Claire O'Neill FertilitySpace Co-Founder
How long does the IUI process take? Here is what an IUI treatment calendar looks like, showing you everything that takes place in a typical intrauterine insemination cycle day by day.
The IUI process takes place over the course of a typical menstrual cycle, so you can think of this treatment all taking place within the timeframe of about one month.
There are some variations in the exact number of days that you will take medication and how many ultrasounds you have depending on the type of protocol your fertility doctor gives you as well as your unique fertility status. However, the rest of the timeline for intrauterine insemination is basically the same for everyone.
The easy thing to remember when it comes to fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination is that everything begins with the start of your period. The first day of your period is considered to be Day 1 of the menstrual cycle.
This is when your clinic will normally give you instructions for your IUI cycle, such as a treatment calendar, dates to come in for an initial ultrasound, and your medication instructions.
We spoke with fertility doctor, Dr. Kurt Peterson of Nevada Fertility Center, to learn all about the IUI timeline from start to finish.
An IUI cycle can be broken down into a few simple steps, which take place over a typical menstrual cycle. Clomid or Letrozole are taken to grow follicles containing eggs, follicles are tracked via ultrasound, and a trigger shot induces ovulation which times the insemination process.
Ok, so we know that the first day of your period marks Cycle Day 1, what’s next?
In a nutshell, Dr. Peterson shares that an IUI cycle is “broken down into roughly two weeks of meds, monitoring, and an insemination procedure followed by two weeks of waiting to test for pregnancy”.
So let’s go day by day for each step of this process.Typically your fertility doctor will have you come in around Day 3 of your menstrual cycle for an initial ultrasound. This ultrasound is done to confirm that the ovaries are resting, Dr. Peterson shares.
The next step will be to start taking fertility medications that will encourage your ovaries to start developing follicles.
Each follicle contains an egg and in an IUI cycle, doctors may try to recruit a few follicles to help increase your chance of success with intrauterine insemination.
Although Clomid and Letrozole have different ways of working in the body to help you develop an egg for ovulation, the end result they bring about is essentially the same (to grow eggs) and take the same amount of time.
Both medication options, Clomid and Letrozole, are pills which you take orally for 5 days.
Here is a sample IUI cycle treatment calendar so you can see each step.
A typical treatment calendar for intrauterine insemination. This example calendar shows the basic timeline for Clomid IUI or Letrozole IUI. Dates may vary slightly depending on how you respond to the fertility medications.
Your fertility doctor will then have you return to the clinic sometime around Day 10-13 for another one to two ultrasounds so that they can check that your ovaries are developing follicles in response to the medications.
IUI trigger shot and Insemination Procedure So, how does your doctor know when it’s time for the insemination?Your doctor is looking at the ultrasound to measure the size of the follicles in your ovaries. Once they are large enough, follicles ≥ 18 mm, then it is time for the next stage of the IUI cycle - the trigger shot.
The trigger shot induces ovulation and has a very specific timeframe. After you take the trigger injection, an IUI typically takes place 24-36 hours later.
This is because an egg should have now been released from your ovary into the fallopian tube, so your doctor wants to time the insemination as close to this event as possible in order to optimize the insemination procedure so that the sperm can reach the egg in time.
Eggs have a narrow window of time during which they can be fertilized, so it’s important to time the insemination as closely as possible with ovulation.
The trigger shot is usually taken about two weeks into the IUI cycle, the same timeframe as when you would normally ovulate in a typical menstrual cycle.
