Hi ladies,
I am due to start my first ICSI cycle in February, and was wondering from your experiences when did you find it most helpful to have time off work? Did you need a couple of days to recover from egg collection? And was it helpful to have some time off after transfer, or go straight back to work for the distraction?!
Any advice gratefully received 🙂 xx
Hi Babysteps22, I had my first ICSI cycle in November. My egg collection was on a Friday, so had the weekend. The transfer was on the Monday, took Tuesday off and went back to work on the Wednesday but it was so stressful being back at work, I then took 3 weeks off, 2 initially. The doctors say it’s fine to go back, distraction is good but I was worried about the stress levels as have a v busy, stressful job. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer, just what it right for u. Best of luck 🤞 xx
Thank you for replying, that's really helpful xx
I also took the tww off because I have a very stressful job and found my manager unsupportive. I will do this again for my next cycle. If you take time off just try and plan some things to do so that you don’t have too much time to Google every little twinge! All the best xx
Thank you for your reply. I hadn't thought about taking a few weeks off but I think I might do that xx
1 Day off for retrieval and 3 days off after transfer.
Thank you for replying, it's really helpful to see what others did xx
I’ve been through 2 rounds of ICSI and actually found the 5 days between egg collection and transfer the toughest! I took 2 days with egg collection and just the day off for transfer. I worked the 2WW both times as I think I would have gone mad if I didn’t have distractions, also try and book yourself something nice to do whether it be a beauty treatment or nice meal in being busy with things you enjoy helps it go faster and relax a little bit.
Good luck xxx
Ooh thank you for this, I love the idea of a having little treats to help the time go. This is super helpful, thank you xx
We had no choice but take time off after egg collection as we had to isolate between EG and transfer, so do keep this in mind. I was glad for the time off after EG as I did feel a bit of pain.
Ahh yes of course, thank you for this, so much to consider! Xx
I have had several rounds of ivf and as times gone on my stance has changed on taking time off but it’s really down to the individual and if you work, the sort of job you have. For my upcoming ivf, I will have off the egg retrieval day, then will work between day 2 and day 5 (as I can’t bare the wait of embryologist calls so need a distraction). Then the day of transfer I have off as has acupuncture before and after and thereafter I tend to work as a distraction. This is much easier as I’m working from home but if you need to commute then you might want some more “feet up time”. In between, I will also have some nice things to look forward to i.e dinners out, pedicure, reflexology, new tv series to watch etc. With Covid it’s super tricky to plan too many things outside of your home but the process is a lot to go through so you need rewards throughout!
Best of luck x
Thank you so much for your reply, that's all really helpful advice 😊
I should also add, hopefully you won’t get OHSS but if you did, would need time off after retrieval so it’s always best to be as open with work as possible. I tried to hide this at the beginning but it added more stress to the process!
Ahh yes I've been told I'm at risk of this due to high AMH but have been open with work so they're aware. But yes hadn't actually considered needing time off for this! Thank you xx
Hi I personally only take one day off for egg retrieval and transfer. With regards to the 2WW, work for me is usually a welcome distraction but I have been working from home so it has been manageable.
However, during my last 2WW, I was coincidentally off work as I had handed in my notice and my references for my new job was delayed. My start date was pushed back but I did not mind as we were moving house so there was lots of packing to do! This was the round that I had my BFP!
I agree with others, it is up to personal preference and how stressful your job is. I personally don’t think stress impacts on the outcome but it is definitely a personal choice!
All the best with the rest of your journey
Thank you for this, I think I'm leaning more towards working as a distraction as my job isn't too stressful. Congratulations on your BFP xx
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