It is rare to see IVF cause minor hormonal effects to some sensitive person or else it is a highly successful treatment when compared with other methods of infertility treatment. It also is clear that you are committed to your family’s future.
Like you, who have committed to your goals and goals, we at FERTILITY World have a commitment to you. We would like you to be prepared in your IVF journey, whether working with one of our staff as well as an alternative fertility center This is the reason we’ve created this helpful overview of IVF and the possible negative side effects that you could encounter along the way.
We will explain the various stages in the IVF process, and provide some ideas about what you can anticipate for each. If you have previously undergone IVF, or any infertility treatment and have been unsuccessful, we are here to help. For more information or to simply talk to fertility expert of the Fertilityworld team, get in touch today by giving us a call on +91 9311850412 or via Email at info@fertilityworld.in
First Stage: Repression (Pause and Reset)
How does it work?
In this initial stage, we want to ease the ovaries’ aches, typically through oral contraceptives (OCs). In the normal menstrual cycle, the Follicles (fluid-filled sacs that house eggs) develop at various speeds. Some are slower than others. Their size is related to their age, and eventually, one dominant follicle is going to prevail. It isn’t something we want to occur in IVF.
In contrast, we would like all eggs to reach maturity approximately equal time which results in a higher yield of eggs when retrieving. The use of OCs prior to the start of your cycle can stop the growth of follicular cells at a low size to ensure that, when injections begin (see the next step) the follicles begin at the same size and continue to grow.
Suppression Side Effects:
The overall effects aren’t severe, if even. These include:
- Spotting
- Tenderness in the breast
- Nausea
- The mood changes
2. Stage 3: Stimulation
Next is to go through the injecting stage. It’s been talked about and you aren’t excited about it. It’s okay – we get it. Let’s break it down to understand what we should expect.
The first question is why injecting?
Why don’t we simply have additional pills? At this point, oral medicines alone do not have enough strength. In order to create the hair follicles “players” for that month which means they’ve matured and had the capacity to produce fertile in the future, we need to be more determined. (Some follicles might remain small, however, which is normal. They’ll still be available for retrieval however it’s unlikely they’re mature enough to be able to respond to the sperm.)
Pause for a second… A question I often get asked is if we’re “using up more eggs from my egg supply” through stimulating the Ovaries.
“Are you tapping into my egg reserve to get more eggs this month?” The simple answer is no.
A specific group of eggs is chosen by your body each month, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The eggs in this group known as a cohort are taken from your total egg supply in the hope that one of them will be dominant and the rest will stop growing and will be absorbed by your body. This is what happens when you naturally cycle. It is possible to “spend” that same number of eggs each month, regardless of whether you are going through IVF or not.
In IVF however, the daily injections of stimulation save the eggs from this month’s group that are normally discarded. In the present, a number of dominant follicles are created (instead of only one) and can be taken and fertilized.
What can you expect while injecting?
The injections should be given on a regular basis, and at similar times (within the two-hour time frame) in order to simulate the way that your body normally creates the hormones that trigger the growth of follicular hairs (FSH as well as LH). It is up to you to decide what timing (in the night) best suits your needs. If you select a time between 6-8 pm, as an instance, adhere to it as closely as you can, however, it shouldn’t be observed so closely that it disrupts your daily routine.
For instance, you’re departing for dinner at 6:30 pm and will be home by 8. It’s not necessary to bring the medication with you. If you want to inject them into the bathroom. You could start them earlier or later the day before, and then back on track the next day.
Eggs are tiny and they, as we have said, reside in sacs filled with fluid called Follicles. Measurement of the size of follicles at dawn is an indirect measure of the maturation of eggs. The majority of women require 8-10 days of treatment before their follicles leading to them (remember that they expand at different rates) will get “triggered,” that is to be treated with the drug which causes the maturation of the eggs. This also aids them to break free from the follicular wall to prepare for the time of ovulation.
We will see you frequently throughout this time, so we can choose the most suitable time to get your trigger shot. A majority of women come to the office to undergo “morning monitoring” about 5-7 times to have blood tests (that test the level of estrogen, which indicates the health and growth of follicles, and progesterone which is a sign of ovulation stage) as well as ultrasound.
The Stimulation Effects
In this stage, the side effects could get more prominent until you are close to egg retrieval.
- Headaches
- Hot flashes
- Nausea
- Bloating
- There is bleeding at the injection site
- Tenderness in the breast
Stage of Egg’s Retrieval: How does it work?
