New to the board...approaching IVF for our first time..looking for support on this journey

lb1428

Hi everyone,

I'm 38 and my husband and I are undergoing our first round of IVF. I had an overwhelm crying breakdown yesterday after the consultation. Today I feel grateful that we have access to this and science can bring us our family. Looking for any tips, words of wisdom and or support. Anything you could offer would help and I'd love to share my journey here with a community that is going through the same thing. 

We have been trying for 16 months with no luck and have done 3 clomid IUI's that didn't work. We decided to move to IVF to give us better chances and to to see a little more clearly if we have any other problems. All of our testing came back great no problems, however, I do have Hashimoto's and high elevated antibodies so that could be making it more of a challenge. I look forward to sharing with you all. Good luck and baby dust!

KLake42

I think the crying fits actually help-- it lets stuff out that needs to be let out!

Do you have an idea about when you'll be starting?  I presume they have some tests to run before they can put you on a calendar.  The monthly threads are really great for helping you connect with people who are cycling with you.

Good luck!!  And congratulations for making the choice to bring out the big guns by moving on to IVF!

2015dee

Best of luck to you! I wish I had more advice, but I am actually about to begin my first IVF cycle too. I hear ya on the roller coaster emotions!

suchaglencoco

I'd be more worried had you not felt overwhelmed! It's completely normal to have a breakdown with all of the info and the protocol. It's a lot, but you can do it! It'll honestly seem so easy once you get rolling.

***bfp mentioned***

You will have plenty of melt downs, "I can't do this", "this isn't fair", "not one more needle"- moments. All. Perfectly. Normal. Especially because you'll be hopped up on hormones. Know it's ok to take a few moments to cry, be upset, let your emotions run your life for a few minutes.
When you get your box of medicine, you'll have another meltdown because seeing it all at once, it's overwhelming! I cried for 20 minutes staring at the box. Finally, I decided to go through it all, step by step. Each step in the process went into its own zip lock bag along with a note telling me what step was inside. Breaking it all down like that, made it so much easier to process to me. I highly suggest that to any woman doing ivf.

It was a terrible process and my DH was an amazing support. I couldn't have done it without him telling me I can do it, I was stronger than he would ever be, and it would all be worth it. One fresh cycle with bfp that ended in m/c followed by a frozen transfer that ended up in our beautiful, one month old twins. Now looking back, the process seems like nothing to me. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

I also agree with PP, you should connect via the other threads with those ladies who are in the same part of the journey as you. A strong support system at home and a strong support system here with women going through exactly what you are going through are so necessary to keep you going and keep you sane!

Good luck on your journey!

knklein10

Hello! I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations and struggles. I too have been TTC for 16 months now, and, although I get pregnant, I don't stay pregnant, so we are trying IVF this month as well. I go through a spectrum of emotions on basically a daily basis: excited, scared, angry, sad, worried, grateful... you name it, I feel it. I get you!

I actually am starting a repeat pregnancy loss and IVF blog and would love for you to check it out. My goal is to start a little community of women who are experiencing these similar struggles through this blog: ThreeLittleBeans.com

Positive vibes headed your way! 
Kelly  

Brooke888Wed157297

Hi! I have a similar story. 3 failed IUIs and then on to IVF. I remember that meeting, and I was just devastated. I'm so sorry you're going through this. **hugs**

My best advice would be to have small milestones to make the time pass. I look forward to the 1st monitoring appointment, then maybe acupuncture, then stims, then appointment and so on. The process can be SO long while you wait. Stay positive! I know it's frustrating.