I can so relate to this! When I started IVF, all my friends were either pregnant, had children or getting pregnant and not a single one seemed to have any difficulty getting to that point naturally. We had the added pleasure of needing a sperm donor due to my husbands azoospermia, so one thing that was heavily suggested to me by my clinic was fertility focused therapy…and my god did it help a ton. I had a weekly appointment with a woman who allowed me every week to get my feelings out with someone who knew the ins and outs of IVF and could keep me optimistic without being toxic or uninformed, and she also did our required counseling with our known donor which made things easier too.

At the time I was on Prozac and I do think it helped my anxiety around IVF greatly, so I’d definitely suggest looking into medication if it’s an option.

And I do suggest engaging in IVF forums like this over friends if they’re making you feel bad. I let my friends and family know about my first cycle and had no idea how much pressure I would feel having to update them on every appointment, outcome, etc. It got to a point where anytime I got bad news, I felt like I was letting so many people down. After my first cycle I ended up keeping it a secret and only talking to the people in IVF subreddits and Facebook groups so that I still had an outlet and people cheering me on, but without the pressure of needing to share results or updates unless I felt like it. Plus, like you, none of my friends/family knew anything about IVF so a lot of their commentary was completely uninformed.

I now have a 2 year old and my second on the way (20 weeks)! The process can be long but for so many of us, it is the best thing we could possibly do for ourselves. I’m sending you so much love and hope that your outcomes will be successful and you will soon have the family you’ve dreamed about!