5 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU’RE ON IVF
After five years of trying to conceive our first child we’ve ended up at the IVF stage of assisted reproduction. Who knew that all those years I worried about birth control I’d end up not being able to conceive naturally? Not me!
This is our first attempt at IVF and we’re currently about a third of the way through the cycle. No one in our inner circle has been through the experience so I’ve found I’ve relied heavily on the internet for information. I don’t know how people managed before the internet, I truly don’t!
In an attempt to help share some of the pearls of wisdom I’ve gleamed so far I’ve come up with my Five Things To Do When You’re On IVF. I’m positive that there are more, but these are just my five at the moment. It’s not an exhaustive list (nor am I an expert), but it’s a start.
Without further ado, here they are:
1. Water.
I cannot stress this one enough. When the Nurse handed over all of the medication and went through the strict regime of pill popping, nasal sprays and injections she said to me, “Drink a lot of water. The medication will take water from your body to help with the process and you’ll end up constipated if you don’t drink enough water. Drink at least two litres a day.”
I smiled and nodded at her, and then disregarded the advice. I know on a logical level that we should all drink at least two litres of water a day, but on a practical level I struggle to drink a litre of water a day. Even as I write this I’m eyeing off my arch nemesis the water bottle.
I started to take the medication as instructed and about five days into it I was struck by the thought that hadn’t had a bowel movement in at least two days. Not unusual for me, but it still gave me pause for thought. Two days after having that thought I realised something was not right in the state of the bowels.
I heard the voice of the Nurse in my head warning me of the dangers of not drinking enough water and I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough when there finally was movement at the station it wasn’t very fast nor was it very pleasant. So, please learn from my mistake DRINK AT LEAST TWO LITRES OF WATER A DAY or you’ll split your bottom!
2. Sleep.
Another piece of advise from the sage Nurse at our Clinic. She told me to get my sleep because the medication will take it’s toll and I’d need all the rest I could get to prepare for the upcoming procedures.
I know myself well enough to know that without the appropriate amount of sleep I’m a little “emotionally unpredictable”. Couple this unpredictability with the cocktail of hormones now pumping through my body and I’ve become a right firecracker.
Sometimes you need to just make yourself get the sleep time you need. Which is easier read then done. I’m still struggling.
3. Listen to Your Body.
Every man and his dog is going to have an opinion on what’s going on. Trust me. People you never knew had “medical degrees” will step forward from your circle of family and friends and start telling you all about what’s going on in your body, what’s going to happen and what you should be doing. Nod and smile and then IGNORE THEM. It’s your body and only you can really know what you’re feeling.
Pay attention to what’s going on with you physically and mentally and talk to the Nursing staff. That’s what they’re there for.
4. Follow the Instructions.
I believe myself to be a fairly competent person of the world, so I tend to trust my own intuition over reading instructions. So when I had to start using the Nasal Spray for the first time I thought, “How hard can it be?” and so I didn’t read the instructions.
This resulted in me not applying the spray correctly the first time I used it. Who knew that you should lean forward when spraying and then put your head back after spraying. Not me! Which is why most of the spray ran out of my nose and down my face. It also ended up running down the back of my throat. Not pleasant, nor attractive!
Now I read the instructions for everything! Sure, it might take a little longer and I might not feel as mentally superior but at least I’m not wasting my money by only doing a half arsed job of taking the medication.
On the positive side in the long term my new found instruction reading skills are going to really come in to there own, because if all goes according to plan I see a lot of flat pack nursery furniture assembly in my future!
5. Embrace your Loved Ones.
While at times it feels like you’re the only one going through this process remember you’re not alone. There’s often a partner, family member or friend in the wings feeling out of control, lost for ways to support you properly and worrying that they’re not being the perfect support person.
It’s more important than ever to talk to your partner, family and friends about what’s going on with you and how you’re coping. You don’t have to tell everyone what’s going on, but you should talk openly and frankly with your closest family and friends. It helps sometimes to be able to just vent about what’s going on and to see things from others perspectives.
It also helps provide some insight to them about why one minute you can be screaming, crying and cursing the world and the next minute laughing like a maniac and talking about how wonderful humanity is.
Image source: Getty
That’s my five recommendations for anyone embarking on the journey or maybe looking for more support while going through the process. I would LOVE to hear from anyone else that has positive recommendations for how to deal with the unnatural process that is IVF. I’m always looking for more information and I’m sure I’m not alone. So if you have some, just add a comment.
In fact, if you have any advice on how to deal with stressful situations, medical processes or how not to go insane I would greatly appreciate them!
Tomorrow I’m going to share with you my Five Things Not To Do When You’re On IVF. Some of them might surprise you…
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