Retrieval Day

Today was the day!

My husband and I got up at 5:45 to get dressed and to the clinic by 7:00. I just went in my PJs, though, since comfort is important on this day.

We got there, settled into the prep room. I got into the ultra fashionable hospital gown, footies, and shower cap thing. The anesthesiologist came in, had a talk with me about allergies, and thoroughly explained the process. He started an IV and saline drip.

About 15 minutes later they brought me into the operating room. The setup is sort of like you would normally have for the sonogram. Your feet go into stirrups, but from the feet to the mid-thigh there is padded nylon fabric that wraps all the way around each leg and velcros into place. This keeps you from falling off or twitching.

They got me strapped in, put a nice warm blanket on me, and started the anesthetic. I went out right away, and woke up as soon as they finished. Apparently, I complained of some cramping before I was really awake (I don't remember this) and they gave me a little extra pain medication through the IV. I remember thinking that they hadn't started the retrieval yet and I was worried that I was awake. When they told me they finished I asked (like I always do) how many eggs they got. This time they retrieved 16, which is pretty good. The average is about 12.

They moved me over onto a recovery bed and into the recovery room where I got to sleep for a while. One of the nurses gave me a can of ginger ale. I don't usually drink ginger ale, but it's SO good after 8 hours of nothing to drink and a retrieval. After a little time, another person from the clinic came in and gave me the birth control pills that I have to start today and the payment for the retrieval.

I have to say that I always feel ridiculous taking a check after the procedure. As a poor student saving for a house, it comes in very handy. However, that is not at all why I do this, and if it suddenly happened that they did not pay for the egg retrieval, I would keep doing it without a moment's hesitation.

My husband drove me home and I slept in the car and for about 4 hours once I flopped into bed. When I woke up I felt pretty good. I ate a couple sandwiches - I was starving after not eating for like 14 hours. My ovaries were a little sore, but not really much worse than they've been for the last couple days. It wasn't bad enough to keep me down. I actually went to campus and met with some people this afternoon. I'm not sure that was the best idea. I felt really tired when I got home, and not quite up to being there today. I got home, made dinner, and have basically laid around on the couch all night. I'm looking forward to bed.

Some people have spotting after the retrieval. I've noticed a little blood when I use the bathroom, but haven't had any spotting. My ovaries are definitely sore now, but it's not bad. I haven't felt the need to even take ibuprofen or aspirin or anything today.

So that's pretty much it for this cycle. I go in next week for a follow-up sonogram and then get my schedule for the next cycle. I have already been picked for my 4th egg donation and that should happen around Thanksgiving time. No fear, though. There will be more posts here on hyperstimulation, and also on the post-retrieval recovery process.