Hello

Well yesterday I got the long awaited letter telling me when my first appt at the IVF clinic is - April 18th! So you would have thought I would be pleased? WRONG! I am stressing away as all the paperwork that came through with the letter make it seem like such a FULL ON process and I am scared I won't be up to it! Today I am going round the house shouting at DH about how unfair it is that my body won't get pregnant naturally! Poor man :) I know I am being irrational (and I slept really badly last night with all the stuff going round my head), so I am a bit tired today too which doesn't help.

My question is - how will I/we get through it?

Thanks for any calming advice :eek:

TB x

Hi TB,
I am going through IVF right now. I had my egg retrievel on March 13 and my transfer will be March 18. I am getting so excited. Try not to get so stressed over it. I know it's hard but you just have to find a way to relax. This is my second time going through with it and I can tell you that during the first time, I was really stressed and it didn't help. This time around, I'm being more relaxed and thinking positive thoughts. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I'll be glad to answer them for you if I can. :)

TB, I can relate. I went for the full orientation in January and then chickened out because I feared it would be too much for me (I was starting a new job and had a bunch of stuff going on). My husband and I have a doctor's appointment at the end of April, and we'll find out if my husband's bilateral varicocele surgery helped his motility/morphology/sperm quality. To be honest (and my husband will kill me for being pessimistic), I don't expect to see any change. I am getting geared up for IVF in May. So, my thoughts are with you. This must be a difficult time. No, it's not fair that you have to go through this process. Yes, it's too bad your body is being uncooperative. BUT, when you hold your baby in your arms all of this will seem like a distant memory (I hope!). Good luck. Please, please keep us posted. I want to hear how things go for you so I know what to expect for myself!

Boy can I relate. DH and I were suppose to be on our 2WW right now had things gone right. But of course it was one thing after another and it just kept on pushing things back and back somemore. I finally had a hysteroscopy done on Tues the 14th to remove a polyp in my uterus. I have my follow up on the 28th and maybe, just MAYBE we will be able to proceed. I can't tell you though how many times I have broken down and cried because I don't think I am strong enough to go through it all. The list of meds is overwhelming itself, and then all the poking. I will have to find someone to give me the shots because as lovely as my husband is he is TERRIFIED of needles. We have been TTC for over 4 yrs now and this time around I have kept it from other family members (except mother's on both sides). I'm just tired of being disappointed, scared it will be unsuccessful, and just not strong enough to handle it all. I just have to take it a day at a time and hope no one gets hurt J/K ;)

Well I was feeling the same way when I had my consult. And each day before I started I thought I wouldn't be able to go through it. It's hard to stay motivated and positive but, like withinreach says, you really have to take it one day at a time.
When I got the meds delivered to my door, I thought I would never be able to handle it all. It was so overwhelming to see all the needles! :eek:
I got so stressed in the beginning, I wasn't sleeping much and then I got sick and lost my voice from being so run down. :o
Then, I adapted a new mantra, "It is what it is." If I have to go through this at all, it is what it is. You can read my other thoughts about that in My IVF Journey so far. :cool:
And, by taking it one day at a time, I'm now a 2/3 of the way through!(until the retrieval anyway!) :bouncing: The BCP was no big deal and the Lupron shots haven't been that bad, especially when my DH and I adopted a new technique of icing the spot before injecting~that works really well! Tomorrow I go in for another b/w and u/s and then I will start follistim. These next few weeks, I know will be the hardest, especially when the 2ww and progesterone in oil start! But, because all these things are beyond our control, the best thing to do is to just wait it out, keep yourself busy with other things, (I'm in the middle of starting a business, about to start coaching and I just got a puppy! :D ), and to stay relaxed! I know, that's easier said than done, believe me I know...but all in all, it really isn't that bad. I have been through worse emotional strain.
Chins up ladies! Let's not let this scary unknown wear us down! It will make us stronger and the bond between us and our children that much stronger too. Good luck to all of you! :angel:

Hey everyone

Thanks for the comments and glad I am not alone feeling these things. I guess my main worry is that I am so used to failure (BFN after BFN for what seems like years) that I have it in my head that I will never be pregnant, with IVF or any other way. So to spend all that time, energy and money only for it to fail would just be so terrible.

