About to start IVF...any tips, what to expect etc?

I had no mood swings whilst on the injections just some bruising. But everyone is different. I know a friend of mine was very uncomfortable. But she was growing more follicles than me. Xx

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Wishing you lots of luck and baby dust ✨. I’m here if you have any questions or would like to chat xx

Thankyou Mae, that is good to know 😊 x

I would say to just be prepared that the hardest parts aren't the physical reactions to the medications, but the emotional roller-coaster. Going into it I had been prepared for the hormones, and the difficult waiting for the final result, but was not prepared for all the ups and downs within the cycle, like seeing how many follicles you have, how many collected, how many fertilise, and how many survive to blastocyst stage etc. There are a lot of points in the cycle where things might not go as expected. Also I wish I had been prepared that for most people it takes more than one cycle. It is a long game. But best thing I ever did! Have faith and try to stay as connected and loving with your partner as you can. Best of luck.

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Hi Julie, thank you so much for this advice, very helpful! We have already signed up for 3 rounds so I’m prepared in the sense for the long game (well in my head I am!) the rest not so much! Hope you are good xx

Hi Rachel! How exciting and scary at the same time! I agree with all of the above. The emotional roller coaster is definitely harder to deal with than the physical side effects. Just roll with those ;-) I hardly had any mood swings (at least that’s what my husband says 😂) but i was very tired most of the time, and so bloated especially before egg retrieval. My practical tips would be: Comfy clothes for during the treatment phase as can be uncomfortable with the injections, bloating, etc. Arnica cream for any bruising from the injections you might get. Drink plenty of fluids, gentle exercise and meditation to keep you calm, good, healthy food (but also treat yourself! Remember, you’re going through a lot!). Plan some fun distraction - a good book, Netflix binge, a walk in the autumn sun. I did acupuncture throughout and it helped me so much. Also, my husband administered most of my injections, a great way to keep the partner more involved (they often feel useless in this process).

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And keep yourself informed of what your treatment involves, your results etc, but don’t use Dr. Google too much. A great source for me was the BFN - Big Fat Negative podcast. A lot of very helpful information I wish had listened to from before I started the process. And yes, be prepared that it might not work out on round 1. I think people often assume IVF is the magic solution (we certainly did) so expect the positive results immediately. But if it doesn’t work out right away it doesn’t mean it won’t ever. I’m currently pregnant after 3 rounds of embryo transfer. Also, don’t be shy to ask uncomfortable questions at your clinic. And change clinics if you’re not happy or feel they are not helping you enough to succeed. Wishing you the very best of luck! Feel free to DM me if you have any questions xx

Hi Julia! Thank you so much for this, super helpful. I’ve already told my husband he is in charge of injections 😂 I’ll be sure to prepare myself! Got our call today with the nurse about the medication with the view starting in next week or so! That’s amazing news for you both, wishing you lots of luck! xx

One lady told me that our goal is not to get pregnant, it’s not even to hold our healthy baby, it is to see our grandchildren! 😄meaning this is a journey, don’t be discouraged by any changes or what may not go as expected. The goal is clear and you’re moving towards it, even if the path is more challenging than you imagined. Decide on who will be on your team- people you will share your experience with, preferably someone who’s been in these shoes. Try to do the relaxing stuff as consistently as possible - workouts, meditation, visualization, gratitude, journaling, chatting with people in the same situation, massages, aromatherapy, acupuncture- you name it! Best of luck to you!!!🤞🤞🍀🍀🍀✨✨✨

We did 7rounds and I’m Finally holding our 3week old miracle rainbow baby. Follow my IVF instagram Account @lemon_ade_baby as I’m rarely on this app but got all my support and advice there x

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Wow. I could only afford 3! Congratulations!

I didn’t have any mood swings from the injections just feeling very bloated by the end and more tired than normal. I was lucky enough to conceive on our first round of IVF with a fresh round. Good luck xx

I was not moody on stims but found the process very emotional as I was bloated, constipated and very bruised. I also was a slow responder to stims so was injecting for 22 days which was difficult. I felt shit after egg collection for three days so defiantly plan to rest just Incase you don’t respond well to it. I was told by one of the nurses at our clinic to think positive all the way through as negative thinking will not help in it working. We had a fresh round and have a 5 + week bubba growing inside so it really can work. Best of luck you will be fine 🍍😘

I think the biggest takeaway from my IVF cycle was that things don't go to plan. My dr said I would make enough embryos for all the babies I could ever want. I had to stim for 4 extra days, and only grew 3 eggs. 2 fertilized, and only 1 made it to the freezer. I got super lucky and he stuck. Born 7/6/2020, but it was a rollercoaster for sure. Oh, and don't be suprised if you have to do more than 1 retrieval to get a baby

I’m pregnant with baby #2 from ivf. Feel free to message me about anything. There is so much information.

