IUI #2: Quasi Success

Seventeen days after my unsuccessful first intrauterine insemination (IUI), I began preparing for my next attempt. Since I had experienced rare but severe adverse reaction to Clomid, this time I had to order an injectable medication (Menopur), which was significantly more expensive but presumably had milder side effects. At this point, the cost didn’t matter. I just wanted results.

I injected 150 iu of Menopur in my belly for three days and then went for a transvaginal ultrasound check. The imaging showed a 7 mm follicle in the right ovary and a 9 mm follicle in the left. I continued with the same dosage for three more days and had another checkup. This time the ultrasound showed three follicles (8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm) on the right and six (14 mm, 14 mm, 15 mm, 15 mm, 16 mm, 16 mm) on the left. My doctor was pleased with the progress.

After three more days on 150 iu of Menopur, the doctor tapered the dosage to 75 iu for a day, after which we triggered the ovulation with 10,000 iu hCG. Two days later I had my IUI #2. The post-procedure scan showed that some of the eggs had already been released, and four others were about to be released. According to my doctor, I had an excellent chance of getting pregnant this time.

And I did. The first blood test (11 days after IUI) showed an hCG of 13. Five days later, the level of hCH had increased to 247, and another six days later, it was 2,270. The follow-up ultrasound images confirmed the results. At each visit, the reproductive endocrinologist measured the crown-rump length (CRL) of the fetus and its heartbeat. As soon as each visit was over, I hurried to check on the Internet if the numbers were indeed okay.

Even though on one occasion my doctor commented that the size of the fetus was on the small side and its heartbeat was slightly out of the norm, his concerns were only mild. I, on the other hand, had my reasons to worry. I had found plenty of scientific articles and Internet posts suggesting that my fetus had a heartbeat that was higher than normal for the given week of pregnancy. Statistics associated this observation with the possibility of a chromosomal abnormality, especially trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), or Turner syndrome.

My friends and family tried to dismiss my worries as typical for a first-time mother-to-be. It was too early to know anything for sure, they claimed, and told me about their pregnancies, which turned out to be okay against all odds. I wanted to believe them, but never did feel 100% reassured. Thus, I wasn’t too shocked when the tenth-week blood test results arrived announcing with big block letters at the top of the page that an aneuploidy has been detected. The verdict: trisomy 13.

Additional testing and imaging early in the second trimester revealed severe physical defects of the fetus, confirming the diagnosis. The pregnancy lasted 18 weeks. I let my body recover for two month before I decided to try IUI for the third time.