# De-stressing



## cathgreen (Dec 10, 2002)

Hello Peter

Sending you my best wishes and hope Catie's better.

I've been told by my fertilty clinic that it's really important to de-stress during IVF - easier said than done and I wondered if you've come across any useful therapies/tips to de stress leading up to and post EC.

Also I've been told that EC is not pain free, but surely this can be blocked if you're given a really strong pain killer? What is normally given during EC please? I'm really worried about this - particularly after reading some of the comments regarding EC.

Thanks
CG


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## Lucy (May 27, 2002)

Cath

Like you I was really scared about the whole ivf procedure, to the point where the clinics counsellor took me round the operating theatre to try and get me used to it before I needed to go in. Could you do this? 

Everything about it all, the smell, the bright lights, the invasiveness and the clinical 'coldness' of it all really put me off (they even had the machines that go 'pinggg'!). On the day of EC I begged to go in first and get it over with, and I even started to cry when they took me in there!  

But let me reassure you, it was soooo much better than I thought it would be. It DIDN'T HURT (and from what most of the others have said it didn't hurt them either) and I would never be scared of going through it again. Honestly, it was FINE!!!

I know some people can find it uncomfortable. What anaesthetic will you have?

Chatting about it to others here might help you feel better about it, and the Chat room is great for that; there are people here with lots more ivf experience than me. I'm sure Peter can reassure you too.

Good luck

Lucy


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## peter (Oct 2, 2002)

Dear Cath,

De-stressing is very important, try anything that works for you. As a last resort you could even get some medication from your GP but relaxation classes, yoga, meditation, homeopathy and so on might help just as well.

EC is not pain free but at the same time you should not suffer at all (a bit like having a filling really!). Let your clinic know your concerns and ask for sedation or even general anaesthetic at EC if you are worried.

Regards,

Peter



cathgreen said:


> Hello Peter
> 
> Sending you my best wishes and hope Catie's better.
> 
> ...


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