It’s a pretty delicate topic I know but IVF is not conducive a good sex life. For a start, when you are doing a full stimulated cycle, the following passion killers are likely to, and do, happen:

1. You may bleed for several days after you expect your period to end because you have been taking a contraceptive pill since the start of your period
2. You experience intermittent spotting during your cycle whilst you are taking hormonal treatment
3. Quite likely you may bleed after egg collection and will be feeling quite sore and bloated for a couple of days
4. Your breasts may become sensitive to touch so any foreplay is just out of the question
5. Because you are inserting Crinone Gel to line your uterus, you worry that a pile of it will end up on your sheets (it does!)
6. You decide to avoid intercourse for the for 24 hours after transfer (just in case the embryo falls out)
7. Both of you will continue to avoid intercourse cause you are both scared your partners penis might dislodge the embryo (As if! But as IVF is so darn expensive you both don’t want to repeat the process)
8. You then get your period

I think this just about covers the two months when you are cycling. Of course, you do have breaks in between when things get back to normal – whatever that is. But after several cycles of doing this, combined with all that previous experience of trying to conceive, you sex life just diminishes. You know you need it to bring sexy back but it all becomes too hard during this time. Its pretty ironic that this is the case, given that the old testicles need to be used to produce good quality sperm. See my blog on sperm titled Keeping the River Flowing).

The good thing about not doing IVF: Bringing sexy back.

IVF and Your Sex Life is a post from: The IVF Club

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

One week of solid nutritious eating on a low calorie plan and exercising has seen me lose just over 1 kilo over the past week. How exciting! I am now officially overweight not obese. Funny how a one kilo weight loss can move you from being obese to overweight according the a BMI calculator. Psychologically, being overweight sounds better than obese!

In any case, I still have a long way to go. In fact, I am aiming to get my weight back into the healthy weight range to help improve my chances of conception. By my count that means losing about 12 kilos (2 stone). With a bit of luck I should be able to get close to that goal by the end of year. I can then kick start the new year with another round of IVF. I’ve tried everything else so might as well try the weight loss option which according to research is one of the most significant reasons why IVF fails.

Surprisingly, I have not felt overly hungry. Well – I did for the first couple of days but my body has now adjusted to the portion sizes I am now eating. I am having 5 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones and this seems to have stopped me from thinking about snacking on lollies and chocolate in between meals.

Diet and Improving Chance of Conception is a post from: The IVF Club

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A visit to my IVF specialist revealed that he still thinks my husband and I will conceive. So despite being nearly 40 and despite my husbands sperm problems, he still thinks this is a realistic goal.

It’s funny how a Doctor can be so confident when after 7 failures, you are not. So after asking all the probing questions, he still feels we will get pregnant. Apparently, he has done every test possible to me so from his perspective there is no reason why I should not fall pregnant. IVF apparently helps overcome male infertility issues so theoretically, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to become parents.

This makes things a little frustrating as it seems everything that should be working isn’t. I guess it puts us in no mans land. The other annoying thing is that IVF is not cheap – not by a long shot so every failure means spending more money on another round. Whilst, you can’t put a cost on what I perceive to be a joy in having a baby, it does place a financial strain on your budget.

So with this in mind we have decided to continue down this path and try again. Fortunately, we have one frozen embryo left from the cycle I did in January. So apart from giving my body a rest from the drugs it means we will use our last remaining embryo. So if this fails, another stimulated cycle is on the cards. In the meantime, I will continue to focus on having a good nutritional diet, no alcohol or coffee – basically following the suggestions in the Pregnancy Miracle ebook I purchased a few weeks ago.

IVF Conception Still Possible is a post from: The IVF Club

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

After several attempts at trying to get pregnant, you sometimes question yourself if there is anything you are or aren’t doing right that is hampering your ability to conceive. Sometimes in doing that, you cause yourself unnecessary pain. It’s called beating oneself up with negative thoughts about what you should or shouldn’t have done. Thoughts like:

- Maybe if I drank a bit less alcohol
- Maybe if I quit smoking earlier than what I did
- Maybe if my diet was better
- Maybe I should have tried reflexology
- Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk all those Coke Zero’s
- Maybe I should drink less coffee or hot chocolate
- Maybe I am just too fat
- Maybe, I should try reflexology.

Although it’s perfectly normal, all these maybes do your head in. I think I have already come a long way from where I was. For a start, I drink a lot less wine these days, I don’t smoke anymore, I take folate, CoQ10, Vitamin C and fish oil tablets. I drink a lot more water these days and I rarely drink any soft drinks – diet or otherwise. I’ve also been exercising regularly for at least the past year or two. Seems to me that a lot of the things I used to enjoy I no longer do anymore.

The one thing I haven’t changed is my diet. Actually I tell a lie – it has gotten worse. Since starting IVF, I have been getting progressively fatter and fatter – in fact my BMI has moved from the overweight category and just edged into the obese category!!! Whilst I don’t think the hormone treatments have helped my cause, I’ve noticed that my food portion sizes have increased since I got married. My coffee intake has also increased significantly.

Given that the human body is a complex and finely tuned machine, I have decided to take up the challenge to improve my diet. I will continue to maintain the positive changes I have made in regards to quitting smoking and exercising regularly, but as of today no coffee, only herbal teas and healthy good food choices. I’ve been reading up on the topic and I think there is a lot of merit in alternative therapies and I think these can be highly successful for some people. Acupuncture is back on the agenda and I might even have a go at reflexology. Now I am not expecting change overnight. I know good preconception care starts about 3-4 months before trying to conceive but if I don’t get pregnant within the next year, at least I’ll know I have done everything in my power to get pregnant. And that my friends is the only thing that I can do.

IVF Preconception Care is a post from: The IVF Club

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.