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Nope but know I pray for all daily on HB

No experience, but I'm cheering you on! You already sound like you have a great plan in place.

My mantra for infertility is, "Just keep swimming." I'm excited to see your BFP, too.

Hi and congrats on getting started.

1. I was maybe weird, but I wasn't particularly emotional about it during my cycle. I more felt relief that we were actually doing something productive. I was much more emotional during my medicated IUI cycles .... They couldn't get me to respond to any dosage of meds, and every ultrasound/blood draw was more bad news. With IVF, I immediately responded so I generally felt positive.

2. Acupuncture! Who knows if it helped, but man was it relaxing.

3. The daily injections didn't really bother me, but we did make lots of jokes about our apartment looking like a crack house with all the needles and vials and such. I did PIO injections until the end of my first trimester. At first, they were miserable, - my husband hit something (a nerve? I have no idea) that made it rather painful, but after a few weeks, I was so used to it, that I administered them mostly myself. My best tip is to roll the vial of oil between your palms for a minute to make it warm, inject slowly and then rub the area vigorously for a few mins afterwards. If the oil clumps under the skin (gross, I know), it forms lumps that kind of hurt.

Good luck

@FliegepilzHut: Thank you.I have nothing to really complain about. I get pretty tired, and as long as I eat regularly, I'm ok. Just some yucky feeling moments.

1. Yes. Obviously, the entire process of getting to the point of accepting that we would need to do IVF was one long emotional roller coaster. I was very frustrated because I felt like the testing took forever. Once we had a schedule for our cycle and got started, I was soooo happy to actually be doing something that the process itself was almost therapeutic. I did have a huge meltdown after my egg retrieval. I think it was a combination of all of the hormones I was loaded up on, feeling like I was leaving my future babies alone in the clinic for 5 days instead of in my body where they belonged, terror at the possibility that we wouldn't get any viable embryos, and - what pushed me over the edge - the unexpected news that I would need to do PIO shots (I had assumed that since they weren't in my initial shipment of meds that I was going to escape that fate). Thankfully, at that point, I didn't have much choice but to "muddle through."

2. My mantra was "One step at a time." I had to remind myself that I couldn't fix problems that hadn't occurred yet. I love yours, too! Leading up to IVF, I had taken up running and yoga, but I couldn't exercise beyond very gentle stretching and slow walking once I started stims. The breathing and meditation from yoga continued (continues!) to calm me through this whole experience!

3. I had a different strategy for each type of shot. I took the gonal-f pen out of the fridge to let it come to room temp before injecting it. I iced my belly for about 10 min before doing gonal-f and menopur. The gonal-f was so easy that the first time DH gave it to me, I didn't realize he had stuck me since I had my eyes closed. The menopur burned a bit when going in, but a bit of icing afterwards made it go away. When I started ganirelix, I kept the same icing routine, but the injection site was a bit itchy afterwards. Nothing I couldn't deal with - I just wore clothes that didn't have a waistband going across the injection sites.

The PIO shots were a different beast, and it took me a while to figure out what worked best: DH had to help me find the right spot to ice (it was always higher than I thought it would be). I iced for a good long while. He gave me the shot as quickly as he could, then massaged the whole area. I ended with a heating pad on the injection site. Once I had an ultrasound pic, I looked at that while doing the injections.

That sounds really high maintenance now that I've typed it out. But, I HATE HATE HATE needles and those routines worked!

The only other meds advice I have is to go through a full "dry run" at least 24 hours before you do the first injection at home. Watch the videos and double check that you have the right supplies. We realized that we were missing one type of needle and had to scramble the next day to get it on time.

Keep being excited and hopeful to see that BFP... it will happen! I'm looking forward to keeping up with your story!

@FliegepilzHut:

1) yes, I had a breakdown the first night of injections. I was scared and sad that this was what we had to do to have a baby and others didn't have to. But I bucked up and did it myself. After that I was more bloated and sore than emotional.

2) I have a Health Journeys Guided Meditation CD for infertility. I listened to it in my way to and from work each day. It helped me focus on the end goal and calm down.

3) I iced my belly before the sub-Q injections. I took Follistim and Menopur. I did one injection to the left of my belly button and the other to the right.

The Cetrotide needle was longer than the Follistim and the Menopur. I hated that one. Icing it before helped but I still felt it.

