I need to know about IVF...my drugs are being delivered tomorrow and I haven't a fecking clue

[KoolAidKid]

I have NO IDEA about any of this. Honestly. Apart from the basics, which the consultant talked me through, which was something like

"we will give you drugs to produce lots of eggs and then we will knock you out and collect the eggs through your fanjo and then mix them with DHs sperm and make an embryo (hopefully more than one). And then put them in the oven and when they're ready we'll shove them back inside you. through your fanjo"

This is all I know. I'll admit I've been deliberately burying my head in the sand about it all though.

But I think now is the time has come to face reality. So would anyone care to share their experiences?

I'd like to know about all about the drugs - the types, how you take them, how often, side effects...

How many appointments you need. How much time off work I may need.

Er what will happen to my body. What will happen to my mind

Just EVERYTHING. Honestly no detail is too small or too trivial. I'd be really grateful.

maryz - I think that it is a bit of a generalisation to say that all couples going through IVF are careless of the health implications.

I, for one, had complex health issues which I was keen not to aggravate and a DD who needed me to be around and fairly healthy.

I would have walked away from IVF if I felt it was too dangerous.

Hi
I had one successful IVF (nhs) then a failed FET. (PRIVATE)

My clinic told me to call them anytime with questions and they would get back to me if no-one could talk then, so maybe give them a call and get advice.

I took buserelin injections first to switch everything off as it were.There was at least one scan involved but it did not take long. I felt quite poorly during these....hot flushes, headacges, teary and tired. Apparently it makes you feel menopausal...

Then I took something else that stimulates your ovaries. I took these for about 10 days with two scans involved. My Doc said that they basically make you produce more eggs and can increase your ovary size from walnuts to small grapefruits....I felt very bloated and sore (oh and it's not a good plan to buy new jeans at this point as you may well be much fatter than before around that area......but having some comfy joggers might help!!)

Then I had to take a further injection to get the eggs to release. This one had to be kept in the fridge so make sure if you have one foR the fridge you put it there.... The clinic should tell you EXACTLY when to take this one so that the eggs do not release too early..

For egg collection I went into the hospital in the morning. My DH was taken off to do hIs bit (and apparently 10 mins in a room with a grily mag is as stressful as all those injections......) I was put to sleep for my EC but some places just numb you. I was very sore afterwards and struggled to walk about.

Transfer from our clinic was two days after EC.

I had pessaries to take....nasty nasty things and they did leak...all very minging....especially as the leaking makes you think you period might have started so lots of knicker checking went on... For my FAiled FET they gave me a gel instead of the pessaries....this leaked less.

Then two weeks later they did a blood test to say yes or no to it working.....

I was lucky with regards to time off in that I teach and most of my first cycle was over the XMas hols, but I did take of EC and the two days after that.

I felt very emotional and tired the whole time. It is a big rollercoaster...
I agree with whoever said take it one step at a time. AT any point things can go pear shaped (not stimulated enough stimulated too much, no eggs egss not fertliised etc) so just getting to the next stage is a nightmare....

The only people who really understand what IVF does to you are those who have been there. I totally understand about the head in the sand bit! ALso not wanting too much time off...unless you can find a way to explain without having to tell people why, after all those lucky people who concieve naturlaly don't tell everyone how they are getting on do they??

Anyway, good luck...I will keep my fingers crossd for you and I say if in doubt call the clinic and talk to them!!!!

I hate to be the one to put a dampner on all this wonderful advice, but I had a really horrible IVF experience

Like you I assumed I could just slot it into my life and carry on as normal. Oh how wrong I was.

Firstly, my hospital was the other side of London from work, which meant I had to stay at my Dads house and get up at crazy o'clock for the earliest appointments so that I could get into work on time, I wish I'd just admitted I would need time off and chilled out because it soon became clear that the intial injections sapped every last bit of energy in my body and I needed to nap several times a day if I had any hope of carrying on as normal.

