ER and Fertilization News

Good News:

30 eggs were retrieved!

Bad News:

Recovery wasn't a piece of cake!

I didn't have a good recovery experience. Let me start from the beginning. We arrived on time and met with our RE and anesthesiologist. Everyone was excited! DH went to do his thing: provide sperm! I went to back with the anesthesiologist. She told me to take my bottoms off, put on a gown and a hair net. I saw a girl in the recovery room that was knocked out (probably just resting though) and covered in blankets. She had just had her ER. I thought, okay, that's going to be me in a few minutes. Scary but I can do it! So I met the anesthesiologist in the room where ERs take place. It was a small room with lots of surgical looking stuff. There was another lady in there that was helping the anesthesiologist. They were both really nice. We laughed about a few things including how I would look after the ER. She said I would feel like I had a few drinks and would have to stumble over to the recovery room. We also talked about how terrified some women are right before their ERs. I told her I wasn't too nervous just excited. So while we were chatting I laid down on the table, put my legs in the comfy stirrups, had an IV started in my left arm and oxygen put in my nose. I remember her taping the tubes from the oxygen on my forehead. I remember saying that I was starting to feel a little weird. That's all I remember, until...

I woke up hearing the nurses say "Honey, you have fainted a couple times. Do you usually faint after procedures? Honey, sit up! It's time to go to the recovery room. Can you sit up?" Then I remember smelling something and saying "I smell something and no I don't usually faint after procedures!" The nurses eventually got me off the table and into a wheel chair. I don't really remember getting out of the wheel chair and into the comfy chair in the recovery room but I know it happened. DH walked in and looked a little shocked. I teared up when I saw him. DH and I spent the next 5 hours in the recovery room with constant monitoring: oxygen level (normal), heart rate (high), blood pressure (low) and hemoglobin (low). The nurses said I looked white as a ghost. I knew things weren't okay when they seemed nervous throughout those 5 hours. I felt light headed (like I was going to faint) and yucky. My shoulders and upper back hurt more than words can describe when I laid down flat. The RE decided to do an ultrasound (vaginal and abdominal) to look for possible fluid and/or blood. Surprisingly there wasn't much fluid or blood at all. I did have a small hematoma on my left ovary (pocket of blood). Finally the office decided I needed to be monitored in the HOSPITAL. DH and I were shocked, once again. But we didn't mind because I felt so weird I wanted to be monitored just in case something happened.

So off to the hospital we went with an IV in hand. By the way after the ER they took my IV after 30 minutes or so. I turned white as a ghost so they had to put another IV in my other arm. When we got to the hospital they took that IV out and started another one in my lower arm. I didn't care though because I felt so bad. I went through 5 or 6 bags of fluid. I slept sitting up most of my time in the hospital. DH was right by my side. Our Moms decided to drive together and come see us. It took them 4 hours to get there. After everything was normal again (oxygen level, heart rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin) we were discharged in the morning. The RE and our sweet nurse came to visit before we left. My nurse brought me a card and a "My First Bear." They both said they were most likely overtreating me by having me stay in the hospital but they thought the monitoring was being safe.

After getting my third IV started...

I have felt horrible since my ER. My major discomfort includes body aches, head aches, nausea and back pain. I'm not as bloated as I thought I would be. My stomach isn't really huge and tight but it's definitely bigger than usual. I'm downing Gatorade by the bottle which leads to emptying my bladder every hour. I had a fever last night of 101 but it went away with Tylenol. We've been in touch with our nurse and she said it's all normal (with the amount of eggs they retrieved) unless I have another fever that stays that high for a long period of time.

DH and I are blessed to have his Mom take care of us. She came home with us from the hospital and is staying until Sunday. She's been amazing! We have been shocked over this whole experience and are ready for it to be over. As I tell DH each waking moment "I'm sick of feeling like shit." He keeps reminding me that it will be worth it when we have those babies in our arms. We've decided we will not be doing another fresh IVF cycle. Instead we will be willing to do a frozen IVF cycle (if we have left over embryos from this cycle) or we will adopt. I think my ER experience isn't common so don't let it scare you. The RE said this only happens to his patients maybe once a year.

So here's the fertilization news:

12 fertilized naturally

6 fertilized with ICSI

(the rest of the eggs were immature)

18 going strong as of Wednesday!

5 DAY TRANSFER IS SET FOR SUNDAY!!!