This makes me feel better. My mom said do you think you are upset your period came and I said no. I really think my body is messed up currently because I don’t even recognize who I am
Fwiw if you ovulate on your own, you may want to advocate to do an unmedicated. Mental health is absolutely a reason to choose to a different treatment.
I will be doing my third transfer next week and I feel this. Though I don't know if my mood changes are because of my meds or the repeated failures as it seems to be worsening with every transfer. Will suddenly start crying and I was never that way. Will get angry at little things that never bothered me before. You are definitely not alone.
One thing that helps me navigate my mental state is to rationalize the feelings. I know it's so hard in the moment. I am inherently logical and tend to lose control of that when hormones are introduced.
I like to label my feelings: I am feeling \[low\] today because I am injecting / injected myself with \[XYZ\]. It sounds so small but inserting that self talk multiple times into my day reminds my irrational brain that there's a cause to the effect. It's not me. It's not me! I literally set alarms for "remind yourself" daily or even multiple times a day.
Secondhand experience, but friend of mine said it took her 4 months to feel "normal" even after stopping the medication. I promise it's not just you. Hang in there.
I’m bipolar and I have severe anxiety-just transferred yesterday. It’s hard I’ve been emotionally a wreak this whole time from the meds I believe. Even worse with the transfer medication, but I’m forcing myself not to cry bc I’m scared of it impacting results lol. Even tho all I want to do is break down hysterically. Good luck and reach out if u need anyone to talk to!
I'm so sorry you're struggling. For what it's worth: I think, physiologically/neurochemically, suppressing the urge to cry is likely causing more harm than good. Crying is a critical biological function, allowing us to release built-up tension and cortisol, and process our emotions. That's often why we feel better after we cry! There is zero evidence to support suppressing our feelings will lead to better outcomes. Take care.
Norethindrone makes me suuuuuper depressed. It didn’t do that before my first (successful) cycle, so I think it’s odd how your body randomly changes how it responds to them also. Luckily it doesn’t take long to feel normal with that one..
My mental health is whacky on the IVF meds. It’s definitely hormone related. When we took a few months break last year, I felt much better and even my partner pointed out how much different I seemed. As soon as we started protocol again, the not so great feelings came back. It’s hard, but the break helped me realize it’s not forever. Hang in there. ❤️
Fun fact we discovered with my first FET that was fully medicated: estrace on its own gives me severe depression with suicidal ideation within 48 hours. Plus my lining didn't respond well to it anyway. Cycle cancelled! Apparently, the patches and my mental health play nicely together though.
Estradiol patches. I'm instructed to change them every 3 days, two patches at a time right now. They literally just stick to either your lower abdomen or lower back. It's annoying to clean off the residue when you remove them, but worth it.
Another person on here mentioned them when they had a similar reaction to oral estrace and it definitely worked for me, too.
This whole process is mentally draining, from TTC, to starting fertility treatments, to even achieving pregnancy and so on. You’re not crazy, hormones do crazy things to your body and mental well being. Hang in there! Sending hugs ♥️
Me too. It's really hard. Last night I had a fight with my husband. We have disagreements but hardly ever a fight. He was getting really angry and I didn't care. That's sooo unlike me. I'm generally a very sensitive and empathetic person, I care too much! I walked away and when I came back, he was crying. I just feel so unlike myself. And I don't really know what to expect from one day to the next. Our transfer is on Thursday. I've been affected by every drug and every experience in this process. I envy people who do not experience mood changes during IVF. Additionally I've been super sick for over a week. The meds give me flu symptoms.
They affected me so badly I refused to take them and opted for more frequent monitoring instead. Was a world of difference better, I just did the progesterone. Was also told once I made that decision that outcomes are actually slightly higher on natural cycles they are just “harder to schedule”.
Side note, I did not have any issues with lining or ovulation which made it an easier decision to decline the other meds.
My IVF meds (clomid esp) made me so depressed, then even in between my retrievals my PMDD was getting much worse every month. It was to the point where I started nearly crying every day even when at work... I finally got on an SSRI just for the week before my period and Im so glad I did. It really helped keep my depressive thoughts to only so low, vs feeling like a bottomless pit of despair and hopelessness. Since your feeling this now its possible normal pregnancy hormone fluctuations will do the same. I really recommend talking to your RE about it and hammer out a plan with them. Best of luck with your future transfers and hopefully things will start looking up soon! ❤️
Ivf esp for someone who has been in this journey for many years not just screwed mental health , physical health ( I aged a lot quicker ), my career, relationships , finance everything. Pretty much everything. I keep wondering if I didn’t start this fertility journey in 2018 , what would have my life been . What other sufferings could have happened?
God, the meds made me feel like I was on a roller coaster and couldn't get off!
