When we talk about IVF, we often focus on the emotional trauma—but what about the physical side effects of IVF? What about the weight gain that won’t come off, the migraines that never existed before, the needle marks on your belly, and the way your body doesn’t quite feel like yours anymore? This is the part no one really prepares you for. And if you’re still healing from it years later—you’re not alone.
The Hormones Took More Than Hope—They Took My Health
I was put into a menopausal state at the start of my last IVF cycle. That’s how they prep your body. Suppress everything. I took a drug called Lupron whose side effects can cause hot flashes, headaches, mood swings, nausea, joint pain, dizziness, weight gain, anxiety, and general body aches. At the time, I didn’t realize what that would mean. Ten years later, I am still suffering from migraines.
Before IVF, I never had a migraine in my life. Not even a bad headache. But once my estrogen was stripped, the migraines started. They didn’t stop when the cycle ended. They didn’t stop when I gave up. They’re still here. Still showing up in moments when I least expect it.
And the weight—let’s talk about that too. I gained a lot. Not just a few pounds. My metabolism tanked. My body was bloated from the meds (not just Lupron). I looked in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. I didn’t feel like her either.
I used to think grief only lived in the heart. But after IVF, I realized it lives in the body too.
My Stomach Became a Map of Every Injection
Every IVF injection came with a little sting. Over time, those stings turned into bruises.
Little marks across my stomach—like reminders of everything I gave to try to become a mother. I remember touching them in the shower and feeling rage. Then sadness. Then nothing at all.
And the cramping after the embryo transfer? That dull, sore ache. Hope living in my pelvis. I tried not to move too much. Tried to believe it was a sign of implantation. Tried to believe.
But then came the silence. The nothing. The test that said: No.
And there I was again—left with the pain but no prize. Just another cycle that didn’t work. Just more scars to add to the list.
Healing Is Not Linear—Especially When the Pain is Still in Your Body
Healing from IVF isn’t just emotional. It’s physical. It’s looking at your body and not blaming it. It’s slowly coming back to your skin, your weight, your rhythm. And it’s hard.
I still have the migraines. Some weeks are better than others. I manage them. I stretch. I hydrate. I track my triggers. I advocate for my needs now in a way I never used to.
The weight? I’m learning to stop punishing myself for it. I’m learning to let go of the fantasy that I’ll “bounce back” to who I was before IVF—because that woman doesn’t exist anymore. And maybe she doesn’t have to.
The bruises on my stomach have faded. And honestly? I am glad they did. If I was scared it would have been an everyday reminder of what I endured.
Healing Is Slow—But It Happens
There’s an article I wish I had seen during those early days. It’s called “My Body After IVF” by Healthline—and it tells the truth we rarely hear: that IVF changes your body long after the cycle ends. Not just during treatment. Not just in the “two-week wait.” But months, even years later.
The author talks about weight gain, hormone crashes, skin changes, headaches, bloating, joint pain, and the deep emotional impact that comes from watching your body go through so much—and still not get what you hoped for.
But here’s what stood out to me: “Recovery looks different for everyone.” There’s no single “bounce back.” There’s just finding new rhythms, new ways to live in your body, and moments of compassion for everything you’ve been through.
This Isn’t a Before-and-After Post
I’m not writing this from the other side of some magical transformation. I’m still in it. Still learning how to care for a body that went through medical war and didn’t come out with a baby.
But I am softer with myself now. I’m less angry at my body. Less disappointed in what it didn’t give me.
And more in awe of what it did survive.
If you’re dealing with the physical side effects of IVF, know that you’re not imagining it. The bloating, the joint pain, the fatigue, the hormonal shifts—they’re real. And you deserve care and validation for all of it.
“My Body After IVF” is a resource that breaks down the physical side effects of IVF in more detail—so you know you’re not alone in this either.
Very true. My arse still has PTSD from my husband giving me the shots.
The other thing that they have barely studied if at all is the long term effects of those massive doses of estrogen and progesterone. I did my 2 IUIs (one with Femara) and all 6 rounds of donor egg IVF (plus two ‘mock’ ERA rounds) from 2015-2017, literally one after the other with no breaks, and when I had a breast thermography exam after one, my hormone levels were through the roof and I actually started getting breast ultrasounds and MRIs (family history of cancer) and now, in menopause, I am surrounded by ob/gyns with almost no menopause education (less than 20% of ob/gyns have menopause training, and even the certified ones are no guarantee of help…I’ve tried!) who just want to dose me with more estrogen or, triply offensive, want to put me on birth control pills. There are literally no doctors I can find to talk to who aren’t just trying to push the same old estrogen creams and injections and pills. With all that I took and the years of birth control before that? No way am I putting any more inside my body, even if I’m as arid as the Sonoran Desert.
Oh wow, I feel you. It’s so true—no one talks about the aftermath of all those hormones or how we’re just supposed to go back to “normal” after everything our bodies went through. It’s a lonely place to be, and you deserve better care—and real answers. Thank you for sharing this.