5 Tactics to Surviving the Two Week Wait
When you are pursuing fertility treatments – particularly IVF – there is nothing more nerve wracking than the two week wait between implantation and the first pregnancy test. It’s the longest two weeks of your life. Rather than drive yourself – and those around you – absolutely bonkers, we recommend making your own version of a Survival Guide.
You CAN Survive the Two Weeks After Your IVF Embryo Transfer
The two weeks that follow your IVF embryo transfer can be killers – and all of the emotions they bring up, like nervousness, anxiety and stress, aren’t good for you or your potentially-attaching embryo.
The following five tactics have been tried, tested and approved by a wide spectrum of our clients, so we thought we’d pass their tips, tricks and tactics on to you.
- Be selective. Sometimes, the excitement of an upcoming IVF cycle brings on a “mouth-runneth-over” euphoria, which makes even the most taciturn of women become blabbermouths to anyone who will listen. It IS an exciting time, but be careful about who you share your IVF cycle dates with. Most couples require at least two cycles to achieve a successful pregnancy. Keeping that in mind, if you don’t get pregnant this time– limiting who you tell also limits the number of people you’ll have to answer to if the embryo(s) doesn’t successfully implant. If you can’t stand it, and your family and friends are your compadres along the infertility journey, consider making a “no news is bad news” policy with them so you don’t have to field phone calls, texts and Facebook posts.
- Schedule an acupuncture appointment. There has been a correlation between acupuncture and IVF success across multiple medical studies. We provided a brief overview of some of them in our blog titled, The Mind Body Connection: How Alternative Medicine Can Boost the Success of IVF. Before you schedule an appointment, check with your insurance carrier. In many cases, insurance companies cover all or a portion of a certain number of acupuncture sessions per year. Or, you can use funds from your health savings account (HSA) to cover some of the costs. If the cost of acupuncture is prohibitive for you, contact local acupuncture clinics to see if they host group sessions. Many do and these group sessions are typically more affordable than individual sessions.
- Take a week to treat yourself. While fertility treatments are expensive, a successful outcome of an IVF cycle is the most affordable outcome because it rules out the need for further IVF cycles…until you’re ready to have another baby, that is. For that reason, it’s worth it to take a full week off after your cycle, even if it means a few unpaid days. You can fill those days with some of your very favorite – gentle – activities. Take walks out in nature and breathe deep, journal or work on those scrapbooks or other hobbies you’ve neglected lately, eat a well-balanced diet, get pedicures or take a restorative yoga class to help you de-stress, heal and focus on your body and your breathing.
- Organize as if you’ve never organized before. Let’s face it, there are only so many good meals you can eat – and so many walks you can take – that first day of the two-week wait (often referred to as the 2WW for those in the IVF “know”) before you start to go stir crazy. Therefore, women find that embarking on The World’s Most Comprehensive Organization Project Ever is a great way to while away time and distract yourself as much as you can. Leave no drawer unscoured and no closet unsorted. Your local Good Will will thank you, and you and your partner will enjoy the de-cluttered and stress-free living space that results from your efforts.
- Netflix like there’s no tomorrow. Your mission for the next two weeks, should you accept it, is to remain as stress and activity free as you can – within reason. And, you don’t really want to chitchat with all your friends and family because all you (and they) can think about is your IVF results (see Number 1). That mean you have all kinds of free time to breeze through those Netflix TV shows you’ve been meaning to check out. Re-watch Grey’s Anatomy, treat yourself to Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and live vicariously through her very “active” lifestyle, update your recipe box by streaming The Barefoot Contessa. Your Netlix extravaganza will be (almost) enough to make you wish the two weeks would never end.
Are you an IVF veteran? How did you survive the 2WW? We’d love to hear your favorite distractions so share them with our RRC clients and followers below.
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