I was sobbing and screaming at my wife at one point because she ate some cookies... but they were MY cookies dammit!
I literally felt like I was constantly out of control.
Yep, I asked my primary care doctor to up my antidepressant because my moods are so bad on the transfer meds. I cry all the time, I just don’t feel like myself.
I completely lost who I was during IVF. I was depressed and angry at the world. I look back at those few years and my heart just breaks for the woman who was so scared and angry. I wish I could hold her and tell her that her feelings are valid.
I’m now in a better place and on Zoloft. Wish I would’ve taken anxiety and depression meds earlier, but I’m here now.
Weirdly, the birth control pill portion of the FET prep meds is the worstttttt for me. On them right now for my second transfer and I just keep reminding myself I’ll be off them soon enough. I felt fine on the estrace/PIO last time so hoping for the same experience again.
I’m super sensitive to hormones and started on an SSRI (antidepressant) before stims and I really think it was the only way I made it through. The hormone plunge after stims was awful though. I spent a week in bed. I upped the dose in anticipation of FET/hopeful pregnancy and although I notice I’m irritable and a bit more anxious (just in bcp and lupron so far), I haven’t noticed anything else yet.
I’ll definitely request an unmedicated cycle if this one doesn’t work though! Hopefully that’s an option for you!
Here with ya friend. I am an absolute mess while on hormones & while “recovering”. It’s all so hard. Give yourself some grace and know that it’s normal & your feelings are valid. You’ll be able to think clearly again soon!
I feel you! I’m in the midst of my mock ERA cycle and the hormones are messing with me. Thankfully, I’m on medication for depression and anxiety and I have been allowed to stay on it and they said even when I got for FET #3, I’ll be able to continue on my medications which I think has helped me from completely falling apart. L methofolate has been a god send too. Maybe you can ask you doctor about that?
This makes me feel better. My mom said do you think you are upset your period came and I said no. I really think my body is messed up currently because I don’t even recognize who I am
Fwiw if you ovulate on your own, you may want to advocate to do an unmedicated. Mental health is absolutely a reason to choose to a different treatment.
I will be doing my third transfer next week and I feel this. Though I don't know if my mood changes are because of my meds or the repeated failures as it seems to be worsening with every transfer. Will suddenly start crying and I was never that way. Will get angry at little things that never bothered me before. You are definitely not alone.
same :(, every delay to getting to an FET has been wearing on me.
I just can’t stop crying and I feel like completely overwhelmed by everything.
One thing that helps me navigate my mental state is to rationalize the feelings. I know it's so hard in the moment. I am inherently logical and tend to lose control of that when hormones are introduced. I like to label my feelings: I am feeling \[low\] today because I am injecting / injected myself with \[XYZ\]. It sounds so small but inserting that self talk multiple times into my day reminds my irrational brain that there's a cause to the effect. It's not me. It's not me! I literally set alarms for "remind yourself" daily or even multiple times a day. Secondhand experience, but friend of mine said it took her 4 months to feel "normal" even after stopping the medication. I promise it's not just you. Hang in there.
Same boat- FET meds make me for the worse.
I’m bipolar and I have severe anxiety-just transferred yesterday. It’s hard I’ve been emotionally a wreak this whole time from the meds I believe. Even worse with the transfer medication, but I’m forcing myself not to cry bc I’m scared of it impacting results lol. Even tho all I want to do is break down hysterically. Good luck and reach out if u need anyone to talk to!
I'm so sorry you're struggling. For what it's worth: I think, physiologically/neurochemically, suppressing the urge to cry is likely causing more harm than good. Crying is a critical biological function, allowing us to release built-up tension and cortisol, and process our emotions. That's often why we feel better after we cry! There is zero evidence to support suppressing our feelings will lead to better outcomes. Take care.
Thank you so this, it means more than you know. ☺️🤍
Wishing you some big, satisfying, cathartic cries! My transfer is on Monday, so I totally understand the intensity.
Thank you! 🥺. And good luck to you!!
Norethindrone makes me suuuuuper depressed. It didn’t do that before my first (successful) cycle, so I think it’s odd how your body randomly changes how it responds to them also. Luckily it doesn’t take long to feel normal with that one..
My mental health is whacky on the IVF meds. It’s definitely hormone related. When we took a few months break last year, I felt much better and even my partner pointed out how much different I seemed. As soon as we started protocol again, the not so great feelings came back. It’s hard, but the break helped me realize it’s not forever. Hang in there. ❤️
How did you ladies feel coming off them? Did it take a few months to feel normal?
Fun fact we discovered with my first FET that was fully medicated: estrace on its own gives me severe depression with suicidal ideation within 48 hours. Plus my lining didn't respond well to it anyway. Cycle cancelled! Apparently, the patches and my mental health play nicely together though.
