So I was tempted to call this post ‘The adventures of Pessary Pete’

Why you ask? Did I mention that my husband is the king of inventing nicknames, dozens of terrible, annoying nicknames which appear to bring him great amusement and pleasure. Since I have to lay down for half an hour, 3 times a day in order to take my progesterone pessaries, he has decided that my new nickname is Pessary Pete (Scott is clearly also a fan of the Ol’ Alliteration)

Oh boy.

So whenever I walk into the room/ call him on his phone and so on… he has to say something like “Well, if it isn’t Pessary Pete” “here comes Pessary Pete” Yeah I know, I don’t know why I married him either.

Guess what though!?? We officially have only four more sleeps until testing day (next Wednesday). Woohoo!

For those of you who don’t know, the two week wait is technically less than two weeks for IVF, usually 10-12 days. I can test 12 days from my Embryo Transfer date. The only catch is the IVF two week wait is absolutely agonising, I mean waaaayyy more agonising than it ever was the whole 36 plus times we went through it prior to IVF. So much emotional and financial investment involved!

POST EMBRYO TRANSFER:

DRUGS: Continue drugs as normal

• Progesterone Pessaries = 3
• Ethanol Oestradiol Capsules = 2
• Aspirin Tablet = 1
• Provera Tablet = 3

SYMPTOMS: No new symptoms post transfer. Absolutely no cramping or spotting occurred. Relieved that all my boob changes (bigger, veiny and sore) all happened prior to ET as a result of the meds. Otherwise I would be analysing my boobs like crazy! I felt incredibly tired in the lead up to day of ET and for the 2 days afterwards, but now I’m feeling a little better. Oh and also, the pessaries are rather unpleasant. To avoid going into too much detail, the pessaries are held together with a waxy, somewhat oily substance, which leaks out everywhere when you move around…ewww.

To rest or not to rest, that is the question…

The theory: Bed rest is necessary for 1 – 5 days post embryo transfer.

What my doc says: No not necessary at all, ok to resume normal activity but take it easy.

What Dr Google says: Article here and many, many more available online to back this one up! It used to be the preferred practice (it still is advised by many clinics) however it has since been debunked as a myth and ‘old wives tale’. Some studies even found that bed rest could hinder the implantation as circulation is significantly reduced.

What my Acupuncturist says: Lounge around, clear your social schedule, be relaxed.

Verdict: Bed rest not necessary, lounging and serious netflix session however gets the tick!

Hmm but alas, this does not seem to be the only question. This week was the week leading up to the Easter long weekend, and as I usually only work two days a week I nominated to do them early in the week. This means that I have six days off until I work again. Which means I have an awful lot of time on my hands to ponder (aka analyse the heck out of everything).

Reader, come with me on a journey as we venture deep into my brain…or at least my google history over the past week.

Will one glass of wine per week affect IVF?

Googled when I really, really wanted nothing more than to enjoy a lovely glass of red, I am not a big drinker at all, I usually only ever have 1 to 3 glasses of wine per week. I did discover a study which concluded the consumption of alcohol does affect your chances of IVF, however if you are only having a couple of drinks a week please do not freak out! Also, please note that this was more so in the preparation weeks leading up to IVF, rather than affecting the implantation stage.

Key points from the article below:

“Couples who share a bottle of wine a week reduce their chances of having a baby through IVF by more than a quarter, according to a study by American fertility specialists.”

“The link between alcohol and conception is an area where the evidence is not clear-cut. It may well be that couples who are already subfertile are more affected by alcohol that those who are perfectly fertile”

You can read the full Article here which outlines the findings and also advises that results were more significant in those who drank white wine or beer.

My verdict: Personally I restrained myself and decided to just avoid it completely. Obviously, I’m going to cut alcohol if I do become pregnant so may as well get used to it now. Bye, Bye, my beloved red.

