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IVF - How bad is it?
Hi all,
We've been TTC for the past five years. My husband had two vasectomy reversals (2nd one worked) and yet we still couldn't conceive despite his amazing numbers (completely normal range). I started infertility testing 7 months ago and have been on clomid only for 3 months and now clomid, HCG trigger, progesterone & IUI for the last few. Next week is my last IUI. If it doesn't work, they recommend considering IVF. I'm 35.
All of this has been so far out of my comfort zone, but I have pressed on. I admit, I'm a wimp and hate needles so the thought of injections and the retrieval freak me out a bit, but I know the end result would be worth it.
Nine people in my department are pregnant right now, as is my best friend. That certainly doesn't help. :)
For anyone who hesitated, has it been better or worse than you thought? How many cycles did it take for the BFP?
Thanks & best of luck to you all.
We've been TTC for the past five years. My husband had two vasectomy reversals (2nd one worked) and yet we still couldn't conceive despite his amazing numbers (completely normal range). I started infertility testing 7 months ago and have been on clomid only for 3 months and now clomid, HCG trigger, progesterone & IUI for the last few. Next week is my last IUI. If it doesn't work, they recommend considering IVF. I'm 35.
All of this has been so far out of my comfort zone, but I have pressed on. I admit, I'm a wimp and hate needles so the thought of injections and the retrieval freak me out a bit, but I know the end result would be worth it.
Nine people in my department are pregnant right now, as is my best friend. That certainly doesn't help. :)
For anyone who hesitated, has it been better or worse than you thought? How many cycles did it take for the BFP?
Thanks & best of luck to you all.
To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about having gone through the IVF process. After TTC for 2.5 years and experiencing an ectopic last year, the pregnancy isn't real to me yet. Part of it I think is that I'm trying not to get my hopes up since I know there are still a lot of hurdles we have to make it over (for example I've been obsessing about the possibility of a blighted ovum since I've read that's the cause of almost half of all first trimester miscarriages). Hopefully I will be feeling better about everything after my 6 week ultrasound when at least the blighted ovum question will be resolved.
seattleview - I totally understand what you are saying about the idea of it, it's just not the way any of us ever imagined we would be going about starting (or adding to) our families. As it is our best option right now, I think I have to just put it out of my mind and focus on the happy ending. Do you feel ok about it now that you are there?
I definitely plan to keep it private but I know it's not going to be easy - that is the part that I am most stressed about. Just saying you have an appointment is a good approach - no one would ever ask for more info, I'm sure.
It sounds like some clinics are ok with doing the progesterone shots yourself and others not - hoping mine is ok with it as that's really the only option - I can imagine it is not easy or fun. mlb1234 - drawing circles on your butt sounds pretty funny, but a great idea!
jamaicababy - lots of babydust for your FET in July!
Chelsea
I definitely plan to keep it private but I know it's not going to be easy - that is the part that I am most stressed about. Just saying you have an appointment is a good approach - no one would ever ask for more info, I'm sure.
It sounds like some clinics are ok with doing the progesterone shots yourself and others not - hoping mine is ok with it as that's really the only option - I can imagine it is not easy or fun. mlb1234 - drawing circles on your butt sounds pretty funny, but a great idea!
jamaicababy - lots of babydust for your FET in July!
Chelsea
I have had to do almost all my progesterone injections myself. dH works ights and that was when they said to give it. If he gives it to me it is easy and I can't even feel it. To give it to myself I have to use a mirror. Because I can't put the needle in as fast it hurts just a tad as the needle hits the skin but once it pierces the skin I can't feel anything. It is slow to inject and I have to do it with one hand. I have found it easier to do on my left side and save the right side for when dh is home! It's not the best but you get used to it fast. I don't think it is dangerous to do to yourself as long as you know where it is supposed to go. I had the nurse draw circles on my backside so I knew where to put it the first day!!
I also was able to keep the IVF quiet but I have a very flexible job. I just stop there in the morning on my way to work. Many Re clinic have early hours so you are able to do this. For the transfer I just took a sick day as I was supposed to be on bedrest anyways. My retrieval was on a weekend so that didn't matter.
I also was able to keep the IVF quiet but I have a very flexible job. I just stop there in the morning on my way to work. Many Re clinic have early hours so you are able to do this. For the transfer I just took a sick day as I was supposed to be on bedrest anyways. My retrieval was on a weekend so that didn't matter.
As all the other women said, the needles and procedure sounds worse than it actually is. I too was afraid of needles before starting the process, my husband did all my injections and they weren't as bad as I thought they would have been. Some days I did feel really horrible but i think it was mainly the stress of it all and the side effects.
This was our first IVF and unfortunately it was not successful :( we will be doing a FET in July hopefully.
The ER was ok a bit painful at the end but I had some issues which isn't the norm. Was bloated and uncomfortable before and after but it passed after about a week. I just kept thinking of the end result and the feeling we would have when we got a positive alas it was negative. I do believe though that it will happen and i am keeping my positive thoughts.
Good luck and just be positive, try and avoid stress. I am a high stress person but kept focused. It will not be as bad as you imagine and hopefully your first go will be successful! I didn't do progesterone shots I did suppositories and those were a pain. Also it is true you have to have a flexible job as the check ups are often and the retrieval and transfer all take time. I am lucky my job isn't that flexible but my boss knew what i was going through so it became flexible.
Good luck to you all waiting on results and congrats to those who got a positive.
This was our first IVF and unfortunately it was not successful :( we will be doing a FET in July hopefully.
The ER was ok a bit painful at the end but I had some issues which isn't the norm. Was bloated and uncomfortable before and after but it passed after about a week. I just kept thinking of the end result and the feeling we would have when we got a positive alas it was negative. I do believe though that it will happen and i am keeping my positive thoughts.
