IVF - Advice Please!

gmc222

We are starting our first IVF cycle and I'm hoping someone here can give me some words of advice. Were you able to do the injections yourself? Was the over-stimulation painful? Did you miss a lot of work? Anything I need to know that the doctor may not have prepared me for??

freakyfast

Hi there... We are just getting started as well. I am SUPER worried about the injections.  I know I will not be able to give them to myself.  I am ok with needles as long as I don't have to watch.  Definitely good questions.  When do you start? My meds will be here Friday and I know I will start oral meds in about two weeks. 

jeannaqueena

Ticker warning in siggy!!!! I did 3 injectable cycles and 2 IVFs to get to this pregnancy (hope it is ok a lurker/grad is commenting). At first I had to have DH do them, but then there were a few nights where he physically wasn't able to be there so I had to do them myself. After a couple of times I realized it hurt less when I did it! Weird I know and poor DH felt a little left out. My other piece of advice is use your wrist when you give the shot. With one hand pinch the skin gently, the other hand/arm lay on your hip with your wrist laying on your body then just use your wrist and come straight down and don't hesitate! My nurse had a pressure ball that I was able to practice on. Plus at your IVF injection class they should answer your questions and give you tips! The over stimulation was uncomfortable, but it wasn't painful to me more of a soar ovary feeling and if I moved to much I was uncomfortable, but I kind of liked it bc it meant things were growing!! As for missing work. It is A LOT of appointments and the longer you have to stim the more appointments (and money). But my REs office I was in and out very quickly, the monitoring appointments you go in and have an u/s takes about 5-10 minutes and then they take your blood and a nurse calls you that afternoon to tell you if you need to change your meds. There were times I was only in the office for 15 minutes!! Seems crazy fast! The day of retrieval plan to chill the whole day. I know I was very lucky and didnt have much pain, so the next day I was on my feet taking care of DS again. But a IRL friend was laid out for 2-3 days pretty miserable. So this might be your biggest time missing work. You also need to find out of after they put the embryos back in if they suggest bed rest, mine didnt but I still tried to take it easy and DH was home with us that day. Good luck to both of you and hope to see you over on PG after IF soon!!!! Sorry my IPAD didnt do any paragraphs! Ugh!

pettycrocker

jeannaqueena Thank you for all that info! I'm gonna be looking at IVF next cycle as well. 

gmc222 Good luck with your IVF! I hope this is it for you! 

freakyfast

jeannaqueena Yes Thank you... I have my nurses consultation and financial meeting tomorrow and I am stressing about the needles.  (and of course the money)

chrissynena

I agree with pp. I did all the injections myself (which to me were no big deal) but the pio I could not do. MH had to do that one, for 12 weeks, that one is pretty sore. The days leading up to ER, I felt very heavy and bloated. I kept saying it was my Easter eggs growing (it was right around Easter last year) lol. 

I don't know about everyone else's ER, but the procedure for me was rough (I will however do it again if I ever had too). After, I was sore for I think the rest of the day. After my ET, which was super easy, I was on strict bed rest for 2 days. However my job is fairly physical, so I took 2 weeks off. We paid a lot of money (oop) to risk anything, so I just relaxed (as much as I could). 

Oh, I also did acupuncture leading up to, and for a few months after the procedure. Check with your docs office, sometimes they have someone that will do it for you on transfer day. They say that day is important.

Good luck, I hope everything goes well. It seems so fresh in my mind still, pm me if you have any questions

gmc222

@jeannaqueena - thanks for popping in, great to 'see' you! I hope you are feeling well.

My RE actually does not offer an injection class, but I have lots of videos I can watch. DH actually won't be home the first night I have to do it (Fri), so my best friend is coming over in case I can't do it myself. DH had always given my trigger shot and I always closed my eyes!

I have to admit that I live in MA with excellent insurance coverage, and will be paying $0 OOP. I say out loud every day how incredibly lucky we are to have this benefit.

jeannaqueena

Thankfully, I didnt have to do PIO shots!! I have heard those needles aren't as fun. But the needles for the follistim are the best out there!!! Make sure you ask the pharmist which is the smallest needle you can use. I ended up with some crazy big needles that I used to mix drugs, but then there was this light blue/light gray gauged needle that was tiny!! Glad I could help a few of y'all!!! GMC222 it's good to see you too!! Glad y'all are moving forward with IVF and I am 100% jealous of your IF coverage!!! I will be lurking and wishing you all the best! I've been feeling good, BIG...ready to have this baby and stop worrying. :P

KristyLynn26

Thank goodness needles have never bothered me but after 4 IVFs the number of shots was definitely overwhelming. My best advice is to take a deep breath and try to do them yourself. I let my DH give me one shot back in the day and that was the end of that. Ouch! When I do it myself it hurts far far less. Like someone else said make sure you pinch the skin really well. My RE said I could do most of them in either my belly or upper thigh but for me I found belly to be far less painful and I didn't bruise hardly at all. Make sure you rotate sides though and I also found that with any refrigerated drugs it really helped if I let them sit at room temp for just a few minutes (didn't burn nearly as bad if I did). Hang in there I know how overwhelming it can feel but there really aren't as many shots as it seems. Hopefully you will respond well and it will only last a few days. FX it will all be worth it in the end. Good luck!