Sunday, May 20, 2012

Egg Retrieval (sorry it's a long one)

Wednesday was my egg retrieval and in may ways, it was exactly what I had expected. The pain was almost as bad as I had imagined and the experience was overall, very Korean.

Because our appointment wasn't until 9:00, our morning did not start off any earlier than normal. Unfortunately after getting very little sleep the night before, it still felt very early. While Jeff got our son off to school, I made a quick Skype call to my parents. We didn't get to talk long because before I knew it, it was time to head to the fertility hospital.
 Once we arrived, I was surprised to see that it wasn't as busy as I had expected. During my IUI, it was standing room only. This time there was maybe two dozen people there. After a quick check in, I was asked to go into the injection room for two shots in the hip. I have no idea what they were, but I do know the second one burned and left quite a large bruise.
A short time later the nurse came to escort me to the room behind the lab. 
As a side not I have to say how much I love that the lab is all open with windows that you can look in and see everything happening. 
Jeff was following behind thinking that he would be allowed to hold my hand through the procedure, but once we got to the door, the nurse asked him to go back to the other room. I was so upset that I was going to have to go through this alone that I started to cry. The IVF journey is such an emotional roller coaster as it is, to have to go through the major aspects of it alone felt so isolating and scary.
 Once in the back room, I was asked to change with another women into a small Korean sized robe. This other women ended up being a true gift from God and a life saver through out the process. Originating from Korea, she moved to Australia some years ago and spoke perfect English. We ended up hitting it off right away and quickly became each others support person. Each time the nurse came out to talk to us she would translate her instructions, but more importantly she was just someone to talk to. We talked about our fears of the process, our anxiety of being without our husbands and our overall excitement to get it over with.
A nurse then came out and lined us up in order on a set of chairs and told us that once the women in front of us was called in, we were to get up and empty our bladders and wait to be called. She also asked for the little pills that we were to bring with us for them to insert after the procedure was over. I had left mine with my husband in my purse thinking that he would be there with me. I tried to explain this to the nurse so she could run out and get him, but she didn't understand. Instead she told ME to go get him. Me, in this bathrobe that barely went to my waist was suppose to walk out in front of everyone in the waiting room to try and find my husband. Thankfully I found a blanket that I could wrap around myself to at least feel a little less exposed. As soon as I rounded the corner to the waiting room, the receptionist looked up and ran over trying to push me back into the other room. LOL apparently a not so skinny American walking around half naked was not appropriate lol. Anyway she told me my husband was busy doing his part and that she would bring me my bag back when he was done.
  As I sat back down and looked around to the six women sitting ahead of me in line, I could see that we were all trembling. As women who had already finished with their retrievals came out, some were crying and walking in pain while others were looking as if they just had a restful nap. We were all crossing our fingers for the well rested look when we finished!
Soon it was time for my new found friend to be called into the back. I said good luck to her and that I would be thinking of her through out her procedure. While she was in the next room, I got up to use the restroom. As soon as I shut the small door behind me I started to cry. I was scared and more than a little creeped out. On the floor of the bathroom were many drops of blood from women who had gone before us. At least now I know why they make us put on the little slippers. The sight of the blood made me nervous, and grossed out. Blood and things like that are just not feared like that like in the US and often times you run into what we would consider very unsanitary conditions. (ex. in a public bathroom you do not flush any toilet paper, instead
you place it in an open trash can next to the toilet.)
After using the restroom, I returned to my spot on the chair, waiting for my name to be called. This was one wait I wasn't looking forward to be over with. While I sat there I tried to imagine all of the beautiful, healthy eggs that we were going to get today and the beautiful baby or babies that I might be able to hold in my arms.
Unfortunately those warm fuzzy thoughts didn't last long because it was now my turn. A nursed dressed in blue scrubs from head to toe came out to get me. We walked behind the first set of doors and through a small glass door where the dreaded chair with stirrups awaited. No comfy bed for me to lay on, just a leather chair that was still wet from the disinfectant they had use after the last patient. At least I am hoping it was disinfectant!
Anyway as I got into position, my doctor came to talk to me. She explained that they would give me an injection that would calm me down and take away most of the pain. The procedure itself would not take very long and if I watched the large monitor on the wall, I would be able to see the eggs as they collected them.
So now I am up in the chair with about six men and women walking around looking at me when they drop a pretty pink curtain from the ceiling that blocks my view from anything taking place below the waist. A nurse came over and tried to find a good vein to inject what looked to be an awful small amount of medication into my arm. As she did it, I told her that it felt as though she had missed the vein. I have terrible tiny veins that tend to roll away at the sight of a needle. She tried to reassure me that the medication was in and I should start to feel a bit dizzy and sleepy soon. That feeling never came once during the procedure.