The PIO injections. DH did all of the IM injections (and still does currently). I ice the side for about 10 minutes, DH injects, then I use a heating pad on it for 5-10 minutes.

Good luck! I was surprised that the number of days for injections was less than what I thought it would be. It was over before I knew it. You'll do great!

1. I did not get more hormonal/emotional during my cycles but I can say that after doing multiple failed cycles my husband and I got very depressed. It was very hard on our marriage at times and can get very disappointing. Especially since it seems like everyone we knew was getting pregnant around us. But on a happy note, when I finally said to myself I'm gonna take a break after this cycle and we will just travel a lot, we got pregnant and now have twins!
2. I eventually did acupuncture and yoga for fertility which was offered by our clinic for free. I think it really helped me relax.
3. I agree with thisisme for all the shots, except I did not have to do Pio injections, I did suppositories.
Good luck and stay strong! And if you have a failed cycle its ok to take a break sometimes for your sanity!

I wAs for the most part less stressed during IVF because I knew I was actually doing something. I didn't get any more crazy than I did throughout the rest of IF (Clomid etc), but I did get uncomfortable toward the end and the retrieval was tough for me (anesthesia made me sick).

I did acupuncture to relax and it was huge! I went once a week including the after transfer.

The injections were better than I thought, but I didn't do PIO because they scared me. I did suppositories instead ( which are gross, but they worked).

Good luck!!!!!!

I am happy for you that you are getting started! I felt so much better once we got going with the process.

1) I actually find that I am much less emotional with the IVF than I was with my IUIs. I had an awful emotional reaction to the Clomid, and I have found that I don't have that same reaction with the meds I am on (Gonal-f, Menopur, Lupron). I also feel less stress. I had a really bad attitude going into my IUIs which probably wasn't the way to go into it, but I was just not in a good place. I am much better now.

2) I have been trying to do a lot of "fun" things. I have been seeing my friends more, planning fun activities for the weekends (beach, shopping, movies, etc.). I have also been going to acupuncture which helps with my stress immensely. I also think it helps with my side effects.

3) You should ask your RE, but mine lets me mix the Gonal-f and the Menopur into one injection which is nice. I line everything up that I am going to need before, and throw things out as I finish with them so that it doesn't get confusing.

1) i really didn't feel different or extra emotional until we got closer to retrieval and all of the stims were stacking up. our running joke is that IVF gave me "extra feelings" which is what i used to tell my husband was happening when i was extra emotional a few days.

2) i tried to keep my schedule as normal as possible, and to keep doing as many "normal" things as i always did. i made sure to make time to see friends and to go on dates and things to make sure that i still felt like "me" during all of it. i also scheduled all of my tests and scans for as early as my office could take me, that way i could get to work around normal time and keep a pretty normal schedule.

3) the injections were a little tough to start, but it was a gradual increase that i think made it easier. for me, i started with lupron, and then increased to the stims, and then ultimately the PIO, so once i got a handle on the lupron, everything else seemed like a little step up that was more manageable. also, with the PIO, i made sure that not only DH could do it, but also my mom and sister, so i can still go out to dinner with them and do things without DH without having to worry about being home at a certain time for a shot. and, i got myself a cute little makeup bag to keep shot paraphernalia in, because a cute bag sometimes makes everything a little bit better

@FliegepilzHut: Thanks! My Gonal-f is in a pen, but I inject it into my Menopur vial to cut down on one more. Ask your RE first, but mine recommended it.

We did 2 IUI's then went to IVF. We bought a 2 cycle package which included all frozen transfers also. We did one retrieval and fresh transfer which failed. We then did a frozen transfer which failed. We then took a few months off and since we didn't have any embryos left we did another fresh cycle which failed. We then waited a few months and did a frozen cycle and it worked!

@FliegepilzHut: Where are you in the process for starting your 1st IVF? I am glad you started this because reading through gave me a lot of advise and what to expect.

I am in very early stages, in a few days when I start my period I'll be getting my ultrasound and labs and then go from there. I have been doing acupunture for years and will def continue doing that. I also have a fertility yoga dvd so hoping to do that too.

@FliegepilzHut: Oooh great! I think the injections continue to get easier! I am so excited for you!

@FliegepilzHut: Yay for 2nd day of Lupron! How long will you be on it? I forget what you had said? A few weeks? So exciting that you are getting started now...hope the next few weeks fly by for you!