Last Friday night, Brad gave me my last injection, the trigger shot, which had to be administered right at 9:00 p.m. (35 hours before the egg retrieval). My parents were over because we were all watching the Ducks game (Let's Go Ducks!). They got to see Brad in action. We had a little snafu with the trigger shot because the size of the syringe we got from HRC wasn't big enough to take all the liquid from the trigger vile, which made us think that maybe I shouldn't get the entire contents of the vile. I found the actual syringe that came with the trigger shot, and it fit all the medication (minus a few drops). Brad wanted to make sure that I got every drop, so he ended up poking me twice, once with the filled up syringe and once with the couple of drops full syringe. Because of the syringe issue, I didn't get the injection until 9:03 p.m. It was a tad stressful because of the time crunch, but it all worked out. I didn't have a bad reaction to the injection and it didn't really even hurt going in.
On Saturday, I didn't get any injections. I sure was happy about that. I did start Doxcycline and continue my preventative hyper stimulation medication, but those were oral, so no biggy. Saturday night, we dropped the girls off at Grammy and Grampy's house (they love staying there!), and then we drove out to Pasadena. We wanted to stay in a hotel the night before the procedure because we didn't want to worry about traffic in the morning. The hotel we stayed at was five minutes away from HRC in Pasadena. Our room had a balcony AND a screen door, so we were able to keep the door open the whole night. The room was perfect! We didn't even need to have the air conditioner running throughout the night! I slept really well. I did wake up quite a few times to use the restroom (I felt pregnant and still do), but then I went right back to sleep.
On Sunday morning, Brad and I woke up at 6:15 a.m. and left the hotel at 6:45 a.m. I forgot to mention that the surgery required 8 hours of fasting, so when we woke up, I didn't have much to do (no eating or drinking for me). Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, but egg retrieval day was worth the late breakfast. When we got to HRC, the lobby was quite stunning! It had chandeliers and big, comfy chairs. The color scheme was comforting and soothing. We sat down and waited to be called back. I was really calm and thought positive thoughts. I thought about my plump veins, and I thought about all the eggs that would be collected. When some of those sneaky negative thoughts popped up like, "What if there's an earthquake while I'm under anesthesia and my doctor pokes through some of my eggs?", or "What if when the eggs are retrieved, the embryologist drops them while transporting them to the room for fertilization?" I allowed the thoughts to come in and then go out. I didn't give them any energy, or allow myself to awfulize and build them up. I was called back right at 7:00 a.m. Brad didn't get to go into the pre-op room with me.
The pre-op room wasn't as fancy as the lobby and waiting room area, but it was clean and tidy. The nurses were all friendly and on top of things. I was the only patient in the pre-op room. My nurse showed me my slipper socks (yay!), gown, head cap thing, and bag for my clothes, and she told me what to do with everything. I changed into what they gave me and even had a chance to take a selfie.
The next thing I remember, I was waking up in the pre-op/recovery room. I was freezing! My teeth were chattering and I couldn't get the chills under control, which is exactly how I responded the last time I was under anesthesia. I sure was grateful for the warm slipper socks they had given me! The nurse put a warm sheet around my head, and that helped with the shivers. Brad was brought back and he brought my heart rate down. I didn't know it, but my heart rate was up a bit. The minute Brad came back and told me to breathe deeply, my heart rate went down. He has a calming effect on me (when he wants to ;)). The nurse gave me some pain and anti-nausea medication through my IV. She
I think I was in the recovery room for about 30 minutes (while I was awake), and then they said I could get dressed and leave. Brad helped me get dressed and then I was wheeled out to the parking lot in a wheelchair. My stomach was uncomfortable. I didn't have sharp pains, but I felt a constant uncomfortable-ness. Brad reclined the passenger seat for me, turned up the heater and seat warmer, and covered me with a blanket. Then we got on the road and drove back home. I called my mom and dad while in the car and told them the news. 63 eggs! Once we were at home, I laid on the couch, put a heating pad on my stomach, and relaxed. I wasn't in a ton of pain - just discomfort. The heating pad helped a ton. Brad made me scrambled eggs. I was famished! After eating, I napped on and off. I took my antibiotic, preventative hyper stimulation medication, and Tylenol 3 with codine.
That night, I had really bad lower back pain. I woke up often to use the restroom. Any pressure on my bladder woke me up. I decided to sleep in our guest room because the mattress is firmer. I was able to decrease the back pain with the firmer mattress and then I continued my sleep a bit, wake up to use the restroom, sleep again a bit, wake up to use the restroom pattern.
Monday morning came around and I was starving! Brad made me some eggs (they are still my favorite thing to eat) and I moved from the guest bed to the living room couch. My stomach was really bloated and I didn't feel any better than the day before. I had the same stomach discomfort, if not more, and I felt lousy. HRC in Pasadena called to check in on me. I missed their call, but I called back and answered all their questions. HRC in Ontario called next, which, I missed, too (my phone was on silent). Brad and I had been waiting for the call from HRC in Ontario because they were going to tell us how many eggs made it through the night and how many fertilized. I called back and my nurse said that 35 out of the 63 eggs matured, and 30 of the 35 fertilized. That was a great number! The next thing was to wait for the call Friday to see how many made it to the final stage.
