IVF & Alcohol

[Ciara123456]

Good morning,
This is all very new to me.
I'm 42 with a blocked tube and a hidden other tube, so my partner and I are starting IVF with my frozen eggs from 3 years back.
I've had my base scan and I'm now waiting for my period to start my oral meds and then get scanned to check my lining in 8-11 days. My transfer with my frozen eggs (well the embryo with my frozen eggs) will be in approx 20+ days.

I'm feeling very anxious and accidentally had a bottle of wine last night. We are both quite big drinkers so curing down has been really hard.

What are your thoughts on how much this will impact? Will I still be ok if I just cut out alcohol completely from now?

I think you're fine - you aren't currently growing the eggs you're using so your bottle of wine last night will have had no impact on them. You probably just have "the fear" because alcohol is a depressant and does that to you.

I'd definitely suggest cutting back for your own sake and to prepare for what will hopefully be a pregnancy. But put last night behind you. Wishing you all the best.

What’s your DH stats? Really he shouldn’t be drinking massive amounts of alcohol before giving a sperm sample but should be trying to make sure the sperm is as good as possible.

Going from heavy drinking to complete abstinence can be hard (although abstinence is definitely better for your health!) - there's no shame in asking for help from your GP if you feel that would help. They may also be able to prescribe vitamins if you're deficient in any (alcohol can cause some vitamin levels to be low).

The bottle of wine isn't an issue in itself. Won't affect anything. That you accidently drank it and have found cutting down from being quite big drinkers difficult is potentially an issue, but I guess you wouldn't go ahead if you didn't think you could cut it out completely from transfer onwards. It's difficult to have 0 vices, especially during all this lockdown crap. I missed alcohol during pregnancy and I'm not looking forward to it on my next transfer, but totally worth it.

I cut back on alcohol before I had IUI and it helped in many ways. My first attempt worked and I gave birth to my son in 2019. I picked up the habit again after he was born and it got out of control. I went to an addiction counsellor but that didn't work. I eventually joined an online sobriety community which has been a lifesaver. It was hard to get sober but so worth it. I would recommend giving them a try if you are looking to cut back or get sober. I am not fully present for my 2.5 year old and will never go back to the booze.
www.tribesober.com

As long as you are in the main healthy -one bottle of wine a fair few days before transfer shouldn’t be a prob. I will transfer about the same time as you and had a glass last night and prob about half a bottle on Sunday as my family were round. I don’t generally drink much more than a glass or so unless it’s an event but also I’m trying to make the most of a few glasses before I -hopefully-get pregnant! My vice is sugar and I’m eating loads of choc each night -which I need to stop! I also do a frozen embryo transfer -so I’m not so worried about the quality of that but will try to be healthy a week or two before transfer. Ultimately I think prob -the embryo is going to stick or it’s not -I’m no expert but I think being healthy is very important for egg health but as you say -the egg is already made so it’s less of a worry. That being said -I know I need to focus on cutting back on sugar before transfer! I think try to stick to a glass or two occasionally in the next few weeks if you can a s then you will be ready. I echo what someone else has said -re sperm and alcohol intake-if he needs to make a fresh sample then best he cuts down.

Best of luck and don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m the same -but really what will be will be.