hormones and IVF

hi Ladies

just wondering if any of you experienced IVF'ers can give me the real deal about how bad the hormone rollerecoaster gets when you're doing IVF. after 3 pregnancies/many months of breastfeeding i'm rather frightened/anxious about filling my system with hormones!! but clearly am chasing the dream! :)

bloating/weight gain ... similar to BCP or worse? how long does it last? i seem to remember someone saying it leaves your ovaries looking like a battlezone ... oh dear!

thanks for your time.

SP

I was very scared too.  In hindsight, it wasn't that bad.  The worst part for me was the financial gamble.  LOL

 The injections weren't as bad as I feared.  I did feel quite bloated and tender in my stomach, but nothing to complain about really.  I gained about 7 lbs cycling.  But I usually do that when I go on the pill anyhow and I hadn't been on the pill in a few years (was pregnant a lot) before cycling.  

 ER wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When the pain meds wore off, I was a bit sore and crampy, but 90% by the next day.  ET was a breeze.  

HTH  

Yeah, I really had no side effects, either from BCP, Lupron, stims or the meds after ET.

ER was a little painful, but that only lasts a few days.

My own mental stress was by far the worst part!!  lol

HTH,

GZ

thanks girls, appreciate you taking the time to share...

 so no crazy psycho PMT/PMS like stories then?

the financial thing is def crazy, but DH is the one who wants HT, not me...i'm a gambler, he's a techie and relies on numbers!!

I was wondering the same thing.  One of the dr.'s I consulted with said that none of his patients cancelled or dropped out of IVF b/c of the med's side effects but that some of the DH's wanted them to (meaning that the side effects weren't that bad but that they can cause mood swings).  He was trying to be funny!

I worry about the weight gain b/c no one knows about us doing any fertility treatments and no one ever will either.  I'm small to begin with so even 2 or 3 lbs. shows on me immediately.  I work full-time so I'd have to cover it up somehow, I guess, which is what I worry about simply b/c I don't want anyone to know what we are doing.

Any other stories?

ABC - I'm small too. 

I didn't gain any weight while on stims.

But watch out, because after ER, your abdomen may puff up quite a bit!  Mine did, and it lasted several weeks into the pregnancy.  Of course, by then, I was showing for real anyways.  So couldn't hide much for long.  lol

GZ

For me the emptional stress was the worst. I had very little side effects from the medication.

I didn't have any side affects.  You do get bloated b/c your ovaries are huge and there is a lot of fluid to go with all of those follicles.  It helped to drink a lot of water.  This will be the least of your worries, trust me.

 The only side effects that I had were from the estrogen patches and pills, and the BCP's.  I am sensitive to estrogen though and it is not the norm to feel like you are going to puke 24/7 while taking them.  LOL!  

I have no clue if I gained any weight or not.  I am chunky to begin with so if I did gain weight I didn't notice it, well and that was the last thing on my mind at that point.  Bloating, yes, but weight gain I have no clue.

I really have not had any side effects, and I have not been emotional at all. In fact, I've been eerily calm. (I'm on my last day of stims) I do feel very tired these past few days and have been trying to take it easy. When I first started Lupron, it did give me a persistant headache, but I only took Tylenol for it once. No weight gain so far, but in the past couple of days, my abdomen is a little swollen, which must mean the stims are working!!

I would not worry about all the meds. It's been much easier than I anticipated. HTH!

nuthinbutpink:

This will be the least of your worries, trust me.

Ok......would you please elaborate on this!?! 

No negative symptoms during stims, no weight gain...  I did have a reaction to the anesthesia they gave me during ER (but, I think that is rare).  I was definitely bloated for a while after ET (couldn't button my pants, but doubt anyone noticed...and I'm thin too...)  By the time I got my bfp, the bloating was gone.

Btw, dh didn't mention any unusual mood swings.  Take that however you will...

ABC123:

nuthinbutpink:

This will be the least of your worries, trust me.

Ok......would you please elaborate on this!?! 

 

LOL.  Just like when you have kids and it's not about you anymore...when you go through this, the worries are not about you anymore and turn to how the potential embies are doing...how many follicles do I have, how are they growing, how many will they get, how many will fertilize, how many will make it to PGD, how many will be normal, how many will be boy/girl...you following me?  IVF is not a walk in the park, the shots hurt, there will be some swelling and you will freak out at some point(or multiple times) during the process. It is stressful.  In general, the effect of the medication is at the bottom of the list of things to worry about going into this!  I think most people do fine with them, that's all I was saying.

My biggest side effects were the weight gain, and general nastiness. I am petite so the weight gain drove me crazy!! However, I syill did it over and over so obvously it wasn't that bad

Luvmyboys, how much are we talking here??

obviously this isn't going to make or break anything, just good to know!

I am v little, due to running around so much with 3 little ones...and 5 lb makes a v big difference!!!

Wow - think i'm going to have to have a yoga chill retreat before all of this kicks off  ;)