# Exercise in 2ww - my dilemma!



## Jojonz (Jun 10, 2014)

HI everyone

Keen on your thoughts - it's winter over here and I"ve been playing field hockey since May.  I just had a failed FET and chose not to play my game which was 1 day after my FET... but otherwise my clinic have always said to carry on as normal with exercise and everything, just don't take up something new. 

My dilemma is - I am about to get underway with another FET cycle and Day 1 is today, which could mean transfer is the week leading up to my final! I really really really want to play in the final. If I could get the transfer on the Monday or Tuesday, the final woudl be Saturday..... and it's totally exercise I'm used to but is a lot of running and pretty intense for 1.5 hours. 

WE have 3 embryos left and won't do another round of IVF - and I've had 3 failed FET last year and one in July this year...

I can't do sept or Oct for various reasons, so if I didn't go ahead this month would be November... and I"m old enough as it is (turned 40 in April). 

What would you do?
thanks


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## Aley (Dec 13, 2016)

Now, I don’t know much about field hockey but if it’s anything remotely similar to ice hockey than the answer to that is an absolute no,no.
Is not just the intense activity although we can squeeze that in as a argument for not doing it, it’s the potential risk of injury. I know many RE say you can continue business as usual but I am not sure how many include in this a sport where you can potentially get a ball/bat/someone else’s knee, elbow, head in the tummy.
Most people would modify their usual physical activity and that will continue for the rest of the pregnancy.
That’s just my humble opinion anyway.


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## 63smc (Feb 13, 2017)

I think the question is: would you beat yourself up for playing if this FET doesn't take? 
If the answer is yes, I wouldn't play, because you will always question that decision and wonder if the final was the reason the embryo didn't stick. 
If the answer is no, then play.


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## PippityPoppity (Jun 13, 2015)

I agree with what has already been said. Clinics say fine to continue with exercise etc but I don’t know if an extremely physical contact sport would come under that, especially with the potential risk of injury. I wouldn’t risk that. Like 63smc says as well, if there’s any chance you would look back and think it didn’t work because you played the match then there’s no way I would do it as I would just blame myself and think “what if”.

I would also say this: it seems like a lifetime delaying any kind of treatment because this whole process is already full of waiting and delays and I totally get that feeling that time is running out especially if you’ve turned 40 recently BUT your embryos are frozen, it’s not going to affect them by waiting any longer and ultimately the difference would only be a few months which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

I understand it’s a tough decision though, good luck with whatever you decide x


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## Londonwriter (Mar 18, 2015)

You’re going to know if there’s a real risk of being hit hard in the stomach during the match. Otherwise, if it’s just running around for 90 minutes, I’d go for it. 

I completely ignored my clinic’s exercise restrictions during the 2WW after a natural FET and am now 11 weeks pregnant. I also exercised intensively (half-marathons three times a week, plus weights classes) when I naturally conceived my DS and continued weight training and Zumba throughout my pregnancy (I switched from running to swimming and stopped cycling around 26 weeks).

Yes, you might conceivably blame the hockey final on a failed FET but, to be honest, if you have a ‘normal’ cause of infertility (i.e. chromosomal issues due to lowered ovarian reserve) then it’s not going to make any difference and you’re just making yourself miserable for no reason. In my case, I have a largely untreated inflammatory rheumatoid disease combined - increasingly - with age-related infertility, and whether I exercise or not isn’t going to make the slightest difference to my chances of conception. Embryos either take or they don’t.


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## Jojonz (Jun 10, 2014)

HI everyone

tHanks so much for taking the time to reply and apologies it's taken me so long to respond. 

Interesting to read all your comments and thoughts - the risk of being hit is very very low (of course it could happen).. but it's really just the running around. 

Will mull this over... still waiting on my clinic for dates so who knows when it will actually be!


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## StrawberrySundae (Jan 30, 2017)

I did loads of exercise before starting ivf and have been really careful since then, so I feel like I’ve hardly done any the last few years! I wouldn’t risk it personally, even if others are fine to carry on as normal. One time I jumped up whilst gardening a few days after a transfer and felt like something came away inside and I had a CP that cycle, although who knows, it could have been be my imagination   I think exercise up until transfer is fine. 

Good luck with your next cycle!


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## Maeve88Troy (Aug 9, 2019)

Hi Jojonz!

I would just rest during your 2ww since too much activity might bring down your chances of pregnancy, may i ask where are you getting your treatment?


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## Londonwriter (Mar 18, 2015)

Maeve88Troy said:


> Hi Jojonz!
> 
> I would just rest during your 2ww since too much activity might bring down your chances of pregnancy, may i ask where are you getting your treatment?


You have to do a LOT of exercise - as in, you have to be a professional athlete - or take up an exhausting new exercise schedule for it to affect your chances of pregnancy. There is one study suggesting that normal levels of exercise can affect IVF success, but that's exercise for several years before the cycle and doesn't apply if you've been working out regularly for more than nine years. Either way, by the time you've reached the 2WW, your chances are what they are.

I've been pregnant precisely twice. When I conceived naturally, I was running three half marathons a week plus dance classes and weights - and was doing more exercise than usual in the month I conceived (I was about to start IVF and afraid of being told not to exercise by my clinic, so I went crazy). The second time, during my first cycle of IVF, I ignored my clinic's exercise restrictions completely during the 2WW. I still got my BFP.

If you've no reason to suspect that you have health complications exacerbated by exercise, you can do what you like. The embryo will stick or it won't, but it won't have anything to do with exercise. It's worth mentioning that bed rest after embryo transfer has been shown to reduce chances of conception - so dramatically reducing physical activity is definitely a bad idea.

[All that said, you should obviously be careful around exercise with a fresh cycle due to the risk of ovarian torsion].


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## Maeve88Troy (Aug 9, 2019)

oh wow that is such helpful advice! congrats on becoming a mommy! where did you get your treatment?


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## Londonwriter (Mar 18, 2015)

Maeve88Troy said:


> oh wow that is such helpful advice! congrats on becoming a mommy! where did you get your treatment?


Thanks 

First time, I did five months of immune treatment at ARGC in preparation for a first IVF and conceived naturally the month I was due to start a fresh cycle. ARGC then monitored me up to 19 weeks pregnant. Second time around, I did nine months of immunes with Dr Gorgy and did a PGS freeze-all cycle followed by a natural FET with CRGH.

I spent a lot of time researching the evidence for and against exercising in IVF when I was due to cycle with ARGC (who, from what I gathered, ban you from exercising for 12 weeks after a BFP, which is neither healthy nor evidence based).


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## Maeve88Troy (Aug 9, 2019)

Oh wow you are really lucky! i had to travel abroad to get ivf, but it was worth it in the end!


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