AIBU to be terrified of IVF?

[Tazzyduffy]

I'm 39 and on the waiting list for ivf. I am terrified... Absolutely scared senseless.

Now I get that most people are scared and worried about non success, I'm not. I can't even think that far... I'm terrified of the pain of egg collection and transfer, absolutely terrified. Our clinic does it under sedation and I know that I respond minimally to sedation in the past. I also have been prescribed sleeping tablets in the past with pretty much no effect.

I am also terrified of labour, but that's a worry for another day!

I desperately want to be a mummy, but can't seem to get myself psychologically over the pain hurdles. I've tried cbt... No major benefit.

Im a wuss and am very embarrassed by my fear of pain.

Any suggestions? Has anyone else felt like this?

Have you disvussed this with the clinic? Is there an option for epidural or gen anaesthetic?

I won't lie. On my first go I tried it under a local anesthetic, forgetting that it doesn't work very well for me. They then had to drug me unconscious during egg collection because I was in too much pain.

On my next go I had General anesthetic and it was great - a breeze. Is there no option for this at your clinic?

NB: transfer doesn't hurt

I am fairly sure that my clinic doesn't offer GA for collection (NHScycle)I just know sedation won't work.

Hi, I was terrified of ec too. My clinic used sedation plus paracetamol and local anaesthetic. The sedation didn't seem to do much, but after feeling the local anaesthetic jab (which was like any other injection), I felt nothing at all! I'd psyched myself up for some horrendous pain and never felt a thing! You'll be fine.

I have had ivf with sedation several times. The first time it was a typical sedation and I could feel the procedure although it didn't hurt. The second time the sedation was much stronger (they had changed how they did it with all patients) and I was completely out of it.

IVF if scary but it shouldn't be painful.

During stimulation the sorest thing is the needle jags. FYI the needles are finer than a hair and a cm long so pretty much painless! You will feel bloated and I comfy as your ovaries grow lots of eggs but paracetamol and rest will work wonders.

At egg collection time you will be fully sedated, no where in the uk does this awake. It's not a general but it felt pretty much the same as one for me. You get good painkillers and the sorest thing for me was getting the cannula in my hand!

Transfer will only hurt if you have OHSS as they press quite hard on your tummy when scanning to get the optimal position for the catheter. This was agony for me I won't lie but my ovaries were super swollen and bleeding which is very rare. Most people don't find this sore at all, no worse than a smear test.

To be honest the emotional pain is the worst part. The waiting. The anxiety in whether it worked.

You will be fine. Good luck.

awww, tazzy I could have written this. I start end of this month and am terrified. I had a disastrous HSG and am still terrified by it. I freaked out during a smear test last month as the memory of the HSG won't go away.

Watching this thread closely for advice as the dummy, removal and transfer are giving me nightmares.

Hi there, I've had two lots of egg collection. I produced tons of eggs each time so it went on for a while!! It wasn't fun but it wasn't very painful either. Please, talk to your clinic, they should be able to reassure you. And as PPs said, transfer is v quick and just uncomfortable not painful, don't worry about that.