u/No_Tangerine8294

TW: Pregnancy loss

I (34f, 9w3d) had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in August last year. It was very traumatic and I've had to have a lot of therapy to deal with it. Since then we've done private IVF and our first embryo transfer was a success. Obviously we are thrilled, but also understandably I am super paranoid about anything going wrong.

On Tuesday next week I am supposed to go to London for a work conference. It's predicted to be 31 degrees. I will have to get the train into Euston on the Monday afternoon, then get the tube across London. The journey by tube will take approx 1 hour and I have to take Jubilee and Northern, which are not air-conditioned. Then there's the actual day of the conference on the Tuesday.

There are several things that are making me anxious about this:

• I am on a low dose of Sertraline (antidepressant) which increases the risk of heatstroke (in addition to the increased heatstroke risk of being pregnant)
• Last year at this conference it was similarly hot in London, and the venue was really hot. It is a different venue this year, but I have no idea how well air conned it is.
• I have been experiencing heart palpitations and extreme thirst a lot in the first trimester.
• When I had the ruptured ectopic, there was a heatwave and I was on a ward with no AC, stuck on nil-by-mouth for several days as they kept delaying my surgery. So I'm well aware that being too hot and dehydrated is also a huge emotional trigger for me.

For context, this conference is not essential to my job. There will be other members of my team there. My workplace do not yet know I'm pregnant. But my company will lose the price of my train ticket and hotel room, it's non-refundable.

So basically, I need a reality check. Would it be reasonable to flake out last minute? Or should I toughen up and get on with it?

TL;DR: I'm at increased risk of heatstroke. Should I avoid a work conference in London next week?

TW: Pregnancy loss, medical trauma

I (34f) had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy last year. It was a traumatic ordeal. Long story short, the hospital kept delaying my surgery, keeping me nil-by-mouth for days in a 30-degree heatwave, with zero pain medication the entire time. By the time they finally operated, I'd been bleeding internally for a week and my body cavity filled with blood. They also discovered that I was completely infertile, one tube ruptured, the other blocked (hydrosalpinx).

The good news is that since then I've had both tubes removed and successfully completed private IVF. We're due Feb 2027 and we're over the moon

But the thing that has been on my mind ever since I found out our IVF cycle was successful, is returning to the hospital that basically traumatised me. How do I trust them with the delivery?

I want to be as well-informed as possible, so I know all my options, what they should be doing for me and my baby, what I don't have to accept. What would you recommend in terms of resources, books, things to consider...any tips or advice you can give so I can go into it fully informed. My husband will also be doing the same so he can advocate for me.

TIA

This is a distress call from the midst of the hormone tornado.

I've just done my first load of stims and egg retrieval. I obviously got too cocky during the stimulation phase, I didn't feel anywhere near as bad as I expected, and I was thinking hey this IVF thing might not be so terrible! ER was fine, nowhere near as scary as I worried, and we are happy with the number of mature and fertilised eggs.

But oh my lord, I'm 2 days post-ER and my mood has absolutely plummeted. I am so grumpy and sad and uncomfortable and generally on the shortest fuse ever. My poor husband is walking on eggshells and I don't want to keep picking fights with him! But then last night I cried with happiness because he suggested ordering my favourite food. I am all over the place!

Did you have a similar hormone crash? If so, what coping techniques helped? What helped you feel like a normal human again? How did you ride it out?