Cold Symptoms post Embryo Transfer

On the Sunday following ET (2 days post 5 day blast transfer) I had what appeared to be the beginning of a cold, I was all stuffy and sniffly and just felt generally unwell. Note: the next day I woke up with all these symptoms alleviated.

The theory: During implantation/ early pregnancy, your immune system is taking a mini break in order to stop your own cells from attacking the embryo, hence women report getting sick around the time conception would be occurring.

Of course there were loads of women on forums (like always, seriously type any symptom into these forums and I’ll guarantee they’ll tell you you’re pregnant). These forum folk were claiming that they definitely believe this was a symptom of pregnancy blah, blah, blah. But I couldn’t really find any solid scientific evidence. The truth is these forums have given me false hope SO MANY FREAKIN’ TIMES. And it’s not through any fault of the forum world, it can definitely be an uplifting and supportive place to turn to. It’s just that I personally have a tendency to have ‘a bit too much hope’ at times which in the end put me through great emotional turmoil when said ‘hope’ was crushed over and over again!

My verdict: From the research I did, I honestly don’t think it was anything to do with conception, at the end of the day it could have been anything.

Is eating soft cheese harmful during IVF?

Yeah I googled this after eating a whole lot of delicious brie of course! Note to self: google things before doing them, not after.

Apparently the answer is give it up as soon as you could be pregnant – errrrm whoopsies! Soft cheese can lead to a Listeria infection, which can harm an unborn child. If you’ve just polished off half a wheel of brie like myself, then again, please do not worry! At the end of the day worrying is the worst thing we can do.

As for me, I was really not too concerned about this, however I probably won’t go on a cheese binge anytime soon just to be on the safe side.

My verdict: Probably a wise idea to familiarise yourself with foods you should avoid. The basic rule is to eat healthily, avoid sugar, refined carbs, excessive caffeine etc. Confession time – this past week I have been eating so much worse than normal (yes, probably due to being a crazy hormonal woman) I mean I ate an entire 1ltr tub of gelato throughout the week after promising myself I would avoid frozen foods completely (to help keep my uterus warm) I also ate pizza, and brownies and hot cross buns with loads of delicious butter…yep I was totally out of control. However, this journey is crappy enough as it is without being super judgemental and strict on yourself, so I’m being pretty chilled about my week of blow outs, I know I will be ‘back on the horse’ next week.

 

Can an embryo fall out through cervix?

Yeah ok so I actually googled this, don’t judge me. I wasn’t the only (slightly crazy, paranoid) woman to ask this question. In case you wanted to know the answer is a big “NO” it definitely cannot just fall out. You see the Uterus ‘cavity’ is not so cavity-like after all as the walls are touching each other. Apparently no amount of sneezing, laughing, coughing, walking, running, jumping or pooping will upset your embryo. So chill out & read this article it is one of many out there assuring women to please for goodness sake relax.

When to pee on a stick post embryo transfer?

Oh I really have thought long and hard about this and I now know so many women out there pee on a stick from word go. A key point is that if you are doing a fresh transfer, the trigger shot prior to the egg collection can register as a false pregnancy on a home pregnancy test. Many women will do a pee test straight away to make sure that the trigger shot is out of their system. Then they will continue to test regularly following that.  I think this one definitely boils down to personal preference. Personally  know if I got a positive I would be analysing it like crazy (is it a real pregnancy or just a chemical pregnancy?) on the other hand if it was negative I would be so down and emotional and I think I would just cause myself so much unnecessary stress. I say unnecessary because sometimes home pregnancy tests aren’t always that accurate. They are definitely nowhere near as accurate as the blood test.

My verdict: Leave them alone. At least until the morning of my blood test, so then I’m not waiting on that phone call all day, driving myself insane. I want to stress that this is 100% a personal decision, I think everyone out there should way up the pros and cons and make their own decision. For the women out there who can do it and not go completely insane, my hat is off to you!

Dear Reader if you’ve made it to the end of this lengthy rambling post, well done! You somehow made it through this terrifying look into the brain of a madwoman.

Yours truly,

Pessary Pete