Day After Retrieval

June 22, 2012

So today I looked forward to waking up and hearing from the embryologist about how many of my eggs had fertilized yesterday. However, the way that I was feeling overshadowed any good news that could come. I woke up with a distended stomach (which I figured was normal considering I had surgery on my ovaries yesterday). What was NOT normal was the 6 pound weight gain that had occurred overnight. It's a cruel joke that I look about 5 months pregnant right now.

I waited for the embryologist to call before I called the clinic to report my symptoms. They called around 9:30 this morning and let me know that 22 out of the 27 eggs that were retrieved yesterday were actually mature. (Great news!) Then they proceeded to tell me that they performed ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) on all 22 mature eggs. Out of those 22, 17 fertilized! (More great news!) Then the embryologist went on to explain that out of the 17, I will most likely have 8 or more embryos that make it to the blastocyst stage (Day 5) for transfer.That means we will be having to make a decision about what to do with all of those embryos since we are only transferring 2. We will most likely freeze all of them in case we need them at a later time. She also informed me that we will probably not hear back from them until we arrive on transfer day because not much will be going on between now and then. On the day of the transfer, they will give us the number that made it to Day 5 and their grades.

The embryologist then told me what to expect on the day of transfer. She told us that we need to be in Bedford (with a full bladder) by noon on Tuesday, June 26 (which happens to be mine and Justin's 2 year anniversary!). The full bladder is needed so they can see my uterus better on the sonogram. The embryo transfer is not a surgical procedure. I will take valium about 30 minutes prior to the procedure, and my doctor will inject the 2 embryos into my uterus via a catheter right there in the office. I will be expected to lay in the chair for about 20 minutes post transfer and then I will need to take it easy for the remainder of the day.

After the embryologist finished giving me all of this information, I then asked her to speak with a nurse about some symptoms that I am having post retrieval. She said she would get the message to a nurse and one would call me back shortly.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, a nurse called to speak with me about my symptoms. I told her I was sore (as expected), was urinating every single hour, that my abdomen was distended, and that I had gained 6 pounds. She didn't seem too concerned about OHSS (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome) because I was able to use the bathroom so much. She told me to call if anything changed.

I decided to try to get a few more hours of sleep since I slept very little last night for having to get up to go to the bathroom so often. After I woke up, I weighed myself again and had lost 3 pounds. Weird. Then I decided to drink some gatorade and eat a lunch with high sodium (as these were my instructions for how to get rid of the excess water that my ovaries were retaining). A few hours after lunch I weighed again. Back up 2 pounds. What the heck? All the while, I've been going to the bathroom constantly so I figured I would lose more.

After talking with my mom, I decided it was best to call the clinic back and let them know what was going on. A nurse informed me that I probably have a mild case of OHSS and that if I'm not better by the morning that I need to be seen at the clinic bright and early. This terrifies me because if the OHSS gets too severe, the doctor may cancel our embryo transfer. I would be absolutely devastated. I know that the logical thing to do is to get well, but the emotional side of me wants to do this transfer no matter how I feel. I guess we will see how I feel in the morning.

I will be praying extra tonight for miraculous healing in my body overnight. I pray that all the fluid will leave my body and that I will have no symptoms of OHSS by morning. I pray the weight I have gained will come off and that we will be able to proceed with the transfer on Tuesday.