Painful IUI

cheffie

Hi!
I've been doing the insemination since July. Got pregnant on the first try and miscarried after 9 weeks (WA!). After taking a cycle off, we continued trying every month but have been unsuccessful.
The IUI is painful and I usually have some spotting for the 24hrs following the insemination. I always feel like my doctor goes in "too deep"... Is it normal? Anybody with the same pain?

bluesky10

It shouldn’t be painful. The reason it shouldn’t hurt is that you body has or is close to ovulating so the cervix is open for sperm to go through. Because it is open it should slide right in with only a minor cramp if anything. They thread it through and go right up to your tubes to release the sperm. If it is painful I would question the timing of the IUI. Minor spotting isn’t unusual.

heidibee

I read somewhere recently that there can be minor cramping from the fluid being placed in the uterus. I looked online and found this "There can be some cramping afterward, but often what is felt is ovulation-related rather than from the IUI. The catheter usually doesn't feel like much since the cervix is already slightly open for ovulation -- a poorly timed IUI might cause more discomfort at the cervix." Do you have any cramping on months when you are not inseminating but just ovulating?

cheffie

I usually also get cramping all through the day following the insemination. And timing, from the ultrasounds, is usually pretty good...

2girlsinlove

Mine hurt incredibly bad. I was brought to tears. AF came about 12 days later so I am guessing it was due to a badly timed IUI. Hopefully my next IUI (this weekend) will be better timed and less painful.

sibemom

My first IUI attempt was this past monday and yes yes yes it hurt. She had to use a tenaculum to hold/angle my cervix. THAT is what most definitely created my pain.

As to it not being good timing... if the ovulation test popped the day before and the morning of and my temp spiked, how can it be "bad" timing?

tillie

The pain during the IUI has nothing to do with timing. It has to do with the angle/location of your cervix or uterus or something like that. I've had two different doctors perform mine and both said that it often hurts (and mine hurt!!) because they have a hard time getting where they need to go due to body geometry or maybe it is seeing where they need to go because of that. They use little tricks to work with the angles to get where they need to make the deposit. The pain for me is at the vagina opening and so I think from the damn clamp thing wedged in there and moved about to help them with the angles.

ladymacb29

2girlsinlove wrote:

Mine hurt incredibly bad. I was brought to tears. AF came about 12 days later so I am guessing it was due to a badly timed IUI. Hopefully my next IUI (this weekend) will be better timed and less painful.

Even a good timed IUI isn't more than around 25% successful...

bluesky10

Accourding to the place that did mine it is due to poor timing. My uterus tips back and sits way back in my body. Neither IUI hurt, I didnt feel anything.

Regan

I'm really glad you posted this question. While I didn't feel anything close to pleasure at any previous IUI's (last month was number 4), I definitely felt some cramping and had spotting. However, last month, there was a tremendous amount of pain, and much "repositioning" needed. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful, but I spent some time wondering if this was due to my providers lack of ability to place the specimen in the right place. I know I was ovulating thanks to medications, an ultrasound and a trigger shot, but the provider mentioned something about my canal, and never having so many problems before.
I'm sorry you were in such discomfort! I usually try to focus on the outcome, and realize those few minutes of pain are worth it! (Same mantra I want to use in labor!) 8-)

kitanne

Mine were always very painful, I have a curved cervix and had some precancerous cells removed from it many years ago, as well. I would want to jump off the table doing IUI's. Not too much cramping after, but agonizing pain on the table. After a few and I switched Dr's - the new dr used a different catheter and it wasn't painful. He said most doctors want to save money and use a cheap catheter, which doesn't hurt most people anyway, but he used a more flexible, softer one and they are like $10 each - but he didn't want to hurt anyone so he buys the better ones and he said he gets to look like a rock star! I know they were red. Even after I left him, I would make sure to ask the doctor to get the better one for me so it wouldn't hurt. I even offered to pay for it!