My IVF Story: Day 47 “Embryo Retrieval Fun!” |
||||
|
|
It’s the day I’ve been waiting for. It’s embryo retrieval day! I always find it somewhat ironic that embryo retrieval stands for “ER.” Having the same initials as “emergency room” can’t make anyone feel comfortable. Embryo transfer or ET is much more relaxing as it also stands for one of my favorite movies: ET. ET, phone home. ANYWAYS…. I had to miss work today, telling my clients that I was sick. It would have been more fun to say that I was missing the meeting because I had to remove embryos from my uterus but that probably wouldn’t have been as professional. I am told not to eat or drink after midnight and to take a pill 3 hours prior to prevent infection. I am supposed to take the pill at 6:00 am but I wake up at 3:45 and seem to stay awake until 6. Some may call this nerves, I call it being extra prepared. We arrive at the clinic and I am quickly escorted to the comfortable looking IVF area. I get changed into my gown and join the other four women on the comfortable recliner. It’s actually sort of looks like we’re at the spa, only we’ve overpaid for our procedures and we get an internal massage. My super-friend nurse comes around to hook up the IV. I will be first to have my procedure done and I’m feeling very relieved about this. It’s like when you have to give a presentation in school and you just want to get it over with. She is poking and prodding and can’t seem to find my vein. “You have such tiny veins,” she comments. Awesome news! Finally, she finds a suitable vein and my IV begins to drip. The nurse says it will relax me and I am already feeling the effects. I am actually always a great candidate for a placebo. If you give me a sugar pill and tell me it will make me feel better, I will always feel the effects right away. During the procedure, I will be getting “conscious sedation” which means I will be awake during the whole thing. Gulp. It’s our turn. My husband and I walk into the room and I assume the position. Legs spread open for all to enjoy! There are about 10 people – nurse and lab technicians – all running in and out of the room. The nurse informs me that I will start to feel relaxed from the nice cocktail of drugs she is giving me. I do and it feels like I am drunk but without the sick feeling. I also feel very alert and conscious, and the doctor explains everything she’s doing. My husband is watching the ultrasound monitor as they extract our little follicle babies. I can feel some poking and prodding inside of me but nothing hurts. And even if it did hurt, I wouldn’t even care, thanks to these wonderful drugs. Procedure is over in 15 minutes and I walk back to my recliner in the “spa” waiting room. By the time I sit down, I feel completely alert. The other women are looking at me curiously. “It didn’t hurt at all,” I tell them. “It was actually a beautiful and amazing experience.” We wait around for 30 minutes as I munch on cookies and water. I am told to drink a lot of water, Gatorade and salty foods to prevent Ovarian Hyperstimulation. Great excuse to buy potato chips! In the car ride home, my husband and I talk about our amazing experience. He also tells me that during the procedure, I asked the doctor if “pineapple helps with implantation” and the doctor laughed at me. Hmmm. I don’t remember this at all. With my track record, I’m just lucky that I didn’t ask more embarrassing questions. Home time and I’m feeling no pain at all. Just a beautiful feeling of emotions and an open heart. Comments (8)
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed |
... Congratulations!! I'm so excited for you! I love reading your posts everyday. It's nice to hear it first hand on what I will be going through as well. Thank you for sharing your experience! |
fertilityguy
said:
 |
... Know that we're rooting for you here. We have following your IVF journey and we've got our fingers crossed for you! |
JN061709
said:
 |
... great to hear that everything went well for you and your husband. I look reading your experiencing with IVF which help so many of us who are going through the same situation, so I truly happy you are able to explain to us the high and low through this experience. |
unlikeabird
said:
 |
... Thanks so much for sharing! We're heading to our egg retrieval next Friday. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. |
Paola
said:
|
Embryo retrieval or Egg retrieval? good luck with this cycle, just wondering it was egg retrieval right? as you said embryo this would mean you would have fertilised eggs taken out? mm. Anyways wishing you all the best for this cycle. |
Krissi
said:
|
EGG retrieval! The retrieval (of your EGGS right?) isn't always fun or painless but it is fun to find out about your fertilization! Good luck!!! |
Sign up for our free weekly eNews!
