How My Insemination Went Down

Let’s Stack The Deck – Fertility Meds

Leading up to this day, I had previously consulted with my doctor about fertility meds. I wanted to do everything I could to make this work. 

She said she could absolutely prescribe some, but warned that fertility meds come with risks including multiple pregnancies, meaning I could end up getting pregnant with twins, triplets, etc. 

Yeesh! One is good, please, and thank you. 

The chance of my pregnancy resulting in multiple fetuses increased to as high as 10%. This risk is typically restricted to a multiple pregnancy of twins. I chose to increase my chances of conceiving and take the risk. 

It was a small dose of fertility meds that came in a pill form. I took them for five days during a certain period in my cycle, as instructed by the doctor.

There are different options for the types of fertility meds out there. Here is some information on different types of fertility medications from the American Pregnancy Association that you can check out and consult with your doctor on.

I also opted for a fertility treatment where you give yourself a shot at home about 24 hours before your procedure. I hate needles, so I had my friend, Nancy, come stick me to make sure it was done right. 

The fertility medication, referred to as a ‘trigger shot’ would make sure that I was ovulating during the procedure. 

This medication was called Ovidrel. You can learn more here and be sure to consult with your doctor on whether this is a good option for you.

It’s About To Go Down – The Procedure

I was feeling confident. I had done everything I could to prep my body for this moment (except lose those 10lbs, I managed around 4-5). 

I sat pantless on the paper-lined patient recliner anxiously waiting for the doctor to enter the room. A thin, long blue paper towel lay draped across my lap to cover my naked bottom half, but I still felt very exposed.

I couldn’t believe it was all happening. I started daydreaming about seeing those two strong, solid pink lines on a pregnancy test. Feeling my belly as it grew bigger and bigger with my growing child.

I was elated thinking about it all. Then the numbers started popping in my head. 

I had about a 10-15% chance of this working. Actually, 15-20% with the fertility meds. 

As I told my brain not to go there, to stay positive, there was a knock at the door. The nurse and doctor entered. It was go time.

Again, fertility meds do increase your chances of conceiving but also come with risks, like getting pregnant with multiples. Be sure to consult with your doctor about your options and the risks.

They confirmed my name, date of birth, why I was there and the number assigned to the donor’s specimen. 

After making sure all their ducks were in a row, they let me know the number of sperm that they were able to extract from the semen and that they had great motility.

You can learn more about donor insemination in this article from the American Pregnancy Association.

The doctor explained the procedure. 

– They would ask me to lie back and put both my feet in the stir-ups. 

– They would insert a long tube attached to the sperm-filled syringe into my vagina past my cervix, up into my uterus, and deposit the specimen as close to my fallopian tubes as they could get.

– She warned me I might feel some pressure and a pinching feeling as she passed through my cervix. 

I laid back as instructed and started going through the procedure again in my head. The doctor asked if I was ready and I said yes in combination with a quick, enthusiastic nod. 

As she grabbed the syringe and went to insert it, my mind began to drift back to my previous daydream with me desperately hoping the universe would let this work.

Not even a minute into my daydream and the doctor announced she was done. I didn’t feel a thing. No pinch. Nothing. I almost asked if she was sure, but stopped myself.

She counseled me to lay there for a few minutes and then I could get dressed and head to the front desk to checkout. 

No “thanks for the good time” or “this was fun, we should do it again sometime”. Well, alright then.