1st IVF cycle success

[Loubalouba]

Hi

We are about to start IVF treatment, starting with the scratch at the end of March. Has anyone had a bfp on their 1st IVF cycle? I know I shouldn't be thinking so ahead but I just pray it works! We have conceived once about 1.5 years ago but ended in early mc, does this mean our chances are increased?

What can we do to increase the chance of it working? We are both on these fertilisan n tablets and trying to eat better etc and I am going to have hypnotherapy during the treatment but I just wondered if there was anything else ?

Many thanks

Lou

 

[Browneyed Girl]

I had a bfp on my first ICSI cycle I had a mc nearly 3 years before starting treatment and a chemical a year before. I don't think you are any more likely to have a mc if you've only had one.

Thinking positive can only be a good thing - it can and does work for lots of people whether on the first go or not. There were a few things I did during treatment and afterwards that may have helped - I've posted it before so I'll find it and post it for you xx

 

[xxcharliexx]

Mine also worked first time. I got OHSS through the drugs and waited 3 months for embryo transfer but had it drug free and got a positive 3 days after transfer.

We booked a lil break away for after transfer so I had something to focus on. I was negative about it working as didn't want to get my hopes up but it actually worked! I stopped all tea, coffee and fizzy drinks, eat healthy and kept away from baths and any heat to my abdomen area. Also didn't do any lifting for 2 months before Ivf and haven't since

Wishing you lots and lots of luck xxx

 

[Loubalouba]

Thank you for your replies ladies x

Why Charlie did you stop lifting? I am a vet nurse so I have to lift heavy dogs regularly and wondered about this after transfer, does lifting affect the embryo ? And why no lifting before IVF ? I have hot baths so I will stop that xx

Brown eyed girl I look forward to your post, it's good to hear positive stories and some tips!

Thanks

Lou

 

[xxcharliexx]

I definitely would not lift after transfer. You can lift before I just wanted it all to be perfect in there and didn't want any damage so I just took it extremely careful before hand. Once your transfer is done you act and eat like your already pregnant. So I certainly wouldn't lift. Do work know your having it? I work in a sports centre so normally would do a lot of lifting of equipment, as soon as I told them what was happening they worked around it all so I could take it easy. Xx

 

[Browneyed Girl]

Sorry it's taken me a while to copy this over! I agree with the no lifting - the hospital advised this after transfer and also no hoovering etc and I'm still sticking to this now lol (it's oh's job now!)

We did quite a few things differently as we both felt if we were going to do it we might as well research it and find out anything we could do to improve our chances. It's only a few weeks out of your life after all. Having said all the things we did were small things that were easy to do.

Things we both did:
- we gave up alcohol completely a few days before starting treatment
- had a no caffeine rule including chocolate although we did have decaf tea which contains a tiny amount but I need tea lol.
- my oh continued to take the vitamins he had been taking for a while through ttc which had really improved his sperm count and motility anyway (wellman conception, zinc, vitamins c, d and e) and I continued to take folic acid and vitamin d.
- made an effort to eat more fruit and veg

That was it for my oh so nice and easy. I did a few other things as well:
- wore a thermal vest every day to keep my tummy warm
- thick tights every day to keep my feet warm as they are always cold and also used a hot water bottle on them at night (Chinese medicine believes the feet are linked to the womb and cold feet = poor blood flow)
- drank 2 litres of water a day
- ate a few Brazil nuts every day
- extra protein during stims - I'm veggie so this meant eggs, lentils, beans etc
- switched to scent free shower gel and body moisturizer as I'd read this can help put the body in acceptance mode for transfer (embryos don't like scent either) and no perfume for the same reason
- made sure I at least went out for a little walk each day on the days I was at home eg before and after transfer
- downloaded the Calm meditation app and listened to it regularly
- read the IVF section of a positive thinking book (this is the book a lot of the ladies are now talking about - I'd read the whole book about 18 months before and found the visualizing and connecting with your body idea helped with positivity)

I figured that any of these things may help a tiny amount and together they could make the difference so worth trying and as you can see nothing drastic anyway.

Hope this helps xx

 

[Blueflower]

That's interesting about the hoovering! Is it because of the stretching?

 

[Browneyed Girl]

That's interesting about the hoovering! Is it because of the stretching?

They didn't explain why and tbh I was quite happy to go along with it so accepted it without question! I think it's to do with the weight more than anything, I've got a Dyson and it is heavy.

 

[xxcharliexx]

I think it's the movements, hoovering can be quite awkward and without realising can push and pull on that area. Plus some are heavy. Xx

 

[Loubalouba]

That's really helpful and interesting thank you browneyedgirl ��xx