Making Your IVF Shots Less Stressful

When my husband and I found out that we had to do IVF I was shocked, but I had had several friends go through it, so I knew it was doable. I had seen it work, and so I was hopeful, but I was also nervous. I found myself asking EVERYONE I knew who had done it how it went for them, what the timeline was like and if they had any tips for me. I wanted to be as prepared as possible and the one thing that terrified me the most was that I would mess up on my meds. That somehow I would do something wrong and all that time, effort, and, let’s be honest, MONEY was going to be wasted. I know that I am not the only one who has ever felt that way or who is currently feeling that way, so I thought I would share some tips that I felt gave the madness a method and made for a less stressful cycle.

• Tip #1: Get a calendar. Your office should provide one of these for you and if they don’t ASK for one! Make sure it is super detailed. Mine had the meds I needed to be taking everyday with the dose and time they needed to be taken. If your clinic provides one that is too vague, ask them to add in more details! You are paying a lot of money for this treatment and you deserve to be in the know and not be worrying about if you are doing 
  things right or wrong.

• Tip #2: As you take each med each day cross it off on the calendar. I didn’t do this at first and I had to start because life gets busy and then all of a sudden your driving down the road and you think “Oh my, did I take that med or not?!” Just save yourself the hassle and worry and cross it off after you take it.
• Tip #3: Create a space that’s just for your meds and organize them in a way that makes sense to you and makes grabbing what you need quick easy. For me, I had my needles in one cup, syringes in another, alcohol pads in a Tupperware, meds in a separate Tupperware and a special place in the fridge for those meds that needed refrigerated. Yes it made a small portion of my kitchen cluttered, but it made those early morning shots super fast and easy, which was so nice since I am one who is always running late for work.

• Tip #4: Keep an inventory of your meds. I would say every few days check and see how much you have left and then let your nurses know. There isn’t anything more stressful than realizing your going to run out of something before you can get more. However, sometimes last minute you end up needing more drugs than anticipated, if this happens don’t be afraid to ask your nurse if the clinic has any you can borrow. They are prepared for situations like this and it won’t be a problem to borrow some and then return them once you have ordered more.
• Tip #5: Buy Small Band Aids. I like the ones that are just little squares or circles. For me it was worth buying these instead of slapping a giant rectangular one on my stomach. I found them less irritating, and nicer to remove. You won’t need a band-aid every time, but occasionally you’ll hit a small capillary and it’ll bleed. Save your shirts and put a band-aid on.

I hope that maybe these tips make your IVF cycle as far as the meds go, go a little bit smoother and be a little bit less stressful. Just remember, if you have any questions ever at any point, don’t hesitate to call your doctor or nurses! That’s what they are there for and I’m sure they’d rather you call than risk you not having a successful cycle!

-Kamryn