IUI Try #2: The Brick Wall

So the first of 2 IUIs was this morning, and it definitely did not go as smoothly as I would have liked. Apparently I have a very stubborn cervix, because the nurse could not get the catheter in. She tried for about 10 minutes, poking and prodding around my nether regions, but to no avail. So she excused herself and went to get another nurse, to see if she could have any success. Nurse #2 tried and tried...a bit too roughly I might add, but again, no luck. So she left to find the doctor, because surely he would be able to get through my brick wall. Mind you, this entire time I am lying on the table with my feet in the stirrups, positioned for all the world to see my business any time someone new wanted to come into the room.

The doctor finally came in and apparently was determined to get this bad boy in, because he kept murming and muttering under his breath the whole time, as if he were fighting some sort of battle he refused to lose.

FINALLY, he got in, let loose the swimmers, and all was right with the world again. He explained to me that my cervix is crooked, and that we should hope very much that we are successful with IUIs, because graduating (or is it being demoted?) to IVF would be a very complicated process for me. "I wouldn't want to damage those fragile embryos by trying to force them through your cervix" is how the doctor put it. So I would have to have my cervix dilated surgically each time, which would certainly NOT be fun.

So, here's to hoping we end our journey with IUI, because as much as I am not looking forward to repeating today's ordeal again tomorrow, it is a much less invasive option than IVF would have in store for me.