About to start IVF ICSI and terrified!

[Daffodil83]

Hi everyone :-)

DH and I are just embarking on ICSI.....very early on, had all bloods and have.first consultant meeting in 2wks. Tried to read all I can on what to expect but would like real truths!! What can I expect? How will I feel? Will I need time off work? Etc etc etc!

All comments, good, bad and ugly, would be most appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks ladies :-) xxxxxxxxx

Hi Daffodil,

Please don't be scared, it's not that bad! I was lucky and had no side effects at all from the medication, it really didn't bother me. The injections get easier the more you do them, the first one is by far the most difficult! The downregging drugs have been known to make people feel rough, but again I felt no different. The egg collection itself can be a little uncomfortable but it's over soon enough. One of mine wasn't nice at all but the rest were fine.
You will need some time off work. At my clinic you had to go for a blood test and scan every other day. I tried to do this as early as possible so as not to be too late for work! I took the day of the egg collection off, and then either 3 days or 5 days off afterwards, depending on whether it was a 3 day or 5 day transfer. My GP was fab, as is my work, and I also took a week off with each of the fresh transfers we did. I lay at home and did nothing!
The most difficult part of the whole process for me was the emotional side of it. It really is a complete roller coaster, with something different to have to be thinking about every day. You invest so much into it, that by the end of the cycle and the dreaded two week wait you are so desperate for it to have worked. If it doesn't it ime it gets progressively more difficult to pick yourself and start again. I have to say it's worth it though. We went through four failed cycles at one hospital, and then on a FET at a new hospital we miraculously became pregnant and I will be 28 weeks tomorrow. I remember how low I felt at the end of the fourth cycle, and I wondered whether I would ever have the emotional strength to go through it again, but we did thank goodness.
I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope that you have an easy time of it physically, like I did. By the way, the cycle that got us pregnant was ICSI too, just thought you might like to know
PS The cycle we became pg in I went straight back to work and complete forgot about it - I was convinced a frozen transfer would never work! Just goes to show you never know...

We did it 5 years ago. Now have 2 DDs. I took minimal time off work - just arrived late after blood tests, and took a day off for retrieval and for embryo transfer. No major side effects & all went smoothly. We were v lucky, but it can work. Good luck