Egg retrieval Day--

Sara's version:
I had a great night of sleep last night thanks to the Tylenol PM that knocked me out. I got ready like usual this morning and started to get more and more nervous as we approached 7:15. We arrived at the fertility clinic at 7:45 and immediately went back to another room with several recliners. I changed into my fancy attire—gown, booties, and hair net and then the nurse put in my IV drip and hooked me up to a blood pressure machine. We sat there for about 30 minutes (shaking nervously in my chair) waiting for the doctor to arrive and for things to begin. Finally, the nurse put a sedative into my IV and within a minute I began to feel more relaxed and loopy. I was a little disappointed because Andrew was not allowed to go back in the procedure room with me…………but I guess it didn’t matter much anyways……………

It seemed like only five minutes passed and all of a sudden I had excruciating pain in my abdomen. I looked at Andrew and said in a whiny voice “when is it going to be my turn to have the procedure done?” He just laughed at me and said “You already had it done. You’ve been done for about 45 minutes!”

WHAT?? I don’t remember ANYTHING!!!

Andrew's version:
My morning started early, as I wasn’t able to sleep well. I woke up numerous times during the night, and ended up lying in bed for an hour waiting for my alarm to go off. Once it did, I showered and ate some breakfast. Sara came downstairs a bit later and we left for the doctor’s office. Sitting in the waiting room was a bit nerve-wracking, but I did my best to stay calm so that I could help Sara with her nerves. We were called back and Sara changed out of her clothes into a gown, a hairnet, and some booties. I told her that she looked a bit like a lunch lady. Soon after they started an IV in Sara and gave us some details about the procedure, as well as instructions for the days to come. After waiting a while, they finally gave Sara some Versed. It didn’t take long for Sara to start feeling a bit loopy and they quickly took her back to the procedure room. I had to wait in the waiting room and passed the time reading the paper. About a half hour later they called me back to the recovery area where Sara was seated in a recliner. She was covered in blankets and her eyes were closed. She was in and out of consciousness and she spoke softly. The nurse informed us at that time that they retrieved 23 eggs. In typical fashion, I heard the number and immediately forgot it. As I sat there trying to figure out how to ask the nurse what the number was, Sara said that she was in some pain. The nurse gave her some Tylenol, which Sara attempted to put in her mouth, but she missed. After we found both of them, I gave her some water and she managed to get both of them in her mouth. She began to feel nauseous, so I asked for a bucket and the nurse came back with a bucket, a wet wash cloth, and a drug to help with the nausea. Sara’s nausea continued, but it soon became secondary to the pain she was experiencing. She attempted to re-position herself in the chair to help with the pain without much success. They gave her another drug for the nausea, this time through IV. A bit later the doctor came back to check on Sara, and fortunately for me he again informed us that they retrieved 23 eggs. After committing that number to memory, I did my best to help Sara stay covered by the blankets.

It was about 45 minutes after I had gone back to the recovery area that Sara looked at me and asked when it was her turn to go in for retrieval. She was quite surprised when I informed her that she had already undergone the procedure and had been recovering for nearly an hour.

Sara began to regain her color and feel a bit better, so they had her get up so that she could get dressed. The nurse marked areas of her body with a Sharpie to provide me with indicators of where I should be giving her Progesterone shots. Sara started to get dressed, but finally succumbed to the nausea. She managed to hit the toilet with most of it, but caught some of it with her shirt. After a minor wardrobe tweak, she was dressed and in the car.


Sara:
Yes, it’s true…I did throw up on myself! It just didn’t seem too appealing to get on my knees over the toilet in a public bathroom so I tried standing…..and I missed! Oops!

I can’t believe that I don’t remember anything!! The nurse and doctor talked to me throughout the entire procedure…hopefully I didn’t say anything embarrassing! I am glad I didn’t feel anything, but it is a strange feeling to know that you walked and talked without even knowing it.

The rest of the day I have been laying around and sleeping. I am still in A LOT of pain…more than I have been all week. The nurse said that skinner women usually have more side effects (like nausea and pain). I guess it makes sense why I am in so much pain because this is what they did……

The retrieval is performed by passing a hollow needle through the wall of the vagina into the ovary. The needle is guided into the ovary with the use of a vaginal ultrasound probe. The needle can be guided into the follicle where the egg resides. The egg itself is not visible with the ultrasound. The fluid is aspirated from the follicle and deposited into a test tube

So, now I am just resting and loading up on sodium. They said I need to eat as much salt as possible in order to suck the fluid out of my ovaries so I don't hyperstimulate. I look even bigger now (I look and feel pregnant!) and I have to watch my weight to make sure I don't gain over three pounds per day because if I do they will need to put a catheter in me to drain the fluid! Yuck! So although I am not a huge fan of salt...I am doing my best to eat and drink as much as I can!

Right now our little babies are being conceived in the lab! Weird thought! We will find out tomorrow how many eggs have been successfully fertilized and then we will have our embryo transfer on Tuesday. Thanks for the prayers and comments so far! It really makes me feel better! Keep them coming!