Emotional toll of ivf /

[worldwidetravel2017]

Hi..

We start our first ever ivf soon..

How is it ?

Do the hormones make you extra emotional?

Im nervous re the emotional toll

Hi @worldwidetravel2017, personally, I have found the whole journey of TTC for a long time, IVF and even my resulting pregnancy a very anxious time - I wouldn’t necessarily say that the IVF process itself was more stressful than the rest of the journey. In fact, starting IVF felt like a really positive & proactive step after years of waiting for referrals!

For what it’s worth, my recommendation would be to find a counsellor you get on with (there’s a reason counselling is usually incl with an IVF package), expect good days & bad days, try not to put too much pressure on yourself, get a good support network around you & listen to the Big Fat Negative podcast.

Very best of luck for your journey.

Couldn't agree more @PinaColadaJ . I feel better doing ivf than I do in limbo @worldwidetravel2017 . You got this! Good luck! Xx

I had a really bad experience with the IVF medications, but think I was in the minority. I really hope everything goes well for you!

It was the Nafarelin (Synarel) used for down regulation that really affected me. I started off completely losing my appetite, then mood swings, depression and then suicidal thoughts, over a period of 4 weeks.
I knew logically it was the medication affecting me, but it was a really difficult time. As soon as I stopped the medication the side effects went away.

I've said to my partner I couldn't go through the egg collection process again, I don't even want to try a different protocol. Luckily I am currently pregnant, and we have 9 embryos in the freezer.

Edited to add that besides the few weeks of down regulation I was absolutely fine with the process, it was nice knowing we were making progress!

For me the waiting around between stages and 'what ifs' were the worst ongoing part for me. Definitely more so than any physical discomfort.

We also experienced a really failed first cycle (total fertilisation failure) which completely knocked me. Thankfully found the strength to try again and had such a better outcome for the 2nd round with some tweaks (now pregnant with 5 embryos in the freezer). For some it does work first time but I'd be prepared that often the 1st cycle can be working out what is going to work best.

Good luck with it all! From my experience the worry and many sleepless nights have all been worth it 🥰