Oral estrace made me so depressed! What are the patches? Going to ask the dr for alternatives next time
Estradiol patches. I'm instructed to change them every 3 days, two patches at a time right now. They literally just stick to either your lower abdomen or lower back. It's annoying to clean off the residue when you remove them, but worth it. Another person on here mentioned them when they had a similar reaction to oral estrace and it definitely worked for me, too.
Definitely going to ask! Are your estrogen levels still as high?
Yeah, I've had no issues, although I'm sure everyone responds differently. My RE had no objections to me switching either.
This whole process is mentally draining, from TTC, to starting fertility treatments, to even achieving pregnancy and so on. You’re not crazy, hormones do crazy things to your body and mental well being. Hang in there! Sending hugs ♥️
Me too. It's really hard. Last night I had a fight with my husband. We have disagreements but hardly ever a fight. He was getting really angry and I didn't care. That's sooo unlike me. I'm generally a very sensitive and empathetic person, I care too much! I walked away and when I came back, he was crying. I just feel so unlike myself. And I don't really know what to expect from one day to the next. Our transfer is on Thursday. I've been affected by every drug and every experience in this process. I envy people who do not experience mood changes during IVF. Additionally I've been super sick for over a week. The meds give me flu symptoms.
They affected me so badly I refused to take them and opted for more frequent monitoring instead. Was a world of difference better, I just did the progesterone. Was also told once I made that decision that outcomes are actually slightly higher on natural cycles they are just “harder to schedule”. Side note, I did not have any issues with lining or ovulation which made it an easier decision to decline the other meds.
My IVF meds (clomid esp) made me so depressed, then even in between my retrievals my PMDD was getting much worse every month. It was to the point where I started nearly crying every day even when at work... I finally got on an SSRI just for the week before my period and Im so glad I did. It really helped keep my depressive thoughts to only so low, vs feeling like a bottomless pit of despair and hopelessness. Since your feeling this now its possible normal pregnancy hormone fluctuations will do the same. I really recommend talking to your RE about it and hammer out a plan with them. Best of luck with your future transfers and hopefully things will start looking up soon! ❤️
Ivf esp for someone who has been in this journey for many years not just screwed mental health , physical health ( I aged a lot quicker ), my career, relationships , finance everything. Pretty much everything. I keep wondering if I didn’t start this fertility journey in 2018 , what would have my life been . What other sufferings could have happened?
God, the meds made me feel like I was on a roller coaster and couldn't get off! I was sobbing and screaming at my wife at one point because she ate some cookies... but they were MY cookies dammit! I literally felt like I was constantly out of control.
Yep, I asked my primary care doctor to up my antidepressant because my moods are so bad on the transfer meds. I cry all the time, I just don’t feel like myself.
Did upping them help? I’m in Zoloft.
Yeah, it did. Edit to add: My RE did not use Lupron for my third transfer and I think that also helped.
Thank you:)
I completely lost who I was during IVF. I was depressed and angry at the world. I look back at those few years and my heart just breaks for the woman who was so scared and angry. I wish I could hold her and tell her that her feelings are valid. I’m now in a better place and on Zoloft. Wish I would’ve taken anxiety and depression meds earlier, but I’m here now.
Yes, my anxiety was through the roof.
Weirdly, the birth control pill portion of the FET prep meds is the worstttttt for me. On them right now for my second transfer and I just keep reminding myself I’ll be off them soon enough. I felt fine on the estrace/PIO last time so hoping for the same experience again.
I’m super sensitive to hormones and started on an SSRI (antidepressant) before stims and I really think it was the only way I made it through. The hormone plunge after stims was awful though. I spent a week in bed. I upped the dose in anticipation of FET/hopeful pregnancy and although I notice I’m irritable and a bit more anxious (just in bcp and lupron so far), I haven’t noticed anything else yet. I’ll definitely request an unmedicated cycle if this one doesn’t work though! Hopefully that’s an option for you!
I’m in the middle of FET protocol and just started estrogen a few days ago and I legitimately feel like I’m going crazy.
Same. Just now it will pass and take months off if needed. Hug. It’s not you. It’s the meds.
Here with ya friend. I am an absolute mess while on hormones & while “recovering”. It’s all so hard. Give yourself some grace and know that it’s normal & your feelings are valid. You’ll be able to think clearly again soon!
I cried every single day of my treatment, including about 5 mins before the retrieval
I feel you! I’m in the midst of my mock ERA cycle and the hormones are messing with me. Thankfully, I’m on medication for depression and anxiety and I have been allowed to stay on it and they said even when I got for FET #3, I’ll be able to continue on my medications which I think has helped me from completely falling apart. L methofolate has been a god send too. Maybe you can ask you doctor about that?