I recently posted that we had a success after first cycle with new donor, using egg whites and instead cups. There were a lot of questions, and I am hoping to clear those up now. We did it AI at home.
First:
Instead cups:
This is what they are called, and is actually the brand name. You can find them at any drugstore or Walmart etc. They are used for menstrual periods. Instead of using a tampon or a pad, women use these to catch the blood, then they remove them and throw them away. They do not absorb. They are kind of like an oversized condom. They are fairly large. I used it as do many other women ttc as a cup to hold the semen next to my cervix. You put the semen into the cup then put the cup in as directed on the box. I left it in for 6 to 9 hours. They dont leak, and you can not feel them inside of you. The cup forms a suction (for lack of a better word) around the cervix, and the semen has no where to go except for up.
Egg Whites:
Not the Yolk! I did quite a bit of research before I decided to try this method. NO! Bacteria, like salmonella can not be absorbed by your vagina or anything in it. No! Your baby will not have chicken DNA. Here is the idea behind this method:
First
The egg whites of an egg at room temperature are a perfect lube for the donor. Lotions or other store bought lube can be harmful to the sperm. Some are safe, like PreSeed, but believe me, eggs are cheaper.
If using this for the donor, make sure that you use a clean container with a lid. You crack the egg, and make sure that the whites are the only thing in the container. Put the lid on immediately. Leave it sitting on the counter for 30 min. to an hour, and send it with your donor when he does his thing.
Second
The egg whites of an egg are pure protien. Sperm thrives and lives off of protien. The egg whites are a great tool to mimmic cervical mucous. If you do OR do NOT have CM issues, I highly recommend trying this. Her is what you do:
With the same egg as the one above, take your oral syringe and suck about 1.5ml of the egg white into it. Combine it with the sperm. Make sure that it is at room temperature.
Third
My previous donor had not been tested for sperm count or anything like that. I came to find out that he was sterile on my own by noticing signs through the appearance of his semen. It was clear, and the consistency of hand sanitizer. We would wait 2 hours for it and there was only about 1.5 ml. I never thought to have him checked for fertility, because he is the biological father of my daughter, now 6.
Fourth
You may not believe this, but the easiest way to find a donor is to look to friends, your partners family, and even people you went to high school with. Anyone who has a personal connection with you will be at least open to the idea. I didnt think so either, but, I found 3 donors, all friends from high school.
Last
To sum it up, the following is exactly what I did:
I found my most fertile period on BabyCenter.com. I used it as a guide, and decided that I would find a donor that could do it everyday for 2 weeks. I bought an ovulation kit, and started testing from the first day of that time. It never detected an LH surge during the entire 2 weeks, June 1 through June 14. I got a positive ovulation test on the 18th. I got my donor to donate for the next 3 days, the 18, 19, and 20th. My doctor says that I am a bit over 8 weeks, which puts my time of conception within the first 2 weeks that we tried. So my ovulation kit was wrong.
I wrote a contract, met with the donor, had it signed and notorized, then proceeded the next day with the AI. We made a schedule for the next 2 wks.
He came to my house everyday. He would take the egg whites and donate into a sterile, never been used, short, fat, pill bottle. He immediately gave the donation and the egg whites to my partner. She would bring it to the room, and prepare the instead cup and the egg white. She would first put the sperm in the instead cup, then she would put 1.5 ml of egg white in the syringe and then add it to the sperm in the instead cup. She inserted it into me as directed on the box. I laid there, leggs elevated for an hour, then I got up and moved around, went to the bathroom etc. I left it in for 6-9 hours, then took it out.
We got a BFP!!!!!!!
I hope this helped. If there are still questions, just let me know!
Vicki and Joyce
[from group owner ML: I'm letting this through, but please, no more
posts here except about seeking a donor or offering to be one.
All other stuff should go to the new site here:
http://freespermdonorregistry.com
Firstly, congratulations on being pregnant, and good luck for the
next nine months and beyond!
Some comments:
More information about Instead cups here: http://www.softcup.com/
Using a donor or family member as a donor is great, but I would still
recommend having a contract or written agreement before starting any
inseminations. In fact, it's probably even more important to have
agreed things in writing.
I don't think it's possible to assess that someone is sterile just by
the appearance of their semen. The appearance changes anyway from
white globs to being almost watery. This liquefaction is normal, and
one of the things they test for in a semen analysis.
Until you mentioned them, I'd never even heard of anyone using egg
white when trying to conceive. It is my understanding that most
donors (even those that have been circumcised) do not need any lube
btw.
Everyone can decide for themselves, but personally, I would not
recommend using egg whites.
I've never heard of a donor donating seventeen times in one cycle, or
even anything close, so I wouldn't want other recipients or donors
out there to think that's usual.
Doctors can't accurately assess the age of an embryo or fetus until
the first scan, which wouldn't usually be till about 10-12 weeks after
conception. The due date can change by several days around then.
Confusingly, doctors normally talk about gestational age, which is
from day 1 of the last period. That would make fertilization around the 14th.
(It's very unlikely, but if your doctor was talking about age since
fertilization, or age since implantation, then you may already have
been pregnant. I've heard of women thinking they'd had one or even
more periods, when they were in fact already pregnant. LH and hCG are
very similar, so it's possible for an OPK test to mistake pregnancy as
ovulation. )
Any further posts to the original poster or to the thread here please:
http://freespermdonorregistry.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=65&id=2394&Itemid=37
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