starting ivf/icsi soon- any tips on making it a success? ?

[poppop85]

Hi there, this is my very first time using mumsnet, so I do apologise in advance if I'm a bit rusty!
After almost 3 years of ttc, my husband and I are finally going to be receiving ivf and icsi through the nhs.
I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on how to make it a successful treatment.
Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated even if it is just regarding diet, exercise or just general well being.

1. high protein low GI for both of you for at least 3 months before ivf if poss

1. 1000mg vits c for him for as long as possible before ivf. zinc and selenium may also help as study in bulls has shown benefits - can't hurt.

1. acupuncture,at least 9 treatments incl 5 before transfer and one before and after transfer as close to transfer as possible

1. destress - I bought Zita west ivf CD and would highly recommend it if you get on with guided meditation/relaxation stuff.

1. cut out caffeine for both of you

1. increase water intake, again both of you.

these are all things I did based on either scientific studies I found, advice from clinic (the vit c was one and zinc/selenium) and things I think might help, can't hurt, like the Zita CD.

I had et today at 2dpt with 2 embryos. we were icsi but at ec dhs speem parameters were back in normal ranges and I have no doubt some if not all the above helped. we ended up splitting our 11 eggs as 6icsi and 5ivf. 7 fertilised but sadly only 2 were good enough to transfer. we had both put back today - 1 is icsi 1 is ivf. the ivf is better grade than the icsi one!
I'm 29 dh 32, I had no issues in tests dh low morph and motility.

moat of all remember each other in all of this. its pretty easy physically, even the needles are fine, but emotionally its a rollercoaster.

good luck

Manage your expectations, expect the whole process to take a long time with much waiting for results etcand exactly as pp said, it's a roller coaster. For me, a roller coaster of hope and disappointment until my 4th cycle finally worked.

Save up in case you need to pay for private treatment, the are lots of stories of people who cannot proceed with treatment as they can't afford it.

Plan some nice things to do so that life doesn't just revolve around this.

Good luck, it is very tough.

Also, you say you are finally going to be receiving treatment through nhs, are you on the waiting list or have you got a date to start? As the waiting lists can be long and you may want to consider having a private cycle in the meantime if it doesn't harm your option to then have an nhs cycle. In any case, find out how long you will be waiting and what the max number of cycles you can have is.