How do you deal with Christmas when having IVF?

Hiya, and festive greetings.  Welcome to the final episode of 2015 and it only seems right to end the year with your stories. It's been such a privilege hearing from you as ultimately if we can hear each other share what we've been through it helps, doesn't it? For this podcast, I was keen to know how you deal with work during treatment.

Personally, I struggled with who to tell. We found out we need treatment, the day before Christmas Eve 2013, so the holiday was spent trying to work out how I was going to manage at work with what was ahead. I was working as a freelance so didn't have the direct access to HR you might have, plus I was in a male-dominated environment and felt quite strongly that I shouldn't need to tell my boss I was 'trying to have a baby as in a normal situation I would just tell him I was pregnant when the time was right.

I did however go to HR and get some advice and after discussions with my partner, I chose to tell my boss I was having medical treatment I explained this meant I would have to take a certain amount of days off, and that there could be an occasion where it was at very short notice. The nature of my job meant that I had to tell my immediate team, as I was working in a live radio environment and we needed to prepare for me not being there, but they were very understanding, and to be honest so was my boss.

I think the biggest lesson I learned and that comes across from my chats with you, is to put yourself first and do what feels right to you.

Items mentioned in this podcast:

• Having a family is a 'life goal' so important to focus on the treatment
• Having to go from appointments where you might have had bad news to a work meeting
• Not doing either thing well - your treatment or your job
• Taking a sabbatical and giving yourself headspace
• Dealing with Male infertility and finding the lack of information on what to do about it frustrating

@GeoffLloyd on Absolute Radio sharing his news with his team and his listeners

https://www.facebook.com/happyhappyhappy/videos/10153084891356230/?video_source=pages_finch_main_video&theater