The Egg Retrieval: Day 10

Today was it. Last night after midnight, I was not allowed to eat or drink one drop of anything. I took a shower since in the morning I wouldn't be allowed to use any cosmetic products or put on makeup. I also removed all piercings/jewelry and fingernail polish. The one thing I was allowed to do when I woke up was to brush my teeth. The reason you can't even wash your face or do your normal routine is because even just the scent of perfume will degrade the quality of the eggs as they are collected.

I just want to note how nice the Boston IVF clinic is in Waltham. It's a new facility and it doesn't even feel like a hospital. The staff are on top of their game here and even my case manager told me that her donors typically respond very well here without many major side effects, like no cramping after surgery. The nurses kept me comfortable and talked me through everything. This is when I handed a card to the nurse - a good luck card to be delivered to the couple when they come in a few days later for the wife to receive the embryos, and telling them what an honor it was that they chose me to help them. I then met the doctor who had been making all the decisions for my medication and will be performing the procedure. He said he's expecting to retrieve at least the 13 eggs they could find on the ultrasound. He also said that my cycle was a little faster than the normal 12-day cycle, but that my 10-day cycle is still acceptable and with the high hormone levels, is a good indicator that my eggs will be of good quality.

After changing into the gowns, putting on a hairnet, putting on my warm cozy socks, and connecting me to IV fluids, the nurse walked me right into the surgery room. I laid on the table and right away they put a nice warm blanket on me like it had just come out of the dryer. They went through their checklist of things to prep me before starting. Every few minutes, a nurse asked me if I was doing okay. They propped my feet into stirrups, put an oxygen mask over my face, and then a nurse held my hand for comfort while the 2nd nurse told me she was getting ready to apply the anesthesia in my IV drip and told me how I might feel as I went off. The next thing I knew, I started feeling lightheaded and then was out of it.

When I came back to, I was in a recovery room and I asked the nurse what time it was. I had gone into surgery at around 7:30am and she told me it was 8:30am - and that it was the 3rd time I had asked her. :) I was finally awake at this point and noticed I was holding a nice heat pad on my abdomen, which felt good because I could feel I was a little sore around my ovaries. The nurse called my husband back to the recovery room, helped me move into a lounge chair and gave me some tea and crackers. The doctor came back to check on how I was recovering, and then told me that he had retrieved 22 eggs! (Nice!) That made me very happy. My husband and I both received the rest of my recovery instructions in case the anesthesia was still inhibiting my memory, and he could help me out.

Since then, I've been resting in my hotel room. I made a mistake though. I was prescribed some Vicodin and Ibuprofen - to use at my discretion. The nurse told me I could take the Vicodin 3 hours after I got home, so I did that. My mistake is that I took it on an empty stomach before I ate lunch. Starting at lunch, I haven't been able to keep any of my food or water down all day. I took a nap to help wear off some of the drugs and to take a break from the vomiting. When I woke, I continued to empty whatever was left in my stomach, and now am at the point of dry heaving. I called the doctor to see if we needed to do anything. He asked if I was feeling any pain, and I'm not. I'm pretty sore around my ovaries, but no pain or cramps at all, which is a good sign. He then explained that my body is rejecting the narcotics and drugs in my system as if they're toxins and that's why I can't keep anything down. He gave me options of prescribing me medicine if I can find a pharmacy that's open, or just to try and let it pass on its own by taking slow small sips of cool water. If this continues through tomorrow morning, I'll call back when the pharmacies open.

As far as anything else, this cycle is finished. They retrieved 22 eggs for the couple, and whatever happens to those eggs after this is for their knowledge only. Fortunately for me, they do plan to keep me updated on all their status from here, but that's an agreement between us and is no longer my story to share. I really thank you for reading my blog! My 2nd donation with the next couple does depend on the outcome of this one, so hopefully it all goes very well for my current recipients. I'll continue with my blog for the 2nd donation too, and perhaps until then when I can think of anything, I'll post some extra info or my philosophy on some of the concerns of egg donation. So, by all means, this blog is not over and I hope you will subscribe to see when I start posting new items. I will update you tomorrow on my recovery as well. I hope sharing my story was informative for you, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Note Added 8/23/09: Now that I understand OHSS much more, I think the Vicodin might have been a trigger, but I also know that nausea and vomiting are symptoms of OHSS. I probably would have had the vomiting anyway.