First IVF consultation tomorrow. Any advice?

[MissN]

We have our first IVF consultation tomorrow and should be starting next week. We have just completed 3 rounds of IUI with no success. I have been told that IVF is a lot more intense?

I had a scan last week, they were a little concerned about how many follicles i was producing. I though it was a case of the more the better but apparently not??

We have unexplained infertility so hopefully IVF will be able help answer these questions.

Is there anything in particular that is important or I should ask in the consultation tomorrow?

Any advice would be great xx

[MissSaoPaulo]

Aw, best of luck for next week!!

They may be worried about hyperstimulated ovaries if they're concerned you have a lot of follicles. It can be pretty uncomfortable as your ovaries get very large and sensitive. Hyperstimulation would also mean you would have to freeze the embryos and wait and do a FET (frozen transfer) as if you were to get pregnant before they have calmed down it can cause complications. If you get embryos that make it to 5 days (blastocysts) they survive freezing and thawing very well and the preparation for a frozen transfer is much easier on your body than the stimulation for egg collection.

Everyone has a slightly different drug protocol and different reactions to the stimulation. My experience was not bad at all but I wasn't very well after egg collection and I would strongly advise organizing a day or two off work afterwards.

I would ask about whether the drugs come already dosed in a syringe and if not if they can show you how to administer them properly as I had to mix my own and it was quite nervewracking at first. I wish I'd known that beforehand!!

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Again, best of luck with your journey!!

[Tugsgirl]

The more follicles the more likely you’ll be at risk from overstimulation (ohss) so that will be closely monitored throughout your treatment. It is quite intensive but once you start it all happens so quickly. Good luck for ivf xx

[Spangle84]

Hey, good luck with your cycle. I’ve had 2 rounds of IVF now and each one is different. You may have some general side effects to the stimulation drugs such as tiredness, headaches etc but I found until nearing egg collection when my ovaries were big and heavy I was ok and only suffered an occasional headache which extra water cured. I have polycystic ovaries (not PCOS) which means I have a lot of follicles. I had 34 eggs first round and 24 the second where they tried to get less as it’s a quality vs quantity balance. They are wary of OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome) risks with lots of follies. I’ve been lucky and only had really mild version each time and each time I’ve been able to have a fresh embryo transfer despite a big egg haul. If you do have a lot of follies then absolutely book a few days off after egg collection as we suffer more than the norm with the aftermath of that! It settles in a few days though and I’ve never needed more than paracetamol and a couple of days sofa bound. It can be an intense process but if you try to focus on the outcome it does actually go quite quickly! Good luck to you and happy to answer any questions you have