IVF#2: Egg Retrieval Part II

So I laid 21 eggs today! At least, that’s how many the RE collected from me this morning.

The procedure went much better this time around. I pretty much told every nurse and the RE about how quickly I metabolize anaesthetic, and they gave me an extra dose at the beginning of the procedure. I felt my head get heavy, the room started to look blurry, and while I was aware of what was going on at a very superficial level. I didn’t feel any pain, which was really nice.

After the procedure, I recovered in the lounge with apple juice and the snacks that we packed: coconut water and homemade cornbread muffins. Since I had been fasting since 7pm the night before, I was ravenous. I basically stuffed my face as the nurse was trying to explain the discharge items to me. I felt a bit dazed, but then we had a chance to see one of the embryologists, as I wanted to discuss our choice of fertilization method.

We have decided to do 100% ICSI.

They will start the ICSI tonight and then we will get a fertilization report tomorrow.

After that, DW went to grab the car and came to pick me up from the front door of the clinic. I was feeling woozy getting into the car, and started to salivate. In that moment, I knew I was gonna puke, so I opened the door, leaned out, and puked all over the sidewalk in front of the clinic. DW hung onto me by the back of my jacket, and I was so glad my dreads were tied up, because I had four good barfs before I was empty. Goodbye apple juice, coconut water, cornbread muffins, and water!

On our way home, we make two stops. One at Whole Foods because all I could stomach was soup. Another at Walmart to grab some Tylenol for the post-retrieval pain as well as some Gravol because the Dostinex makes me so nauseous.

I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the couch, binge watching Broadchurch on Netflix. DW has been taking very good care of me- unlimited fetches, making food, bringing me meds. She also took the dogs out while I vegged on the couch.

The anaesthetic wore off by the time we got home, as I have some pain with moving, but much worse with peeing. I haven’t pooped all day, and I dread having to do it. I finally pooped and while it was moderately painful, I survived. There may have been some whimpers coming from the bathroom.

I have been taking Extra Strength Tylenol every 4 hours, which has taken the edge off and made the pain quite mild. But from what I remember, the OHSS came on with a vengeance a few days after the retrieval, so the worst is yet to come.

Since we had so many eggs retrieved, they’ve already got us booked for a five-day transfer. We transfer on Wednesday! I am hoping and praying that we get a lot of good quality blastocysts over the next couple of days. I’ll post their progress along the way.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes. I appreciate all of your support. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the past two years without you all.

For now, here’s a picture of two of my cutest girls:

Juno (the big dog) saved Clementine (the little dog) and I from a coyote that was stalking us two days ago. We were walking on a path on the side of a hill, when a coyote cut us off about 30 feet ahead. Juno chased it down the hill and across a valley, probably about 0.75 of a kilometre long. Luckily, she is bigger than the coyotes, so they are afraid of her and run away. It’s one of the major dangers of taking the dogs to this conservation area. There are deer, coyotes, beavers, and other native wildlife. We always try to go during the day time because the coyotes are more active in the evening. I feel so grateful for Juno’s protection, even though she is generally a super suck 99.9% of the time.

Anyhow, fertilization report tomorrow!