IVF cycle number one...what to expect

[kitkat079]

Hello everyone
I am brand new to this board, and I am so glad that I found it. I am most likely going to start my first IVF cycle in December with an ER of January some time. We have male factor infertility and my DH is having his PESA on 11/3/09. If everything goes well and they have sperm we are a go for December. WOW what a journey we have been on for the last 6 months! While I am trying to remain positive about everything that is going on and what we need to do to get there, I am VERY scared at the same time

I am wondering if anyone can help me understand what is going to happen to me? Like I said I thank god that this is even a possibility as just months ago my DH and I didn't think it was going to be at all possible for us to even have our own biological children. I just really want to know what I am in for, and like a lot of you you have no one to turn to in your lives that has gone through the same situations.

I really look forward to making some new IVF friends here so we can share our experiences

[Arabsrcool]

kitkat,

welcome to the forum! You will find alot of support here. I have been down the IVF road, and its hard, but well worth it.

One of the biggest things that scared me at first was the shots. I had a needle phobia (not clincial, but bad enough). The first couple of times were the worst, eventually I got to the point where I was like "give me the shot" and didn't have a problem with it. Itis a means to an end. I found the stim shots were easiest for me to give in the thigh rather than the stomach. The stims shot have very small needles, like a diabetic type needle. I used the follistem pen, which was pretty simple. After you give yourself the shot, rub the area for a minute. Make sure to alternate sites where you are giving yourself shots, your less likely to get sore. Another thing I worried about was all the u/s (internal of course). Again, it gets to not be a big deal (gotta tell you, I had lst dd after 3 IUI, had 8 failed IUI for second dd, then was accepted into a IVF study at doc ofc and got pg 1st attempt), so I gone through alot of shots and u/s scans. Its really kinda cool that they can see everything that is going on in there. It is really alot of waiting for the next step (which is hard to wait), and realizing you have no control, you are at the doc ofc mercy as to when they need to see you. Not that they are terrible, it just wrecks any kind of schedule you may have and you will LIVE basically for your next doc visit.

Let me know if you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them.

Ronda

[jlp1022]

This is my first cycle with IVF, never been pregnant. I just completed my stim cycle and scheduled for retrieval tomorrow morning. Very nervous. Don't want to be too hopeful but don't want negative energy either. I want to talk about it but family and friends just want to ask questions over and over. I wish I knew about this forum before I started the cycle. I have to have 3 corrective surgeries this past year just to do IVF.

Ronda is right at first your like am I really going to ive myself shots? Then it becomes normal. I found it easier to have a little clinic set up at my table and draw up all the meds and inject one after the other. Also the labwork and ultrasound's daily. It's amazing that you find the stregnth to do what you gotta do.

Congrats Ronda and best wishes kitkat
JP

[lisa10]

jlp1022 Congrats on your retreval. On the general discussion page there is a guide to abbreviations. It will help you to understand all we are talking about. I use a lot of them, so pardon me. You should check out the Sept/Oct thread if you have not already. It is so helpful having people to talk to who are in the same boat. Everyone is always welcome whenever you join. Don't worry that it has been going for a while, there are always people in different steps of the process. I had 1 failed attempt with a fresh cycle in August (chemical pregnancy) and am having a frozen embie transfer in 2 days. We always accept newbies and it helps to have supposrt during the 2ww (2 week wait).

kitkat079 I don't think there is a group for Jan. yet, but you could always start a Dec/January thread. I'm sure you would have people joining in no time. It also seems in my opinion, whoever starts the thread gets PG! But that's just my observation. It is really amazing how much support these girls give you.

To you both...I wish you both the best of luck. I'm glad you came by our board. It gives you so much hope having people to talk to who are going through the exact same thing as you. They are great to get advice and support from and to answer all you questions.

[jlp1022]

thanks lisa welcome and best wishes for Saturday!
Im 37 and my doc wants to transfer 3 fresh embies, god willing my eggs fertilize. My DH has no issues so we're hopeful. Needless to say he just mentioned maybe we should only transfer 2, he is scared to death of triplets. As I mentioned in another post his brother has 12 children. Anyone have advice?

[lisa10]

Be prepared that all can take. It is somewhat based on quality. We have 2 daughters already and have been trying for #3 for a long time now. But we don't want 4. So we are doing 1 at a time only. RE said I had 40% chance of twins if I did 2 and recommeded that unless we want twins, go w/1 only. But as I am waiting, I just want it to work so bad, I think maybe transfering 2 would help. RE says we have a 60-65% chance of getting PG w/1, so I guess those are good odds. Only you and your DH can decide what is best for you two.