What to expect when you're IVFing
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ekh123
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Someone in the freeze thread pointed out that it sounds like I don't know what I'm getting myself into with my upcoming IVF cycle. That may be the case. I think I know, but I have no idea. So go ahead, tell me what it was like for you! I want to hear about your experience during the egg retrieval and implantation process.
(side note, I noticed that almost everyone posts as anonymous and doesn't use a username, why is that?) |
Anonymous
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I'm a control freak so after every monitoring appointment I had to Google all abt how many follicles and what size and e2 levels are normally expected for that day. I had a bloodwork and us appointment on day 1, then day 4,,6, 8, 10, 11, and 12 (trigger day). Day 14 was retrieval and didn't feel 100% until 4 days after that. The embryo reports were the worst for me becuase they started off great then day 2 was they all look bad then day 3 is we have a few that look ok after that then day 5 was a huge letdown finding out all but one arrested and it wasn't even a Blast (Meaning my chances of it working were lower). Then the 2ww sucked bc I knew it didn't work but had to keep on the meds anyway until 18 days past retrieval which felt like such a huge waste of time and money.
So as you can see its quite time intensive which is maybe why someone on the other thread didn't think you knew what you were getting yourself into. Nobody goes thru all that to throw away perfectly good embryos. Nobody. |
Anonymous
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It is a huge emotional and physical suck. Make sure you pare down your life--no annoying relatives visiting, turn down invitations to dinner (unless they will be understanding and supportive), try not to have major work deadlines. Pre cook food or order out, do a big clean before you start stimming. Cut yourself some slack and just take it easy.
Prepare to be emotional, even if it's not the drugs causing it. You are just holding your breath every minute of every day. On the outside you will look like you are just going about living your life, but on the inside, every thought will be about--how many eggs are growing, how many will they retrieve, how many will fertilize, how many will continue to grow, how many will we transfer, then the horrible TWW. The whole time will be a rollercoaster--hope, disappointment, hope, disappointment, repeat ad nauseum... Your life will revolve around shots, medication, monitoring visits and calls from your nurse. And if you can don't be PP and Google every number. It will be hard, but you will hear every story imaginable. For every 'I have low XX" or "I have high XX", you will find someone who was successful and someone who wasn't. You won't know whether you will be successful or not, until *you* are or not. Someone else's story will not be your story. So just let things unfold... Make sure to have a strong support system whether in real life or online. You need IVF sisters to help you through the roller coaster ride. DH did his best, but it's just so foreign to them. They just can't understand the hormones, the shots, the doctor visits. And they feel so helpless, that often they resort to "stop worrying, there is nothing you can do about it" sigh... Find something that makes you feel like you have some control (even though you don't and need to make peace with that). For me going to acupuncture (which also helped me relax), not having caffeine, eating well, etc made me feel like I has some control of something, even if it was false control. Lastly, if there was one thing I wish I had done differently--see a Fertility Nutritionist. I started seeing Nicole from Pulling Down the Moon too late in the process to really make a difference for my IVF's. I should have started seeing her when I was doing the IUI's. The things I learned from her about the best nutrition for a woman's fertility has made me so much healthier. I used that knowledge to prepare myself for my DE cycle and now am 18 weeks pregnant. Good Luck! |
Anonymous
| I'm interested in info on this topic, as well...really wondering what I am getting into here. I should start stims for my first IVF cycle in a little over a week, and, frankly, I'm a nervous wreck after reading some of the comments on these boards, particularly concerning the ER and its aftermath, not to mention fert reports, ET, potential TWW, etc. PCOS and high AMH here, with a history of over response just on Clomid. RE and nurse basically make it sound like ER is No big deal and risks like OHSS are really quite low, so maybe all this worry is for nothing. |
Anonymous
Are you triggering with lupron? I think that reduces the risk of ohss down significantly because it doesn't last in the system near as long as the hcg trigger. You ARE high risk for ohss so I'd be worried if your trigger is hcg. Make sure to have some gatorade and lots of protein on hand too as it really helps. |
Anonymous
PP here...yes, Lupron trigger, so hopefully that will help! I've heard the Gatorade suggestion before, but not protein...thanks for that info! |