Instead I felt EVERYTHING!! I initially felt the first injection of the medication that was suppose to "numb" the area, and then I felt every needle go into each follicle as she collected our precious eggs. I tried so hard to watch the monitor because looking at those tiny eggs was like looking at our future children, but the pain was just too much. As I began to cry out that it was really hurting, the nurses came to hold me hands and told me not to cry. I wonder if they have ever had a one foot long, seventeen gauge needle inserted into their vagina over and over again? If so, I doubt they would have told me to stop crying.
After they finished with the first side and injected the second numbing medication into the right, I was almost begging for it to be over. I again felt the needle pass through my vaginal wall and into my ovaries. The doctor who then stated that I seemed to be in more pain then most women ordered a second injection of pain medication into my arm. This one finally started to work, just as she was finishing.
The entire process from start to finish took about five or six minuets, but I honestly think the trauma of it all will last a lot longer. That's something that no women should ever have to go through unsedated and alone!
As soon as the doctor was finished, they lead me back through the glass doors and into a room with 14 beds lining the walls. I was told to lay down for at least an hour to recover before getting dressed and talking with the doctor. To my relief the women who I had been talking to in the waiting room was now laying next to me. She was also crying, but nothing compared to my embarrassing reaction in there. It didn't help at all when she said that her and the other women could hear me crying through the door and she felt so bad that I was hurting so much. I asked her if the medication they had given to her had taken away her pain but she said she still felt quite a bit and kept asking when it would be over. Even though we both knew that this is the step that we needed to take to hopefully bring our children into the world, we both agreed that we didn't think we would ever do it again.
We would not find out the number or eggs they had collected until after we were dressed and went out to talk to the doctor, so instead we just layed there next to each other trying to guess.
After some much needed time to collect ourselves, it was finally time to get dressed.  Before we were allowed to leave the room however, we all had to make sure that we could use the restroom without any problems to make sure that the needle did not perforate our bladders. Now they tell us this is a possibility!
After no issues with the bathroom, we all got dressed and painfully walked out to the receptionist to pay for the procedure. Because I told my husband to go back to the school and pick me up when we were done, I did not have my credit card to pay. Thankfully the wonderful women behind the desk simply said to come in and pay later. It's not as though I would have never come back, they now had my eggs is their possession.
We were then given a list of medications we were to go to the pharmacy and pick up. Thankfully the pharmacy being in the basement of the building makes everything very convenient. Once again I did not have enough money to pay for all of my medications. I had no idea that we would be getting that many! The cost came to almost 200 US dollars and I had only 100 with me. The pharmacist then told me the same thing as the women upstairs, to just come back and pay the rest later. When in the US would that ever happen!
Once we were back upstairs, we were all brought into the injection room for a tutorial of the medications and how to take them and another injection of antibiotics. My new friend was wonderful in translating the many instructions that came with everything. Then we were each given a piece of paper with the number of eggs they had collected on it. My friend got hers first and we celebrated her 11 eggs. Then I was given my paper and our eyes both widened as we saw the number 20 on the page. 20 eggs, more than the doctor had ever expected to retrieve from me. Even though she could see at least 15 follicles, we figured most would be empty or not mature like usual. Because of the high number of eggs, it was explained to me that I now had a much higher chance of developing Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. (http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Ovarian-Hyperstimulation-Syndrome.htm)
 I was told that for the next week I had to watch for any signs of swelling, weight gain, more than 5lbs a day, pain and difficulty breathing.
Here is a photo and a list of all the medication given to me. 

1. Vaginal Progesterone (inserted once every morning)
2. Metformin (taken with every meal)        
3. Mirodenafil HCI (Not approved in the US, pill like Viagra inserted every 12 hours)
4. Dostinex (to help with the OHS taken after dinner)
5. Pack of 8 pills, never told what they were (taken after dinner)
6. Prenatal vitamin (taken every night
 7. Fish Oil (taken every night)
8. Progesterone (taken with every meal)
 9. Baby Aspirin (taken after dinner)
10. Syringe for injecting Ovidrel (every other day  until May 30th)

So now that it is over I can honestly say that I am happy that I went through it. Even though the pain in the days to follow have been extreme and intense, it was worth it. I know this is our best chance to welcome the child, or children that are missing from our family.
If I had to give advice to anyone going through this it would be to make sure you have a strong support system. This is such an overwhelming emotional experience, you really need someone to talk to, cry with or just be there. Know that you have done everything possible to get to this point and celebrate however many eggs they were able to retrieve. You worked so hard to make each and every one of them. Even if they do not fertilize or grow to be used, celebrate them now. I pray for anyone going through this that you have an easier time during the surgery part, but that you all have wonderful outcomes and healthy babies!!
         

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