Time off work for ivf: Trying to plan... - Fertility Network UK

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Time off work for ivf

Purplewave profile image
13 Replies

Trying to plan ahead a bit and wondered how much time off work people typically need during a round of IVF? We have to book our annual leave for the year in advance and I'd booked a week off at the start of May but I'm thinking that maybe I should cancel it and save the days for time needed off during treatment. I'm sure everyone's different but if anyone is able to give me a rough idea of how much time I might need to be taking off it would be really helpful, thanks.

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Purplewave profile image
Purplewave
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13 Replies

In terms of appointments it will vary, I managed those within my day and just made up time where I needed to rather than booking time off. I treated them as hospital appointments so felt I shouldn’t need to book annual leave. Also there are a lot of appointments!

Actual days off I took off was my egg collection as planned sickness but then booked the day following as annual leave as that was more I felt I needed it rather than was ‘sick’. And I also booked a week off at the end of 2 week wait. You might feel that you want time at different points, that was just what worked for me. It will be hard to prebook for definite far ahead as your egg collection date can change but you could book some rough dates when you start your cycle.

Hope that helps x

C-a-t-m-u-m profile image
C-a-t-m-u-m

Appointments should be treated like any other medical appointments so your work should allow you the time to attend. I had a week off sick after my egg collection, so glad I did. My boss knew I was having IVF and told her I needed a week. I am so lucky as she’s been amazing and told me to take what I need. Other than that took test day as a days holiday. All the best x

Ivfgotadream profile image
Ivfgotadream

I only took a day off for the egg collection and transfer. I had all my scans scheduled for 730am scans then carried on to work. I’m not one for sitting around the house dwelling on things so best to keep busy

LCharlton profile image
LCharlton

The key problem is that the timings become so unpredictable so you do need flexibility. Personally I take the day of egg collection off and the day after, plus the transfer day. For scans and so on, I just work round the appointments.

Ariel24 profile image
Ariel24

It’s difficult to book time off in advance as you can’t know for sure when things will be but for me, we’re on our third round and I’ve gone with egg collection as sickness day, I’ve worked today (day 1) just because I had meetings I could cancel if I wanted to and I’m working from home but I would recommend having today off really just in case the call you get post egg collection isn’t what you’d like to hear - when we’ve had bad news with other rounds I’ve been glad of the day off!

I’m going to potentially book transfer day off depending on the time of transfer - if it’s morning then I’ll book the day off but if afternoon I’ll work the morning.

I think I’ll also book the last 3-5 days of the ttw off this time - I haven’t done this before but when I started to bleed during this time in the last round, I was really upset and ended up cancelling a couple of meetings last minute which I hated doing because I felt I was letting people down. So this time I might avoid that by taking off a few days before test day!

Hope that helps

PenguinBlue profile image
PenguinBlue

It’s definitely up to you, I always took time off when the appointments ramped up (toward the end of stims), egg collection and transfer - this ended up being 2 weeks. My work gave me 5 days of special leave for fertility treatment so I used that in conjunction with annual leave. I also did a cycle where I took 2 weeks as sick leave. It depends what works best for you, your GP should be fine signing you off if you aren’t comfortable telling work you’re having treatment. Z

Nala_01 profile image
Nala_01

I tend to book the whole 2ww off. I know some people prefer to keep busy and there’s no scientific reason to put your feet up but I do.

My first cycle I went back to work 4dp5dt and started spotting at work.. totally broke down (I now know spotting is very common!). That cycle actually resulted in a bfp which sadly ended in a missed miscarriage . Another cycle I was in bed for the 2 weeks resulted in a bfn. For me it hasn’t made a difference.. but they do say you should rest for 24-48hrs after transfer.

As for appointments prior to ec/transfer id say try to work around them to save up your holidays.

It’s so hard with work, especially if you can’t work from home or “nip out” for a couple of hours. My boss is lovely but sometimes they act like fertility treatment is a choice and isn’t like a normal appointment 😡 you just have to stand your ground, you shouldn’t have to use up your holiday.

