Huge amounts of stress during IVF stims - have i ruined my chances

[ManifestingMagic]

Hi all

I am currently on day 5 of my stimulation.

I am devestated as since down regulation i have been a ball of stress, my mum is going through really challenging mental health issues so I dont have her usual support and am worried about her, work is crazy busy and to top it all off me and my husband have spent the last two days fighting.

He got annoyed about something i said innocently and we have been fighting since, and then i managed to escalate it by losing control when we were discussing it yesterday

i havent slept properly for the last 2 days and have been in a constant state of anxiety am so worried we have messed this up, this is cycle 4 and we have had egg quality issues before this, am now worried that the stress is going to destroy my egg quality this time too.

Any personal experiences that show this may not be the case would be so appreciated

No, there is no research consensus that stress has any measurable effect on IVF. There have been individual studies going both ways (and it is almost impossible to disentangle the effects of stress from other things, anyway). If there were a clear, strong indication that stress has a negative outcome, I think we would have a consensus, and we don't.

I think there is slightly better evidence that sleep matters, but two days is nothing.

(And if you like anecdata, I did this round of IVF in the aftermath of unexpectedly losing my job and having a horrible relationship breakdown with a dear friend who'd planned to be the baby's father; my clinic has been crap and I have had regular incidents where I was absolutely incandescent because of their incompetent shit. It didn't make a blind bit of difference, except that I didn't enjoy the experience.)

Good luck, lovely, and don't let it worry you.

Thanks so much @SarahAndQuack really appreciate your kind reply

Am so sorry you had to go through so much over your cycle, hope it all went exactly as you hoped! x

@ManifestingMagic when we were referred for IVF our Consultant said to not worry about stress because of course we're feeling stressed. He added that babies are born during all times of conflict and war, so feeling anxious and stressed has no impact on success of treatment. It made us both feel a bit better, as people had kept saying "oh you need to relax and then you'll definitely get pregnant".

thank you @CurbsideProphet really appreciate you sharing that.

you ladies are giving me the strength to stay positive x

@ManifestingMagicI wouldn’t worry, I really don’t think you having a few stressful days will impact the eggs. However it does sound like you're going through a lot so for the sake of your mental health try and be easy on yourself. Take a sick day from work and put your feet up with some Netflix!! IVF is so tough and sometimes you just have to put yourself first x

I had three egg collections and the only one that resulted in a viable embryo was the one during which I experienced a close family bereavement combined with a major cyber attack at work. I was far more stressed / anxious / emotional then than during the other two and yet that was the one that worked out. Sending hugs and wishing you all the very best x

Thank you so much @Mrsplants

this is so true and you are right i think some rest is in order.

really appreciate you ladies xx

@MintOwl im so happy to hear that it worked out for you, and the experience you shared give me hope!

thank you so much! x

No i dont think you have destroyed your chances of having a successful cycle. Normal every day stresses cant be helped and doesnt really have too much effects on the reproductive system. Small amounts of stress is healthy but long term excessive clinical stress is where the problems come in and reek havoc in your system and reproductive organs. I think if your feeling a bit stress and need to calm down, if you can maybe take a day off work and do something nice for yourself to help calm your body and mind and maybe try to patch things up with your partner. Ivf is a hard time for everyone involved and all the meds in my opinion dont help with feelings of overwhelm and feeling stress and out of control.

@Miraclemuma03 thanks so much, so wise and makes so much sense. Appreciate you xx

Did you get pregnant?

What are somethings you wish you knew before trying IVF? I’m going to see a consultant next Thursday to get the process rolling. I’m nervous and I just don’t know how to prepare myself for what is to come. We’ve been trying conceive naturally for a long time and it’s taking a long time for us to accept the fact we need support.

How did your cycle go?

Hello ladies

My cycle failed unfortunately as even though we retrieved 12 eggs we had low maturity rates and a lot of abnormal fertilisations so didnt end up with any blasts.

I dont think the stress caused it though as we have had similar issues with other cycles.

@OneBrickBiscuit I think the one thing J wish I had known is that IVF isnt a slam dunk, so whilst it may work first go, it may also take time, so just prepare yourself for a journey and be kind to yourself

I had some pretty bad arguments with my husband during stims (about his parents, nothing to do with actual stims) and still managed to produce 2-5 euploids per cycle (I was banking them to have a few children)