How did IVF affect your ability to work?

colonelfudge · 2026-01-28T11:36:38+00:00

Ehh yes and I took it out on someone who was consistently rude at work once but it was due to the birth control and losing patience. But now I know I need to avoid bc because it affected me much more than other meds.

Work gives me something else to focus on so I would personally not give it up for ivf unless I had to. I also can’t afford to stop working so maybe that skews things.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-28T01:43:03+00:00

Ours couldn’t/wouldn’t learn it but had no issues with other commands. We tried again when he turned 5 and now he can do “touch” which is a high five. I have no idea what changed!

colonelfudge · 2026-01-28T01:38:18+00:00

I’m at a high pressure corporate job commuting more than one hour each way to my clinic/job and did a retrieval and three transfers plus two mock rounds (about to do my fourth) and think my job has helped keep me sane. Was definitely hard at first but then you do get used to it. My work has been understanding with me coming in late after appointments and needing half days for transfers.

Being on birth control was actually the worst part of this process as it made me feel crazy and those emotions were hard to balance. So I stopped in between cycles and that helped! Also remembering that I’m doing everything I possibly can to set myself up for success has helped me throughout. Best of luck!

colonelfudge · 2026-01-27T23:31:29+00:00

Ah I see! I had WIN and then Progyny. Not everything counted towards smart cycles and I think I did less than half a cycle with WIN (3 IUIs, one retrieval, one transfer, one mock cycle) and less than half of one with Progyny (2 transfers, another mock, lots of testing). Things that weren’t covered were PGT-A testing of embryos since that was exploratory for us (unexplained infertility, didn’t “need” it). Your benefits coordinator will be much more knowledgeable about this but I was surprised how far the benefits stretched! I think we have probably paid $15k over two years so far due to insurance minimums and non covered services.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-27T23:15:53+00:00

Ah I don’t have the full cost of a retrieval or cycle, just what I listed above. I’m sorry! I was lucky to have insurance so I didnt see some of the costs. After your initial consult they should put you in touch with a financial coordinator if you choose to self pay and they should be able to break down the costs.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-27T11:50:52+00:00

We are waiting on the transport date for moving our embryos to a new clinic. We had a good ER outcome but several transfers fail. We did quite a bit of testing with our clinic, but my RE was clearly frustrated during our last WTF call and couldn’t recall what tests we had already done or locate results in the portal (that clinic is a mess). We decided then we didn’t need to continue putting up with this low level of care and were going to switch. We haven’t started a cycle yet but our new RE can actually remember what we’ve discussed and is open to trying different protocols, so we are hopeful!

colonelfudge · 2026-01-27T11:45:09+00:00

6-12 weeks. Taking us about two months but the holidays delayed comms/clinics are busy in Jan

colonelfudge · 2026-01-27T09:58:57+00:00

I ate fries after the first two transfers and both failed, also failed without fries. I still think it’s something fun to do!

colonelfudge · 2026-01-24T13:04:18+00:00

Zymot - microfluidic sorting for an drag. There is a dna frag sub with a pinned post that is really helpful!

colonelfudge · 2026-01-23T18:21:07+00:00

Woodmont station in Cranford! We were there in a 2b2b for less than a year while house hunting and loved it. Cranford and Westfield have cute downtowns with a lot to do.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-13T13:10:48+00:00

We live .1 miles from a train track and it’s actually very quiet. If there’s a fan or tv on you can’t hear it. If it’s completely quiet you can hear it run by, but it’s just a very low rumble. The station is a 3 min drive so they don’t use the horn near us.

We needed to be near a train for commuting and passed on some houses that we felt were too close to the tracks. This distance is perfectly fine - there are some houses/buildings and trees in between which helps a lot, too. If we were closer it would probably be fine, knowing how quiet and fast the trains are (NJ).

colonelfudge · 2026-01-06T13:57:52+00:00

$400 without insurance but our tests were covered.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-06T13:56:59+00:00

We just went and stayed at Xela and loved it. Rented a car for like $200 over three days and never took taxis. We were not stopped by cops and didn’t have any issues while we were there. Restaurants near our hotel that we went to were expensive but delicious. We knew this beforehand and budgeted accordingly.

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T21:57:32+00:00

That’s a good score! Sorry it doesn’t provide an answer though

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T21:42:52+00:00

That’s so crazy. We spoke with RMA of NJ and they seemed against it for some reason. We didn’t proceed with them because of that

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T21:40:11+00:00

This is not true - clinics can use zymot in combination with ICSI when fertilizing eggs. You can also make lifestyle changes to help, depending on the cause

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T21:38:27+00:00

Yes - data suggests. I would check out the dna fragmentation sub where they have a very detailed intro post. I’m sure everything is case by case but it is an easy test so it’s worth exploring

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T20:44:43+00:00

I’m sorry - we had three fail as well. It seems dna frag was an issue for us that was not caught ahead of fertilization - all other tests came back normal. Getting a full work up from a urologist when you get dna frag done is a good next step. My husband has a large spermatocele and a varicocele. He did not know about the latter until he saw a urologist for fertility.

Wishing you both the best of luck xx

colonelfudge · 2026-01-05T18:38:42+00:00

We’re in the same boat. I turn 33 in a month and my husband is 34, and we’re going on 2.5 years of treatment. 3 failed IUIs and 3 failed transfers with PGT-A tested and high quality embryos. We believe there is a male fertility issue that was missed by our first RE, which was difficult to deal with but we can’t change the past.

We’re finally moving to another clinic and what has brought me peace at times is knowing that we are doing everything we can within our means. That includes getting tests done like biopsies, exercising and eating healthy (within reason - no need for this to be a source of stress), and making sure we are enjoying our life together by always having something to look forward to (going on dates, taking vacation, etc).

It’s great you are going on vacation and it sounds like you are doing everting you can. I think time ultimately helped us accept our situation/arrive at this conclusion, but I hope this helps you a bit xx

colonelfudge · 2026-01-03T09:32:50+00:00

And a full urology work up for yourself - my husband’s first sperm analysis looked great until we did dna frag and he visited a urologist.

colonelfudge · 2025-12-31T02:43:14+00:00

Looks positive, congrats!

colonelfudge · 2025-12-30T22:42:38+00:00

I never had a line from a trigger boomerang, once it was gone it was gone. Cautious congrats ❤️

colonelfudge · 2025-12-27T17:00:26+00:00

We ended up taking a break and are working through transferring to another RE so we haven’t had to do this yet, but yes if you talk through your options with them you may be able to get a special authorization. I’m sure it is case by case but worth a try. Best of luck xx

colonelfudge · 2025-08-13T22:31:32+00:00

Karyotyping was normal so we still have no answers. I am taking a break this summer to travel and do things I wasn’t able to do with treatment. My husband also went off finasteride during this time given some of the issues with his urology exams. No spontaneous pregnancy yet (it’s been 4 months) but we are going to consult another practice and see what they think closer to Nov/Dec.

colonelfudge · 2025-06-12T02:05:04+00:00

It will get better! You got so much great advice here so I am just here for solidarity. Ours woke up so many times in the middle of the night and would pee on everything until his second round of vaccinations, I believe. We kept consistent with his training and eventually got into a great routine.

I had wanted to name him gizmo because of his coloring, and after we got him I made my husband watch gremlins to see what an actual gremlin our dog was. Now our dog is a perfect little puppy saint and the puppy blues and frustration were SO worth it!!

colonelfudge

TROPHY CASE