IVF Tips for Success

[MKaykes]

Hi, I'm following too, stated my long protocol yesterday! Good tips so far!

Ashley, at least as a nurse in sure you have plenty of skilled friends that can help! I just graduated nursing school and a friend lives real close who I plan on tapping into if DH is too much of a wuss! I can handle the subcut shots but not sure about the IM yet!

 

[zebra2017]

I know this sounds nuts, but doing a short meditation (lots of them on youtube, try thehonestguys) before doing my shots really helped. I hate needles and honestly, the shots were pretty painless. Also, it helped me to think of it as I "get" to do these shots, like, this is a great medicine that is going to help me, rather than as something I have to do because I got unlucky. I know it sounds weird and hippy dippy, but it really helped me to reframe the whole experience.

 

[BelleNuit]

Zebra what a fantastic way to reframe the whole experience. I know it sucks that we are all at the point of needing fertility treatment, but we are so lucky to live in a time and place where we can get it.

I'll likely be starting IVF in 6 months so I'm really appreciating all of these pieces of advice. It is kind of daunting. I don't know what to expect and don't know anyone who has gone through IVF in my personal life.

 

[zebra2017]

It really helps! Best of luck with your IVF cycle!

 

[babylights]

mnelson thanks so much for starting this thread! We'll be starting ivf in about August if I don't get pregnant in the next few months so I'll be following along eagerly!

I'm 36 with an FSH of 12.4 but AMH of 2.5 so will be doing an antral follicle count next month as the "tiebreaker." We've consulted with a couple of ivf clinics and, should my afc be good, will do two more rounds of Clomid (unless we get lucky this cycle with a bfp). At this point I feel so torn between feeling like we've exhausted all options before ivf and giving ourselves the best chance to have more than one child. A couple of doctors have said we shouldn't have issues in conceiving #1 but they'd recommend ivf in order to bank some embryos. Didn't expect to be here in ivf land so soon but thankful for this forum and this thread!

 

[Juliet11]

mnelson, looks like you are getting tons of great advice here! i did IVF in 2012, and put two in and got twins! i was so surprised. after almost 2 year of ttc, i was surprised for some reason that IVF would for me. i kept busy with work while going through the process, i tried to have good sleeping and eating habits, and i exercised. i found a couple friends at church who had similar situations to lean on for support before i found the forun which has been great. and actually around/after my transfer, i watched funny movies! someone told me that laughing would help me relax. not sure what really helped but i sure feel blessed.
i later did 3 FETs to get pregnant on the 3rd try with my now 20 month old. and now finding out tomorrow if my last FET worked to get pregnant one more time. it has been a roller coaster of a journey, but grateful for modern medicine that i know we needed to get this far.
anyway not sure if that advice helps, it is nothing new. but i've been in your shoes and wanted to show support and wish you best of luck.

and good luck to belle, and baby, and anyone else i missed who are soon starting their IVF journey. i didn't know i would be on this journey, back in 2010 when i started to ttc, but i am SO GLAD i found this forum. so much support i have received here.

 

[mnelson815]

Welcome baby! I hope you end up not needing the IVF, so I will keep everything crossed for you!

Thanks for the advice Juliet! I have heard quite a bit about the funny movies/shows. I am definitely going to try that. I took the day of transfer and the day after off of work so I could relax and calm down for a few days, and then head back so that I wouldn't sit at home obsessing about it haha. Trying to find a nice mix there!

 

[BronteForever]

Good luck ladies. I completely understand the need to do something to try to assist the process but I'm going to be completely honest and say I don't think a lot of it works. Don't get me wrong, I still tried acupuncture, fertility massage, low dairy diet, every fertility vitamin under the sun (I did a ton of research on the topic) and lots more. I took off almost 7 months in between cycles to up the results and my first and second cycles were almost identical despite the efforts. I think it helped me to have peace that at least I tried though. Best wishes on a happy outcome!

Oh and if the shots get too painful (my second cycle was bad because of dull needles and some tough areas on my body) there are numbing pads you can get from your RE that help. But honestly you get to be a pro in no time and suck it up.

 

[Ask4joy]

Hi! I'll be doing IVF in August/Sept most likely after 5 failed clomid cycles and 1 IUI. Unexplained. 2 CPs in the last year. My RE recommends PGS due to my age and losses. It significantly increases the chance of IVF success but costs another $4000. I'm sure I'll have questions for you! Good luck with the start of your stims!!!

 

[BronteForever]

Hi! I'll be doing IVF in August/Sept most likely after 5 failed clomid cycles and 1 IUI. Unexplained. 2 CPs in the last year. My RE recommends PGS due to my age and losses. It significantly increases the chance of IVF success but costs another $4000. I'm sure I'll have questions for you! Good luck with the start of your stims!!!

Yes if you are over 35 or have multiple losses, I would not advise doing IVF without PGS. Good luck. We had planned on doing PGS with both our cycles but ended up not having enough embryos on day 5 to make a difference. My first cycle we transferred nothing because we weren't expecting the 9 embryos to drop to 1 morula on day 5 and hadn't prepped for transfer because we were doing PGS. The morula would have been fine quality to transfer but did not meet standards of PGS testing or freezing. So it can be a catch 22. It likely wouldn't have developed when transferred or implanted but there's no way to know.

So make sure you are keeping advised the days following retrieval and that transfer is still an option if PGS is no longer an option depending on how your embryos develop.

Plus, if you only have one or two embryos on Day 5, it might be more advisable to just transfer because there are some cases where PGS can weed out viable embryos and if you have that few it might be better to attempt without weeding out the bad embryos via PGS.

 

[mimi4]

Yes if you are over 35 or have multiple losses, I would not advise doing IVF without PGS. Good luck.

I completely agree. A friend of my friend had failed IVF-s, and got pregnant only when she combined IVF with PGS NGS

 

[Ask4joy]

Yep...definitely going to do PGS as it looks like I'm having another CP right now. #3 in a year.

 

[alycesin]

Hello!

I am new to this thread but will be starting IVF #2 in July/August. During my first round I ate pineapple core for 5 days, kept my my feet warm, quit drinking alcohol & caffeine and did acupuncture. I will be doing the same for this cycle. I don't think any of these things can harm you, so why not, right?

To keep my mind busy, I read a lot, put together jigsaw puzzles and crocheted. I sound like an 80 year old woman

I was so nervous for my egg retrieval and to be put under, which I have never done before but it was super easy. One minute I was talking to the nurse and the next we were done and my husband was coming into the room.

Where is everyone at in their cycles? I should be getting AF this weekend and starting my birth control pills next week sometime.

xoxo,
Allison

 

[3chords]

I have to agree with Bronte - I really don't think most of the stuff does anything at all. It doesn't hurt either, but if it was as easy as just stopping gluten or not eating sugar, we'd all be pregnant without having spent 10s of thousands of $.

I am a big proponent of PGS. But just be aware that it does not solve everything. I had 2 chemicals with PGS normal embryos, no rhyme or reason to it.

 

[Regin7]

Hi! I believe a healthy lifestyle can improve odds of success. It is imperative for ladies undergoing IVF maintain healthy habits. Recreational drugs, alcohol, medications, a poor diet, herbs and certain supplements can all prevent a successful pregnancy. The male partner’s lifestyle also affects the quality of his sperm. Additional factors that can influence IVF success are extremes of body weight and insufficient sleep. It’s recommended that the potential mother gets between 7-9 hours rest per night. Less stress and more rest. Take care!