iui before or after ovulation

[heidi3]

just wondering, do success rates improve if iui is done before or after ovulation? i had my second iui done on Sun. at 10:30 and am certain i ovulated at around 2 (bloated, pains near ovaries, etc).

also, had BMS on Friday (against nurses suggestion). On Sunday, count was 23 million.

last iui, DH abstained for 4 days. His post wash count was 12 million. Maybe abstaining too long was bad for the count? Thought i'd mention that, don't know if it helps . . .

thanks for any input!

[mindybr]

My doc told me that she wants the sperm there when the egg is released so the sperm can meet the egg so I would say you had a good iui with the release a couple hours after iui. I was told/read that abstaing for to long can cause the sperm numbers to go down but I can't remember who or where I got the information from. I seem to remember no more than 4 or 5 days before. Good luck this month my fingers are crossed for you..mindy

[China2007]

Ditto what mindybr said. I have heard that letting them sit too long can lower the count.

Beth
ttc #2 on the bench until the thaw

[DH Lawrence]

Sorry for the length here - As a DH with problems, I am going to be somewhat of a dissenting voice here.

I have been told consistently that if the guy abstains beyond 5 days or so it is the motility, not the count, that will drop off. This makes intuitive sense - his body is producing sperm 24 hours a day so there is a build up, however, as the sperm ages it's vigor (ability to swim) drops off. That build up of sperm, though, isn't absolute. Over time, unused sperm will eventually die off and be absorbed into the body, but nonetheless it's typically motility that takes a hit from abstaining too long.

With all our SA's and IUI's, I've tested this advice twice and it has proven true for me - higher counts but lower motility after abstaining longer. The results weren't dramatic, but noticeable.

Unfortunately, finding that "sweet spot" where the balance between abstaining, count and motility result in an optimized healthy sperm count will differ for each guy and is a moving target since, as you know, results can vary quite a bit from SA to SA.

On the timing, by the way, I have read that with male factor issues it might be better to inject just after ovulation since the sperm survival rate may be low, but in most cases, I've heard you just need to be about six hours before or after to get the job done. It sounds to me like your timing was pretty good since even poor sperm should last a few hours at least.

Good luck and I really hope it worked for you and your husband.

-BT

[heidi3]

thanks for your replies! good luck to you too!