To wonder if others enjoy the IVF process?

[RaggyDollSadSack]

I’ve just done round number 5 (although I am fortunate enough to have a living child). My psychologist asked me the day before it started whether I enjoy the process. This sounded like a bonkers suggestion to me if I’m honest.

Before l get critical of her though, I feel I should check how others feel about it. Has anyone here enjoyed it?

4 cycles, 1 loss, 1 healthy baby here. I didn't exactly enjoy the process, but gained a certain calmness and peace of mind by knowing we were doing everything we could to have a family. So with each cycle, there was a happiness and anticipation as we were actively doing something to achieve an otherwise impossible goal. I can still remember sitting on the bed excitedly ripping open the new box of drugs and hypodermics at the start of one cycle! Plus I fortunately had no issues with the drugs, so didn't find the cycles too physically hard.

It was the most stressful 2 years of my life. It negatively impacted my relationship with DH and my career. I already had a child but still - it was utterly shit. I'm so pleased that part of my life is behind me.

I did one round and the last word I would use to describe it is enjoyable. In fact I would be very offended and angry at being asked this. Is she implying 5 times with 1 successful ivf, means you enjoy the attention?

I am going against the grain. I really enjoyed it 😂Im not joking. I felt excited the whole way through and tried to stay partially emotionally detached/ partially present and as positive as I could

I felt as though I had a form of PTSD after it. That's how I felt. I'd had years of depression which I feel wrecked my son's younger years in some ways because I couldn't just be happy to have him. I was chasing this other fictional baby who would complete our family.

When people say that the NHS shouldn't fund IVF (didn't apply to me anyway, we paid), they have no idea what an impact it has on your mental health. It took getting that baby to heal our marriage, improve our son's life, my health. It really was like a magic wand.

I did enjoy it in some ways as I thought we were finally getting somewhere. You feel like you live in limbo when you are infertile, well I did anyway. I couldn't enjoy anything until it worked. Thank god it did.

Painful, stressful, and heartbreaking sum it up for me.
However, I 'enjoyed' the injections I had to do myself because it felt like I finally had some measure of control in a situation that was absolutely beyond my control.

I did. It was a first step rather than a last resort for me (same sex couple). It was exciting, and I didn't find it particularly physically uncomfortable. And it worked first time.

Worst part was the cost and the number of appointments.

Yeah apparently she was. It’s not the first question like this she’s asked.

’Aren’t you worried about what you’re going to do with yourself when you’re done having babies?’ was another.

I should ask her actually whether she’d like to hazard a guess at what percentage of IVF cycles result in a live birth.

Yes ditto

Enjoy it? It was a means to an end (9 rounds, 8 pregnancies, 2 living children). I think your psychiatrist could need a psychiatrist.

Six rounds for two babies and I did find it a positive experience. The doctors were great communicators even when things were going wrong. It was much better to be doing something about it than doing nothing.

I'm clearly one of very few on here that didn't find it distressing nor painful! I was grateful for a chance to potentially have a child. Unfortunately though, after 12yrs TTC, 3 losses and rounds of IVF- I won't have my own children. There are things in life I enjoy far more than IVF, but it was far from the worse thing in life!

Similar here.
years of trying and failing destroyed me and our marriage.
finally starting IVF was a relief and gave me hope. But we went through multiple failed cycles and that was even more soul destroying than failing naturally.
physically I didn’t mind the injections too much, and got used to the invasive scans. I found the embryo transfers quite amazing really - the science of it is incredible. And one of them did take and is our beautiful 4 year old now. I am ever grateful to ivf for him.

I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but it was a heck of a lot easier than IUI - now that was stressful.
Everything was very controlled with IVF.
IUI was messing with hormones, and then multiple visits to hospital to decide when to do the trigger shot and when to do the actual IUI. Biggest waste of time ever.

(Although it worked for a friends)

We’re looking to begin again soon and I feel complete and utter dread. Like stepping on to an out of control merry go round that could throw you off at any stage.

I found it gruelling and harrowing the first time and we were one of the lucky ones who had success. The constant anxiety and pressure was horrid, treatment lasted almost 6 weeks and those emotions didn’t subside at all during that time. Tbh, it didn’t improve until past viability stage of pregnancy.

Enjoy it!
Have they tried it?

Of course it isn't flipping enjoyable.
And it worked for us, also a therapist and would never spout such nonsense.

Wow!

I think you need a new therapist.

I didn’t enjoy it. It was intrusive, expensive, overwhelming and it was my last hope.

It did give me hope during the process (but it didn’t give me a baby). It did give me a sense of taking control which I had lost during multiple miscarriages.

So, no, I definitely didn’t ‘enjoy’ it but there were some positives in what was mostly a negative experience.

Is your therapist trying to suggest some kind of munchausen’s?

I had a feeling of proactivity and ensuing guarded excitement, tempered by a fairly constant slightly nauseating feeling, undoubtedly in part the hormones and bloating but in no small part the feeling of having placed a £10,000 bet.

Nope. It was absolute shit and everything that could go wrong did. And it didn’t work.

I hated every minute of it, both emotionally and physically.

Oh and financially too….