The final step is a procedure called egg retrieval (done in an anesthetic) in which the eggs are taken out of the follicles. Because we don’t have the ability to detect the actual eggs the procedure involves puncturing the follicle (that’s the reason you need anesthesia) and removing the follicular fluid. It is then put into a dish to allow an embryologist to observe under a microscope. He or she counts the number of eggs and prepares them to be mixed with the sperm.
How well do they respond? positively to stimulation and trigger shots and are completely dependent on maturity will be established the next day and also the percentage of fertilized eggs. Eggs that are either pre-or post-mature can be being counted and analyzed, but they aren’t at the correct phase of division that responds to sperm therefore they are not fertilized.
Because of the numerous punctures to the ovarian and vaginal canals, it’s normal for patients to experience a rash and some spotting after the retrieval. Consider the ovaries as being bruised, swollen, and needing to be healed. When you slap your knee, as an example it could take a few days to show up and be painful for the next few days, until it heals. In the same way, women often suffer more discomfort in the initial days following the procedure than they do on the day of the incident. Some women report menstrual cramps and bloating, while some suffer from abdominal pain and bloating.
In about 5-7 weeks, your ovaries grow back to their size, and the majority of patients are feeling better by the time they reach that point. Like any surgical procedure, it is possible to run into the risk of infection and bleeding We will be asking you to let us know whether you experience any discomfort other than those previously mentioned, like the feeling of a hard abdomen, severe bleeding, or abdominal pain or if you suffer from fever.
Also, we want to determine if you are suffering from signs of excessive fluid accumulation, for example, a significant weight loss as well as an increase in your abdominal circumference. This may not be connected to surgery at all. It could be an indication of a rare condition known as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). It is likely that you recall how the term “stimulation” refers to the initial phase in an IVF cycle and some degree of stimulation is required to produce a number of mature follicles, not only one.
If OHSS occurs, it is a condition that causes the body to respond rapidly to the stimulant medications and the resulting effects of this happen as caused by fluids accumulating inside the body, particularly in areas that are typically hollow, like the abdomen, or below the lung. Therefore, any signs that indicate this, such as an increased abdominal circumference or difficulty breathing should be reported promptly to us to improve the management of this disorder.
Egg Retrieval Side Effects
Keep in mind that the retrieval of eggs is a surgical procedure and will require anesthesia. It has an array of negative side consequences. For the majority of women, they are not severe and will disappear within a few days following the procedure.
- Soreness
- Spotting
- Constipation
- Bloating
- Cramping
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Vomiting (anesthesia side effect)
- Extremely rare and extremely difficult to diagnose such as rapid weight gain, an increase in abdomen circumference and trouble breathing (please contact your doctor when you notice these symptoms because they may be indicators of an OHSS)
Stage 4 : The Transfer of Embryo: How does it happen?
The process of embryo transfer is the process by which fresh or frozen blastocysts are inserted into the uterus. The process of transfer will appear similar whether frozen or fresh however the way it is set up is different.
There are various advantages to freezing your embryos ahead of the transfer. For example, if you are receiving PGS performed on your embryos ( Preimplantation Genetic Screening) Then we’ll put your embryos into a freezer to await the results, and then transfer them back into a subsequent cycle. Another reason to freeze them would be if you’re being diagnosed as having OHSS (see indications above) so that we can allow your body to heal before trying to have a baby. In addition, as we’ve previously mentioned, the stimulants create numerous mature follicles that could cause your body to create increased quantities of the hormone progesterone.
In a normal menstrual cycle, there’s only a brief period of time during which the uterus can be receptive to a blastocyst. The elevated levels of progesterone could reduce or extend the window of receptivity, reducing the chances of implanting. In this scenario, we will arrange to undergo an embryo transfer frozen to ensure the lining of your uterus is healthy prior to the transfer of embryos to the next cycle.
Perhaps you do not fit into one of those categories, and instead, you’re in the right place for a new embryo transfer. It could take place within a week from the time you had your egg removed!
Whatever the case, whether it’s frozen or fresh, it is important to make sure that the uterus is hormonally ready for embryos. This is accomplished by administering estrogen and progesterone. These are given every day and are either vaginal or oral and/or intramuscular injections. We have tried to avoid giving you any more injections however, the evidence suggests that at this time, injecting progesterone will be the most effective choice. The good thing is that you don’t have to visit us to have blood tests until you’ve passed the pregnancy test, which means your veins are able to heal (at the expense of your gluteal muscles).
