Side effects of stimulation

[Anonymous]

I'm beginning my first IVF cycle. How common are side effects like pain and bloating from the increased amount of eggs? Are there any other side effects I should be concerned about? During the week of my tentative egg retrieval I will have family coming in and will be the week of my sons preschool graduation and I'm worried I will be miserable.

[Anonymous]

I'd say you will likely be uncomfortable. Towards the end of stimming, the bloating and aches were quite substantial for me, and I only had 4 follicles. If you are a good responder, you could be bad off. The graduation should be doable if it is before the ER, but if you are not sharing that you are going through the process, your family may notice and wonder why you are not your usual self.

[Anonymous]

I did a cycle of IUI and had 3 large follicles. I'm worried I will have a lot. Should I push for a retrieval before the graduation? are the Days following the retrieval bad too?

[Anonymous]

two days before retrieval and 2-3 days afterwards were very uncomfortable. i went to work, but was not even up for long walks, and spent a lot of time on the couch in my bathrobe. very bloated, and lots of uncomfortable stomach symptoms, having to pee constantly.

having family stay with us would have been awkward, especially if you don't want to explain what is going on, unless they are the type that can take over childcare/cleaning duties for you.

you can't really 'push for an early retrieval' once you've started stimming as it will depend on how your eggs are responding to the drugs, it may be shorter or longer, but they will want your egg grouping to hit a certain number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a cycle of IUI and had 3 large follicles. I'm worried I will have a lot. Should I push for a retrieval before the graduation? are the Days following the retrieval bad too?

Preschool graduation is not more important than the timing of retrieval. I was fine with mine, maybe just a little uncomfortable. Do not try to time this around preschool events - this is thousands of dollars worth of meds. You'll be fine. Have an outfit that looks okay when you're a little bloaty and roll with it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. To me, my son takes priority, therefore his preschool graduation takes priority. As much as I want another child, I have one who is here and that needs me. I refuse to let this whole infertility struggle take ANYTHING away from the child I already have. I would regret nothing more than not sharing in his accomplishments

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. To me, my son takes priority, therefore his preschool graduation takes priority. As much as I want another child, I have one who is here and that needs me. I refuse to let this whole infertility struggle take ANYTHING away from the child I already have. I would regret nothing more than not sharing in his accomplishments

Well, your doctor is not going to be cool with you asking to change your retrieval day. You do it at the optimal time and that is it. Push IVF back a month if you have an unmissable event that might correspond with retrieval day.

[Anonymous]

you will have to reschedule the entire cycle. retrieval day has zero flexibility once you've started stims. You will be uncomfortable (from mild to very, depending on how your body reacts) AND looking very pregnant from bloating. If you normally wear body-con clothes you might not even fit into them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. To me, my son takes priority, therefore his preschool graduation takes priority. As much as I want another child, I have one who is here and that needs me. I refuse to let this whole infertility struggle take ANYTHING away from the child I already have. I would regret nothing more than not sharing in his accomplishments

Well, your doctor is not going to be cool with you asking to change your retrieval day. You do it at the optimal time and that is it. Push IVF back a month if you have an unmissable event that might correspond with retrieval day.

+1
Once your follicles are the right size, trigger will have to happen.

[Anonymous]

PS: # of follicles in IUI and # of them in IVF are two unrelated things. With IUI they specifically don't want you to have too many and taylor the protocol to achieve that. WIth IVF they want more eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. To me, my son takes priority, therefore his preschool graduation takes priority. As much as I want another child, I have one who is here and that needs me. I refuse to let this whole infertility struggle take ANYTHING away from the child I already have. I would regret nothing more than not sharing in his accomplishments

Well, your doctor is not going to be cool with you asking to change your retrieval day. You do it at the optimal time and that is it. Push IVF back a month if you have an unmissable event that might correspond with retrieval day.

+1
Once your follicles are the right size, trigger will have to happen.

yeah, I'm surprised your doc wasn't very clear with you about this. Once you start stims, you are on the timeline of your body, and when you're ready, you're ready. I had to move travel and work plans. I wish you luck! With the caveat that every woman is different, I was pretty miserable AFTER my retrieval (I don't remember if you're IUI or IVF). But in my case, I was super uncomfortable for almost a week after.

[Anonymous]

I just started my birth control last week. I will be on it for 20 ish days according to what I've been told. I am asking now because it's still early and I haven't had a chance to speak with the doctor. I am hoping for some wiggle room. I just wanted some advice from others who have gone through this so I could have a better understanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just started my birth control last week. I will be on it for 20 ish days according to what I've been told. I am asking now because it's still early and I haven't had a chance to speak with the doctor. I am hoping for some wiggle room. I just wanted some advice from others who have gone through this so I could have a better understanding.

Talk to your nurse about this tomorrow. Best case scenario, they could add or subtract some days of BCP, but (a) chances are they have good scheduling reasons for giving you this protocol timeline, and (b) taking BCP too long risks oversuppression.

[Anonymous]

My retrieval was right around thanksgiving - I was uncomfortable, but it was manageable to host family for a couple of days (my husband does most of the cooking anyways). Mostly just bloating, some pain, and horrible constipation. From my perspective, a preschool graduation with family visitors should be quite doable. However, I only had 7 eggs - imagine that it could be much worse with more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just started my birth control last week. I will be on it for 20 ish days according to what I've been told. I am asking now because it's still early and I haven't had a chance to speak with the doctor. I am hoping for some wiggle room. I just wanted some advice from others who have gone through this so I could have a better understanding.

Once you start your hormone shots there is no wiggle room. You need to negotiate the timing for starting the stims. After you start, the flexibility ship has sailed...