The fake menopause thing was horrible, I had hot flushes all the time, I had headaches, I was depressed and miserable and I ended up hating my partner as I felt he was an unhelpful bastard, we nearly broke up serveral times during the process.

Then the stimulating drugs didn't work initially, I still felt like shit all the time and so they decided to up my dose to get results. Then I over-reacted like crazy, tried to ignore it and kept on going to work, until on morning where I couldn't breath and had to take myself off to my clinic where they informed me that I got really servere OHSS and had to be hospitalised immediately otherwise I risked it being fatal. Really look out for ANY of the signs of OHSS, I thought I was just over-reacting when I could blatantly see the signs do I said nothing - FOOLISH MOVE.

Then I eventually convinced them to let me take it to egg collection at least (they were going to abandon treatment) and out of the 40 follicles I had, they got 27 eggs, of which only 5 fertilised (apparently some of my eggs where 'hostile' to my partners sperm - oh the sweet irony)

At one point, my ovaries where so enlarged, they were poking out of my stomach, quite visably, it was... odd. I also hads a lot of fluid around my organs and lungs and what have you, this got serious in a matter of days so please, please, please be aware and mention any little thing, no matter how trivial.

Said embryos are currently still on ice, awaiting for me to man up and use them. I would have had a frozen cycle 3 months later, but lo and behold, I had a randomly natural pregnancy, which I then lost at 7 weeks.

I'm sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear but I really wish someone had sat me down and warned me that this process would affect me so badly mentally and physically (I lost 3 stone to be accepted to do IVF, by the time I had the OHSS I had balloned by 2.5 st and looked about 6 months pregnant)

I really hope your experience is better and I'm sorry if my story all comes across as horrible and bitter x

I've had 3 cycles of IVF - with one miscarriage and 2 DC as a result. My IVF differs from yours as I had an early menopause and so don't need to downreg but I just wanted to wish you luck.

IVF is a medical treatment. Any person undergoing treatment should be giving informed consent - that they understand the risks and benefits of the procedure. IVF is no exception to this. The op posted yesterday because she said she had 'no idea'. You do not need to have had IVF to know that's not an informed position from which to be entering an invasive and uncertain treatment.

Northernlurker - I sort of get your point but I think it's a bit harsh.

How many people having surgical procedures really quiz their doctors on what drugs they'll be getting and all the possible side effects.

Having ivf can kill you - I was and am well aware of that risk. But I took it the OP was talking generally - you don't have a clue when you first get the box. You peer at all the bottles and vials, you gingerly nudge the needles, you look at the cotton wool perplexed by quite how much they seem to think you'll need....

Having IVF is major surgical intervention. do not enter into it until you know exactly what the drugs will do to you, how you will feel and i would advise you to speak in confidence to your boss/personnel dept. it is not having a tooth out or a scan. please (many times over) get some decent books - Prof Winstons one was really useful for us. read it understand it ask questions. this is major hormonal changes to your body not thinking of how stressful it can be when it doesnt work. Would you go and have major bladder or brain surgery if you had no idea about it? read up and be informed, delay treatment if necessary. be prepared to have to have lots of time off, to feel like your emotions are on a roller coaster and you must be 13 and to cope with the huge strain it puts on relationships. you are not ready for this yet , don't do it until you are.

I had few side effects as far as I remember (4 yrs ago and result beautiful DD), certainly no menopausal feelings at the start, a bit of bloating during the injection stage? The time off work thing was really stressful so I came clean with my employer (very small business overseas) as I felt the last thing I needed was to be stressed about that. Can't imagine many/any people do this but was fairly unusual circumstances.

Very true about the whole journey thing. I thought I'd gone through fine, they saw lots of eggs (18 ish?), harvested 12, only 3 were good, only 2 embryos, one of which wasn't great (could see on the screen that one was all jaggedy around the outside when they put them back!!) so very very very lucky to get DD.

A chinese nurse after they put the embroyos back told me secretly not to stand up and not go over speed bumps!! I spent the next 24 hours lying on the sofa eating chocolates

I do clearly remember not enjoying the suppositries though, urghhhh!