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TTC after 35
MDBeachbride
member
IVF Ladies
MDBeachbride
member
in TTC after 35
So IUI #3 was a bust. Switching to IVF. I have received my protocol but can anyone give me some insight to life on IVF? I saw a post below about bloating from drugs, etc. How is the intramuscular shot?
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Re: IVF Ladies
Like anything else, everyone is different when taking the shots. I take the shots in my belly.. my hubby does it for me.. and sometimes it stings going in, but for the most part.. it doesnt hurt.. Everyone is on a different protocol.. what is yours??
My advice for first timers would be.. Relax.. and try to stay positive.. it is soo easy to be let down..and to be disappointed..but other things in life are too. I've been thru two IVF's & starting my 3rd in a few weeks.. the first one I was 150% into it & was positive I was going to be preg & i was devastated when i wasn't..then my RE told me, "the first ones dont usually take..cuz they want to see how your body deals with the meds"..sooo.. just keep that in the back of your mind. I'm sure you will read that alot of ladies do get preg with their first..i know it happens.
No one can predict how it's going to work for you.. but for me, i had no side effects with the meds..maybe just hungrier for some reason.. lol.. but who knows if that was the extra hormones.. lol..
Good luck to you!!
Sorry about IUI#3 and that you have to join in the world of IVF.
It doesn't really affect my everyday life until ER. My Dh gives me all the shots...no way I could do it myself. My lupron is in the AM...somewhere between 5am and 7 am depending on who has to go to work first. My follistim will also be given in the AM with lupron. The menopur will be given in the evening. Now the IM shots are a little more difficult. It's more uncomfortable than anything else. Some women use ice I actually warm the area to help the oil go in more smoothly and then I sit on a heating pad after the shot to help it disperse. I still get a little lumpy and itchy but the heating pad works for me. My Dr has me do the PIO in the evening but some do it in the morning.
The bloating comes from the stimming of your ovaries to produce follicles..it's mostly just uncomfortable. Some women develop OHSS which can become very serious. My last ER kept me in bed for 2 days just from the sheer uncomfortableness of walking...some women are up and going right after.
Before my first IVF cycle I got the Infertiliy Survival Handbook by Elizabeth Swire Falker which really helped me make sense of things. If you choose to read this book, let me warn you that she has some extreme IF issues....I'll just say that it was a great resource to have available for me.
I think the pps have done an excellent job covering meds, I would add that the monitoring gets a little tiresome towards the end (tomorrow is my 3rd visit in 5 days for bw and us). It helps to have some flexibilty with job scheduling. It's not bad, especially if you stay preoccupied through the cycle. Good Luck!
I have been through 2 IVFs. The first one resulted in DD 2 years ago. The second one last year failed, but we got PG on our own the very next month.
When you first get the meds you will likely freak because it's a lot of stuff and the process is definitely more invasive than IUI. just take it one day at a time. i had DH give me all of my shots at night because i go to work super early before he's even up. there were a few times i had to give them to myself and somehow i managed to do it. the follistim is pretty easy and not that painful. i was also on menopur and then another shot but i can't remember the name of the meds.
the first IVF I did my doctor's protocol was to do progesterone suppositories, not POI and i did get PG with DD that time. by the time I went to him 2 yrs later to TTC #2 his protocol had changed and he was requiring POI. I was actually so mentally and physically exhausted by the process the 2nd time around that i refused to do the POI and asked for the suppositories again, esp. since they worked for me the first time. he let me do this, but like i said that cycle failed for us.
i think aside from the shots the hardest part was the ER when they put you under anesthesia. there's definitely cramping and i was woosy the first day or so after it. just keep your eye on the prize and try not to get too invested mentally that it will definitely work. i think my first time i was naive and got very lucky that we got a BFP and had DD. the 2nd IVF i was a lot more worried for some reason and lo and behold it didn't work. still it is absolutely worth going through all of it if it gets you the family you want. best of luck.
I don't have any IM shots, so can't answer that question.
As far as life during IVF, it was pretty easy for me. Both times, I have been on antagonist. I am on two stim meds, but the nurse gave me instructions on how to mix them together so only one injection. For IVF, #1, I stimmed for about 10 days, adding in the ganirelix after about a week. Then trigger, ER (not bad for me, only felt bad the day of), and then ET (easy) with 2 days of bed rest. Only, s/e for me was headaches. So, physically, pretty easy. Emotionally, now that is another story.
Sorry about IUI #3.
Sorry about the IUI!
Reading with interest too as I am hopping on the IVF bandwagon next week. I'm usually good with the acronyms...but what is PIO?
Progesterone in oil