Hi I’m in the same situation I am just starting too. I’ve heard the book it starts with an egg it’s supposed to be good my husband has purchased it for me but it hasn’t arrived yet.  quite a lot of women who have been through IVF and miscarriage have recommended the book. X

Sorry if anyone already mentioned it (I'm glad you got so many comments on this post!), but I really appreciated the app, Fruitful. It matches you with someone who's been through IVF and they volunteer to act as a support for you all the way through it. The woman I got was informative and supportive and encouraging. She has two kids from IVF.

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I also started weekly (virtual/from home- no need to you to get another damn appointment during IVF) therapy at the onset of IVF, and that was a really important part of the investment for me! There were so many surprises/things I just didn't think of, I can't imagine not having a professional help me through the really hard parts- even though I have great friends and a supportive husband. Egg retrieval was way rougher recovery for me than anyone said it would be- I'm assuming this is because they got a lot of eggs out of both my ovaries. And I didn't anticipate having to do two egg retrievals- after genetic testing, we got 3 very good embryos, but they were all male. I didn't even think of that possibility, so my reaction was surprising. We did another egg retrieval because we wanted the chance at having a girl and also because we wanted more than one kid, and 3 was cutting it too close, if implantation didn't come easy to me.

Luckily, implantation went well the first round. There is a study on eating whole grains before & during implantation and another one on watching funny/light movies after embryo transfer/during implantation days. I did both, who knows if that's what worked 🤭. I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant after two surgeries (I had endometriosis and hydrosalpinx in both fallopian tubes, so that all needed removed), weeks of birth control, two rounds of weeks of stimulating shots in the stomach, two egg retrievals, one embryo transfer, and 10 weeks of daily butt muscle shots of so much progesterone (once I was pregnant), which made me Very physically and mentally depressed and really really nauseous and sick. Again, having a therapist really helped me keep it on the rails during all of it.

I agree with one of the earlier comments about the hard part being emotional. I would just say that if it doesn't work, it doesn't have to be the end. Surrogacy, adoption. My journey to motherhood was a 10 year one. It was all worth it. Even when you feel like the only one, don't forget that 1 in 7 women have fertility problems. This is the first step to motherhood. If it takes 1 or 10 years, it is worth it. Don't ever give up. Hugs

Book recc: it starts with the egg. Read it at least 3 mo before your retrieval. One day at a time. Listen to your body and be kind to yourself. Take all the rest you need. Try not to compare your journey… There will be grief and hope no matter how it goes.

I tried it. Had 12 eggs with 8 viable and then it didn't work. Important mention that I tried it twice and only one egg each time, but still. It was the best thing that happened, cause I broke up with that abusive ex and when I started dating gained two bonus kids.

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If I could do it over I would have frozen a few without implanting them in the event that I ever wanted to go down that road again, but with someone else.

Budget for a cleaner or have family and friends help you out a bit. I was very sore after my egg retrieval for at least 3 days. With my husband working full time it was a lot.

We did invocell which was cheaper & we were able to be more involved. Took 2 rounds and we now have twin boys

I haven't don't IVF but I'm an egg donor. The injections are something you're going to have to get used to. That was a huge change for me. Twice a day at the same exact time every day. There was a lot of bruising on my tummy and very sensitive. I wasn't very hormonal but my skin showed it. I think I got slightly hormonal with the second round just because I was going through a lot. I know you'll want to get your hopes up every time you go for the transfer but just have patience.

Be very patient with urself....stay positive and Faithful

I definitely recommend the mindful IVF app. It helped me massively with my anxiety before our get transfer 💗

I don’t know if my experience was atypical but I didn’t have mood swings, but I did get a lot of bruising from the injections. There are way more scans than you expect there to be and make sure to ask about extra med costs: that’s what caught me out. I thought we’d paid for them all but no, there were *extra*.

If you can hire a cleaner to come before or after your egg retrieval. I was extremely bloated before and after it and it was difficult to move around. The added stress of the housework was a lot. My husband was trying to take care of me and work full time as well. Pulling in extra support if financially possible like a cleaner, getting groceries delivered etc will help

I recruited my husband to do the injections- that helped! Still had sensitivity and bruising on my abdomen. My egg retrieval was rough, took me 4 days to fully recover, plan for someone to help you with cooking and cleaning, I was lucky and my husband somehow did it all. You’ll need nutritious meals and to stay very hydrated before and after. Good luck!!

The bruising and soreness from injections didn't happen if I would ice the area for one or two minutes before!

I am not sure how far along your journey you are but my tips are: when injecting imagine a 12hr clock and inject as if you are going around the clock so you don't inject in the same spot to reduce being sore there. Also remember your body shall be pumped full of hormones and being tearful or easily annoyed will pass. Just rest, esp when it comes to having the transfer. Be kind to yourself!

