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Fertility treatment

Psychological impact of fertility treatment : How to cope with it

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Fertility Treatment

The inability to conceive a child despite trying for long can have a devastating psychological impact, and millions of couples around the world affected by infertility have to deal with this unfathomable sense of loss and grief, leading to great emotional upheavals. It’s not easy to cope with the plethora of critical medical decisions and the uncertainty about outcomes associated with fertility treatment.

Often, it’s the worst life crisis that can confront a couple which, apart from the overwhelming sense of loss, can also trigger anger, guilt and shame. It can lead to depression, anxiety and a terrible feeling of alienation. Just remember that coming to grips with infertility, the subsequent decision to go for assisted reproduction and the psychological impact of the treatment, is not easy and sometimes you will need support from a certified mental health professional. It’s very important to know that you are not alone in this journey.

When should you seek psychological counseling?

Infertility treatmentcould be an emotional rollercoaster for most couples, and feeling overwhelmed is perfectly normal. You need to talk to the treating doctor and counselor in case you are feeling like any of these:

  • Losing interest in normal activities
  • A sense of depression that engulfs you
  • You feel your relationship with your partner and others is on the edge
  • Can’t take your mind off your infertility problem
  • Feel anxious all the time
  • Detect a fall in your efficiency levels
  • Have trouble concentrating
  • Experience difficulty in sleeping
  • Find a change in appetite or weight
  • Have suicidal thoughts
  • Shun company
  • Experience a constant sense of guilt, bitterness or anger

How can counseling help you cope better?

  • The primary goal of the counselor is to help couples cope better with the physical and emotional factors linked to infertility, and the medical treatments.
  • Choosing the right medical treatment or exploring other family-building options can be a tough decision where your infertility specialist and the counselor can play a big role.
  • A counselor can teach you deal with stress, anxiety or depression by using problem-solving techniques which can help you cope better with grief, fear, and other negative emotions.
  • We all have in-built coping skills which sometimes take a backseat when a sense of grief and futility overwhelms us. Therapy prior to and during the treatment can help in re-charging those skills and help in achieving a place of positivity and hope.
  • These exercises could also often turn the life crisis of infertility on its head to help the individual/couple embrace rewarding pursuits for progress, armed with more clarity of thought.
  • Sometimes, the hormones used in infertility treatment affect the mood of the patient, prior knowledge and understanding can help a person to cope better. Counselingby the treating doctor and the therapist is a vital part of infertility treatment.

    • What can I do on my own to cope better?

    The journey through IVF could be very tough, and there’s no right or wrong way to feel about it. Emotions vary from person to person. However, you can try these simple steps to keep your negative emotions in check:

    Don’t fight your feelings: Acknowledge your feelings and emotions, don’t try to suppress or deny them, no matter how intense and destabilizing they are.

    Stay in the moment: Try and perceive your emotions as a passing phenomenon, even if they are particularly painful. Tell yourself, “Tomorrow will be better”.

    Talk to people: Opening up about your feelings and secret fears to someone you can lean on can really help. It could be your partner, a family member or a close friend or colleague. It strengthens the sense of not being alone in your fertility journey.

    Focus on what you can control: There are only certain things which are in your grasp, like when you would like to start a treatment cycle, the length of break between cycles, or when to seek another opinion. Try to stay with these tangibles and remember to plan for the short term and keep your plans flexible.

    Stay informed: Get clear understanding of critical issues like treatment cost, success rates based on your specific circumstances and all the different treatment options available. This will help you make better choices and more confident about meeting challenges head-on.

    Medicines might help: For some people, antidepressant medications may be required for the treatment of depression and anxiety. Most of these can be safely used in pregnancy as well.

PCOS

PCOS: When your ‘weight’ comes in the way of conceiving

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PCOS

When we think of obesity, the clutch of health conditions that spring to mind are usually coronary artery disease or CAD, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and perhaps even cancer. However, women with obesity are also much more likely to develop problems, like PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is the most common hormonal abnormality in reproductive-age women. There is a definitive connect between obesity and PCOS based on epidemiological data, which has now been corroborated through genetic research.

Obesity is quite common in women with PCOS – between 40–80% of women living with this condition are found to be overweight or obese. It is, however, not clearly established if PCOS increases your risk for obesity, or is it the other way around. Nonetheless, it’s proven that women with PCOS who are obese have difficulty losing weight, adding to risk factors for other serious conditions. This could be because they produce excess insulin, or because the insulin produced does not function in the way it ought to. What can safely be surmised is that women who are obese are at a higher risk for PCOS and those with PCOS are at a higher risk for obesity.

PCOS symptoms: Symptoms may vary from person to person. But, a PCOS diagnosis is typically confirmed if two of these symptoms are present: excess androgen, polycystic ovaries and menstrual irregularity.

Treating PCOS – Change your lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle helps. Regular exercise and a healthy diet can help you lose weight and improve the body’s use of insulin. Several symptoms of PCOS could get better if you exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Even a modest weight loss of 5 to 7% in six months can lower your insulin and androgen levels. This can restore ovulation and fertility in more than 75% of women with PCOS. Then there are these protocols to follow:

# Quit smoking: Before anything else, you should kick smoking. It could help bring down the excessively high androgen levels.

# Contraceptive pills: Androgen-lowering therapies and birth-control pills can often alleviate PCOS symptoms, like problems with the menstrual cycle, male-pattern baldness, acne and abnormal hair growth.

# Fertility treatment: For women trying to conceive, fertility drugs can also help start ovulation.

# Anti-diabetic medication: Some women with PCOS might be prescribed metformin – the anti-diabetic drug to manage insulin resistance.

Risks associated with PCOS-related weight gain

Irrespective of the trigger, weight gain or obesity can harm your health. Women with this condition are more likely to develop many of the problems associated with weight gain and insulin resistance, such as:

  • Type 2 Diabetes
  • High cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Sleep apnea
  • Infertility
  • Endometrial cancer

Many of these conditions can lead to heart disease as well. Yes, PCOS does challenge the quality of life of those affected. But with proper treatment, it can be managed and symptoms alleviated. Obesity and PCOS both, individually, can increase risk of infertility in women. Combined, they can become a major cause. When lifestyle changes do not help in normal conception, infertility treatment may be required. IVF or In Vitro Fertilization is usually the most recommended treatment in such instances and has shown to yield good results.