Tuesday morning came around and I still felt poorly. I had a bout of nausea right after I woke up, but it passed quickly (there were some tears shed though). I had some shortness of breath and my stomach was really bloated. I decided to called HRC and see if I could be checked for hyper stimulation. The nurse said they had been waiting for me to call with pain because of the high number of eggs retrieved. Brad drove me to HRC in Ontario and Dr. Norion did an internal ultra sound. I was hoping not to have an internal one done because of how much pain I was in, but when he started with the one on the top of my stomach, he couldn't see everywhere. Dr. Norion found liquid below my right lung, off to the left of my left ovary, and in the middle of my lower abdomen. He said that he wanted to drain the liquid the next day in Pasadena. I had hyper stimulation. The nurses took some blood for blood work and urine for a urine test. Dr. Norion prescribed me an anti-nausea medication, and I was sent home.
I had originally planned on only being out from work on Monday, but because of everything that had been going on (I couldn't even stand up straight!), I decided to take the week off. My amazing sub, wonderful colleague, and A+ mom helped make it all work. I couldn't have done it without them!
Yesterday, Wednesday, at 3:45 a.m., Brad and I drove to Pasadena (yes, I typed 3:45 A.M.!). Due to the early time, we didn't have any traffic and made it right on time. I felt every bump in the road and on the freeway and winced with pain as we went over each one. I was told to fast for 8 hours prior to the procedure just in case they needed to use anesthesia. When we got there, the same nurse took me into the pre-op room and gave me the same instructions for changing into the gown. I was put into the same surgery room and set up in the same way. Yep! Two IV's in one week...that's a record for me :) I bled much more with this IV, and honestly, my positivity meter was running a little low. I found out that the actual IV that is put into the skin is made of plastic. The needle doesn't stay in. That made me feel better about moving my hand. In the past when I've had IV's, I wouldn't move my hand and I would baby it for fear that the needle would poke through my skin or something. Once I found out that it was a piece of plastic (yes, the thought of BPA popped into my head for a second), I felt better. I was strapped in again. This time, my feet were also strapped into the stirrups (that was a little uncomfortable).
Dr. Norion came in and did an internal ultra sound. Without going into too many details, all the stuff that followed the ultra sound (needles, numbing medication through needles down yonder, hardware, cleaning solution, tubes, etc.) were all used next to get rid of some of the liquid that had been collecting in parts of my body. Dr. Norion collected about 500 ccs (1 liter) of liquid. He wasn't able to get it all because my ovaries were still extremely large and swollen. The procedure, called TAP, was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. I don't know about anyone else, but I normally like to know when the most painful part of something will be over. I knew that the most painful part of the egg retrieval would be the IV. But with this TAP, I never knew what was the most painful thing or part. It was one painful thing after another. I cried, I cussed, I bucked up from pain and was glad I was restrained, and I kicked a nurse (although I'm not too sure how since my feet were strapped in). If I don't hear, "You'll feel a little pressure," again from another doctor, I'd be a happy camper. I know my doctor did a wonderful job, but quite honestly, if I ever do that procedure again, I will speak up and request that I am put under anesthesia for it. It was bad - maybe even a little traumatic.
When I was moved out into the recovery room, I was sobbing uncontrollably. It was part because of the pain and part because of relief that the procedure was finally over. Brad came back and I cried even more. He was really concerned. I calmed down after a short bit, and Dr. Norion came into check on me. He said that my urine test from yesterday was fine, but one of the blood work tests came back low. He wanted me to have some fluid put in via my IV. I think there were three bags total, but I'm not positive of the number. I also got pain medication and anti-nausea medication via my IV. Dr. Norion said that the procedure wasn't normally so painful, but my ovaries were moving around a lot pushing on the tools he was using to remove the liquid from my abdomen. I had some crackers and water, and then was cleared to go. Oh, Dr. Norion prescribed me an additional antibiotic because of something that came back on my blood test. I trust everything he tells me to do, but I honestly don't always remember the details of what he says. I just take what he says to take and do what he says to do. I wasn't wheeled out of HRC this time (I think because I wasn't under anesthesia for the procedure). Brad drove me home and I fell asleep.
Today, Thursday, I feel better and am not in nearly as much pain as I was in the last couple of days, but I'm still bloated. I apologize for too much information, but I struggled with really bad constipation this morning because of all the pain meds and everything adding up. That part was really bad, too! Brad has been the best nurse! He's made all my meals and waited on me. I'm glad this recovery time won't be as long as the one from back in 2010 when I had my big knee surgery. I am not as helpless this time as I was back in 2010 (he had to give me baths and get me dressed, too).
Tomorrow, we will find out how many eggs made it to the final stage. They may want to observe them until Sunday, but we'll get a call tomorrow for sure. I'm hoping that I continue to feel better with each passing day and that my pregnant like belly goes down by Monday. Today is quite honestly the first day that I've had enough energy to type about my experience. I am not ready for teaching yet, but I will be by Monday (as long as I don't have to go potty every hour).
This journey has once again taught me that all I can do is live in the moment. I can plan for tomorrow, but I don't know what the actual plan for me is. I know that my life is unfolding perfectly and that the universe has a plan for me, but I don't know the plan until the day of. Things haven't gone as I planned, but they have gone as they were planned for me. I was meant to have these experiences (regardless of if I feel ready or not). I must admit that my positive outlook was challenged this last week. I had periods of weakness and suffering. I had periods of tears and pity. I had periods of thinking old thoughts like, "Why can't I get pregnant naturally instead of "having" to do it this way?" but that's okay. I can feel and think those things as long as they don't consume me. The experiences of IVF will not break me, but they will make me stronger. I am stronger today than I was yesterday, and I will continue to get stronger (at least that's my affirmation anyway ;).
