The Egg Retrival

MY FIRST AND ONLY EGG RETRIVAL!

First of all I got to the office at 7:30 in the morning and found out there were five of us having retrievals done. I was number three, scheduled to go back at 9:30. There was a lot of paperwork to be signed and medication stuff to go over, so all the extra time really did go by fast. Once they told DH and I to say our good-byes, a nurse took me back to put in my IV and get me prepped.

Let’s start with the IV… The anesthesiologist likes to use a 20 gauge needle, which evidentially is larger than my veins because it took four sticks before the nurses finally agreed to try a 22 gauge (a smaller needle) and the thing went right in. Luckily they used lidocaine on the area, so I really didn’t have any pain - but wowser on that!!!

While they started the IV drip I was also given human albumin. Basically from what I remember it’s a diuretic to help pull the extra estrogen and fluid from my body and help to reduce the chances of OHSS. So of course I was good friends with the potty all day - (and all night)! After my IV was running and we were waiting for the girl ahead of me to come out, they let DH come back into the recovery room where I was waiting. That was really nice of them because they don’t usually do that. I think it helped ease his nerves too, since he wasn’t going to see me again until after the retrieval. By this time we had been there a few hours already and I found out they hadn’t called him yet, and that the embryologist/andrologist would be out to see him after they took me back. It wasn’t very long after DH came back that they called for me, so my nurse Patti took DH out into the hall, soothed him a little and came back for me. I used the potty one more time and I was off to be ‘prepped’.

Being prepped basically consisted of getting a thorough cleansing with beta-dine followed by a complete rinse out with water. Before they started, they gave me a drug that was supposed to help me relax and make me sleepy, but instead it was like an instant espresso! I was asking a million questions a minute and the nurses all started laughing at me! I was a little nervous about the reverse reaction of the drug, but the cleaning was over in no time, with very little uncomfortable- ness and then Doctor Robin finally walked in. I was going to speak to her but the anesthesiologist said here we go… and I remember the room going blurry and then nothing!

The actual egg retrieval went fairly smooth I suppose. I don’t have any other retrievals to compare it to, so I have to assume it did. The whole process took about an hour and a half to complete. Do you remember me saying how my ovaries were sitting on my spine? Well after they put me to sleep they used the ultrasound probe and external pressure to position the ovaries to where they could get to the follies. The end result – bad internal bruising. My intestines are very bruised up and my back hurts worse than any of the rest of it. They were able to move them enough to retrieve 20 eggs though! I was ecstatic about that!!! Before the retrieval I was in hopes, and had been told that I would be able to go back to work today, but unfortunately I just couldn’t. Yesterday after I got home the pain started getting really intense and I started going right through Oxycontin like it was candy. Today I’ve done much better and I haven’t had the first one! But honestly, right now is really the first time I’ve even been able to sit up. I’m still sore and it’s going to take some time for everything to get back to where it’s happy, but I’m just happy I was asleep through all of that!

While I was out cold– I must have bit my tongue. There is a big chunk of it tore open on the side and it is very swollen and sore too. The doctor also said I was very active while under and they had to restrain me… I know I have a new bruise underneath my chin, and it’s probably from where the nurses were keeping my head back while I was trying to move around. I heard that the girl before me ripped her IV out while she was under and started to come too prematurely since we were on unconscious twilight sedation. That scared the crap out of me!

Today I got the fertilization report from the phone tree message – but I haven’t talked to anyone in person. The message said that out of the 20 eggs retrieved, 11 fertilized naturally, so no ICSI! AND they were able to move all 11 of them to the incubator! YEA!!! Eleven fertilized and are viable so far! We are super elated about that! I am expecting a call tonight setting up a time for our transfer. Overall I’m glad I did it, but now I’m super glad this part is over!