Well, I know that after doing IUI I was adamant I was not going to do IVF & try naturally (we fell pg with DD naturally) and I think it was b/c I found IUI very stressful at times and thought my stress and anxiety would be heightened even more with IVF. Following a discussion with my gf, my DH & I decided to do the counselling, find out the costs etc... and we are now contemplating doing IVF. My fears are not about the injections - they are the same as IUI from what I understand. The difference is the eggs being collected and then put back in. I really don't know if you can't ever not stress b/c there is so much going on & you have such high hopes that it will 'work'. I'd join in with the other gals doing IVF so you can use them and their experiences to help you along the way. You can also access counselling at any time through Monash in Victoria, but not sure about IVF QLD.
Prior to starting ivf I was completely needle-phobic, and the thought of blood tests and injections scared me more than anything else to do with the process. I was amazed at how quickly my initial fears disappeared. Bt's don't phase me anymore, and after my first couple of injections I actually started to feel 'empowered' by them - in the sense that I was in control and each shot was one step closer to achieving a pg. For me, bt's and injections became routine pretty quickly, and I suspect this is the same for a lot of ivf-ers.
I agree with rhichichi - the real stress is not the medical side, but the unknown. Are the hormones working correctly? Do you have enough follies? How many eggs did they collect? How many fertlised? How many survived? and the most important, did it work? I think most clinics offer free counselling for ivf patients, and it's worth checking it out before you start and as you go along.
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