IVF Anxiety

[Anonymous2311]

Hey everyone. I have really bad anxiety after receiving my consent forms for IVF. I start treatment this month and I’m paranoid about OHSS. I would love to hear your stories.

No story but I feel exactly the same. I should start stims end of July/early August depending on my period and when it would like to arrive.
I have PCOS and OHSS risk and also feel quite anxious!
Are you private or NHS?
If you're risk of OHSS will you be on a short antagonist protocol? 😵‍💫 If that's what it's called!

I'm trying to remind myself that being at risk of OHSS isn't really that rare but people getting full blown OHSS are really low (3-6% I think?) And the doctors want to avoid this at all costs so will do everything they can to make sure OHSS doesn't happen.

Hi Both, have a positive story to put your mind at rest.
I had egg collection earlier in the year and have PCOS & slim so at risk of OHSS. The drs just monitored me a lot making sure my stimulation drugs were not too much to cause OHSS. They also gave me a GNRH drug to trigger ovulation which is meant to be good at reducing chance of OHSS. I had a really successful egg collection with 48 mature eggs then 19 in freezer. They were really worried I would get OHSS still but I had loads of fluids, and some tablets they gave me (not sure the name), and I was perfectly fine. Bloating went down after 3 days and worked from home the whole time. I think you just have to make sure your clinic is v good at monitoring and customising treatment to you. Hope this helps X

@Anonymous2311 are you at risk of OHSS? If so I am sure your team are on it so at least have in mind in terms of developing your protocol etc.

I think IVF is stressful - one can stress over the response to the medication, how egg collection will go in terms of mature eggs, then you can worry about fertilisation and progress etc etc. Don't have a solution really. But just know you are not alone and your clinic should offer you some support or counselling if you need it :)

Im thinking of doing some yoga regularly just to help me relax!

I was high risk for OHSS but thankfully didn't get it. I was monitored very closely by my clinic, they carefully tailored my medication and I felt safe and looked after by them.

I would try not to worry about OHSS too much as the HEFA closely monitor the clinics and for clinics it's a big thing to try and avoid. I don't have PCOS but after my cycle this time I was at risk of it so was closely monitored and they ended up reducing my stim drug. I also had extra blood tests to monitor my estrogen levels which say alot about ohss.
I was fine in the end 🙂

Based on the info I found on the internet, I could be at risk because of my age. I am not sure if I have PCOS because my doctors missed a lot for me (including fibroids before I started seeing my endocrinologist). I should start my stims in August (the first week) and I am on the antagonist protocol. I’m not sure what NHS is (I’m new here). Can you please educate me?

This helps so much. Thank you for sharing with me. My clinic assured me that they would closely monitor me, but I think when they sent me the consent forms is when I became even more paranoid. I am slim and my age also puts me at risk. I’m not sure if I have PCOS. I was never diagnosed with it.

Hey @Anonymous2311 I can totally understand your concerns, hope the other messages on here have helped a bit.

I have completed two short antagonist cycles now and developed mild OHSS on the first and moderate on the second with a freeze all in May. I’m 28, low weight and have high AMH levels (no PCOS), so was high risk for OHSS. The nurses/doctors were great and they will check your oestrogen levels and monitor you closely if it looks like you may be developing OHSS. The hospital I was at had 24hr emergency support from a consultant which I was given the number over the weekend incase my symptoms got worse. I felt well looked after, they also scheduled phone calls to check with a nurse how you are after egg collection.

Overall it was good experience at my clinic, would it maybe help for you to ask how your clinic deals with OHSS/what the protocol is? Also make sure you drink plenty of water while doing stims as this can help (nurses told me it can even help in quality of eggs.)

Hey guys I'm joining too - day 1 of stims today! 😅@10degreessunny 48 - that's a bumper crop!! Were their 19 embryo's with that or 19 eggs in the freezer?
I also have PCOS and I'm slim, so also on the OHSS watch list! I had it mildly with my first round of menopur for Ovulation Induction, where I got 19 eggs, but obviously that wasn't the goal for OI - so we had to abandon. They're estimating in the region of 20-30 for collection and I'm hoping they're not going to have to do a freeze-all due to OHSS but I'm optimistic!
Would love to hear more about your 48 eggs - seems like it's made up it's that bloody good (i'm not saying you made it up btw) lol x

Welcome @GCS34 😊
Good luck for this round.
What happened to you 19 eggs last round out of interest, did you have any transferred or frozen?

Thanks @wtawtaw 😁I'm nervous / excited today! I am just waiting for my consultant to send me over my revised protocol as it was a last minute switch on what we were going to be doing, so IVF has sprung upon me and I'm feeling very unprepared! I would have like some more time to make lifestyle and dietary changes to support it, and also time to freak the f**k out too haha!

Well, we were originally doing ovulation induction - so menopur stim injections but without the IVF bit (collction / transfer etc) after trigger shot. So the goal for OI wasn't to collect, it was to trigger 1, maybe 2 eggs, then do the rest natural. So the fact their were 19, they couldn't let us trigger due to danger of 19 babies!! So they were wasted and they were left to disperse / have a period. 😥

It was heartbreaking as I was just thinking we've thrown away an amount of eggs some would only dream of being able to produce! With my PCOS I have the tendency to over the threshold for OI a lot - I've had a few times similar, so that's why they think it's wise for us to do IVF as we want to be producing double figure eggs, rather than only the 2/3 eggs that are allowed for OI. I'm hoping for a bumper crop like @10degreessunny 😁

When do you start?

@GCS34 oh wow! I didn't even know that was a thing to be honest! What a shame all your 19 eggs were wasted ☹️ could they not collect them and then go to IVF then instead of you having to go through everything again?

