I had a very sleepless "sleep" last night before my retrieval. I kept waking up and checking the time, worried I would over sleep and miss it!
4:15am: alarm finally goes off! What a relief! Woke me up from a strange fretful dream. I get up, take a shower, and wait for my ride to arrive. I was feeling my emotions. Not sure if I can describe it... But it's like if you're playing a sport and you practice really hard, but you lose every single game -- no matter how hard you practice. Now, it's your last game of the season -- will you get your one "win" to make it all worthwhile?
Yeah, too much time to think and wonder. It can really drive you bonkers. But let's just say, I really need a "win" right now. This past year has been tough with disappointments.
I use the app "Pink Pad" to track my periods & also follow their IVF board. Well, according to Pink Pad - the chances of getting pregnant today are "high" and I'm on my fertile days. Fingers crossed Pink Pad is right!
5:20am: My ride arrives early! Did I mention how much I love friends that are willing to wake up before the crack of dawn, drive an hour to my house, then drive me an hour to my appointment, then wait 3 hours, then drive me home? I am forever grateful for all my friends that have helped me out through all of this. How very sweet and thoughtful to go out of your way for another person. I feel so fortunate and loved right now :)
6:10am: We beat rush hour and arrived at the clinic 20 minutes before my "check in" time. Which, I love arriving early - so it all worked out for me. I heard later on that there was a bad traffic accident and someone was going to be late to their appointment. I'm glad we missed all that potential lateness.
6:30am: Check In Time! The front office of the clinic seemed like a ghost town, but it was busy in the back. They took me back to get me ready. I had to get into the operating gown, put a net over my hair, and booties on my feet. We checked my blood sugar levels (since I'm diabetic and was being put under anesthesia), my levels have been really good lately and they were great this morning (99).
Then the hard part came = the dreaded IV! I have "hard" veins, according to a lot of people that have taken my blood in the past. Hence, sometimes it's hard for them to take blood or put an IV in. Which is also one of the reasons I have a fear of needles! It took 2 nurses and 3 needle pricks - meaning 3 sticks and "searching" under my skin - to finally get the IV in. They did my left hand, my right forearm, then back to my left hand (where it finally worked). Having an IV put in is painful... I heard it's because I wasn't allowed to drink anything, so that makes it even harder to find a vein. But alas, they did eventually get it in!
I had to sign away my life again in waivers, go over medical information, and sign more papers. The nurse went over everything (she was very enthusiastic for 6:30am in the morning, BTW), the RE came in and we discussed the procedure a little bit, and the guy doing my anesthesia came in and asked me a few questions. They also just hired a new RE at my clinic, so I got to meet her - as she was going to be there for my retrieval.
My RE also mentioned there may be a possibility of a 2-day transfer... depending on how the fertilization process works and how the eggs look...
6:30am: Check In Time! The front office of the clinic seemed like a ghost town, but it was busy in the back. They took me back to get me ready. I had to get into the operating gown, put a net over my hair, and booties on my feet. We checked my blood sugar levels (since I'm diabetic and was being put under anesthesia), my levels have been really good lately and they were great this morning (99).
Then the hard part came = the dreaded IV! I have "hard" veins, according to a lot of people that have taken my blood in the past. Hence, sometimes it's hard for them to take blood or put an IV in. Which is also one of the reasons I have a fear of needles! It took 2 nurses and 3 needle pricks - meaning 3 sticks and "searching" under my skin - to finally get the IV in. They did my left hand, my right forearm, then back to my left hand (where it finally worked). Having an IV put in is painful... I heard it's because I wasn't allowed to drink anything, so that makes it even harder to find a vein. But alas, they did eventually get it in!
I had to sign away my life again in waivers, go over medical information, and sign more papers. The nurse went over everything (she was very enthusiastic for 6:30am in the morning, BTW), the RE came in and we discussed the procedure a little bit, and the guy doing my anesthesia came in and asked me a few questions. They also just hired a new RE at my clinic, so I got to meet her - as she was going to be there for my retrieval.My RE also mentioned there may be a possibility of a 2-day transfer... depending on how the fertilization process works and how the eggs look...