My biggest tip to give you is not to watch Hachi a dogs tale… i couldnt stop crying. I became an emotional wreck (even more so 🙈) Be prepared to cry alot and feel extremely bloated. I also strugged alot after egg collection so make sure you rest. Injections aren’t that bad, its kind of exciting. Wish you all the luck x

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I watched this movie at 8wks pregnant and could not stop crying!

I have a son 💙 through ivf, good luck to you I so hope your cycles are fruitful !! The more relaxed you can stay the better off your chances for a baby !! It won't be easy but try w all your heart to stay positive !! I was lucky first try !! I hope the same for you !! Be patient with yourself and your body 💙💕

I had 2 IVF s boy first girl second. Both successful. My kids are 5 and 3. 1st Meds to increase number of eggs 2nd egg retrieval 3 insemination 4 genetic testing of embryos 5 freeze, 6 embryo transfer. You can safe a lot of money on the meds by shopping around different pharmacies yourself and using good RX. So my embryos were created at the same time. I had 13 eggs retrieved and 8 perfect embryos. We used my eggs and my husbands sperm. Good Luck. Ask me anything

Reading into it, doing research, and getting other opinions was the worst thing I did. There are so many unsuccessful stories so it didn't get me excited for it all. Finally, I just thought we wouldn't get our hopes up, this was going to be a long journey that could go for multiple cycles and over years. We agreed that if it didn't happen after 5 cycles or 3yrs, then we'd stop. In the end, I didn't get mood swings, I carried on with working and living our normal life. I had my husband handle all the needles for me (no way could I do that myself), but it made him feel great to be apart of it. During the 10 day wait, that was the hard part to doing nothing and simply wait! We did a home pregnancy test after 6 days and it was negative, so we prepared for it mentally. But after the blood test on day 10, we were pregnant! I guess it all depends on what the issues are behind needing to go through IVF in the first place, but it can work first go, we're an example of that.

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My only advice would be to take it easy during the whole process, and have your partner involved every step of the way. Include multiple date nights so you're not frustrated with all the waiting, have things to look forward to together.

I’m pregnant at 42 from IVF. I did 3 full rounds and had 2 cancelled part way due to ovarian cysts. My biggest tips are to manage stress. Sometimes running to appointments for bloods and scans before work can make you feel rushed and stressed out. If you can take some time off, do it! Be realistic in your expectations. Often the first round isn’t successful, they may need to tweak your drug regime etc. Be prepared to go through it more than once. Be kind to yourself, do some self care during your cycles - get the facial or massage, enjoy good food, see your friends. Take the day off after egg collection. I tried to be a hero the first 2 times and ended up feeling rubbish at work. Take time to heal. Consider a naturopath to help with supplements for egg quality. This was the game changer for me. DM me if you want to ask anything else. Happy to help 💜

I honestly didn’t suffer many side affects at all and was completely fine until after collection. I had mild OHSS then but wasn’t too bad, just took a few days off work. Good luck! I hope you get your positive soon! Xx

Good luck on your journey. I had a 2yo daughter from IVF and currently 26 weeks pregnant with my second IVF baby. First cycle I got pregnant but miscarried, second time with frozen embryo it didn’t implant. Third time we had two frozen embryos transferred and it resulted in my daughter. We then decided to try for a sibling for her used another two frozen embryos and luckily it worked first time! My advice would be just take it one step at a time as thinking of the whole process can be overwhelming and I remember feeling that way with the injections etc. I also saw an amazing reflexologist who specialises in fertility and that really helped get me into the right head space and stay positive and focused and relaxed.

It’s really not that bad. The most difficult Part is that you have to go into knowing nothing is guaranteed. Good luck

Nothing is guaranteed however you have to keep positive, I only had 3 eggs retrieved and now I have a 7 month old boy 🙏🤞... Sending baby dust your way

Good luck with your treatment. I had 2 incomplete cycles and 2 full cycles the last of which resulted in my now 7 weeks old baby boy. The journey is emotional for sure and sometimes to protect yourself you have to distance yourself from others. I had counselling which helped a lot.

Hello there! As a doula that has helped couples through the emotional side of trying to conceive and IVF treatments I have learned that having a good support group is very helpful. Also on a side note I have noted that with my clients who see a Nutritionist during the ttc process especially through IVF have seen amazing results. Having a good Nutrition plan can help you and your husband's fertility likely hood increase as well

Sending love! We went through it. It was a craziest journey but so grateful for it! We have our sweet little girl from it! ❤️😘 My biggest advice - Be open with your partner about your feelings and everything you are going through! I also recommend being open with your close friends and family so that they know you are going through something. Sometimes IVF can be very isolating but being open helps! It’s okay to feel different and have mood swings but telling your partner what you are going through helps that person understand! Let them know where you need help! You are going through this together! ❤️ Here if you ever need to talk! ❤️