I'm currently in my 2ww, I had a transfer a week ago so test date is this Friday - eeek! This is my second round x

They could, but we didn't want to waste our funding on a cycle that wasn't on the IVF dose. Plus, that was the early stages and IVF wasn't really something they thought we needed as my partners above average on everything his side, its just my ovulation that's the problem. But 3 cycles of OI down and no baby, so IVF it is!
Oh that's super exciting!! How many embryos did you have? And is this the second full round (stims and everything) or you used another embryo out the freezer? So sorry your first failed. Did they give any indication as to why? And exciting that friday is test day!! How are you feeling? x

@GCS34 oh I see! Hope your first round goes okay 🙂 keep us updated.

We had 17 eggs collected, 12 formed embryos by day 2 and we had 9 blasts by day 5/6. We transferred one on day 5 and 6 other embryos were good enough to freeze.

With the first round they didn't know for sure why it all went downhill but they think it may have been an egg quality issue (we didn't get any blasts and so none to freeze either). Transferred 2 on day 5 but they were the stage before blastocyst so were behind. So this was the second time of starting fresh!

Thanks @wtawtaw ❤ Wow that's amazing!! I can't believe you got 9 blasts by day 5! That's amazing. So what has happened to the other 6 in the freezer, if you used 1 x on attempt 1, and 2 on attempt 2? Did they not want to use the others or were they B/Cs?

@GCS34 attempt one i didn't have anything left to freeze that cycle so all embryos are gone. This cycle I transferred 1 and 6 others are in the freezer. The other 2 blasts weren't good enough to freeze. I just hope we can make it to pregnancy this time 🙂🤞🏻

@wtawtaw sorry my bad - I got mixed up in my head. So round 1 you had 1 x embryo that didn't work unfortunately. Then round 2 which is now, you've got 6 in the freezer and one in you making a beautiful baby we hope!! 🤗So this is your second ever transfer? (1st was on round 1, and this is number 1 of round 2?)
Do you have the grades of the other 6? The good thing is, you have more chances that hopefully you can use to create some siblings too! x

@GCS34 don't be sorry! 2 transferred in jan at the same time, both failed. 1 transferred this time and just waiting to see if it worked.

The below are my grades for our frozen ones! My clinic told me A and B grade embryos are top quality ones so here's hoping! Although I've not had them genetically tested.

Has your clinic come back to you with your protocol yet?

@GCS34, yeah it was pretty crazy, 48 mature then gradually it went down from there once egg met sperm and days went past but down to 19 embryos in the freezer. We were both shocked as when I did menopur OI I didn't get anything but I think they were so cautious about OHSS, nothing happened. I'm now just going through FET treatment hoping that by Friday I will see my lining thicken.
Also weirdly 6 weeks after egg collection I had my first natural period since coming off the pill 14 months before, was very weird. Wonder if it's reset my system!

Wow that’s a great result. Well done (?? Is that the right thing to say? 😂) but yeah you’ve got some great chances ahead. Did they say that the result was your pcos then? What were their estimations initially? And how old are you? Sorry - 20 questions 🙈

what dose were you on for OI vs. IVF? I’ve been given my dose but I’m on ovaleap as I had ohss with Menopur, so I’m on a different one now. Have you got a naturally thin lining too? I have really thin - what you measuring at today? Interesting on your period. I’ve not had one since coming off the pill 14 months ago either… you my twin?! 😂

That’s sad they didn’t take in January, but presumably they were lower grades if they put 2 back in.

their some great grades. What are the numbers in front of the grade or is that the quantity? You’ve got a great batch in the freezer too! I hope you girls are giving me the positive egg numbers for mine!

So I’m on ovaleap not Menopur this time and the dose is more concentrate. I’m on 112.5 ovaleap which is equiv. of 225 Menopur. First scan Saturday. And then start the down meds next week and progesterone too.

Hey @Ellenn Do you have a date for your FET yet? Assume you were on the month off plan to recover your body before transfer? Great that you have some in stock to transfer 😂My biggest fear atm is only getting 1 viable embryo, or 0, and not having a real shot at this. Did your first round result in a pregnancy or not?

Also echo what you say - @Anonymous2311 the electrolyte drinks and also those zero electrolyte tablets you can put in water are really helpful to recovering. Also, rehydration salts too (it might feel counter productive to have rehydration salts when you feel sloshy and bloated, but it will help!) link below 😊

https://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Zero-Hydration-Tablets-Berry/dp/B003AIF4Q4

@GCS34 yeah the two in Jan were low quality, they gave me a 21% chance.

The numbers in front are where they embryos are at stage wise (expanding), 4 is a an expanded blast and 5 is a hatching blast 🙂

Hope your scan on Saturday goes okay. Just a baseline one?

@GCS34 not yet as transfer date is based of positive ovulation test, I start testing this weekend. Once I’ve got a positive usually transfer is one week from this date. I just have one scan before transfer to make sure my lining is good and I definitely ovulated 😊 yeh my cycle was in May so feels like such a long time ago so I just had my bleed after that and this is my first cycle (thank goodness they let me do that!) I feel so impatient 🙈 my first cycle I had two transfers which resulted in a biochemical and a miscarriage at 6.5 weeks unfortunately. So I’m slightly dreading it if I get a positive test this time round.

im sending your ovaries good vibes 🤣 and hope they are making some good quality eggs there!

Ah okay that makes sense! Well fingers crossed for you sounds like the one they did was a top notch one that will hopefully bring you a little bundle of joy/sleepless nights 😅Do you have any symptoms or are you avoiding symptom spotting!??
Nah Saturday's scan is my day 5 - I started the injections last night.