Hair bleaching, nail varnish etc during IVF

[ChloeL934]

Hi all,

So hopefully next year me and my husband will be starting IVF, just want some advice/ experiences etc as I have no idea what’s to come, of course I’ve read up but I wanted to hear some personal stories.

I have endometriosis, I have a cyst on each ovary, that I’m aware of at the moment, I have a scan this month, my husband has sperm issues, 12 million count & low morphology 1% also has a varicocele which the hospital has said isn’t big and shouldn’t be the cause of problems, however he gets pains sometimes that are quite bad. Should I be asking for another visit and another check on this?

I was suppose to have surgery to remove the cyst 5cm in May but of course due to circumstances that was cancelled I’m now questioning myself whether I should have it or not or just go straight to IVF.

Also I’ve seen something about bleaching of the hair and nail varnish is something we shouldn’t do during IVF does anyone have any advice on this?

Sorry for the long post x

[Nat246]

Hi Chloe I can’t advise on all, but nail varnish has some strong chemicals in that you don’t want to be adsorbing whilst preparing for a baby x

[ChloeL934 in reply to Nat246]

Thank you for your help xx

[Hidden]

Hi chloe, I would recommend that you get the cyst done before you start IVF. I had polyps and they wouldn’t start before this was removed as they advised anything like cysts/polyps should be removed before starting as could impact implantation. I had mine removed in Jan privately as I got covered through my work health insurance and then started IVF in Feb. I’d had 3 miscarriages prior to this and my consultant advised that it might have been down to my polyps however as with miscarriages they can never tell what causes it. I was very lucky that the IVF worked for us first time and now 19 weeks pregnant with a little girl. Good luck and hope it all works out for you 🤞

[ChloeL934 in reply to Hidden]

Hi,

Yes that was my thought. Removing the cyst to give myself to best possible chance. Ahh wow!! Congratulations wishing you all the best xx

[Hidden in reply to ChloeL934]

Thank you ☺️

[KiboXX]

I’ve never stopped getting my hair or nails done during IVF treatment. Honestly it’s a stressful process and you have to sacrifice so much already, try not to overthink it. If it’s safe to do when you’re pregnant, which both of those are, it’s not going to affect your treatment xxx

[ChloeL934 in reply to KiboXX]

Thank you. I think I needed to hear this. I’ve been stressing myself out, thinking what can I actually do, it’s like you’ve got to give up so much, which I would of course do in a heart beat if it meant having a baby. Xx

[KiboXX in reply to ChloeL934]

Exactly! I’ve done four rounds of IVF and I can honestly tell you, my second one where I gave up everything and did all the things the books tell you too, acupuncture, fertility diet etc etc was my worst round of all. I think being relaxed and as least stressed as you can possibly be given what you’re going through is so much more important and has a much bigger impact on your body.

You’ve got this 💪🏻❤️ xx

[Hidden]

If he has a varicocele he should get a DNA fragmentation or a COMET text. High sperm fragmentation really impacts IVF x

[Ivfirsttimer20]

Just as I was about to start my ivf cycle they found a cyst and had to check it before they let me take the stims etc. It disappeared in a few day’s and we carried on without a hitch.

I have a feeling they may not let you proceed with the stims if there is a large cyst present! Good luck xx

[Jkay45]

Hi Chloe, Do you know if they are chocolate blood filled cysts. I also have endo and I have a endometrioma(chocolate cyst) on my left ovary. It didnt cause any problems with the IVF, they managed to get eggs from that side and it didnt interfere at all. My husband also had some issues and he had a DNA fragmentation test done to check the sperm DNA, it came back high which is bad so we ended up going with ICSI. Im waiting my test results today so not yet sure of the outcome. In relation to nail vanish and hair dye, my clinic told me to check with the hairdresser etc and if its safe when your pregnant then the same goes for IVF.

Wishing you the very best of luck xx

[Emma_f in reply to Jkay45]

Hi jkay45,,,,

It’s really good to hear your endometriosis didn’t affect your response to ovulation stimulation

Mine did affect it a lot and I responded badly on both attempts,,,now my doctor advised we use donor eggs since my husband Sperm count is great,,,,I struggled to accept it but what choice do I have,,,,Am starting the process next circle

May it end in praise for us all

[London_Lady1]

Hi Chloe I can't comment on most of your questions, but as someone who is 4 days into her 2 week wait (fingers crossed) after her first cycle of IVF the embryologist was very firm on nail varnish, hair dying and anything scented e.g. moisturiser, perfume etc.

She requested I didn't have any of this anywhere near me (of my hubby) for egg collection and embryo transfer days. I only had 4 follicles grow (low reserve), but we still managed to get 3 high quality Blastocysts so fingers crossed.

So I would suggest you avoid this stuff for the 2 most important days of an IVF cycle.

Good luck!

[Lucylu_88]

Hi Chloe. Just came across your post and couldn't scroll without replying. I had an endomitrioma on each ovary and had them both removed (via laparoscopy) before my ivf went ahead. My partner had a low sperm count as well. We had icsi. I got pregnant on my first cycle and now have an almost 2 year old little girl. I was really worried about dying my hair and couldn't find any information about whether it was ok or not. In the end I waited until I was about 16 weeks and did dye it. I didn't paint my nails but did have gel nails when I was about 20 weeks.

Wishing you all the luck in the world with your ivf.

XX

[ChloeL934 in reply to Lucylu_88]

Thank you so much & congratulations xx

[ChloeL934]

Ahh thank you so much! & congratulations xx

[Sorax]

I had acrylic nails with gel the whole time I did ivf even for my transfers and retrieval’s and was fine I guess it depends on your clinic too 🥰