Anybody willing to share your IVF experience with me?
HappyIAm
member
After 6 long years of TTC and a traumatic birth... I finally got to hold my baby in my arms!
'Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.'Psalm 37:4
2006 start TTC
2007 Start w/ RE (Endo and MFI previous marriage)/ 2008 Vericocele surgery/3 clomid cycles
2009 Lap removed stage III endo/ 2 failed IUI/ Divorce
2011 Remarried
October 2011 Dx: Endo & DOR/ November 2011- clomid & TI cycle
January 2012 IVF~ Flare protocol 10 ER/ 9 mature fertilized with ICSI/ ET- 2 Grade A Blasts/ 4 frozen= BFN
Febuary 2012- -Endo Biopsy/ MTHFR diagnosis
March 8- FET 2 grade A blasts= BFP!!!!
November 2012- Charles was born by emergency C-Section
Dealing with:
Stage III Endo/ DOR/ MTHFR two mutations C677T & A1298C
Currently TTC #2 FET planned January 2014
Re: Anybody willing to share your IVF experience with me?
I don't have any experience with IVF myself, but both my brother and his wife and DH's brother and his wife have (that's how I have 2 nephews and 1 niece).
My SIL said it wasn't too bad, but definitely plan for no travel (really long car rides or plane flights) after the transfer. Her doctor wanted her to stay put for a month.--but that is coming from her doctor.
Honestly, the meds for IVF were easier on me than taking Clomid and doing IUIs!
I did get a Lupron headache, and acupuncture was AWESOME for that. As for the other meds, I just got tired. I would come home from work and take a nap before dinner. Before retrieval I was bloated, but it wasn't really bad and didn't affect my activity so much. After retrieval I hurt a little bit, but still not bad and it didn't linger. I just stayed in bed that day and was then fine. Transfer was no biggy at all. I stayed on bedrest a couple days after transfer, but that was to rest and hope they snuggled in, not because of any pain.
The physical aspects of IVF weren't bad at all, for me anyway. I went to acupuncture once a week and that was WONDERFUL and I really think helped me relax.
My 2nd fresh cycle, which is the cycle that brought us our DD, I started in December. I was A-ok for the holidays.
Sending you all my best wishes and I hope you have a smooth cycle.
DMoney will be a kickass big sister
Hey Carrie! I say go for it! I did my IVF cycle in Nov/Dec (transfer was 12/15) and it was no big deal for the holidays. I hosted Thanksgiving that year and we threw a big Christmas party the day after the transfer.
I did get pretty bloated and sore during stims, but I think that was due to having PCOS, which caused me to produce a ton of follicles very rapidly. They then had to slow things down and that increased the stim phase by a few days. It was pretty uncomfortable b/c I had so many follicles. The worst part for me were the daily blood draws and the intramuscular PIO shots (which some docs don't even do any more).
I was tired of needles, so did not do accupuncture, but did get weekly massages and treated myself with lots of me time. I was not allowed to run b/c of the follicle number ans possibility of twisting ovaries. I can never complain though b/c it worked the first try and I got my bfp on Christmas day.
Good luck - you'll be in my thoughts. I hope you have a smooth cycle. Pamper yourself and get lots of rest. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Ah yeah, the PIO shots. They weren't bad - for the first few weeks. It is KEY to push the needle in FAST, same with taking it out. DH did mine and his natural inclination was to slow down to try and make it not hurt, but slow is what makes it hurt so have your DH practice on an orange or something pushing the needle in fast.
The first few weeks they didn't hurt me at all. After a few weeks, the muscles started to get sore, but at that point I was pregnant so the joy waaaay overtook any discomfort.
It's a crazy ride to motherhood -- wishing you all my best.
DMoney will be a kickass big sister
Just wanted to wish you all the luck in the world!!
Definitely wishing you lots of good luck!!!
Like the others, the drugs weren't bad at all. I didn't get headaches from lupron, but think I did have some trouble sleeping from it. It didn't last very long though. I don't really remember any other issues from the meds though.
In terms of advice, I made a calendar where I color-coded and wrote down what meds I had to do each day. Then I could mark them off to make sure I did everything. Also, if you do PIO shots, I would stick the vial in my bra for a while beforehand to warm it up. It seemed to hurt less that way.
I hope you have a smooth and successful cycle!
***Twin fraternal girls born at 35w6d in 12/2008***
OMG Good luck!!!! I am thinking of you!!!
I started IVF the day after Thanksgiving. Honestly, it was really hard going through it during the holidays, but I suffered horribly from hyperstimming. So, we started day after T-day (which meant we had to cancel T-day plans OOT at the last minute to go to clinic next day) and was supposed to find out if it worked on 12/24. But, we didn't. I hyperstimmed and we had to put everything in the freezer for 6 weeks. So, yeah....the holidays were HARD. BUT....I wouldn't have traded it. I'm glad we still went through it as soon as we could. It just feels so much more productive than hanging out, wondering (for us at least).
My greatest advice is to have another project while you're going through it. We renovated our kitchen during the 3 weeks. It was such a welcomed distraction.
Seriously best wishes for you guys. Please don't hesitate to facebook me if you need anything! xoxo