What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

Just wondering this as I'm about to go to my first IVF consult in 2 days. Also, if you have any ?s you recommend I ask my RE, I would appreciate that too.
Thanks.

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

for me, i did some complicated medicated cycles prior to IVF. so the monitoring and the stim meds were no surprise. what was a huge surprise to me was the amount of meds i had to do AFTER retrieval. i thought it would just be PIO but on my protocol it was PIO, estrogen patches, and e2v suppositories, along with an oral antibiotic, lovenox shots, baby aspirin and metformin.i feel like im forgetting some too cause at the time it felt like A LOT more meds then i had anticipated.

i kind of expected to get OHSS cause i am prone to it and had touches of it on medicated cycles. but if i hadn't that would have been a rude awakening as well.

overall i thought that the stim part would be a piece of cake cause my protocol was similar to other protocols id done - but the increase in dose and my high estrogen def had an effect on me. towards the retrieval day i DEF felt the effects of 5000+ e2, i was dizzy and felt just weird.

another surprise was that theres no real 2WW! you have retrieval and if all goes well a 5-day transfer. then you only have to wait 7 days til the beta since thats the equivalent of 13DPO. obviously if you do a shorter transfer its different, but i liked cutting that waiting time out of it. the time between the ER and the ET didnt seem like it was part of the wait cause theres nothing in you. its almost like a mini mental break in the middle (of course with OHSS it was like a bedrest break).

finally, i had the great surprise of all 18 of my retrieved eggs being mature and fertilizing. i never expected all to be mature, let alone for all to fertilize. and i'll add that although the odds of IVF working (in my case at least) were around 50%, i was really surprised to get a really dark BFP at 10pm on 12DPO. i had no real symptoms and my OHSS hadnt returned. i really was 50-50 on whether it had worked or not.

IVF was def more of an emotional whirlwind than i expected compared to the cycles i had done prior. but it worked for me and im so glad we moved on when we did.

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

There were so many of the basics that I did not know. But you listen, read, ask questions here on LIF and you learn.

What I didn't know was the toll it would take on me by doing back to back to back procedures. (Fresh cycle, FET, and then another fresh cycle). Although I am no longer TTC due to divorce (divorce happened for other reasons- not IF), I know if I ever need to do IVF or other treatments again I can't do back to back procedures.

I am that gal who needs a break in between cycles so I can "live normally."

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

That the process is NOT as bad as I thought it was be. Especially if you've done IUI's....you're used to going in for monitoring. Sure, there's more meds, but the thought of the process is much scarier than the actual process. It is completely do-able!

Also, I agree that the 2WW isn't really a 2WW. I had a 3DT on a Friday and tested the following Thursday.

Good luck!

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

I wish I had known that IVF was not as scary as that big box of meds suggested. That if you have done medicated cycles, it's not that bad as you know your way around a needle. I wish I had known that these Dr.s effectively outsource their jobs by making us responsible for taking our own shots, switching needles, getting our dosages correct...what other occupation can get away with that? LOL. Videos showing how to prepare my shots have been a life-saver.

I wish I had known how completely different I would feel getting a BFN after an IVF cycle as opposed to a natural cycle. After injecting yourself with hormones, taking pills, inserting God knows what in your vajayjay, the financial and emotional investment...it is a devasting blow...even when you know the odds are not in your favor. This die-hard POAS learned her lesson and will not be testing until the day before my beta next go round...too depressing in the days leading up to beta when you know it's a BFN under these circumstances.

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

That it would be so easy! I had no idea it was a piece of cake (for me) and I have done 5 IVF cycles....

The whole physical procedure is nothing compared to the emotional rollercoaster...The worst thing was getting a BFN but with time it does get better.

GL!

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

I used to be someone petrified of shots...and here I was giving myself the shots everynight without any issues...Its not as bad as I thought it was going to be...I really wish OHSS was explained to me better...My ovaries are still big from this and I am currently 9w2d pg.

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

That it isn't a magic ticket, and doesn't always work the 1st time.

IVF and IF in general, take up so much time. There are m/c's, holidays, cysts, month off in between for this and that, blood levels not ok, there are so many things that can delay a cycle.

The physical part is NOTHING compared to the toll it takes on you, your marriage, family, work, etc.

Doctors are NOT God, they are humans and make mistakes. You MUST be your own advocate.

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

Re: What about IVF did you not know before but wish you did?

Posted by curiousO

Posted by maybemommy10

That it isn't a magic ticket, and doesn't always work the 1st time.

IVF and IF in general, take up so much time. There are m/c's, holidays, cysts, month off in between for this and that, blood levels not ok, there are so many things that can delay a cycle.

The physical part is NOTHING compared to the toll it takes on you, your marriage, family, work, etc.

Doctors are NOT God, they are humans and make mistakes. You MUST be your own advocate.

well said