How I dealt with all the injections and hormones during IVF - Today's Parent (2023)

FAQs

How do you cope with IVF injections? ›

Most common side effects include redness of the skin over the injection site, headache and nausea. Adverse reactions include allergic reaction. Long term effects include bone loss in long-term users, not significant for the short courses used for IVF.

For some, there is some level of physical discomfort and even pain with IVF stimulation. Some medications may be in the form of injections that are self-administered daily, meaning there is often pain at the injection site and some anxiety if you are uncomfortable with needles.

The more painful shots are the progesterone shots, which you start doing midway through a transfer cycle, when you transfer a fertilized embryo into the uterus.

The most potentially painful part of undergoing IVF is the procedure to implant the fertilized eggs back into the uterus. Done a few days after egg retrieval, this feels like a smear test; not pleasant by any means, but nothing to be scared of.

Don't say:

“I'm so excited for you.” When someone is about to start a transfer or an IVF procedure. "I know it will happen for you; I just know it." "You can have one of mine (kids) if it doesn't work." "If you just relax & stop thinking about it, then it will happen."

One of the best things the male partner can do during IVF treatment is just to listen. Don't try to fix it, or suggest solutions, or comment. Just listen with empathy when your wife or partner needs to share her feelings or to vent. She doesn't hold you responsible for making things better.

If you have IVF, you have a slightly higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo implants in a fallopian tube rather than in the womb. This can cause pain in the tummy, followed by vaginal bleeding or dark vaginal discharge.

What are three disadvantages of IVF? ›

The IVF egg retrieval process starts with your doctor prescribing you a series of medications (usually shots) that aid your ovaries in producing multiple mature eggs at once. Retrieving multiple eggs will increase your chances of success because not all eggs will fertilize or develop normally after fertilization.

It's widely known that a woman is most fertile in her 20's. Studies show that women in their 20s and 30s have the most success when getting pregnant through IVF and other reproductive technologies.

It's not uncommon for women to gain a little weight during IVF treatments. Hormone injections can affect your weight and also your hunger levels (read # 4).

Compared with women who gave birth following fertility therapy, women who did not become pregnant after fertility treatment were found to have a 19 percent greater risk of cardiovascular events, particularly stroke and heart failure.

Choose Your Injection Site: It is most effective to go where there is fatty tissue and less sensitivity - we recommend the stomach (around or just below the belly button but more than one inch from the belly button) or the top of the thighs. Never inject the same spot more than once to prevent skin irritation.

A ventrogluteal site is the most commonly used and recommended site for IM injections in adults and children of walking age because of the large muscle mass. This site is located away from the superior and inferior gluteal arteries as well as the sciatic and superior gluteal nerves,⁹ and is also the least painful.

Because of the type of anesthesia that is used, patients do not feel any pain during the egg retrieval procedure. However, patients may experience abdominal cramping for a day or two after the procedure.

Most of the medications you will take during IVF are administered this way, usually with an injection pen. The sensation of this type of shot is generally a quick pinching type of sensation. Some medications may give a slight tingling or stinging sensation as they are injected.

IVF can be mentally, physically and emotionally painful. In many cases, one of the biggest complaints is bloating and pain some women face during the ovarian stimulation process, where hormones are injected to produce multiple eggs for retrieval.

How can I make IVF less stressful? ›

You may no longer feel control of your emotions, your moods or your reactions to things. Your body will change – bloating, cramping, abdominal bruising, food cravings, potential weight gain, breast tenderness, an inability to exercise normally leading up to and after egg retrieval – all take their toll.

Whether you're intense about your exercise or more relaxed, you should generally take it easy during your IVF cycles. We would recommend sticking to four hours or less of exercise a week.

If you don't share, you're not giving those closest to you an opportunity to show that they do actually understand, care or an opportunity to show support. Telling friends about infertility problems can help when potentially uncomfortable situations arise, such as baby showers or people making inappropriate comments.