It’s much easier to plan your dates with a frozen cycle. Good luck! X

XOXO13 profile image
XOXO13

Hey, I’ve taken various time off with each of my three transfers. For appointments and check ups I just took the hours out of work as it’s considered a medical appointment which like anyone, we are entitled too.

For egg collection, I took day off retrieval plus the following day as sick as it’s done under general and you’re supposed to rest for 24hrs.

For my first fresh cycle, I took 8 days of annual leave following transfer but then it ended in a BFN and I got sick coming off the meds so ended up taking a few days sick leave on top of it.

For my second transfer (first frozen), I took transfer as a medical day and then four days as annual leave. I then took two further days of annual leave for testing and again it ended up with a BFN. When I came off the meds, I was sick again so ended up taking a few more days sick leave as requested by my doctor.

For my third transfer (second FET), I took four weeks unpaid leave. I made this decision because I was feeling anxious and exhausted, I couldn't handle the long days and back-to-back meetings with work and I wanted that time for me. It was the best decision I made. I took a week before transfer and three weeks after. This transfer ended in a chemical pregnancy so I’m glad I’ve had just over a week to let that set in. I’m due to return to work Monday and already feeling really anxious about it because I know I’ve got to go through this again.

As a next step, I’m asking work if I can reduce my hours mainly to help me find my spark again and give me some breathing space. This journey is incredibly stressful and if you feel you have an intense, busy job that requires your full attention, it can be quite overwhelming for some. Others find it a distraction to work, whereas I just don’t.

You have to do whatever is right for you... even if you want to play it by ear and see how you feel. If you can manage work then great but if you’re feeling stressed and anxious and can take a step back then do it.

Best of luck 🍀 xx

Purplewave profile image
Purplewave

Thanks so much everyone for sharing your experiences- that's really helpful. Up to now I've managed to work around appointments but I know that when the cycle starts it's not always going to be possible.I've got a copy of the policy from HR today and they're policy is that time off for ivf treatment has to be taken as annual leave unless you work the time back, which seems a bit rubbish.

I think I'm going to speak to my manager about the best way of managing it as I don't want to use lots of annual leave for ivf and then not have any time off just to relax and do nice things, when as you said xoxo13 it's a really stressful time anyway and time off to relax and do other things not related to ivf seems so important.

Thanks for all being so helpful, it's so good to hear other people's experiences who are actually going through it x

BBHH1 profile image
BBHH1

You need to do many monitorings in the mornings during the cycle. But if the clinic and work are close that is fine. The days you really need off are the day of the retrieval and day after and the day of the transfer, if your job is not physical. Can lift weight and do heavy duty 5-7 days after retrieval or transfer. In most protocols the stimulation phase starts on day 2-3 of period and lasts for 8-14 days until trigger. The retrieval is 36hours after trigger. Transfer after 3-5 days of fresh. So if you are doing fresh I think it makes sense to take days off from retrieval to transfer. Hope that helps!

Purplewave profile image
Purplewave in reply to BBHH1

Thanks that's really useful. I'm definitely going to have to speak to my manager as part of my job involves moving and handling with patients and I hadn't even considered not being able to do that for a few days. I'm sure they will be able to accommodate that but it's definitely useful to know so thankyou x

Purpledoggy profile image
Purpledoggy

Are you able to cancel holiday nearer the time? You aren't going to know exactly which days or even weeks you need off until about a week or two before egg collection, and even then things like transfer day will change last minute. If you are able it would be better to block book 'maybe' days well in advance then you can decide nearer the time whether to take them. I have to do this at work as we can only have two people off per day in our team, and several people work part time, so in reality only one person can be on holiday at a time. I reserve a few weeks well in advance so others don't book holiday then (they know I am going through IVF and are understanding about this - better that than need to take days off last minute when we could end up short-staffed and on the shit!). xx

Purplewave profile image
Purplewave in reply to Purpledoggy

That sounds like a great idea thanks! I'm definitely going to suggest that to my manager as I think that would work xx

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