A reader asks: “How long did you wait, or how long do you recommend waiting between IVF cycles. Do you recommend doing them back to back, or taking a break if it’s another full IVF cycle?”
First things first– please keep in mind that I cannot answer this question from a medical standpoint. I am not a doctor and you should definitely ask your doctor this question and go by what he or she says. I’m answering this from a practical and emotional standpoint. You can take my suggestions and fit them into your doctor’s advice, but make sure you listen to him or her first.
Now, here’s my answer: it depends! I know, I know, it would be so much easier if there was a rule or guideline that worked for everyone. But each person’s situation is unique and I think there are many reasons to wait between cycles and many reasons to do back-to-back cycles. I’ve done both, and I hope my experience will be helpful to you.
Doing Back to Back Cycles: Our Experience
After our first IVF cycle ended in a chemical pregnancy, we decided to go straight into a FET cycle as soon as possible. Our clinic only did IVF every other month, so we did it as soon as they offered it again. That FET cycle failed, and again, we jumped into another fresh cycle as soon as our clinic offered it (2 months later). So we started at the beginning of March and basically did IVF non-stop through July. Here’s what I learned from those back-to-back cycles:
When you don’t take time between cycles, it’s easy to let IVF consume your life.
During those four months, I lived and breathed IVF. The majority of my thoughts revolved around IVF. Most of the conversations with my husband were about IVF. I woke up thinking about IVF and I went to sleep thinking about IVF. I suppose some of this is unavoidable since I spent those months pumping my body full of hormones, grieving the failures, and then doing it all over again.
Back-to-back cycles are hard on your body.
I gained 15 pounds and went up two pant sizes during those months. Some of it was due to the meds, but some of it was also due to emotional eating. I had bruises on my abdomen from the shots that disappeared just in time to come back during the next cycle.
Your sense of self and self-esteem can suffer when you don’t have a break.
Since I gained weight, my clothes didn’t fit. I didn’t want to buy clothes because I was hoping I’d get pregnant, AND because I didn’t want to spend the money. So I felt bad about my body and about how I looked. This is not a good combination when you’re also dealing with the frustration and loss from failed cycles. Of course, you may deal with this no matter how long you wait in between cycles, but it’s especially intense when you don’t have a break.
Back-to-back IVF cycles can have financial benefits.
One reason we chose to do our cycles so quickly after each other was that it made financial sense. We were able to save some medicine from each cycle and use it during the next cycle. If we had waited too long, the medication would have expired and we would have had to purchase it again. We had also purchased a discounted IVF package from our clinic, and we had one year to use it. So we couldn’t wait too long in between cycles.
Sometimes you have to do back-to-back cycles due to scheduling.
Another reason we chose to do our IVF cycles so quickly was due to my husband’s work schedule. At the time, his work required extremely long hours and 7-day workweeks from August-November. We did not want to be doing IVF during that time because I would have had to go through it alone.
Taking a Break Between Cycles: Our Experience
After our two failed fresh cycles and one failed FET, we needed to take a break. It was the end of July and we decided to wait until the following March to try again. That would get us through my husband’s crazy work schedule and the holidays. Here’s what I learned from those months:
Waiting is hard!
I was grateful for the break on my body and on my emotions, but the waiting was so hard! We tried to conceive naturally during those months, but it felt very futile and hopeless.
Waiting between cycles gives you an opportunity to get healthy and give supplements time to work.
We told our doctor we’d be taking a break, so he recommended that we try some supplements. My husband took Proxeed Plus and I took CoQ10. We both took them for eight months, and while we can’t know for sure that they contributed to the success of our third IVF cycle, they definitely didn’t hurt!
Waiting gives you time to reconsider and do research.
If you’ve had several failed cycles, it might be wise to take some time off and reconsider your approach. If your doctor insists on using the same protocol that has failed several times, you might want to seek out a second opinion. During my break, I was happy with my doctor, but I had asked him about the possibility of seeing a reproductive immunologist and getting intralipid treatments. He said it couldn’t hurt, so I spent some time researching the treatment and had a consultation with a doctor over the phone. I ended up not doing the treatment, but I was glad I had the time to consider it and research it.
Waiting gives you time to gain strength emotionally and spiritually.
Even though it was often hard to wait, it was also incredibly refreshing to focus on other things for a few months. My husband and I spent time together and with family and friends. We took a No-Baby Moon. We asked for prayer and received prayer. We spoke publicly about our infertility, and I poured my heart and soul into this blog. All these things gave us the strength and grace we needed to get through our 3rd IVF.
Doing What is Best For You
I hope that my experience shows you that there is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to deciding how long to wait between IVF cycles. It’s important to take into consideration what your doctor recommends and weigh them against the unique circumstances of your specific situation. Honestly, the best advice is to PRAY and ask the Lord to give you wisdom about how long you should wait. My hope for you is that you will seek His guidance first and that He will give you clarity.
How long did you wait between IVF cycles? What did you learn from that? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
P.S. Looking for more IVF tips? Check out my guide, Preparing for IVF: Approach Your IVF With Confidence and Courage. It’s available as a Kindle eBook or as a PDF.
P.P.S. Do you like deals? Join my TTC deals Facebook group! I share deals I find on TTC and infertility-related gifts, books, and supplements.
Photos via UnSplash. Creative Commons Zero License.
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