Preparing for IVF - Any Top Tips ?

[missbrightside]

Hello ladies

Yesterday my partner and I got the go ahead to be referred for IVF. We are expecting to have our first appointment in 2/3 months.

Even though this has been on the cards for a while now it suddenly feels much more 'real' and - to be honest - a little bit daunting !

Anyhow, we have a little bit of time to obsessively google things prepare for it (and who knows, nature may even be kind in the meantime ... ) but just wondered if anyone had any top tips of things we could be doing in preparation for it ? Diet/fitness isn't really an issue for either of us (albeit that I think I will now totaly elimiate alcohol and caffeine) just after a pre-planned night out on Saturday night.

Bizarrely, all I could think of when watched the consultant fill in the referral form was 'right, I've got two months to sort out all the junk from the spare room ...... !'

(Which I do appreciate is an odd thought ! TTC has made me go slightly bonkers !)

Thanks in advance.

I suggest you read ZIta West book on preparation for IVF. Or the one Katie Brian wrote. Both are excellent, reasonble yet scientific...Good luck with your journey and I hope all goes well

I agree on Estate's book recos - I've got both and while Zita can be a little bit 'woooo' when she talks about TCM, but the science-y parts are good and the principles are certainly helpful.

Otherwise try not to obsess and read-up too much - while it's great to understand the process, dwelling on it and obsessing about every detail won't help much.

When we started (we're still going...) we ditched booze, made sure we had a healthy diet and moderate exercise, I also follow a protein rich diet and drink a good-sized glass of milk each day (Zita's advice!). I guess you've been taking folic acid for a while now anyway.

Some people swear by accupuncture or other similar treatments - tbh there's no scientific evidence to support the theory that these help improve your chances (our consultant laughed when I asked him about them), but I guess whatever helps make you feel positive and relaxed will have some benefit.

One thing I found helpful though was to start a list of questions to ask - things like timings, what happens when, how long can you expect to take X drugs for, what do you need to think about time off work etc. That helped me to clear all of the practical worries I had out of my head, and now I keep a little notebook to record all stages and what's next (sad, I know but it helps me!).

There are a number of threads already going here too, so feel free to join any - the advice and support you'll get is great.

Hope it all goes well for you! [simle]

iirc acupuncture is the one complimentary therapy which has been shown to help. I was sceptical but had it before ivf.

I also upped the protein in my diet for egg quality, lots of pulses, eggs, full fat milk. Loads of water and also I had wheatgrass drinks every day.

My ivf was successful and i got a lot of support from fertilityfriends forum.

Look at fertility friends site - is brilliant
Self educate - buy or borrow one or two good books
Know or be prepared to ask your test results - FSH, LH etc. Important to be in a position of knowledge but do not obsess about it
The injections are not as bad as they seem - have a look on YouTube for some real life examples of women using injectables
Don't get hung up on supplements but consider Vitamin C

Not a huge list but helped me. Good luck!

I have the zita west book for ivf, very good. I didnt know about limiting caffiene before but now I only have a cup of tea in the morning. Oddly she doesnt advocate herbal teas but water.

I thought I had the bargain of the century yesterday when I bought the pregnacare vitamins and fish oil supplement for £8 a box then I got them home and realised they are for pg women not for pre conception.

I'm going to make wholemeal bread with seeds in it too for oils and to gain a bit of weight, my BMI is 18 and they want it to be 20. I have PCOS so my cycle goes on 3 month holidays if I gain too much weight but I suppose with IVF it doesnt matter, they'll be making there own cycle not using mine.

I got my zita west relaxation cd off ebay, saved me a few quid and the lady who sent it to me put a note in it saying " I hope this helps you like it did me xx" which made me cry!.

Watching this thread with interest as we start our first cycle in two weeks.

I've cut out caffeine, which I didn't have to much of anyway as I'm hypersensitive. Cut down on alcohol, only odd treat but not at all for the past few weeks. I've also started the gym to get a bit fitter in preparation.

I haven't bought any books as being a biologist I thought they might be a bit woo but with the comments on this thread I might look in to them.

How important do people think preconception vitamins are? I've been taking folic acid anyway and then the occasional multi vit, omega 3 and vitamin c

I hope it all goes well for you OP

There was a small sample trial using pregancare conception (without the fish oils) for one half of the group and folic acid only in the control group.

The pregnacare group had a much higher rate of conception, it was reported in the Telegraph and the DM.

I'm looking at local yoga groups too, not to aid conception but to relax. I used to do it years ago and it was really relaxing. I'll have to swipe my yoga mat off DH who now uses it for cleaning the gun, and the cat who thinks it a bed/scratch mat. Yoga makes you feel all serene and calm.

Zita West cites a study that showed people who had half a cup of tea (who has half a cup of tea?) a day had a higher chance of conception than people who abstain. It was in the zita assisted conception book.

Thank you so much everyone for taking time to reply. Some really useful advice that I'll look into further - much appreciated.

And good luck back to anyone also going through this (and hoping that the 'good luck' soon becomes a 'congratulations').

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