Egg Retrieval

Yesterday was my egg retrieval.  I was scheduled to go in at 8:00am, and my procedure started around 8:50am. I must say that everything went well except that we do not know when we are doing the transfer. During my retrieval, the doctor retreived 32 eggs. There is a risk of hyper stimulation with that many eggs and the fact that my estrogen is on the higher end. Before my procedure, the doctor informed me that we may have to freeze all the eggs before moving on to a transfer. He said that this will allow my body to recover and time for all the meds to leave my body.  After the retrieval, my husband and I met with the doctor. We all agreed, since we are moving in August and are going away in July, that we would monitor my symptoms during the next couple of days and see if we do the transfer on day 5.  I am praying that my ovaries do not get hyperstimulated so that we can proceed with the embryo transfer on Day 5.  Plus, I do not want to get sick. I think it is enough with how I feel right now.  As of today, I continue to drink tons of Gatorade to stay hydrated, and trying to eat protein with every meal. Those were the recommendations from the IVF coordinator today.  As to how I feel, I feel very, very bloated. The pain from the egg retrieval has subsided, but I still feel a little bit of pain on my left side (the doctor said they had to go in multiple times on the left, so therefore to expect to be sore).  The good news, is that the embryologist called today and told us that 24 eggs fertilized! 24! I am super excited about that! Here is to keep taking care of myself and to praying that I do not get ovarian hyperstimulation. :-)

Steps after stimulation meds

After I went in for the lab and ultrasound today, I received a call from my IVF coordinator. It looks like there will be many follicles to remove, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. She told me that my retrieval will be on Monday at 8:45am. I need to take my Ovidrel shot tonight at 8:45pm. She also reminded me that I need to start taking a pill for eight days to prevent ovarian hyper stimulation. I will be starting those pills tonight right before I go to bed since she said people complain of feeling dizzy after taking it. In addition, I start the antibiotics tomorrow, and will be taking those twice daily for five days. She also reminded me of the importance of drinking water and recommended that I also get Gatorade to keep hydrated. I am currently drinking at least 96oz of water. This is lot of water for me especially since I weigh 122lbs. I am drinking almost 4/5 of my weight! The water keeps me feeling full so sometimes I forget to eat because I don't get hungry, not good! I am praying that my retrieval goes well, and not only for many follicles to be removed, but that most of them have good quality eggs in them, and that most of those eggs get fertilized properly. By the way, I have a date for the transfer! It is scheduled for Thursday, May 28th. I am super excited! :-)

Stimulation Meds

If you have been wondering what happened with my cycle, here is the update. The lupron shots were not bad at all (second time giving myself the Lupron shots because we had to cancel first cycle due to a death in the family). I am now well into my IVF cycle in terms of medication. I have to say that I was very nervous at the beginning, especially since I didn't want anything to go wrong. It is not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, there are days when the shots hurt especially the Menopurt. I also have a few bruises, but mainly because I inserted the needle wrong. I didn't get my first bruise until day 6 of stimulation. I think so far so good. For those of you who are wondering which shots I take, I take Lupron (started with 10 units, but once I started the stimulation shots it went down to 5 units), Menopur (75 units), and Follistim (150 units).  I only took Follistim for 6 days because my Estraidol was where it needed to be after 6 shots. So yesterday and today I only did two shots. :-)  I have had to go in five times for ultrasounds and blood. I am doing great, so today will be my last day of stimulation, so all in all-- 8 days of stimulation meds. My retrieval will be on Monday, Memorial Day.