with a side of OHSS
This was our first attempt at IVF. Everything went along swimmingly until our Egg Retrieval.
26 eggs aspirated; 15 mature; 9 fertilized with ICSI
OHSS dominated to say the least, but we still are blessed to have 6 frozen embryos waiting for us.
Here is a detailed account of my IVF#1 experience.
We followed our clinic's S3 Protocol.
They had me taking the following medications:
- 25 consecutive days of BCP (Loestrin 24 FE)
- 12 consecutive days of Lupron (10 units)
- 10 days of Lupron (5 units)
- 10 tentative days of stimulation drugs
- Follistim 225 units
- Menopur 75 units
- Progesterone in Oil injections daily after embryo transfer
The following was a daily breakdown of my protocol, appointments, side effects, injections, and other symptoms.
- One of our pastors at church shared a prophecy with Brandon and myself. He said that God told him for us to "be well" and anticipate a child born via IVF.
- AF arrived
- IVF is ready to go!
- Baseline bw and u/s appointment
- Began BCP
- Lupron arrived $143.69
- Precycle visit with Janet (blog post here)
- Filled out paperwork concerning IVF
- Discussed all medications
- Begin Lupron 10 units daily subcutaneously
- Brandon ordered HALF of my Rx for our cycle= $713.66
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
- I am terrified of needles! This is a huge accomplishment for me.
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
- Starting to feel a little edgy; maybe it's the Lupron
- Last BCP
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
- Feeling snappy at everything!
- Upset tummy. Is it the Lupron?
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
- Terrible TMJ pain
- I administered my own Lupron injection away from home!
June 4
- Terrible TMJ pain
- Cramps; Emotional and crying
- Ordered the remainder of my Rx for our cycle= $713.66
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
- AF arrived (as expected) Back to CD 1
- TMJ pain continues.
- I administered my own Lupron injection!
 |
| Just a shot of some of my medicines (pun intended)! |
- Office Visit and Suppression Check at 9:15am PASSED!
- E2, BhCG, US, cath, and AVP
- estradiol 49, BhCG >5
- ultrasound looked great
- continue calendar as written
- TMJ...will it ever stop?
- signed consent due (we've already completed this paperwork)
- PAYMENT due= $8660.00
- I administered my own Lupron injection but it hurt
- TMJ has caused my throat to swell
- Went to American Family Care
- Cortisone shot in the hiney and Amoxicillin 3 times a day
- Joy administered my Lupron injection
- Finally feeling relief from TMJ pain
- Brandon administered my Lupron injection
- *Brandon and I have been together for 5 years*
- Reduce Lupron to 5 units daily
- Begin Follistim and Menopur injections
- Rachel administered both of my injections
- Felt nauseated immediately after both injections
- Exhausted all day; extremely thirsty
- Brandon administered both of my injections
- Exhausted with high energy; bloated
- Brandon administered both of my injections
- Bloated and uncomfortable after shots
June 13
 |
| 3 Years |
- 3rd Wedding Anniversary
- Tired and bloated
- Brandon ordered the remainder of Rx needed for this cycle
- additional hCG and Progesterone in Oil
- Stim day 5 Office Visit at 9:45am
- E2, P4, CBC, US
- e2 497
- p4 .4
- 12 follicles on right ovary
- 16 follicles on left ovary
- Tired, thirsty, hungry, and bloated
 |
| I don't even have words... |
- Progesterone and Novarel arrived
 |
| More drugs... |
- Courageous Banquet
 |
| B after signing The Resolution |
June 16
- Stim day 7 Office Visit 7:30-8:30am
- e2: 1842
- p4: 1.1
- still 28 follicles growing strong
- The plan is to return tomorrow morning, trigger tomorrow evening, and have our egg retrieval on Tuesday!
 |
| Waiting on our appointment |
 |
| Lots of follicles growing |
June 17 (Father's Day)- Last day of Stims
- Office Visit at 7:45am
- e2: 2526
- p4: 1.5
- 28 follicles still growing strong
- Both begin antibiotics
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Reduced injects
- Menopur 75 IU
- Lupron 5 IU
- Office Visit at 8:30am
- Uterine Lining: 0.8cm
- Many follicles have reached maturity
 |
| My follicles look like a smiling face |
- Medicines:
- hCG Injection at 9:15pm
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Begin Dostinex .5mg for 8 days
- I am at an increased risk for developing OHSS
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Egg Retrieval at 9:15am
- IVF with ICSI
- 26 eggs were retrieved
- I woke up during Egg Retrieval procedure
- I passed out twice before leaving the clinic
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Demerol
- Embryo babysitting
- Of the 26 retrieved, 15 were mature and 9 fertilized
- Felt very bloated; much discomfort (like previous surgery pain)
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Demerol
- Progesterone in Oil; 1cc injection
- Embryo Babysitting
- I worked for 2 hours and felt awful. I was extremely flushed after taking a shower. Brandi at ART told me that I needed to return home and
rest as much as possible. I took a 5 hour nap once I got back home.
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Demerol
- Phenergan
- Progesterone in Oil; 1 cc injection
- Embryo babysitting
- Our 9 fertilized embryos are growing strong
- Terrible bloating and pain. Feeling flushed and lightheaded. Trouble eating. Felt exhausted after taking a shower.
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Phenergan
- Demerol
- Progesterone in Oil; 1 cc injection
June 24
- Embryo babysitting
- Bloating and stomach pain; difficulty eating; difficulty moving around; shortness of breath
- I had no energy to shower so B sat me in the bathtub and washed my hair. He also had to help me blow it dry because of my lack of energy.
