In-vitro fertilization (IVF) can be an intimidating process, but it is definitely manageable with the correct information and preparation. What can you expect during IVF stims? Long story short, a woman will undergo a series of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs. Many couples turn to IVF in attempts to conceive a child after being diagnosed with some sort of subfertility or infertility issue.
My situation is a bit different. I underwent IVF to preserve my fertility due to an endometrioma on my left ovary. (More about that here.) In this blog post, however, I document my personal IVF-stimulating cycle. While the reasons I underwent IVF may be different than others, the process remains the same. I’m here to share a play-by-play of my personal experience.
During IVF Stimulations…
You’ll start taking hormonal injections.
Duration: 2 weeks
Frequency: Daily
An IVF-stimulating cycle usually lasts about 10-14 days. Starting day 3 of my monthly cycle, I began taking daily hormone injections to stimulate my ovaries to produce more eggs. For almost 2 weeks (12 days to be exact) I injected 2, sometimes 3, shots into my belly. The first few nights were stressful. I learned how to mix my medications and administer the injections, and, eventually, the shots got easier. Once my follicles were the optimal size for retrieval, I then triggered my ovaries to ovulate on a specific day and time with (yup, you guessed it) even more injections into my belly.
You’ll be monitored more often than you’d like.
Duration: 2-3 weeks
Frequency: every 2-3 days
All throughout my cycle, I had several early morning monitoring appointments to track my progress. Every 2-3 days, the appointments consisted of vaginal ultrasound and a blood test to monitor the number and size of my follicles. This was the one part of the IVF cycle that most challenged me.
For starters, I’m not a morning person. These appointments were done prior to my work day between 6-8am. Second, my veins are garbage. Point blank, period. My veins are thin and small. My blood is thick and slow-dripping. It didn’t matter how hydrated I arrived, my veins did not play well, resulting in multiple sticks and a hell of a lot of bruising.
Initially, I was given a low dose of medications. I took them for 3 days and then we reassessed the gameplan. During that first ultrasound, the nurse practitioner warned me I might not see anything too remarkable. We were all pleasantly surprised to discover a good amount of follicles were already responding well to treatment and clearly visible on screen.
The next few ultrasounds and blood tests showed my hormonal levels increasing, but follicle growth slowing. I had a lot of little follicles (less than 10mm) and few eggs moving into their next growth category. Because of the frequent monitoring, that was an easy fix, though: the medications were increased and again my follicles really started to cook/grow.
You’ll trigger your body to ovulate.
Duration & Frequency: TBD by your medical team
When my follicles reached the appropriate size for egg retrieval, I then injected a “trigger shot” to induce ovulation. Do you want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans. This was the most depressing part of this IVF cycle.
What’s the biggest thing to expect during IVF stims? Expect the unexpected. I had a church retreat planned for the exact same weekend I was supposed to naturally ovulate. We had talked things over with my medical team. They all agreed I’d be cutting it close, but if I experienced a typical IVF cycle and responded well to meds, I could do it all and retrieve well ahead of the retreat… which most definitely didn’t happen.
I’m no medical professional, but I strongly believe those few days my body was slow to grow follicles cost us precious time and me my church getaway. That was a hard reality to swallow. I couldn’t even drive myself up for part of the experience because of all the early morning monitoring and shots left to take. There were real tears shed and expectations not met, but I have to trust and believe He knew what He was doing. God is always faithful, always working things out for our good, even when we are stubbornly shortsighted.
You’ll prepare for egg retrieval.
Duration & Frequency: 1 day, roughly 3 hours
About 36 hours after my trigger injection, I underwent a medical procedure to retrieve my eggs. When all is said and done, I spent roughly 3 hours from start to finish retrieving eggs. Report time depends on when the trigger shot was scheduled. I was due in the surgical suite at 6 AM for prep. Lucky me. (Note the heavy sarcasm.) I changed into my super sexy hospital gown and took extra strength Tylenol (under the care of my medical team) for post-op pain relief. An IV was started and I began a just-in-case antibiotic.
The next hour was spent meeting with each member of my care team: the anesthesiologist putting me under, the surgeon retrieving my follicles, and the nurse responsible for caring for me before and after the procedure.
You’ll finally harvest some eggs!
The last hour was devoted to egg retrieval and waking up from anesthesia. The procedure itself only takes 10-15 minutes. I waddled my way into the surgical suite with a nurse holding my IV bag. I was helped onto the gurney and a nurse positioned my feet in the stirrups while the anesthesiologist prepared to put me under. That’s all I remember! Next thing I knew, I was in my recovery room being monitored. For what happens after retrieval, be sure to check out the next blog post in this miniseries: What to Expect After An IVF Stimulating Cycle
ACTIONABLE STEPS: Got questions? I may have answers. Don’t be shy; say hi! I’m happy to help ease your mind. If you’ve gone through the IVF process before, share your own experience in the comments below. What should other women expect during IVF stims? Got tips and tricks? We’d love to hear them all!
