New to IVF w/ISCI

[iveyf81]

Hello my name is Ivey. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for the better part of 7 years now. I start my IVF cycle the end of March. Can anyone tell me what to expect? If its painfull? I have had alot of testing done I mean really I think that the Dr has seen my vagina more than my husband has. Is it the same as having normal test done. I am really nervous and anxious about having IVF. Have most of you had great results how? One last question if my Dr implants 2 embroyos what are the chances that I get two babies.

thanks for hearing me out
IVEY

[siouxsie]

I can relate to your comment about the number times your vagina has been exposed. Expect more of that. I lost track of the number of different people checking on various things.

The biggest surprise to me was how quickly the cycle (and $$$$) went by even though there are certain periods (like 2ww) which drag forever. The drugs weren’t as bad as I expected, although some people suffer more severe symptoms. For me, there were some headaches, bloating, cramps, grumpiness, but not too bad. I got used to the needles quickly. Ice helps a lot. Still had some bruising.

My ET and FET were actually much easier than my HSG. I suspect it probably had to do with the skill of the technician – and the valium.

Talk to your dr. about chances for both sticking. Very roughly I think it’s about 25% chance of multiples, but it really depends on your age, embryo quality and your particular circumstances.

Good luck.

[CAFirstInvitro]

Hi Ivey,

I'm almost to ER. I actually go in for ER on Wednesday. As for me with the meds they didnt seem to bother me too much. I am not a huge fan of needles, but on the other hand I don't mind them. My husband has a huge fear of needles, but he got over them and after about 6 days he started giving me my shots. He does it like a champ. He did it better then me on his first try. I usually bruise pretty easy, but I noticed that I don't bruise if he pushes the medicine in slowly from the shot. Especially with the Follistim (the med that makes you produce folicles). That one bruised me when he pushed it in fast. In fact I still have a bruise and it was from the first day. Now he does it slowly and I can feel it and it feels tingly, but not bad. Sometimes I have him stop pushing for 2 seconds and then continue. When we do this I don't bruise and I'm not bothered in that area. My belly isn't tender either for getting the shots like I've heard other people complain. I think it is because we take out time with the shot. The Lupron doesn't matter. He can jab and stab and that doesn't feel any tingling. We must be doing something right because we found out Friday we have 18 folicles. We make sure to do the shots at the same time ever day. We've only been about 5 minutes off maybe 10 minutes at the most. The only side effects I've had is headaches and lately I am really fatigued. I am swollen where my ovaries are. It's a bit annoying, but then I remind myself that part of our baby is in there somewhere and then it makes me smile I've heard eat lots of protein and water. I have been kind of grouchy at times poor DH. Mostly just tired and swollen. Oh and after the Follistim in the pm is usually the crampiest I get. I get weird cramps. Kind of like period cramps. Those are a bit annoying too. Well good luck and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. Make sure to take prenatal vitamins too. You need the folic acid and stay as relaxed as you can. Stay away from stress. Cut off any stressfull source you may have.

[Melru]

Hi Ivey,

I have just gone through my first cycle and now waiting for the results.

You are doing the right thing trying to find out all about IVF before starting it. I can say that as much as I tried to know everything, I was not expecting some side effects and we were certainly not prepared for the cost of all of this. So, my advise is first make sure you can through the cycle with lots of cash in hand and double your estimation to be safe.

The other thing, which nobody told me about was how I felt when my follicles started expanding. I had a lot of them (31 before ER) and resembled a laying hen. I felt so heavy and had a lot of discomfort simply walking around, trying to put my shoes on or even finding a right position to lie in bed... Everything seemed to be such a task! My nurse told me it's best to avoid taking painkillers before collection as it can affect the eggs. Also I couldn't fit into any of my trousers and had to buy some new clothes two sizes up.

After the egg retrieval things gone even worse. I was so bloated, feeling constantly sick and pretty upset that nobody ever mentioned to me that I might feel like this. And I was not the worst case either. Apparently some women had to go to hospital to withdraw liquid from their abdomen and abandon the cycle. I am not trying to scare you off here. It is all manageable with the right attitude and support of your family. My husband was on his tiptoes all the time, trying his best to please me. He said that I looked so bad that it made him feel guilty (since we have a male factor). So I enjoyed being completely spoiled round the clock for a couple of weeks!

And the last thing. If I am ever going to go through IVF again I will certainly make sure I take time off my work. It is a bit difficult to jungle around your working hours and the clinic' working hours when they suddenly want you for a scan and a blood test every day.

Good luck to you and let us know how you get on!

Mel

[hjw]

Hi Ivey, hope things are going well for you. I saw that you are a first timer (like me) and that you are starting your cycle at the end of this month. I have just started my down regulation phase and I'm expecting to have ER in the w/c 13th April. Why don't you come over to the IVF boards and join the March/April thread - there are lots of fantastic ladies on there who are all cycling around now and some of them have been through it all before and are a great source of information for us newbies.

Anyway, hope to see you over there!