Cluck, Cluck

This morning at 6:00am with four different alarms buzzing (it's a time-sensitive thing, and I was not taking any chances!!!) my amazing husband and I headed to the Chat-town facility of the fertility clinic we are using.  We had to do this because this is where the embryology lab is.  I slept like a baby the night before and woke up feeling rather que sera sera about the whole ordeal.  I knew I had taken my medicince exactly as instructed and refrained from any activities (such as running) that would possibly have had a negative impact on my ovaries.  However many eggs I had was what I had, and there was nothing more I could do about it. 

They took us back to prep for my "surgery".  They started an IV and all those shenanigans.  They use propofol, which is a short-acting anesthetic that is partially to blame for Micheal Jackson's demise.  It's good stuff.  I also found out that as of today I have gained 15 lbs in the last couple of weeks which was extremely depressing.  Most of it is water-weight from the fluids in my follicles, but it's still miserable.  What's worse, is that my body thinks it needs to refill  that fluid so it's going to hang on to water for a while still.  I'm on a diet of gatorade and have to weigh myself everyday for the next few days and until my weight get's back under control.  No one told me about  this part...but it sure explains why I've been so miserable the last few days.

I walked myself back to the operating room and once again was strapped into stirrups while being put under...sigh...It was not awful though.  I had an amazing staff of nurses working with me and they were super-comforting and encouraging.  They knew this was a big deal and treated me with a lot of deference which I really didn't expect.  Dr. D came in and helped get me ready.  They have to wait until the last possible minute to give the propofol because it can damage the eggs.  As soon as I was out they used an internal ultra-sound wand fitted with a 12" needle bayonet, with pipettes.  Dr. D individually inserted the needle into each follicle on my ovaries and removed all the fluid.

This is what was happening to me. How was your morning? (image from babydust.eponym.com)





It only took Dr. D about a half hour and I was rolled back into the recovery area to get an iv antibiotic and be monitored for a bit.  I had no pain what-so-ever when I woke up which is amazing for getting stabbed at least 24 times.  The embryologist, Susan, came back and told me they were able to retrieve 24 eggs, and after yesterday's freak-out, I broke down.  I was truly overwhelmed with emotion because I was so relieved to find out I actually had eggs.  The nurses hugged me and told me they were very proud.  Susan reassured me that she was an excellent baby-sitter.  After some more discharge instructions, they sent us on our way.  I thought I'd made it home without any funny anesthesia stories, but not so...

I hate to be mean, but the other couple getting their retrieval today was super-annoying.  They had a monitoring appointment around the same time as us Sunday, and we were laughing at them then, because they brought the maternal grandmother-to-be.  Well she came to the retrieval, too.  I was embarassed for the couple in their upper-thirties from that alone...(I'm Miss Independent, remember) but then we had to listen to them, too.  The husband opened up the conversation with, "How many times have your dropped the test tube with the eggs?"  HOLY HELL!  WHAT AN ASSHOLE! I asked BJ to go punch him (this was before my procedure so I wasn't drunk yet and asked it quietly.)  Then I had to listen to the potential mother-to-be refuse to drink gatorade.  "Can I drink water with miso, intead?"  OMG lady...you've gone through all this and you are refusing to drink Gatorade because of the sugar-content.  GET REAL!  The nurse more nicely than I can type implied she could do whatever she wanted, but that they've had to cancel transfers because of OHSS when people did not follow the protocol. 

After the procedure (when I was a little drunk), I had to listen to the granny-to-be argue with the nurse about the appropriate needles to use for the progesterone-in-oil injections.  REALLY??? Just do what they tell you for God's sakes, people!  Is it really worth 2 months of your time and $15,000 grand down the tubes for not doing what the experts who do this everyday say?  So then they mentioned that they were able to retrieve 17 eggs from "dip-shit" couple, and that is when I loudly said, "Yes, we beat them! We got 24!"  What!? I can't help my competitive nature!

So now, I'm supposed to keep drinking gatorade, heal up, and get ready to have my babies put back where they belong on Sunday.  Susan performed the ICSI this afternoon, but it will still take until tomorrow to find out how many fertilize correctly.  Each day some may quit progressing, so I intellectually understand that I'm not going to have 2 embryos to implant and 22 to freeze.  Emotionally, however, it's still sad to think that a little life (how-so-ever small) did not make it. I'm going to get a call tomorrow with the results of the ICSI.  Pray for my babies! 

As for now, it's time to go face a 1.5" needle with a large bore.  Hopefully, only five days of this!

Peace, Love, and Fertilization!
MK