Starting IVF in January

Hey N. -
My husband and I went through a few cycles of IVF. We got pregnant the first time with our son, who is now 2 years old. Then, we tried two more times with some of the frozen embryo's and it didn't work. We finally decided to go back and try 1 more time and we got pregnant right away with twins (who are due in Feb/Mar of 2010).

IVF can be a little bit of a roller-coaster but you will do yourself a favor to be as relaxed and realistic about the process as possible. Follow all of the doctor's orders! We had a great dr (Dr. Bocca at the Jones Institute) and we were always really well-informed and well-cared for.

I am not sure what type of IVF you're going to do (we had the ICSI procedure). But, we wish you lots of luck.

My husband and I did our first IVF cycle in October of 2005 and we have a beautiful healthy three year old daughter. I knew that I was pregnant the first week after the implantation because I had been praying for a long time to have a healthy baby.

We also went through the gammut w/ clomid, 4 IUIs, then IVF. We were lucky enough to get pregnant on our first IVF and have 2 year old twins now! It took 3 years from start to pregnancy and it definitely is very stressful w/ all the shots, MD visits, and meds you are on. I also had accupuncture right before and after the transfer of embryos, which I feel was very helpful. It was in Rockville (near Shady Grove Fertility if you are going there; I can send you the # if you are interested). You are so young, be careful about having more than 2 embryos transferred (we had 2 and I was 34). I know 2 women now that are pregnant w/ triplets from IVF! Of my friends/acquaintances who have had IVF, all but 1 have gotten pregnant, although it has taken 3 tries for some, so keep positive! I know Shady Grove Fertility has a risk-free program where you pay one fee for up to several IVF tries. Good luck and I hope it works the first time for you!

Hi N.,

You are at a vulnerable time. If you can take off work while you go through this process do so. The stress levels are very high. It's best to pull the plug on anything that is aggravating to you, that way you can be calm, and hopefully not worry so much.

We tried a lot of stuff too, but to no avail. Our last hope was IVF. It didn't work.

I realize it has worked for many couples, but I did want to let you know that it might not work. I had high hopes and it hurt terribly. But, we had to work through our emotions. We had a great doctor who explained everything to us, and we knew the risk.

IVF is a tedious process. Taking shots around specific times, going back and forth to the doctor almost daily to get your eggs checked, then the implantation procedure, etc. The hardest part is being calm about the whole thing. Having a dear friend who is willing to listen to you talk about it helps a great deal.

I really hope this works for you. It didn't for us, but we are blessed today with an adopted daughter. She is more than I could have ever asked for. So, know there are other alternatives if this doesn't work. Also, getting a donated egg is costly and it may not take, so do your research before you spend that kind of money ($30,000 cash)

We did IVF to get my son, 1. We also tried just about all your methods, including 4 IUIs. IVF #1 worked for us. We implanted 2 and 1 took. They never found out what was wrong, but good news....we are now 5 months pregnant (with no assistance!)so the boys will be just less than 17 months apart. Sometimes, it's like your body figures out what to do.

We tried the same as you with multiple IUIs and a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Luckily our first IVF worked and we had b/g twins in 2001. I tried mindfulness meditation to reduce my stress during the whole process and had a support group of friends going through the same thing. I wish you success. It may take a couple of tries so try to be positive.

We went to Dr Asmar (Annandale, Va) in 1998 after 4 years of trying and had our son on our first IVF try. I learned how to give myself injections (it wasn't hard) and had to go for daily blood tests (which would determine the dosage of the shot I needed to give myself in the evening). After about 6 weeks of shots, we retrieved 13 eggs, my husband made his contribution and after ICSI we had 6 embryos. Because of my age (I was 36 at the time) we implanted all 6 and was fortunate with a healthy single child pregnancy. The 2 weeks of waiting between implantation and a blood pregnancy test was so agonizing. For awhile I was certain it hadn't worked, and then the test came back positive!
I almost hoped for twins, but was just as happy to learn it was one. To ensure I stayed pregnant, I took daily shots through the 1st trimester to try to make sure I wouldn't miscarry. (It ended up being a total of about 5 months of daily shots.) Once the 1st trimester was completed it was time to find an OB/GYN which I would stay with through birth. We found out at the 5 month sonogram we were having a boy. Throughout the whole pregnancy I tried to never look too far ahead. I was fortunate I never got morning sickness. I was concentrating on one stage at a time and each turned out perfectly normal. Our son was 9 lbs 1.5 oz delivered vaginally. We were/are happy with our son and decided not to go back and try for more. Good luck to you during this exciting time!

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Hi N.,

I also had difficulty getting pregnant. We did clomid, 3 IUI's and IVF. But we got pregnant on our first IVF cycle and have a beautiful almost 2 y.o. daughter.

Make sure your husband can go with you to learn how to do the shots. I had a jarful of candies (homemade caramels) to put in my mouth for the shots, but eventually was giving myself the belly shots. I also had to give myself a few shots in the thigh at work. I always iced down my gluteous before a shot, and if you bend the knee of the side on which you are getting the shot it is also supposed to help.

I thought retreival was the most uncomfortable part of the whole experience. And it really wasn't bad. But after they insert the embryos (my doctor was only willing to put in 2, and I totally understand that) you want to spend as much time as possible lying down. I bought a bunch of snacks beforehand, and had my husband put items in a cooler I kept by the bed in our guestroom. Then I only had to get up to use the bathroomm. I stocked up on magazines, books, etc. I also knit, so had some projects on hand for that.

Good luck!

K.