IVF starting tips

[Guio]

Hi all, I know that there are many women in more advanced stages but I have just had the call from the clinic as I have been approved for 2 IVF treatments on NHS which is great but I am freaking out!I need to go next week for an antral follicle count and later on in sept another app with my partner before starting.As I have holiday booked I don't think I will start until October which is great as I really don't want to start 😓. I am feeling very anxious at the moment and I don't know how to deal with it.I meditate,eat healthy,don't drink alcohol and I take vitamins and ubiquinol.Is there anyone in the same stage who can give me tips??if I feel like this now I can't imagine later on...thanks

Hi @Guio you'll be fine. IVF is one of those things that seems very different from the outside to when you start. I know it feels like it is intense and that you probably didn't see yourself having children this way. There are lots of things that seem scary but they are all fine. I felt the same. Had a tantrum and almost refused to start!!! But right now I would choose IVF over having to TTC again (obviously that might be different if we were people who could conceive easily)

From the other side, I would say that IVF is a massive privilege and you will hopefully get to a point where you wonder at the sheer number of trained professionals who are now focusing all their skills on helping you have a baby. It is a relief when you realise you can stop doing all the work...all the googling and fighting to have tests and trying to work out what the problems might be. It can take a week or so to snap out of all that but you will - because you have arrived at the place that can help you and you don't have to make the decisions any more!!! And actually you can't make the decisions because the hormone levels and drug doses are now beyond our understanding.

IVF can be tough too - that first injection is hard (mentally and emotionally) but honestly the injecting is really ok once you get over that. The procedures are fine. I didn't have side effects from the drugs in fact the stims made me a bit high energy! Yes progesterone can make you feel a bit low but that is really not much different to being pre menstrual on a normal month.

It can be hard emotionally - it's hard waiting and hoping but I honestly don't think that is much worse than the stress of TTC and waiting and hoping every month.

It is not always easy to relax but I think you just have to do what is possible on that one. Most women going through IVF are stressed and anxious and it still works somehow. If there are things that help you, great - acupuncture or meditation or yoga. But don't let yourself worry about the worry. It is what it is

Good luck

Hi, thanks for your kind words 😊. I am a very stressful person so this is another reason to get more stressed but I will try to calm down.The fact of asking work for time off to have apps stresses me as well but at the end of the day having a baby is much more important!I am doing acupuncture as well but just once a month.once I start the treatment I will go weekly.can I ask you if it was successful for you?x

Don't force yourself to calm down. Just let yourself feel however you feel. This process is stressful enough without putting pressure on yourself to feel a certain way.

We did 2 rounds at two different clinics. 1st resulted in a kind of chemical pregnancy. 2nd was successful and am currently 16 weeks pregnant.

You'll be fine. Just try to go with it and trust your clinic.

Btw how much time you need will depend on the clinic, how often they see you and what times. It may not be that much

I wish i had had reflexology before during and after as i may have been calmer and In a better place.

Hi OP

A couple of practical things - my clinic got me to take one baby aspirin a day (said it would make my blood more sticky). The nurse also told me to put ampoules of liquid in my bra for half an hour before injecting - injecting cold liquid really stings.

Everyone is different so it’s hard to give advice. For me it wasn’t physically anywhere near as bad as I thought, and mentally obviously it was a challenge at times but we coped ok. I’m now 23 weeks pregnant so obviously we were lucky, but I totally was ready to do it all again and I will if we want to in future.

Use whatever works for you in terms of keeping reasonably chilled out (I found The IVF Belief CD useful but some people might hate that kinda thing) but don’t worry that you need to be some kinda zen-master, juicing fanatic having acupuncture twice a day while eating fresh pineapple cores as you massage your ovaries or whatever (obvs just made those things up - no offence to anyone who does them!). It’s ok and totally normal to feel stressed, worried, excited and many other emotions - don’t beat yourself up about how you feel.

Things I found that helped were:

Taking one day/stage at a time as much as possible and planning treats for myself after appointments (eg cinema trip, M&S food at home so didn’t have to cook, trip to the beach - just small pleasures)

Making sure I went for a 30 min walk every day even if I didn’t manage any other exercise

Having a chart to tick off my injections etc to give me a sense of achievement. Sounds silly but it did help me feel I was making progress

Lots of people said about icing the area before injections etc but I didn’t find I needed to. Also my trigger shot was not the agonising nightmare I had heard it would be at all. So definitely don’t believe every unpleasant thing you read about will happen to you.

Finally.... I’m the biggest wuss ever and I’m terrified of hospitals and all that kinda stuff but I did it, so you can do it too! Very best of luck :-)

Hi, first of all congratulations for your pregnancy!it is a feeling of excitement and fear...I hate hospitals as well and needles so I think it is going to be hard.I know that the first app is to count the follicles but I am worrying about the number they are going to find.what happens if it is a ver bad number?my amh is quite low so I read that they can cancel cycles if they think they the treatment is not going to work.i hope I could stop worrying about the worse 😖.

Awww bless you @Guio, the early appointments are a bit scary as you don’t know what to expect. Try not to worry about the numbers if you can - there’s nothing you can do about them anyway. They will use them to make sure you get the right medication doses so whatever your result it will be useful information. Every appointment is a step forward. I’m hopeless with needles but I was really surprised how well I managed with them. First one was scary of course but I soon adapted and it really was ok

Try the App Mindful IVF. It has daily meditations on there for each stage (including pre starting). I actually found it very relaxing and calming