Good luck and just be positive, try and avoid stress. I am a high stress person but kept focused. It will not be as bad as you imagine and hopefully your first go will be successful! I didn't do progesterone shots I did suppositories and those were a pain. Also it is true you have to have a flexible job as the check ups are often and the retrieval and transfer all take time. I am lucky my job isn't that flexible but my boss knew what i was going through so it became flexible.
Good luck to you all waiting on results and congrats to those who got a positive.
For me it's not the injections themselves that are so bothersome. They obviously aren't my favorite thing to do every day and some days they definitely hurt worse than others, especially the daily progesterone injections in the butt, and sometimes the pain does make me cry. But to me the worst part of the injections is just the whole idea of them - their symbolism and meaning I guess you might say. Hope that makes sense.
My husband will be out of town for my last daily progesterone injection, and since I have read online that many women seem to be able to do these on their own, I asked my IVF coordinator about it and she said there is no way I should attempt to do this myself because there's too much risk of doing it wrong and/or hurting myself.
We have been able to keep our process private the entire time and do not intend to ever tell people about it. It helps that we both have flexible jobs and non-questioning supervisors. For the week of the ER and ET I simply told my boss I was having a couple medical procedures done and that I would have to take a couple sick days that week. For all the lead up monitoring appointments, I told her I had doctor appointments - and I told my staff I had "appointments" without even adding what kind. For all the phone calls, I either close my office door and try to speak quietly, or go find a faraway unoccupied area of the building to make/take calls. No one's asked and I don't think anyone has suspected. The one thing I have been a little anxious about is maybe having surprise visitors to my house before I have a chance to hide all the meds, needles, and other supplies. So far so good!
My husband will be out of town for my last daily progesterone injection, and since I have read online that many women seem to be able to do these on their own, I asked my IVF coordinator about it and she said there is no way I should attempt to do this myself because there's too much risk of doing it wrong and/or hurting myself.
We have been able to keep our process private the entire time and do not intend to ever tell people about it. It helps that we both have flexible jobs and non-questioning supervisors. For the week of the ER and ET I simply told my boss I was having a couple medical procedures done and that I would have to take a couple sick days that week. For all the lead up monitoring appointments, I told her I had doctor appointments - and I told my staff I had "appointments" without even adding what kind. For all the phone calls, I either close my office door and try to speak quietly, or go find a faraway unoccupied area of the building to make/take calls. No one's asked and I don't think anyone has suspected. The one thing I have been a little anxious about is maybe having surprise visitors to my house before I have a chance to hide all the meds, needles, and other supplies. So far so good!
Travelcat7 - thank you for your question on all the extremely helpful information from those who responded! I hope your next IUI brings a BFP and a ticket off this rollercoaster!
I am at a similar point to you in my ttc journey. I am 35, got pregnant naturally but miscarried, then tried clomid (3 cycles – no preg) and follistim with hcg trigger - chemical pregnancy on the 2nd cycle (currently in the 2ww of the 4th cycle). It seems it is time to move on.
I always thought that if you could get pregnant ivf wasn't much help but my RE says otherwise and it fits with what you said usuk about eliminating risk factors - I still don't fully I understand though so any more information you can provide would be very welcome :)
Having used follistim (commonly used to stimulate follicle growth in an ivf cycle) I can tell you those injections are nothing to worry about, and while the HCG trigger is bigger it's still no problem. I haven't had to do butt shots but I'm sure we will both tackle those too as others here have. Question though, is it possible to do the butt shots yourself? My DH has serious needle phobia so if I can't do it myself I'm pretty short on options there.
The point usuk made about the difficulties with keeping it private are not something I had considered yet - how did others deal with this?
From reading all the posts, it sounds like ivf is challenging but doable and well worth it! We were going to wait until mid July to start ivf but just found out that mid June is an option - I almost wish it wasn't as that is so soon but we are thinking maybe we should just close our eyes and dive in the deep end - and as duckiebearie said, just focus on the end result.
Seattleview – huge congratulations and thank you for your account of your experience with ivf.
Huge congrats to all who got a bfp!! It’s very exciting and encouraging to read your stories and to see how many were on the first try.
Travelcat7, nshapland and Kimber1101 - Please let me know what you decide.
Chelsea
I am at a similar point to you in my ttc journey. I am 35, got pregnant naturally but miscarried, then tried clomid (3 cycles – no preg) and follistim with hcg trigger - chemical pregnancy on the 2nd cycle (currently in the 2ww of the 4th cycle). It seems it is time to move on.
I always thought that if you could get pregnant ivf wasn't much help but my RE says otherwise and it fits with what you said usuk about eliminating risk factors - I still don't fully I understand though so any more information you can provide would be very welcome :)
Having used follistim (commonly used to stimulate follicle growth in an ivf cycle) I can tell you those injections are nothing to worry about, and while the HCG trigger is bigger it's still no problem. I haven't had to do butt shots but I'm sure we will both tackle those too as others here have. Question though, is it possible to do the butt shots yourself? My DH has serious needle phobia so if I can't do it myself I'm pretty short on options there.
The point usuk made about the difficulties with keeping it private are not something I had considered yet - how did others deal with this?
From reading all the posts, it sounds like ivf is challenging but doable and well worth it! We were going to wait until mid July to start ivf but just found out that mid June is an option - I almost wish it wasn't as that is so soon but we are thinking maybe we should just close our eyes and dive in the deep end - and as duckiebearie said, just focus on the end result.
Seattleview – huge congratulations and thank you for your account of your experience with ivf.
Huge congrats to all who got a bfp!! It’s very exciting and encouraging to read your stories and to see how many were on the first try.
Travelcat7, nshapland and Kimber1101 - Please let me know what you decide.
Chelsea
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