Exercise and IVF

[kate65]

Hi, I'm new to the board, going through my first IVF. I just found out today that my egg retrieval will be Monday and have about 12 follicles. I'm really excited!

Can you all tell me what you're hearing about exercise, because I get different info from every nurse at the clinic? I usually run or do spinning. Some tell me anything's fine as long as it's low impact. Others say you have to watch your body temp, so shouldn't do anything more rigorous than walking. One nurse told me anything -- including running -- is fine until the transfer, then I should stop all activity. Another told me I should have stopped at the beginning of the cycle. Help!

[brs888]

Everyone says something different. I exercised until I got near my retrieval, but I stopped mainly because I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I think the important thing is not to try to lose weight while you are on the meds as this can cause your hormone levels to fluctuate. As far as after the transfer, my clinic recommends 24 hours bed rest and then limited activity for 2 weeks (no lifting more than 10lbs, nothing jarring or high impact, no sex). With that being said they believe this is mainly precautionary. However, they have no proof that any of this does anything. Hope this helps and good luck!

Brandy

[tennisgurl]

I was told that while stimming you should not exercise at all (I went to Cornell)- this is mainly because your ovaries are very soft etc... and could rupture or twist- after transfer it def is better to take it easy

I am an exercise freak- as well as a tennis coach - i took all the above advice...I am 16w pregnant

good luck

[Rinnie]

My doctor said to stop everything but walking a week into stimming, then all exercise after ET until the pregnancy test. The explanation was that when the follicles get larger before ER there's a chance of rupturing or involuntary ovulation if you're exercising hard & I need all the eggs i can get so i was fine with that.
Then obviously after ET they're trying to implant so you don't want to interfere with that.

Good luck with everything!!!


Rin

[kate65]

Okay, I'll take it easy for the next few weeks. I don't want to take any chances. Thanks all for responding!

[RunnerKate]

Kate65--I too am a runner & exerciser (see my name:>). I used to run 40-60 miles a week cut back to ~35 miles a week after we started trying to conceive through the month before IVF. I didn't lift weights after I started the stimming. Once I started stimming, I cut back to running 3-4 Xs a week ~7 miles per run. After the ER, I totally stopped running and didn't do it again until the day before my blood test. I did do the elliptical, walking, and yoga between the ET and 1st beta. Since my BFP, I have started running again every other day very slowly for 6 miles (almost double my prior running speed) and doing the elliptical on the days that I didn't run. I am taking it VERY easy and not pushing myself AT ALL.

My advice to you: don't do anything that you would regret later. I really regretted exercising the day after the ET and cried about it for about two days, thinking that I had ruined my chances. Be conservative. You don't want to look back and think that you could have done anything that put your pregnancy at risk.

I have a BFP, but am still trying to be cautious. I would LOVE to be exercising more, but I don't want to have to go through this process again. It's kind of like when you get an injury...you can rush the recovery and potentially risk having to go through the process all over again, or you can just take it slow the first time.

[deepa100]

Hi,
I am a long distance runner too. I stopped running for the last 2 years between the IVF and the consequent pregnancy. Every thing went well. Don't risk it! Good luck!

[Ronnie]

Runnerkate:

I can´t help noticing that you are an avid runner (me too) and that you have an ovulatory disfunction (me too). I think that it may be related to all the exercise you (and I) make. Has your doctors told you something, on which was the cause and how to solve the problem? Have they told you to stop exercising?

Just to share some info!!!

[LostGirl]

Ronnie,
I'd be careful to make links - especially without hefty and convincing research between ovulatory dysfunction and intense exercise. My periods have always been regular like clockwork though I've been a competitive athlete for 15 years. I also like to eat, and eat plenty, so I never lost my period like many other runners I knew who did.

I hesitate to make such connections because most Americans don't exercise enough, and look for any excuse for a reason not to move.

That said, when my dh and I started having trouble conceiving, I was a triathlete who did double workouts many days a week, and worked out for a total of 10 workouts weekly. I was a mean lean machine, so lean in fact my doctor suggested I gain weight to increase chances of getting pregnant, even though I've always had my periods every 28 days.

For me gaining weight took slowing down on the exercise, and also increasing my calorie intake by at least 500 calories daily. (But keep in mind, I am the exception to the rule, most women in the 30s don't have the "problem" of being too muscular and having too little fat.)

The doctors never found anything wrong with me. And still attribute our troubles to sperm count and motility.

Now that I'm pregnant, I think I could have probably done a bit more exercise and gotten away with it. But for me, slowing down on the exercise was part of a psychological project of mine - to prove to myself that I could workout less, and still be healthy.

It turns out I am. Amazingly, all my markers for blood pressure, for cholesterol, for lipids, have not changed, even though now all I do is walk 5 miles or do the elliptical 2-3 times a week, run once a week, and do a weightlifting video once a week.

Keep in mind, I eat super healthy. And live by the motto that if my grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, then I don't eat it. So no Diet Coke for me, or trans fats, and very little corn syrup.

