THE IVF CALENDAR... thats NOT ADD friendly.

I know IVF comes with a lot of moving parts—but no one told me how much brainpower it would take just to decode the medication schedule.

ivf-this.com

As someone who’s neurodivergent (hi, ADHD), the calendar they gave me for my egg retrieval cycle was... honestly? A nightmare. On the surface, it looked simple. A sheet with bold letters. Some lines. A few start dates.But for my brain? It was like reading IKEA instructions. Upside down. In a foreign language. While my ovaries were staging a protest.

Here’s What They Don’t Tell You:

Yes, the calendar may say something like: START ESTRADIOL PATCH (in bold letters) But then underneath, in smaller text, it casually adds:“Begin XYZ medication on Day 3”—without ever telling you when Day 1 actually was. And I’m sitting there going, “Did I already do this? Did I miss it? Am I about to ruin everything?”

This was all before I even got to Gonal-F, Menopur, or trigger shots (OR THE MULTIPLE PILLS IN THIS CRAY CRAY CONCOCTION).

So I Made My Own Planner (and You Can Use It Too)

The way my brain works, I had to print out a full-week calendar and customize it myself—what meds I was on, what time they were due, when patches needed to change, where injections went, and all the reminders no one warns you about (like verifying your medication inventory before the weekend hits because pharmacy shipping can be a disaster).

And because I know I’m not the only one feeling this way… I turned that into a downloadable planner you can use too.

IVF_ADHD_Week_Tracker_With_Labs_Timing.pdf

Download PDF • 4KB

Want to Make IVF a Little Less Chaotic?

Here’s your free ADHD-friendly, neurodivergent-brain-approved IVF Weekly Planner: Download the IVF Weekly Planner PDF

It includes:

• Daily space for AM/PM meds with time slots

• Patch changes, injection sites, and notes

• Side effect tracking

• Appointment and lab follow-ups

• Boxes to confirm start/stop orders + med inventory

• A color-code reference key you can personalize with highlighters or stickers

Use it in therapy. Use it with your partner. Use it with your clinic. Or just use it to feel like your brain isn’t spiraling on paper.

Also Worth Noting… Nothing Is Set in Stone

Here’s the kicker: even with a schedule, IVF is wildly unpredictable.The dates on the calendar are guesses. Starting/stopping meds often depends on your labs or ultrasounds. You could be told you’ll stop something on the 5th—then find out on the 5th that you’re actually continuing it another three days. So you re-write it. Again.

Even travel was a gamble. I was told to be in Colorado from April 7–12. So… I flew out March 31 and didn’t book a return flight. Because no one could confirm when my body would be ready for retrieval.

That level of uncertainty? It’s a nightmare for ADHD brains that crave structure but struggle with shifting targets.

What Helped Me (and Might Help You Too):

• Print a calendar like the one I made above

• Use colors to mark med types, times, and urgency

• Add notes about inventory checks and pharmacy timelines

• Don’t trust shipping timelines—especially if your pharmacy doesn’t ship on weekends (looking at you, Progyny’s provider)

• Ask your therapist or someone you trust to walk through it with you

IVF is already overwhelming—you shouldn’t have to decode medical chaos on top of it. If your brain works differently, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means the system wasn’t built with you in mind.

So let’s rebuild it—one planner, one post, and one color-coded week at a time.