Some info worth passing along

I don't know how many of you read Infertility Blog by Dr. Licciardi but I think his blog is so informative and he explains everything so well. Here are a couple tid bits of info that I read this morning and I thought I'd copy and paste it into my blog - it mostly deals with IUI/sperm issues so right up my alley.

This post answered some of my IUI count issues:

IUI with 17 million, 28-58% motility and 8% morphology. I like your odds. IUI using sperm with normal counts and motility is very commonly done and can lead to success. I have been impressed with iui when the sperm is not exactly great, a little low in some respects, as long as the post wash is over 10 million motile sperm. Here, since 1% of the sperm make it through the cervix during intercourse, a low count or motility will reduce chances naturally. But iui will get more sperm to the eggs, so that if the only problem in the sperm, iui can overcome the problem, provided post wash is not too low.I do not care if my patients do back to back cycles. However, sometimes there are follicles left over from the stimulation that are still present on day 2 or 3, and starting needs to wait a month. Starting with a few smaller follicles is ok, but sometimes they are quite large.


This post could have been written for me (except the age, I am only 31) but it confirms my thoughts that yes, we do need to be more aggressive:

You have been trying for 18 months, and you are only up to iui with no drugs? Yes that may work, but the odds are against you. As with all patients you need to proceed at a rate that works for you, but most women in your shoes would be much more aggressive. At 39 yrs, natural cycle iui is 3-5%, clomid is 5-8%, FSH iui is about 10%, and IVF is higher (numbers are estimates).

For whatever it is worth...