IVF:
Week 4
This has been to week to end all weeks.
The day after my last post I had my follicular aspiration (eggs harvested). It
is a minor surgery but very short.
First thing they laid me on the table and
hooked up my IV. The first drug they gave me was an antibiotic. Then they gave
me something that made me a bit drunky. I have a very weak system and don’t
respond well to narcotics, so the rest of the meds were a big scary monster to
me. I made sure to ask for the anti-nausea med before they gave me the hard
stuff instead of after like they usually do. Lastly, came the Demerol and the
gas. I faintly remember the nurse telling me to take big breaths through my
mouth and then groaning from the pain of the 10 inch needle piercing my cervix.
She gave me more Demerol, and the rest is history.
Once we got me up and in the car, I knew
something was wrong. The car ride home was unbearable. Everything hurt, but I
had a sharp pain radiating up my right side. If you are unfamiliar with the
procedure, they take a 10 inch needle and put it through the cervix up into an
ovary and extract the eggs, then do it to the other side. Fun!!
After we got home, I lay down on the couch
and wanted desperately to sleep but that was not an option. The pain was
getting worse. Around 5 hours later my husband had to go back to the doctor’s
office to deposit his half of the procedure. After I insisted to him that the
pain on my right side was NOT normal, he called the doctor and we were advised
that I come with him to the office.
The doctor did 2 ultrasounds (one from
the outside and one from the inside . . . they both hurt) and poking and
prodding on my belly. He found that my right ovary had been bleeding. My belly
had around100- 200 ccs of blood in it, but luckily, he suspected it had stopped
bleeding. He said if it continued that I would need surgery that evening to
suck out all the blood. He gave us instructions on how to determine if the
bleeding was stopping or continuing and sent us home.
The following days were very painful.
Actually, it’s still painful now and it’s been 9 days. My belly was swollen, my
ovaries were swollen, and all my internal organs were absorbing the blood which
means they were bruising. Going pee was excruciating. I couldn’t sit up straight;
I discovered I couldn’t eat because I was able to digest smoothly due to all
the blood absorbing into my intestines. This is something I had been through
before with my ovarian cysts, but now I had even more pains and aches. My
greatest concern was whether or not it would affect the transfer of the
fertilized embryos.
Thursday came and I still wasn’t close to
healed. The embryos HAD to be transferred 5 days after the eggs were extracted,
so healed or not, they were going in! This procedure was much different. The
embryos had been in a nice warm incubator so the room had to be tropical-hot as
to not shock them but keep them nice and happy. I lay on the table in the dark,
hot, quiet room. There was only one light on and it was shining brightly into
the one place you never want a spot light. They had to insert and catheter
through my cervix and into my uterus. The embryos had to be placed in very
specific spot so they did a test run to make sure they had the perfect angle
and depth. Normally, this would not be painful and would just be uncomfortable,
but because of all the swelling and bruising, there were moments of pain as
well as discomfort. One of my friends had said something to me earlier that day
that really stuck with me . . .she said
that most people don’t get to know the exact moment that God blesses them with
a child. I was so blessed by this recognition of truth. During the procedure I
began to pray, but then my prayer changed to praise. I praised God for
everything He is. I would usually praise Him for all the blessings He was
giving me at that moment, but instead I just praise Him for who He is. It was
AWSOME! I felt to humbled and blessed to lay at His feet and worship. Afterward,
I had to lie on one side for 15 minutes then switch sides for 15 more. Then I
was instructed to take it very easy for the rest of that night; no opening
doors, no lifting, no carrying, no pulling, only rest and a light meal. The
following 3 days were the most crucial. I had my son-from-another-mother stay
with me in case I needed something done that was strenuous. The doctor said
that I could resume normal activities other than exercise and of course
anything that was vigorous. It’s been 4 days since they implanted the embryos
in my womb, and I’m pretty much living normally. I still have pains and bloat and
am healing from the surgery, but other than that I’m trying to just be normal. This is going to be a long week.
Along with all the procedures and complications,
I started a new shot. It SUUUUCKS!!!! It’s a booty shot, and it’s worse than
all the others combine! Yes, even worse than tasting band aids. The hormone is mixed with oil so it’s very
thick. It takes several tries to get it all sucked up into the syringe and
takes just as long to be released into the muscle. After the shot, I have to
sit on a hot pad to thin the oil and help the med absorb. The sight of the
injection has to be massaged and rubbed as much as possible otherwise the med
will knot up and create a large lump in my butt. Even with the hot ad and all
the rubbing, my butt still HUUUURTS. Not like bumping my elbow hurts, more like
wakes-me-up-every-night kind of hurts. It’s constant and unrelenting! Every
time I sit, every time I walk or stand, no matter what it just sucks! Then
yesterday I applied a hormone patch to my lower abdomen. Easy-peasy, as long as
it stays on.
So now what? Now I wait. I try not to ask myself questions like; Did it work? Was all of this for nothing? Was all of this worth it and will I get the most amazing gift? I don't know. Next Saturday at
8 am I go into the doctor for a blood drawn pregnancy test. I continue with the
shots, the patch, and the prayers, and I wait.
To be continued . . .
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