Causes & Treatment
My IVF protocol, simplified (with the fertility treatment app I wish I’d known about sooner)
Emma Harpham in partnership with Pixel Care, Editor | 3 Mar 2025
Understanding and managing your IVF protocol can often feel really confusing and isolating – especially when you’re riding the emotional rollercoaster of treatment.
From knowing when to take your meds (sometimes, it’s down to the minute!) to making sure you don’t run out of anything in the midst of IVF brain fog, it can feel like so much responsibility is on you to get it all right.
Back in 2023, I was there – for the fifth time. My husband and I had decided to hit go on a completely new IVF cycle after a seven-year break. If you’re keen, you can read all about how I prepped for this cycle and get all the background on my IVF journey to date here.
But even though I’d done it all before, I still felt overwhelmed with it all. I was prescribed some new and different meds. And while I made it through with some great support – I was lucky enough to trial the Pixel Care fertility treatment app early in its beta phase – I can’t help but think how much easier things would have been if the support had been as tailored and connected as it is now.
Fast-forward to 2025 the Pixel Care app has been redeveloped and officially launched, and after recreating my last cycle in the app to try out the new version, I can confidently say that this is the app I wish I had used for my last round of IVF.
From keeping up to speed with medication reminders and dosages, appointment and symptom tracking, and getting questions answered from the nurses and pharmacists in real time, Pixel Care’s features also include enhanced scheduling and calendar, inventory and in-app refill-requests, FAQs and how-to videos for every medication in your regimen.
Read on for my key takeaways on all things stims and to uncover my personal IVF protocol for my final cycle, plus find out what I’ve learned about Pixel Care, and how the app can help you stay organized during treatment.
Understanding your IVF protocol
First things first, though – where on earth do you begin when it comes to understanding your IVF protocol?
While each individual protocol involves different lengths and a unique combination of meds based on your specific fertility needs, they all have the same goal – stimulating your ovaries to be able to retrieve as many eggs as possible.
Your clinic will give you a list of IVF medications tailored to you. And since, like me, you’re (probably!) not a pharmacist, here’s a little breakdown of what’s what, courtesy of Pixel Care.
What are the most common IVF medications?
Some of the medications commonly used in traditional IVF protocols include:
- Gonadotropins (FSH, LH) – they stimulate follicle development in your ovaries.
- GnRH agonists (Leuprolide, Goserelin) or GnRH antagonists (Cetrorelix, Ganirelix) – these suppress or control the timing of your ovulation.
- Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) – this triggers final egg maturation and release, and is also known as your ‘trigger shot’.
You might also use estrogen patches or oral contraceptives as part of the process.
What could a short IVF protocol look like?
Your doctor might recommend this to you if you have a good ovarian reserve and have regular cycles.
This protocol lasts for around 10 days. You’ll begin by directly stimulating with Gonadotropin injections. Around day 5 or 6, you’ll introduce GnRH antagonist medications to stop early ovulation. Once your follicles are developed, you’ll use a hCG trigger to get your body ready for your retrieval around day 10.
This is the type of protocol I followed – but more on this later.
What about a long protocol?
This is a more extended process that your doctor might recommend for you if you’ve got a lower ovarian reserve, irregular menstrual cycles, or a history of failed IVF cycles.
This protocol could last around 4 weeks, beginning around one week before your expected period. The other main difference with short protocol IVF is that you’ll suppress your period using a medication called Lupron, before introducing Gonadotropin injections to stimulate follicle growth.
My medical team broke down all this information for me, and we decided what kind of protocol best suited me and my body. Then, it was time to start preparing for treatment.
How Pixel Care can simplify your IVF protocol
Pixel Care is designed to help you understand the whole process and your IVF protocol step by step.
From daily instructions for how and when to administer, to round-the-clock support, it’s really a one-stop shop for all things fertility support during IVF treatment.
Here’s what my protocol looked like, during my last cycle:
- Follistim 900 iu #4/1
- Menopur 75 iu #25/1
- Ganirelix 0.25 mg #8/1
- HCG 10,000 iu #1/0
- Lupron 2 wk kit #1/0
- Progesterone in Oil #2/2
- 2 week kit of leuprolide acetate (1mg/0.2ml)
The only difference compared to my previous cycles was that I got estrogen patches to use before beginning the other meds to prime my body, and then used Lupron at the trigger shot stage.
And, whilst I was on a short protocol, I ended up having to stimulate for 14 days.
Long story short, I only had a few follicles around day 10, and I struggled with the uncertainty of needing more monitoring and not knowing when I would get to trigger.
I was told this had nothing to do with my age, at 38 – it’s just very common to get a different response to the Gonadotropin meds each cycle.
If I’d had Pixel Care in its current iteration, navigating this entire process would have felt so much smoother. Here’s why.
1. Seamless medication management
With the current version of the app, your clinic can send your prescriptions directly to Pixel, so you don’t have to stress about running out or over-ordering. (To do this, ask your clinic to send your prescriptions to “Pixel Care, Austin, TX”).
Since Pixel connects to your pharmacy, it also ensures you get meds when you need them.
For my cycle, if I’d had to extend my stim phase (which I did), the app would have made it easy to request refills and have them delivered promptly.
2. Daily reminders, check-ins and instructions
Pixel provides daily reminders, lays out your treatment plan in a calendar, and even prompts you when you’re running low on meds.
I’m quite forgetful (IVF brain fog aside!) so the prompts on low dosage and reminders to inject would have kept me on track and feeling in charge – really important for when there are so many other variables during IVF that feel so out of our control!
On top of daily reminders of what to take when, you’ll also get little check-in prompts so you can track how you’re feeling emotionally and physically.
One of the features I love? The step-by-step instructions. With this current version of Pixel, I wouldn’t have had to Google how to mix my Menopur at 10 p.m. – I could have just followed the library of clear, easy-to-understand videos that pop up when you tap the medication name!
3. Real-time support, from nurses and pharmacists
Something else that struck me during this mock cycle with the current version of the app was that the support Pixel Care can offer is pretty much unparalleled.
One of the hardest parts of IVF is feeling like you’re navigating it alone. During my cycle, I had unexpected changes – like needing to double my Ganirelix dose at short notice – and I had to rely on clinic call-backs. With Pixel, you can access licensed fertility nurses and pharmacists through the app and get support in real time.
Pixel offers one-on-one messaging and video calls with live injection support to walk you through your medications. Having that kind of reassurance can make a huge difference during a cycle.
Plus, this newer version has groups you can join, as well as the neat ability to request a Pixel Pal – another Pixel member going through the same treatment as you – who can relate to your experience.
The nutshell?
Pixel Care is the fertility treatment app I wish I’d had with me when I was having my last treatment cycle.
The organisation, support, and ease of use would have made such a difference – not just in keeping things on track, but in making the entire process feel more manageable and less isolating.
Starting IVF in 2025? Know that you don’t need to go it alone. Check out the Pixel Care app and see how it can help you feel more in control of your journey. Download the app for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store today.
