups the chances of the treatment working but I still would have liked a try.


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