my Self

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Fort St John, BC, Canada
My husband, David, and I had been trying to have a baby since November of 2007. After 'letting things happen', we got the amazing news that we were pregnant in June of 2008. Sadly, that pregnancy ended at 9 weeks with a natural miscarriage. After two more chemical pregnancies, we turned to fertility treatments in 2009. That decision was a disaster, with lousy medical care and poor monitoring. In December of 2009, we made the huge decision to move onto IVF. Things fell into place like magic and we began treatment on January 15, 2010. After a blighted ovum in March, we did a successful FET in June, only to endure another blighted ovum in July. We kept up and underwent another IVF in September/October of 2010 with the arrival of our son, Brogan in July of 2011! After our lovely success (finally) we decided to undertake yet another IVF treatment and hope for a sibling for our little red headed boy. Well... so far it's worked. Our story continues below!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Egg Retrieval

On Friday morning we went to the clinic for the egg retrieval.  We arrived a bit early, which was a good thing as they took an extra 15 minutes trying to get a good vein for my IV.  I changed into a hospital gown, and a great nurse came in to explain things to us and start the IV.  She got the vein on the first poke, but there was a bit of a 'leak' and I bled all over the white leather chair I was sitting in.  I felt terrible at the mess, and so did the nurse! 

Then the embryoligist came in, a really warm, personable woman who took more time to explain what she would be doing with our eggs when they were retrieved, and more about the incubation process, then one of the clinic doctors, Dr. Seetham, came in and again went through things with us. 

David went his way at that point, and I went into the operating room.  The doctor asked what kind of music I preferred and after putting some tunes on, he began to prepare for the procedure.  The table had stirrups, which was kind of strange because it reminded me of a birthing bed.  When they strapped my legs in, I kind of figured things might be a 'teeny' bit more intense than I was expecting.   

The drugs they gave me induced a 'heavy' feeling, but I never really got the buzz they had made me anticipate.  I felt a good pinch when the needle first went in, and the first ovary - the left, was extremely uncomfortable, but not exactly painful.  There were a lot of eggs and things took longer than anticipated.  I suspect that's why the second side hurt so much... the drugs had started to wear off.  When we moved over to the rigtht side, the poke through the vaginal wall was more than a pinch.  I felt it, and it hurt. 

Then came the pokes to the ovary on the rigtht side.  The follicles were big and there were lots of them.  I realized, watching the ultrasound screen, that the needle had to go through the ovary to get to the follicles on the backside.  By this time, I could see each time the needle poked through the follicle, and dreaded the pain that came with it.  At the end of it all, I was actually moaning with each movement of the needle.  

Keep in mind, the needle was inserted over 20 times into my ovaries.   My raw and swollen, tender ovaries that were heavy with ready-to-pop, angry, red follicles (see pic at bottom of the blog!).  By the end of it all, I was near tears, but still insisting that the doctor keep going and get all that he could.  The entire process took about 10 to 15 minutes. 

The coolest part of it all was that the nurses kept taking vials of fluid over to the embryologist and came back with ongoing reports as to how many eggs they had. 

So I'm strapped into stirrups, with a doctor 'down there' doing his thing, I'm moaning in pain, and every few moments a nurse comes in and cheerfully announces, "We got three more!, Up to ten now!"   I had to laugh.. it was kind of like hearing 'It's a boy! or It's a girl!'  And at the end, I really didn't care how many freakin' eggs they had, I was just ready to it to stop.

I do remember muttering at one point that "David is having a MUCH better time." and everyone laughing.  Glad I can be of some relief to all in the room!

Then I was back in recovery and feeling a lot, lot better.  The swollen follicles removed, the invading blade of steel no longer invading my body, and seeing David again made things a lot more pleasant.  They gave us the total number of eggs retrieved... 22!  We were really happy.  I kept saying throughout that I wanted at least 20. 

Today (Saturday) we'll find out how many eggs were mature and fertilized.  I'm nervous about it, but so far things have gone well so I'm starting to be more optimistic then I wanted to be.  We'll see what happens.  The clinic said they get an average 70% fertilization rate, which means we should get about 15 fertilized eggs.  I will most likely be very anxious when that phone rings.

7 comments:

  1. That's great Sonya! I was wondering how everything was going with you. So excited. Hope you get as many if those eggs fertilized and be pregnant in a week! :). Good luck!

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  2. That is great news! I am a wee bit scared for my appointment now. If you can do it so can I!

    I am so happy for you!

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  3. Ok - admittedly I was cringing while reading your post b/c I truly have needle phobia and have been known to faint! Bless your heart! Ughhhhhh. Most importantly - Yayyyyyyyy 22 eggs! I'm so sorry for the discomfort and pain but I suspect it will all be worth it very soon! Can't wait to hear how many fertilized!

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  4. Wow, this sounds like quite a procedure...ugh! Sounds exciting yet scary at the same time - I know that's totally oversimplifying it. The thought of that needle freaks me out. Looking forward to the update on how fertilization goes!

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  5. I am sorry for all the pain, but so happy for your 22 eggies! Can't wait for the next update. Wonderful!

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  6. Congrat's on the 22 eggs, I hope you have a wonderful fertilization rate!! I was cringing at every poke you described, I'm glad they say I will be out for the procedure after that description... I am wishing the best of luck to you.

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  7. Sonya!! I am just catching up on your blog since I was out of town! 22 EGGS!!!!!!!! That is amazing!! I am so ecstatic for you! Also you are my hero for being AWAKE during the procedure ... wow, wow, wowww. I was completely sedated. You are such a trooper.

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