Well, since I’ve been through IVF 6 times (3 of those were frozen cycles) and I noticed a LOT of people heading down that path, I thought I’d share some of my best advice when going through IVF.
- Do acupuncture as much as possible (or as much as you can afford) through the cycle, especially the day of transfer. *I believe this helped me tremendously with stress throughout all my cycles!
- Use a visualization CD specifically for IVF. It will help you meditate and visualize the inner workings of your body. It helped me feel calm and ready to accept the challenges of the cycle.
- Eat Organically. It will help keep your body the healthiest during this taxing time.
- Accept that there are so many parts of the cycle that are out of your control.
- Bring something to occupy yourself during office visits. Your anxiety could get the better of you if you’re stuck waiting hours for your appointment. *I wish I had my And.roid phone then!
- Don’t compare your cycle with others. You don’t have the same eggs, sperm, hormones, body, and doctors! Every body and every cycle is different!
- Make time for your self throughout the cycle. You will NEED some “me” time away from your cycle, your work and the stress of it all.
- Make time for your significant other. Together you will need to connect on many levels and support one another throughout the cycle.
- It’s okay to say “No” to gatherings, extra duties asked of you and other commitments that may interfere with your cycle and your emotional well being.
- From @chasingamiracle (who recently had her baby girl): “Expect the unexpected.”
- From @braving_ivf says: “Ice and/or use benzocane wipes before injections.”
- Vent whenever you need to through journaling or blogging or with others online or in person that can relate or (at best) with those that can just listen without unwanted advice.
- And perhaps my biggest piece of advice (although it sounds incredibly clichéd) is to take the cycle one day at a time. Don’t get too caught up with details like your follicle growth, how many eggs they’ll get, if they’ll be good quality, if they’ll find enough sperm, how many will fertilize, if you’ll do a day 3 or day 5 transfer, if you’ll even get pregnant at all…it can be so overwhelming! I made the mistake of always thinking about the whole cycle. But when I started to break it down and get through small parts, each day, it was like little victories that helped me get through it.
What advice do you have? Chime in and I’ll add it to the list! Thanks for stopping by! Happy ICLW!! 
Really loved your stress free infertility blog and the advice & tips for those going through IVF.
Have added you to our fertility blog roll on our fertility blog http://www.uk-fertility.co.uk under infertility advice & IVF
Kind regards
@adtuk
Great advice! I especially like #9 – even now, two years later, I look back and am amazed at what an emotional time it was during our first cycle. As we prepare for cycle #2 I’m trying to remember that fact and make sure we try to lay low to maintain our emotional well-being.
I completely agree with the taking the time for each other portion. We took a little mini-vacation to just enjoy each other before our IVF cycle and I’m so glad we did. I agree with pretty much everything actually!
I will say that I always did diets (organic, etc) and acupuncture with all my pre-IVF treatments. I decided to just eat what I wanted, enjoy myself, and never go to acupuncture other than CD1. It was awesome not worrying about those things and if they would help or not, but I think it depends on the person. I love treats and feel miserable eating all organic stuff and also acupuncture was expensive and not conveniently located so it was more stress to fit it in along with the treatment itself, working full time, and having two foster kids.
And I 100% second the ice before the shots, very important!!
Great list, I am hoping to embark on my IVF journey in the next month or so. I plan to keep this list handy and hope for the best, a healthy baby!
Thanks.
That’s fantastic advice, thank you so much! I’m up to Cycle#3 (all fresh, no frosties) and I’m always jumping the gun and thinking about the cycle as a whole. Perhaps I am best just to take it one day at a time to reduce the stress! And yes, I am always comparing my cycle with others (TICK!) I have been doing acu and trying to eat healthy but gave in and had a large flat white this morning (coffee) and now I feel guilty! Haha. Anyway, thank you and I will be following from now on!
ICLW#10
Thank you for posting this. I am one of those people whose next step is IVF…my hubby and I are currently debating when we should explore that option. This post really gives me perspective. It is such an intimidating thing and helps to hear the viewpoint of the strong women who have been through it.
What a great blog you have, I’m sorry I haven’t read it earlier. That’s great IVF advice too, I am also a big believer in taking things one day at a time. My husband worries about things such as whether our baby will be healthy and things like that are so far away in the future that they aren’t funny because we aren’t starting our next IVF cycle for a couple of months. But I don’t worry about these things, I take it just one step at a time and go from there. I find it much less overwhelming that way.
Happy ICLW and thanks for adding me to your blog list. Kim
I think it is *really* important not to get wrapped up in diurnal happenings of the cycle…number of follies, size, E2 levels, etc. These things are all out of your hands and you have to trust that your doctor knows best. After it is all over, then you can dissect….but during…I find that it just stressed me out. I learned the hard way…my last FET the embryologist told us RIGHT b/f transfer that one embryo didn’t survive and the other didn’t look too hot. I freaked. I sobbed during the entire transfer and for the better part of two days. The cycle didn’t end up working and I attribute a lot of that to my emotional state. This cycle I am practicing ignorance is bliss and hoping for the best. Of course, everyone is different, but it is working for me!
This is great advice for someone who is approaching our first IVF cycle. I will definitely make note of the ice suggestion as I hate needles and am really dreading them. I did a few months of acupuncture when we thought we could get pregnant without intervention and really enjoyed the de-stressing effects. Maybe I will look into that again.
Thank you Mrs. McVicker for your kind words on my blog, and by the way, your blog made me break open the wrapper on my CD called Meditations for IVF, which in over 2 years I have never touched.
Awesome!! Thanks everyone! I’m so glad this post helped so many!!