The transfer of embryos is performed at the same OR in which you underwent the retrieval procedure, however this time, no anesthesia is needed. We request to see a full bladder prior to the transfer due to two reasons. The first reason is that a full bladder allows us to visualize when we employ an abdominal ultrasound to determine the position of embryos inside the uterus. A second reason is that a fully-filled bladder is able to straighten out the natural curvature that the canal of the cervical apex follows, which makes the catheter for transfer (with the fragile embryo(s) in it) much easier.
Following the transfer, you’ll be in a waiting room for 20 minutes until you’re discharged the next day. Many ask whether they have to go put on bedrest following that. There’s not a great deal of research conducted on this subject, therefore there isn’t a simple answer, but from the studies that have been conducted, there’s no advantage to being on bed rest after the transfer. We do request that you not engage in any vigorous lifting or exercise for the next couple of days as we want you to be confident that you’ve created the ideal uterine environment for implantation to occur. If you aren’t paying attention and then do something heavy even once or twice, it’s acceptable, and you won’t hurt your chances of having a baby during that time.
The pregnancy test will be scheduled for about 9-10 days following your transfer. It’s going to be the longest nine to ten days of your life. Here’s what you can do during this period: distraction and self-compassion. Letting yourself be aware of whatever it is you feel, perhaps it’s anxiety or perhaps a lack of control…etc. This is the thing that does not work: Trying to identify the issue early so that you are able to think about how you can prepare for the outcome.
The only way to determine if you’re pregnant is through testing your blood on your scheduled date. Tests for urine can yield false negative or positive results, based on the timing and the test, therefore our rule of thumb is to take a blood test. Following the pregnancy test, the next steps will depend on the results. If you’re pregnant, we closely monitor you up to the first time you see your Ob/GYN. If you’re not pregnant you will usually have alternatives to follow up with another cycle.
Embryo Transfer Side Effects
The adverse effects of the administration of estrogen and progesterone can frequently feel like early pregnancy and are usually moderate. The embryo transfer procedure is safe and has minimal or no side consequences apart from pregnancy!
- Tenderness of the breast
- Bloating
- Cramping
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- There is bleeding at the injection site
When should you call a Fertility Expert ?
The effects of side effects can be extremely individual and therefore we prefer that you get in touch with us if you’re uncertain whether something occurs is “normal” or not. Here are some of the rarer, but relevant, side effects we’d like to hear regarding as quickly as it is possible:
- Breathlessness
- Urinary frequency that has decreased or has been stopped
- The chest or the calf may hurt.
- Abdominal bloating , or distention, that is extreme or persisting and is not resolved with time
- A lot of bleeding, saturated >1 pad/hour
- A fever >101deg
We can reduce the risk of adverse reactions from IVF fertility medications
In terms of medications, IVF fertility drugs are highly safe, however, there is always a risk that comes with using medication. It’s not possible to avoid all adverse negative effects at all times however there are actions you can take to minimize the risk of negative effects.
- A good communication to your physician:
Always talk to your doctor regarding the best timing and method to take your medication. They may be able to suggest schedules and strategies to help to reduce discomfort. If you’re suffering from adverse side effects, don’t sit in silence. There might be alternatives to treatments you could try.
- A close monitoring of your fertility team
This is in conjunction with the need for clear communication. The doctor will also need to keep a check on any side reactions to ensure they don’t lead to more grave complications. This gives them the chance to reduce or alter the dosage of medications or carry out other procedures in the nick of the future.
- One embryo transfer (SET):
One of the most hazardous negative side consequences of IVF fertility drugs is multiple pregnancies, which pose numerous risks for parents and their babies than just single pregnancies or births. With this method, only the best embryos are transferred into the uterus, drastically decreasing the possibility of a multi pregnancy.
Fertility medications are a potent instrument and could be a vital element in the conception process in many women. Although it’s not pleasant to think about the potential risks, being informed is essential. It can assist you and your family make the best choices to protect your own body. Make sure you talk with your physician regarding any questions or concerns you may have, especially when thinking about potential negative side effects that make you nervous. Your doctor can help put your mind at ease.
Are You Ready To Begin Your IVF Journey Right Now?
We get it! – it’s an enormous amount of information to digest!
IVF is a physical, emotional, and mental undertaking that consumes much time and effort (if you can’t use it all). You don’t just have to be concerned about the logistics of funding and medicines, you also must also deal with physical consequences such as nausea, fatigue, and tenderness of the breast, to mention just a few.
We’re here to make sure you understand what’s going on in your body each step of the way so that you’re never left feeling alone. Start right now and mentally plan for the process so you are prepared for whatever happens to your body, regardless of how you feel you’ll know what’s normal or not. Best of luck with your IVF journey as well as thank you for letting us participate in your treatment.
