IVF first-timers and anyone with coping advice - please join

nali1278 · Post by **nali1278** » Mon May 19, 2008 1:22 am

Hi, I am brand new to this board and have just gone through my first ivf cycle. Am now in the dreaded 2ww period and cannot seem to concentrate on anything till my pg test on the 29th. I have to say that this has been the most stressful time ever in my life - starting from the pill and synarel to the horrible injections. Would love to hear from anyone who's been through this experience or is new to it...good luck to everyone out there who are trying...

SDtrying · Post by **SDtrying** » Mon May 19, 2008 5:55 am

Hi Nali!

Welcome and wonderful to "meet" you. I'm a first timer as well and am close to your schedule. I have my official beta on Friday(May 23rd), but have been cheating a testing early. Maybe women are strong and wait til the day of their Beta to POAS, that's probably best because it takes our much of the uncertainty of the HPT.

So, this whole process has been a roller coaster ride, some of the women here have tried for several years to conceive, some have already had a child through IVF and are back for more fun. The experienced women are really invaluable resources and can help ease your mind when you are worried about every little detail.

Regarding the injections- I actually think the belly ones were worse than than ones in the butt. My DH and I have a system now- I ice for 20 minutes and then he comes to give me the shot. I don't even feel a thing 'cause my butt is frozen. I then switch to heat to help the absorption.

My biggest complaint about this whole process is the limitation on physical activity- I'm a running (not very fast, but I do love to run 3-4 times a week). My RE said no running for 2 weeks! This is gonna make me crazy!

So tell us more about yourself. What did you try before IVF? How long have you been TTC? How was your ER/ET? How many did you transfer? Are you gonna cave and POAS?????

nali1278 · Post by **nali1278** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:17 am

lovely to meet you too and yay!! I'm excited at finally being able to talk about 'it' with someone who understands! DH has been wonderful but there are some things only another woman can empathise with! Well I'm 29, TTC for 2 years now (sorry I'm not too familiar with all the abbs - I'm sure I will be soon!) and have 'unexplained infertility' - very frustrating...nothing wrong with DH too. Sometimes I wish I actually had a medical problem so I'd know what was wrong *sigh*. The only 'problem' was my irregular periods but as soon as I got put on Clomid that got sorted out. So I was on Clomid first for about 6 months (last year) with my dr encouraging us to try and conceive without anything else other than the clomid. Didn't work. The next step (late last year) was IUI, but after one failed cycle we thought it was a waste of time and money, cos if it didn't work we still would have had to go through ivf. I hated the synarel - left such a bad taste in my mouth. Was really freaked out at the thought of the injections at first and got DH to initially give them to me, but was forced to do it myself when he had to go interstate for 2 days - and it wasn't as bad as I thought, except for a bit of bruising on my tummy.

ER was ok - once again I was freaking out 'cos never in my life had I been in hospital, but I had a really chatty nurse near me when the sedation was been given and her voice was the last thing I heard! Had 7 eggs retrieved (was a bit disappointed but dr said it was normal) and 3 fertilised, of which one was 'abnormal' but the other 2 were, according to my doctor, excellent. I had only one put back (our little Dot!) and the other frozen - I go to melbourne ivf and they try to minimise the risk of multiples as much as possible. So now it's the dreaded wait. I don't want to give in to the temptation of doing a HPT so I have decided to wait till the 29th! I just want little dot to stay

Are you in Melbourne btw? How have you coped upto now with waiting? I'm wishing you so much luck for the 23rd - just a few more days of waiting (and not running!). keep me posted ok, and chin up

Samara1 · Post by **Samara1** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:57 am

Hey Nali,

I am from Melb too...

Advice for 2ww...I don't really have much. You will be stressing out, it is completely normal and it won't impact the success of your cycle at all.

I really hope this is your first and last stim cycle.

n.b. I have my 7 week scan on the 29th...it will be a big day for both of us.

Good luck!!!

nali1278 · Post by **nali1278** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:10 am

Hi Samara, first of all, congratulations!! you give me so much hope! Would love to hear your story. I guess the 29th is going to be a big day for both of us! Which clinic did you go to for your treatment?

riogirl71 · Post by **riogirl71** » Mon May 19, 2008 12:57 pm

Good luck and eat some pineapple! Might be an old wive's tale but lots of preggo girls here did it. I sued to talk to the little bean and say stick! It is a crazy time. Be good to yourself and try to stay calm (easier said then done!). For the injections, use a heating pad for 10 min after and it will help with swelling and pain.

Baby dust!!!!

Samara1 · Post by **Samara1** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:51 pm

I was at Melb IVF too for my first two stim cycles. I was working in Sydney quite a bit last year so visited a Dr there and did my last two stim cycles at Sydney IVF earlier this year.

Everyone at Melb IVF was really great, very professional.

Came off the pill in 2005, lap/hyst in April 2006, natural pregnancy a couple of cycles later, miscarried at 6 weeks. IVF#1 & #2 plus numerous FETs at Melb IVF. 3rd IVF stim cycle was at Syd IVF in Jan, pregnant, miscarried (nothing to freeze so no FETs). 4th IVF stim cycle at Syd IVF in April, pregnant again hoping this is a keeper.

Basically I fall into the unexplained IF category.

Who is your Dr? I was treated by Raphael Kuhn.

nali1278 · Post by **nali1278** » Mon May 19, 2008 11:56 pm

samara you've been through quite a bit haven't you? I guess I'm relatively 'spoilt' as my only medical complaint is a tilted uterus - made it really hard and painful to do the ET but all good in the end (my doctor had to pinch and twist my unruly uterus back into place!). Yes I found melb ivf to be great too, but I have heard good things about Sydney ivf too. My dr is manuela toledo. Have you heard of her?

nali1278 · Post by **nali1278** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:20 am

and thanks riogirl for the advice - the pain of the injections and the yucky synarel seem like nothing now compared to the agony of the 2WW!

sharishu · Post by **sharishu** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:25 am

Hey Ladies,
For all of you out there going through the IVF process, there is every reason to think positive! On my 2ww, I started a 2ww thread on here, and at least 4 or 5 of the women on the thread got a BFP! I was one of them (on my 2nd try). There was one woman who became pregnant with her 4th IVF baby, and one woman who is on our 'pregnant after treatment' thread (also due in august) who is pregnant with twins on her first IVF try. I remember thinking, after 2 years of ttc and negative HPT's, that my body just couldn't do it! Well, wrong! I wish all of you ladies BFPs and just remember to keep up the PMA. Lots of luck!
Shari

Stephanie9875 · Post by **Stephanie9875** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:50 am

Hi my name is Stephanie.I am considering IVF can you give me any information on it? I recently had my tubes tied 2 years ago after my 3rd child but i just got married and we would like to have a child of our own.

IVF first-timers and anyone with coping advice - please join

IVF first-timers and anyone with coping advice - please join

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