Although IVF is often successful, the process can be stressful, isolating, and psychologically exhausting for many couples — the very thing that comes so naturally and easily to most others requires medical intervention, multiple rounds of treatments, and enormous dedication.

Continue a routine normal life as far as possible. As stated before, one should try to be as normal as possible after Embryo Transfer. Going for walks, going to work, doing the normal chores at home etc. are all recommended.

Some men note that they feel like not much more than a sperm donor throughout the IVF experience. “For a lot of guys, finding the time to get away from work and other commitments to accompany their partner to appointments can be quite challenging, depending on what industry they're in,” Dickinson says.

Research has found that undergoing the process of assisted reproduction or in vitro fertilization is linked to increased levels of anxiety, depression and stress hence, IVF can be mentally and financially draining and can lead to complex emotions like grief and guilt.

Going through IVF treatment can be a stressful process. This is because there are many factors contributing to the stress, including the time it takes, the loss of work, the cost involved, the strain on relationships, the effects of the medication and concerns about the process.

In which cases IVF is not successful? ›

Most fertility specialists believe that in more than 95% of IVF failures it is due to arrest of the embryos. Embryonic arrest is quite often due to chromosomal or other genetic abnormalities in those embryos that made them too “weak” to continue normal development and sustained implantation.

IVF isn't usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.

Risks associated with IVF and ICSI

an excessive response to fertility drugs (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome ) multiple birth (twins and triplets) premature labour and low birth weight. a small increased risk of birth defects compared with spontaneously-conceived babies.

Improved Chances of Conception

Because IVF is a highly controlled process that involves selecting and using only the most viable eggs, this treatment can dramatically increase a woman's chances of becoming pregnant beyond her 20s.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), is a possible complication of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this condition, the ovaries swell and fluid leaks into the body. This condition is more common in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who are going through fertility treatments.

Natural IVF is In Vitro Fertilization without the use of medications to stimulate ovulation. A Natural IVF cycle is timed with your ovulation cycle. Natural IVF is appealing because of the low risk, lower costs, and fewer injections and fewer office visits, which means less stress.

Depending on the course of specific treatment and cycle, a patient may receive up to 90 shots per cycle with a frequency of 1–2 injections per day.

If you're scared to do IVF, brainstorm rewards to motivate you through the process. A luxurious coffee order, a beautiful bouquet of flowers, or lunch with a friend can keep you focused along the way. Every successful subcutaneous and intramuscular injection is a reason to celebrate!

In the majority of circumstances, IVF injections don't involve much pain. At the same time, it's important to note that pain is subjective. It can vary from individual to individual. This means that someone who is more sensitive may experience a higher level of discomfort than someone who is less sensitive.

How did you feel after IVF trigger shot? ›

Side effects of the hCG injection will mimic pregnancy. Most commonly patients will complain of mild nausea, headaches, fatigue, breast soreness, irritability, abdominal bloating or uterine cramps. Local injection site irritation has also been noted more commonly with the uhCG.

The next, most common alternative, which can be effective and for those where regular ovulation is not the issue, is Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). This is also commonly referred to as artificial insemination and involves placing the male partner's sperm inside the woman's uterus.

Discuss ahead of time with your partner your hopes and expectations of each other during the cycle. Consider joining an IVF support group. Make your life as simple as possible. Avoid major decisions, life changes or high-stress work and family situations.

The 10-14 day waiting period between transfer and receiving the pregnancy test results is often described as the most difficult part of the cycle. Having had daily contact with your medical support staff during monitoring and retrieval, you suddenly are on your own after transfer and just have to wait.

This medication usually takes the form of injections. These injections can vary from one-two for the entire cycle, to one-two per day.

Hydration has even more importance for women undergoing IVF as drinking liquids will keep fluid levels in the female reproductive organs at healthy levels. Consuming liquids will also keep blood vessels hydrated and limit the potential dehydrating and toxic side effects of some forms of fertility treatment.

The woman will need daily injections to prevent early ovulation, and a small amount of gonadotropin to support the growth of the egg. There will still be ultrasounds and blood work to follow the development of the follicle.