Exercise and IVF

[Anonymous]

I am an avid exerciser and I am going to be starting an IVF cycle next month. The first month (more than likely) will be lupron at day 21 and then the following cycle I will be stimming. Because of my age I will be on 450 mg of Bravelle.

How much exercise did you do before and after the transfer?
Did any of you go back to exercise after you got a postive beta. (notwithstanding I may feel like crap and extra tired)
If you went back to exercise, did you ratchet it down? What kind of exercise did you do?

Right now I do boot camp 5 days a week and I run 10-15 miles per week.

I don't want to give up all of it but I also don't want to do anything that could interfere with getting pregnant and/or staying pregnant.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

best is to ask your RE. my clinic recommends moderate exercise once the stimming begins. that means walking on the treadmill ona moderate pace. they say its best to avoid intense exercise because once the ovaries start getting bigger due to stims, there is a chance of them getting twisted.

i stick to yoga and walking during stimming.
good luck with your cycle.

[Anonymous]

been there . . . moderate exercise at best. do it to keep your sanity and to keep calm but the stimming really does cut into your routine. I gave myself shots at 8 every morning and night and found it to be a bit much after a few days. i am in the 2ww for my second ivf and was doing 4 shots a day for a bit.

[Anonymous]

agree with PPs' and no "real" exercise after transfer in 2ww -- i.e. running; walking at a moderate pace is fine. i've always been a little sore after retrieval and your ovaries are still a little swollen/tender so i skip it all together then, too. yet another sacrifice and downside to IVF! good luck!!

[Anonymous]

I'm also an avid exerciser and runner. I did my normal routine while on Lupron and was told to stop running once I started stims - my nurse said I could still do the elliptical, exercise bike, and brisk walking. I didn't do anything for 3 days after transfer. Then I went back to elliptical and brisk walking. With my positive cycle, I wasn't cleared to run again until they saw a heartbeat on ultrasound. Then the RE said to run 2/3 as far at 2/3 the intensity. When I was transferred to my OB, she said I could run as much as I wanted to now.

[Anonymous]

I think you're going to have to give us a lot of it, OP, at least once you start stims. You'll be too sore when your ovaries get large, first of all. Plus studies show that success rates with IVF go down if you do more than 4 hours of exercise a week, and that is moderate exercise. I would plan to not do any ab work, to keep any weight training light, and to do the elliptical or exercise bike, or walk, for cardio.

Look at it this way - if you are older, you don't have many chances left so you might as well make this cycle a good one.

[Anonymous]

I had been working out with a trainer once or twice a week plus taking long walks five days a week before my first IVF cycle (which was negative). After I starting stimming I just didn't feel like going to the trainer (tired + extremely bloated and uncomfortable), but I did continue to go on long walks regularly. I basically did not exercise at all during the 2WW, but the materials from Shady Grove said that you could do moderate exercise, including short walks and yoga. I just didn't really feel like it and I was trying to be cautious. I am in my second cycle now and probably will follow the same plan, except that I will probably take more walks and do some yoga during the 2WW, if only to try to hang on to my sanity. Good luck to you!