So, Monday night I was ordered to "relax and have a drink", as it was the only day in this whole process where I had no meds at all to take. I couldn't eat or drink anything (not even a sip of water) after midnight, so I had to keep remembering to not quench my thirst in the night and morning. I also had to go to bed early and rest up for the ER (Egg Retrieval), so that's pretty much what I did. We had a friend in town (who will hopefully be moving with his family to Alameda soon soon soon) so we at least got to have dinner and margaritas and give him a little driving tour of our town.
In the meantime, the baby whose birth I was meant to be at decided to make his amazing beautiful appearance right when I couldn't be there. I am dying to meet him and pissed/sad that my IVF fucked this up. But, I also am viewing it as a positive omen. Babies babies babies!!!
In other positive omens, I have two different fertility candles that have been given to me by folks who now have babies, and I've lit them both a lot in the last couple of days. Can't hurt!
Anyhow, I woke up Tuesday morning, put on some sweatpants and headed into the city. When we got there, we checked in and they sent us up to the 8th floor, where all the labs are (this is where Ian has always "produced"). They took us into a room where I changed into a gown, hairnet, and weird hospital booties over my socks.
I sat in a comfy chair while they inserted my IV and asked me a bunch of questions.
I met the anesthesiologist and he asked some more questions and told me all about the drugs I'd be getting during and after the procedure. Then they brought me into the room where it was all going to happen. It was connected directly to the lab, and a dude in the lab peered over and said hello. The way it works is that they go in with a needle, guided by ultrasound, through the wall of the vagina and into each ovary, and aspirate each follicle in each ovary. Each follicle's follicular fluid goes straight into a test tube and directly to the lab where they look for an egg. In an ideal world, each follicle has a mature egg. But that's not always the case.
In the meantime, Ian was taken to the semen production land where he produced some semen, so the ICSI could happen right away.
So, back at ER, I laid down, legs up in an unladylike position and they gave me oxygen in my nose. Once I was all settled in the anesthesiologist said he was going to start the medication and I might start to feel sleepy. I remember the ceiling looking a little funny and then the next thing I remember, I was in the recovery area. I was out completely. I remember a nurse asking if I wanted Ian to come in now, and I said, "sure" and another nurse wrote a number on my hand and said something like, "I do that because people tend to forget when I just tell them" and I was confused and out of it and it took me awhile to realize that this was the number of eggs they'd retrieved.
At some point Dr. Rosen came by and said it went really well. He also told me that I talked A LOT during the retrieval, which was news to me because I have no conscious awareness or remembrance of anything at all. I asked what I said - was I asking questions (cause that sounds like me) or what - and he said it was mostly mumbling and nonsense. Awesome/embarrassing.
So, I drank some juice and ate some crackers and once I could sit and then stand without being too shaky, they sent me on my way.
By the time I arrived home I was in pretty bad pain. There was no position that was comfortable - laying down, sitting down, standing. Could really barely walk. Pretty much spent the day laying around feeling sorry for myself, sleeping off and on, with Ian waiting on me hand and foot. Cause he's awesome. He's so awesome in fact, that right now I am watching every episode of the show he had previously forbidden from being watched in our house:
In the meantime, the baby whose birth I was meant to be at decided to make his amazing beautiful appearance right when I couldn't be there. I am dying to meet him and pissed/sad that my IVF fucked this up. But, I also am viewing it as a positive omen. Babies babies babies!!!
In other positive omens, I have two different fertility candles that have been given to me by folks who now have babies, and I've lit them both a lot in the last couple of days. Can't hurt!
Anyhow, I woke up Tuesday morning, put on some sweatpants and headed into the city. When we got there, we checked in and they sent us up to the 8th floor, where all the labs are (this is where Ian has always "produced"). They took us into a room where I changed into a gown, hairnet, and weird hospital booties over my socks.
I sat in a comfy chair while they inserted my IV and asked me a bunch of questions.
I met the anesthesiologist and he asked some more questions and told me all about the drugs I'd be getting during and after the procedure. Then they brought me into the room where it was all going to happen. It was connected directly to the lab, and a dude in the lab peered over and said hello. The way it works is that they go in with a needle, guided by ultrasound, through the wall of the vagina and into each ovary, and aspirate each follicle in each ovary. Each follicle's follicular fluid goes straight into a test tube and directly to the lab where they look for an egg. In an ideal world, each follicle has a mature egg. But that's not always the case.
In the meantime, Ian was taken to the semen production land where he produced some semen, so the ICSI could happen right away.
So, back at ER, I laid down, legs up in an unladylike position and they gave me oxygen in my nose. Once I was all settled in the anesthesiologist said he was going to start the medication and I might start to feel sleepy. I remember the ceiling looking a little funny and then the next thing I remember, I was in the recovery area. I was out completely. I remember a nurse asking if I wanted Ian to come in now, and I said, "sure" and another nurse wrote a number on my hand and said something like, "I do that because people tend to forget when I just tell them" and I was confused and out of it and it took me awhile to realize that this was the number of eggs they'd retrieved.
So, I drank some juice and ate some crackers and once I could sit and then stand without being too shaky, they sent me on my way.
By the time I arrived home I was in pretty bad pain. There was no position that was comfortable - laying down, sitting down, standing. Could really barely walk. Pretty much spent the day laying around feeling sorry for myself, sleeping off and on, with Ian waiting on me hand and foot. Cause he's awesome. He's so awesome in fact, that right now I am watching every episode of the show he had previously forbidden from being watched in our house:
Today I feel a little better. Still in some pain, especially when I move around or go to the bathroom. But it's improving. So, now we wait to hear how our little eggs fared when they met their friends, the sperm. In an ideal situation an average of 70% will successfully fertilize. In about 1% of cases, none will fertilize. We, obviously, hope to be closer to that 70%, but anything can happen. If everything looks good, we will transfer 2-3 on Friday, day 3 of their "lives". Some will die between now and then, but hopefully many will survive and we'll have some to transfer and some to freeze.
So, I await the call. I will keep you posted.
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