7:30am: It was finally time for my Egg Retrieval! They had me go to the bathroom one last time and then I walked into the retrieval room. The retrieval room was... small and dark. They go in with the ultrasound to get the eggs out, so I'm guessing it's easier to see things when it's dark. I had to lay down on the table, put my legs in stirrups - which was awkward, but strangely comfortable. They put some sticky things on my chest to monitor my heart rate, another thing on my finger, and then put the mask on. I was out before I knew it!
8:15am-ish: I have to say that I slept REALLY good while under anesthesia! I woke up feeling rested. I was having a really good dream, although I can't remember what that dream was when I woke up. The nurse checked my blood pressure (a few times), checked my blood sugar levels, and then I got dressed. I was ready to get out of there a little before 9 and was home by 10.
# of Eggs Retrieved: they were able to retrieve 9 eggs. I'll find out tomorrow how many were mature and how many fertilized. They said I might not hear back until the evening...
As mentioned previously, I'm doing Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Pronounced IK-SEE. This is the process where one sperm is injected directly into the egg. This is supposed to increase the fertilization rate of the eggs.By this time tomorrow, I'll know how many embryos I have...
Post Egg Retrieval: I was feeling really hungry after the Egg Retrieval! So, the first thing I wanted to do was eat. Then, I couldn't really turn off my brain - so I watched the Walking Dead and some other TV shows I've DVR'd. Until finally I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I then slept most of the day away.
I am having a little bleeding (not much). I'm also very crampy, feels like really bad AF cramps. Even though I slept most of the day, I feel tired.
Progesterone In Oil (PIO) Shots
The dreaded PIO shots... What's weird is I totally dreaded doing these shots. But now that I'm more concerned about what my fertilization report will look like tomorrow, they didn't seem as intimidating.
I had the nurse draw circles on my back-side, so I would know where to aim for. I iced the area a little ahead of time. The mixture wasn't as thick as I thought it was going to be, but it's a warm day today - so maybe it just naturally heated itself up. The actual injection was awkward. I had to twist and look in the mirror. I hesitated a few times and then finally just plunged the needle in. With my hesitation, it hurt a little - but not as bad as I thought it would be. I did bleed a lot more than I normally do when I do injections. I then heated the site afterwards with my heating pad.
For the first time... not too bad...! Hopefully it'll continue not being bad. The only hard part is, I'm not sure I will be able to rotate sides. I don't really trust my left hand to inject a needle into my bottom! Well, it's not really my "bottom" - but more like my hip/back area. But still, not sure I trust my non-dominant hand to work properly. Will have to see how it goes sticking to the right side.
For the first time... not too bad...! Hopefully it'll continue not being bad. The only hard part is, I'm not sure I will be able to rotate sides. I don't really trust my left hand to inject a needle into my bottom! Well, it's not really my "bottom" - but more like my hip/back area. But still, not sure I trust my non-dominant hand to work properly. Will have to see how it goes sticking to the right side.
Other Medication:
- Medrol - 16mg daily for 7 days (at bedtime)
- Zithromax - 1tablet (500 mg) every evening for 3 days
- Continue taking: Baby Aspirin, Prenatal Vitamins
- Start Estradiol patches starting Friday morning.
Next Steps:
- 2/18/16: Fertilization Report - Day 1
- 2/19/16: Potential 2 Day Transfer
- 2/20/16: Estimated 3 Day Transfer
- 2/22/16: Estimated 5 Day Transfer
Living with infertility and going through IVF can be quite a roller coaster ride. It's best to have a strong and caring network of friends and family who are there to support you through your highs and lows and who can look after you after your retrieval and implant.
ReplyDeleteRoman Dean @ MAC MGI