But my new way of dealing with it, like you say, is to take it one day at a time. I have a tendency to look at the whole picture at once and then get overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the whole thing! So one day at a time and chanting endlessly to myself (I read in my IVF book) "70% of couples get pregnant within 3 IVF cycles". Let's just not worry about the other 30% at this stage :eek:

As for the needles and drugs, I am not worried by those at all as I am a vet nurse and it is probably revenge for all those poor cats and dogs that I have to inject every day! BTW cool KM that you have got a puppy! What breed and what's his/her name?

Good luck with your first cycle - keep us posted. CHJH good luck with your appt in April too. AGemini - how did the ET go? I guess you are now in the dreaded 2ww? Fingers crossed for you!

TB :wave:

PS You will all be relieved to hear I have now stopped ranting at DH (I know he is!)

TB,
I just got an 11 week old boxer and named him Toby. He really is just sooo cute. Since he is so small right now, I've been cradling him like a baby and getting plenty of practice! ;) He's sick with a slight cold right now, so he needs some extra TLC and not being house trained yet, he's quite a handful...but at least he's keeping me busy.

I was just told that I have to wait a few more days before starting the stims...and it seems like an eternity, but I'm trying not to think about it. Keep in touch! :wave:

Cute - I love boxers :O) It's good to have a non related IVF project to think about, isn't it? I would like a puppy too but I think my 3 cats would have something to say about that!

Are you feeling any side effects from the drugs so far?

Take care

TB :wave:

Well, its hard to say if the symptoms are from the drugs or a little bit from stress. But, I've had a few hours here and there of nausia,(sp?) some dizziness mostly at night, mood swings, fatigue, :yawn: and at the same time sleeplessness. When my husband injects me, I've been icing it, but I feel it sometimes after it goes in :eek: and then it kind of "lingers" and it feels wierd. :p Nothing too dramatic though. I bet the real "symptoms" will start when I start the follistim, which should hopefully start tomorrow. When do you start your cycle? Did you find out what meds your going to be on?

What are the side effects of Folistim? What day of your cycle did you start the shots?

I start the follistim tonight, so I'll let you know what symptoms I have. I've heard that you can get really emotional :mad: :( :rolleyes: ! And maybe feelings of bloat, nausia, irritablity, basically PMS x10!! I'm not the expert yet...this is only my first cycle. But, I'll keep you all posted!!
[I started BCP on March 2nd, started Lupron shots on the 10th, stopped BCP on the 14th, started AF :o , and tonight I start Follistim and continue Lupron but 1/2 the amount. Two shots...but hopefully not for too many days...I'm hoping to have my retrieval by next Friday. That's when the progesterone in oil shots start....has anyone else seen this needle?? OMG :eek: not looking forward to that!!] The best part is to just take one thing at a time though, so it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

Hi Ladies! :wave: From time to time I like to stop by and read your posts as I too am a former IVF patient. back in September 05'.. I am now on the pregnancy board along with two other previous IVFer's. We were on all on the Infertility board together and what a help that was, when no one else could understand the frustration or emotions during such a stressful time in our lives. :rolleyes: I just wanted to wish you all the best of luck and baby dust to all :bouncing:

Just a little info: The shots didn't effect me TOO bad emotionally, It's better than you think...as far as the progesterone shots go, well yeah, they can sting quite a bit, however, what my DH and I found to work was to run hot water over the syringe for a little while (just enough to warm the oil inside to make it thinner when it's injected) AND use an ice pack on the injection site before injecting...therefore, you numb the area you plan on poking and when it's being injected, the prog in oil is thin therefore can pass through the muscle better..Otherwise it may hurt and cause a sore knotted bruise on your bum (or wherever you plan on doing it) Just a suggestion for you all.
Again I wish you all luck and hope to see you soon on the "pregnancy"board
Rojo-Robin

Hi. I started my bg on the 19th and got my box of stuff, shots, gauze etc. yesterday. Boy, you are not kidding about the needles! I'm supposed to take my last bc on 4/3 and start shots on the 8th of April. I also started accupuncture on Monday. I'm trying to stay focused and positive. I also quit smoking cold turkey a couple of weeks ago. My fingers rae used to holding a cig, that maybe if I start knitting it'll help me. Well, you are a few weeks ahead of me with your cycle. It's my first and only chance. Hopfully good things come to the both os us this time.