Anonymous
I registered for an account and have a username, but for some reason it always pops up as anonymous. |
Anonymous
| IVF is truly an emotional roller coaster but my personal opinion it's all worth it. My suggestion would be not to read all of these nonsense posts and keep your mind, body and soul at ease, less stress is the key. The body reacts off stress. My first cycle I had a miscarriage but second cycle I gave birth to healthy triplets who are actually " Five ", now. Embrace the roller coaster ride becomes the outcome of the results will be "Priceless ".Good Luck and wish u the Best! |
Anonymous
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I'm 11:24
I agree with 6:33--roller coaster, but worth it. And I'm someone who 2 IVF wasn't successful. But I had to go through it to move forward to DE. It was a very slim shot with my age and numbers and it sucked that we spent LOTS AND LOTS of money. But I don't think I would be at peace about my DE decision without going through it. 17:57-- the key to getting through it is having a support system and being prepared that it's going to take a toll on you emotionally and physically and plan accordingly. Going through this is not like a typical medical procedure. With even a major surgery, you go in one day and come out in pain but recovering. An IVF cycle is long and drawn out. So don't think you can do life like normal--cut back on responsibilities, outsource what you can, lean on people (don't try to do it alone or only with DH), cut out social media and googling others stories if it is stressing you out. Your job for the month is to take care of your future child's mother. That means be selfish and focus on yourself. Also, advocate for yourself. If it seems like the RE isn't tailoring your protocol or you seem to be on the road to OHSS, speak up and often. Don't worry about hurting your nurses feelings. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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You'll have shots. Lots of shots every day.
You'll be at the doctor's office every other day. You will wait for calls from your nurse telling you how you did, and whether or not you will be scheduled for the ER. That may or may not happen. Assuming all goes well, you'll go into the ER. This is a minor surgery. You will need a few days to recover. Depending on how many eggs they collect, you will or will not be miserable. I produced 30 eggs at my first and only cycle at 41. Needless to say, I had a bad case of OHSS because no one expected me to respond that way. My stomach blew up as if I was eight months along. I had to scramble for maternity clothing. Lots of uncomfortable looks at the office. I was in excruciating pain, my abdominal muscles were screaming, couldn't turn properly, couldn't bend, had to do everything very gingerly. If you don't get pregnant, the symptoms go away after 2 weeks. I did get pregnant and they didn't go anywhere until about 4 months and then it was a different sort of bloating. Then you'll have to wait for the reports every day telling you how many eggs fertilized, how many embryos you produced and how many died on each subsequent day till day 5 or 6. They will tell you how many remained and are good to transfer. That number can be zero, one or many. You won't know till it happens. Then you'll have to decide whether to test before transferring or not. Then you'll have to decide how many to transfer. Then you'll transfer, which is not a big deal, and enter a two-week waiting period, during which you will be on needles and pins every day till your ultrasound. If the ultrasound confirms pregnancy, you'll be stressing out again to see if you miscarry, because many do. At about 10 weeks they will release you to your general OB. Then you'll get to stress about miscarriage again. Then you'll do prenatal testing and stress about whether it was all for nothing. If all goes well, that will be it. For many women, it isn't. Then it's rinse and repeat for as long as your wallet and stress tolerance can bear. I was lucky to conceive on the first cycle and have a bunch of embryos to freeze. NO FREAKING WAY would I toss the embryos and go through this BS again if I don't have to. For what, a couple of thousand dollars storage fees? You're nuts. |
Anonymous
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11:24 again
The progesterone suppositories or PIO will give you pregnancy symptoms during the TWW. You will feel pregnant. You will spend every day playing a game of "Is that a real pregnancy symptom or meds?" Every 5 mins you will convince yourself one way or the other. It's mentally exhausting! |
Anonymous
I think everyone has different ways of coping. I just did what I was told to do and didn't think too much about it otherwise. Yes, I was tired and stressed because of the early morning doctor appointments and having to give myself a lot of shots and hoping it would work so I wouldn't have to do this again. Good luck and do what keeps you happy and sane 
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Anonymous
| It's an emotional roller coaster! So pray and keep positive. |