Lostgirl

[tinaO]

Well, I have a difference of opinion on this subject. I exercised throughout my cycle, up until ET. After that, I didn't exercise again until I was 7 weeks pregnant. Since then I have been walking and doing weights 4-5 times a week and my doc highly recommends it. He even wants me doing crunches to help strengthen my abdominal muscles now that I am in my 2nd trimester! I think exercise not only helped with my stress, but was good for my body as well.

Just my 2 cents....

[kate65]

It seems like the effects of exercise haven't been studied enough for anyone to really know anything conclusively, so it's really interesting to see the variety of responses here.

Regarding the long distance running: I ran a marathon in November and my RE said to wait a couple months after that for IVF. Apparently, any exercise over 2 hours a day raises your testosterone levels -- which works against successful ovulation, implantation, etc. -- and it takes a few months for that to decrease fully. Since January, I've been careful to keep all workouts under 2 hours.

On the flip side, there's evidence that moderate exercise is great for fertility. The Harvard Nurse's Study, which is all over the place recently, identified a correlation between women who don't exercise and ovulatory dysfunction. As a result of their findings, they recommend 30 minutes of exercise almost every day for improved fertility. I guess that just means everything in moderation ...

I don't know how all that really relates to the IVF cycle. I stopped all activity this weekend before ER. In this next couple days between ER and ET, I'm thinking I'll do something low impact (spinning or elliptical), then cut everything out for two weeks after ET. If anyone knows any reason not to exercise before ET, warn me now!

RunnerKate: ''nothing you'll regret later"' is definitely good advice.

Kate

[LostGirl]

Kate65,
I think you're on the something. It is about the intensity either of the effort (say doing interval training or hills or going all out) and/or the duration of a sustained effort that messes with a woman's ability to conceive.

And you're right it hasn't been studied enough, so for now it's all about common sense.

Good luck to you in your cycle! lostgirl

[Ronnie]

[Lostgirl:

what do you mean by eating super healthy? Do you eat chocolates, pies...that kind of things? What do you eat to compensate all the exercise you make? I went to a doctor that once told me that eating chocolates, pies, fries is no good cause is food that gives you fat but will do nothing good for your body.

What´s your opinion?

[Yellow]

This is an interesting thread...

So I googled "IVF exercise" and found this article. It sure does not clarify the issues, but it is interesting.

http://www.acog.org/from_home/publicati ... 9-06-2.cfm

Basically it says that regular exercise lowers IVF success, but the issue needs to be studied more.

I cut back on exercise for both on my IVF cycles and I had one BFP and one BFN.

[LostGirl]

Ronnie
I am no fanatic. But there are a bunch of things that I don't eat that most Americans eat with frightening regularly without ever thinking about it. The big no nos for me are: soda or diet sodas or anything with trans fats in it. I also avoid corn syrup, which is in everything from granola bars to ketchups to jams. ICK!

As for what I do eat, a while back I was allergic to wheat and dairy so during those years I got used to eating 3 square meals a day with a protein (chicken, pork, shrimp, fish, turkey, bison) and then a bunch of veggies (spinach, broccoli, peppers of all colors, tomatoes, eggplant, leeks, asparagus, sweet potatoes). SO I stick to that now even though pregnancy miraculously has made dairy OK again.

I also believe in having good snacks on hand. NEVER get so hungry you consider eating from the vending machine. Most of those things are gross. So when I'm starving on my way home from work, I eat the apple or banana in my bag. I never leave home with a Clif bar (good oats and super filling but only 250 calories) or a Larabar (nuts and dried fruit only).

I am a big believer in variety for what you eat. So I even vary my carbs. I try to limit white flour pasta (back when I was allergic to wheat that was easy). The only time I ate pasta was brown rice pasta at home. But now I eat quinoa, rice, brown rice, oats, rice noodles, corn, amaranth cereal).

And now for what you really want to know: Of course I eat dessert! I keep dark chocolate in the house, the kind with more than 65 percent cocoa, because I find, a couple of squares satisfies me. (Milk chocolate on the other hand makes me ravenous!)
I also like to eat a couple of scoops of sorbet, but the all-natural kind with sugar and fruit only. I bake loads of baked goods, but I make them so I know what's in them. The pancakes I make are wheat-free, and I top them with blueberries for antioxidants or banana for fiber. I also like to crunch a couple of walnuts on top for protein and good fats.

And just so you don't think I'm a saint. Yes, I eat fries! But only when I'm out. I don't fry at home. If I want "fries" at home, I thinly slice a sweet potato and put it in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. Sweet potatoes have more fiber than regular potatoes. And with a good salsa, make the ultimate finger food!

Anyway, as you can tell, I give a lot of thought to my food and most nights eat at home. But not because I'm dieting. I just truly believe that you've got to fuel your body right, and that I can't expect my body to ward off disease, or be energetic enough to run after kids, or to be able to run 5 miles if I don't give it the nutrients it needs to run efficiently.

When my dh married me, he married into good food. He's never eaten so many vegetables in his life! I can't wait for my child to be old enough to cook with mom. I've never made my own jam; that could become a family tradition.