- Medicines:
- Dostinex
- Augmentin 500mg twice daily
- Phenergan
- Demerol
- Progesterone in Oil; 1cc injection
June 25- Transfer Day
- Embryo babysitting
- Embryo Transfer CANCELLED
- I felt terrible on the way to the clinic. I knew that we would not be able to proceed with the Embryo Transfer. I had no idea how sick I truly was.
- Severely dehydrated
- Medicines:
- Valium
- Augmentin 500mg
- Phenergan
- Lortab 7.5 (x2) every 4 hours
.JPG) |
| My leg warmers to protect against blood clots along with my no slip socks since I'm a fall risk |
- Once we arrived for our transfer, I was still in a lot of pain. An ultrasound revealed a great amount of fluid in my belly. OHSS has won this cycle.
- Admitted to Brookwood Hospital
- dehydrated; my belly had taken all of the fluid
.JPG) |
| My IV |
.JPG)
- at Brookwood Hospital
- Dehydrated
- Did I mention that I have 6 great quality embryos frozen?
- May God bless them and keep them until they may be transferred to my womb.
- Pigtail Catheter placed into right abdomen to remove fluid
- I'm a weenie with needles. I had no pain medicine or anything as they put this catheter into my belly. They used a local anesthetic and then I felt strange/weird pressure.
- It hurts because it's foreign in my body and it's sore. I can't stand up straight because it pulls.
- It has removed almost 5 liters of fluid from my belly within a matter of hours
.JPG)
- weighed 137 lbs at the beginning of the day (I'm 125lbs normal)
- Medicines:
- Lortab 7.5 (x2) every 4 hours
- Phenergan IV x2
- Demerol IV x2
 |
| This is my catheter bag. Within the first 1.5 hours of having the catheter placed in my belly, the nurses emptied this bag 10 times! After doing the math, that meant that 5 liters was drained in that short time span. You can imagine how big my tummy was! |
- at Brookwood Hospital
- am bloodwork
- Dehydrated
- Medicines:
- Lortab 7.5 x2 every 4 hours
- Valium
- I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and was extremely agitated. I couldn't get comfortable. TMI, but my bottom is agitated from lying in bed so much. With enough pain medicine, I can stand to walk more which in turn drains more fluid from my belly.
.JPG) |
| After walking to get a popsicle. |
June 28
- at Brookwood Hospital
- am bloodwork
- Dr. Allemand allowed the nurses to remove my IV (woohoo)
- The nurses are monitoring my oral fluid intake and urine output. I still have some symptoms of dehydration, but feel much better than in the past few days.
- The catheter in my abdomen has slowed in releasing fluid from my belly
.JPG) |
.JPG) |
| Striking a pose with my bag |
- I had an episode this evening before dinner
- I was waiting on room service to bring my dinner when I began feeling a little faint and hungry. I ate a cracker and felt alright. Once my dinner arrived, I had a hard time eating. I started feeling nauseated, but was still starving. I barely had enough energy to pick up my food and eat. I ate my dinner and then fell asleep for about 25 minutes. My nurse came in to check on me and figured that my blood pressure had fallen causing me to feel dizzy, faint, and nauseated.
June 29
- at Brookwood Hopsital Last DAY
- Insomnia much of the night. I was given my evening Lortab and Valium and continued watching a movie before trying to sleep. Once I got comfortable I was unable to sleep. I napped on and off all night.
- I spent much time in prayer with God. He has revealed so much to me. He has given me my purpose. I strive to do more to help those with fertility struggles. I will begin educating people in my area and see how it grows from there.
- am bloodwork
- labs look great and everything is evening itself out
- Medicines:
- Lortab at hospital
- Dr. Allemand showed up and said that all of my labwork was looking much better. He removed the catheter from my belly (felt like spaghetti) and told us we were ready to go home. The nurses had me discharged within minutes.
.JPG) |
| So ready to go home |
.JPG) |
| Yippee! |
.JPG) | |
| Let's Go! |
.JPG) | |
| They see me rollin' |
.JPG) |
| He was excited too! |
- We were home by noon; Praise the Lord
.JPG) |
| HOME SWEET HOME |
- I get tired easily. The littlest things take much more energy for me to accomplish
- I get overwhelmed easily. I'm super emotional, but that seems normal for what I've went through.
- My weight is back to normal at 126 lbs
- still getting tired easily and having bouts of confusion
Recovery will be one day at a time.
Dr. Allemand said that we need to wait one cycle to rest and let my body heal before attempting a Frozen Embryo Transfer.
Dr. Allemand said that we need to wait one cycle to rest and let my body heal before attempting a Frozen Embryo Transfer.
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*Please visit my Lingo page for any elaboration on the acronyms used.
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Blog Posts about IVF #1 attempt:
- May 18: IVF for Beginners
- May 29: Pre-cycle Visit
- June 1: Lupron so far
- June 2: Not much to report
- June 6: Suppression Check Passed
- June 14: Day 5 Follicle Check
- June 16: Day 7 Stims
- June 18: Day 9 Stims Check
- June 18: Trigger Tonight; ET Wednesday
- June 19: IVF
- June 20: Egg Retrieval
- June 21: Fertilization Report
- June 22: 2 Days Post Retrieval
- June 22: Mild OHSS
- June 23: 3 Days Post Retrieval
- June 25: No Transfer Today; OHSS; In Hospital
- June 26: What is OHSS?
- June 26: Pigtail Catheter- OHSS
- June 27: Day 3 at the Hospital
- June 28: Day 4 in the Hospital
- June 29: HOME SWEET HOME
Praying for you guys!! May God bless you and protect you and your family on this journey.
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