Advice about 2ww (long post, sorry)

[Giely]

Hi all lovely ladies,

I have been reading the forum for a couple of weeks when my IVF joirney begun. I'd like to make my first contribution by talking about the 2ww as I see it appears to be, by far, the most problematic part of the IVF process.

The 2ww is stressful not just during IVF, also when TTC naturally. Getting pregnant has its natural timelines and you cannot shorcut them. Every single woman trying to conceive undergoes the same rollercoaster waiting and we all have been there before, so I wonder why the impatience when using IVF...

Testing early ALWAYS adds more pressure to the ecuation, it's not going to help with your wellbeing or mental health, quite the opposite. If the result is positive, you'll have many doubts as you know deep down that the result can be influenced by the hormones from your trigger injection or it can be a chemical pregnancy. You will probably start testing compulsively to compare lines. If it's negative, you will be disappointed but you'll still have hope and think it is because it's too early...So it's always pointless and unreliable...ALWAYS!!!

Please, wait for the right time, allow mother nature to do its job...The implantation window is from day 6 to day 12 after fecundation, average day of implantation is day 9. The hCG surge starts soon after implantation (couple of days) but because the implantation window is around 6 days long, it is pointless to have a test before 14 days after fecundation. Period. Don't do it. This is not an opinion, is science.

I know this is a supportive forum and people try to help others by telling them how early they got a positive, or a friend, or somebody they know...And people doing this have best intentions, but the real support is to encourage people to NOT TEST EARLY. By not testing early, you demonstrate mental control, patience, maturity and understanding that nature has its timings and they cannot be rushed. All very valuable skills for motherhood. So take the 2ww as a moment to prove to yourself you are ready for what it's coming.

Pd. I am in the early days of my 3dt 2ww and I don't have this impulse to test. I know I will get impacient once the days pass by, but I am well aware of the process. I have read a lot and I am conciously making the informed decision based on data to not test earlier than my OTD (I will test 1 day before as my OTD is on a Monday and I'd like to have a whole day off work to digest whatever the result happens to be).

Good luck to everyone!

[Southoftheriver]

A very wise post x

[Sappheiros]

Thank you for writing this