Against All Odds

1dpst. That's IVF lingo for 1 day post-transfer.

Don't feel bloated anymore now thank goodness, but I am feeling some sharp pains every now and then. Need to ask the doctor about it. Hope it's nothing serious.

My jaw and throat are still sore from the breathing tube they used during the ET yesterday (since I was sedated).

I have been on bedrest most of the day. I Will probably venture out for lunch tomorrow. Starting to get major cabin fever. Luckily, I am surrounded by friends and family who are keeping my spirits up.

The doctor told me to take it easy, make sure I steer clear from people with the flu, avoid getting diarrhea (no spicy foods!), and no over-exertion/heavy-lifting. He basically said, "Just use common sense."

Still taking antibiotics (2x daily) to prevent infection from the egg retrieval in addition to the Progynova tablets (3x daily), folic acid and vitamin C. I have started to use those weekly pill boxes I used to tease my grandma about to make sure I remember which pills and how much to take.

My granny pill box :)

I have started the HCG injections this morning, which I am supposed to do every other day around 8-9am. It wasn't so bad compared to the other shots. I have three injections more to go for the next two weeks. These injections are to strengthen my uterine lining.

I am taking 4 Pregnyl (HCG) injections over the 

next two weeks.

I hope our embryos are strong enough to hatch and implant despite the not so great prognosis we got from the doctor. I am told implantation usually takes place 3-5 dpst.

Come on, little embies. Mommy and Daddy are rooting for you. You can do it!

Sticky Dreams

My Mom and I went to see the clinic around 10am to receive our "report card" from the egg retrieval procees. It wasn't great and of course mini waterworks came at the doctor's office. Thank goodness my doctor has famous for his lovely bedside manner and handled my mini-breakdown well. It was all just a lot to take in after such a long and grueling teo weeks of injections and side effects.

To sum up the embryologist report: we got 8 eggs but only four matured. Out of the four, which were fertilized by ICSI, two fertilized. The quality was average to poor. Based on the quality of the embryos, he advised for a Day 3 ET with Assisted Hatching. More on ICSI can be read here.

After a good cry about the not so great results, mom and I headed to the dayward. Glad I had the chance to take a nap before the ET, which was scheduled at 12pm. The time to rest helped me get over the mellow mood and also take off my mind off the hunger pangs (I was fasting since 5am).

Even though I was fasting, I was asked to relieve myself before 11am. The doctor need a full bladder to the transfer, which is done under ultrasound guidance. Because the first transfer was traumatic and my general anatomy, the doctor decided to give me a sedative prior to the procedure so I would be relaxed.

Embryo transfer is the final and most crucial step of the whole IVF process. The doctor said it went well overall. Now, it is up to the power that be to bestow us with a miracle.

By 1.30pm I was back in my room, but this time when I woke up I was super nauseous. The nurse kept telling me breathe deeply, which helped take the sick feeling away.

I was asked to lie down on my back and rest for the afternoon till 5.30pm. Thank goodness my mom kept me company and actually gave me the giggles. Hope all that laughter is good for the embryos.

Now the waiting begins till I can do a pregnancy blood test in two weeks. This period is known as the two week wait (TWW). It can be a nerve-wrecking time for any couple, but having gone through this twice before I will try to have a more positive attitude this time around. It's a good thing the doctor was upfront and honest about our the chances of embryo implantation which helped is manage our expectations.

I am still taking supplements to keep my progesterone levels and help keep my uterus lining healthy. On top of the Cyclogest pessaries and Progynova tablets, I will have to do HCG injections every other day starting tomorrow until next week.

Taking it easy tonight and resting. Wishing, hoping and praying.


Image taken from myselfishgenes.blogspot.com

Back on the Saddle Again

Day 17. Still recovering from my egg retrieval on Day 15.

The egg retrieval or oocyte retrieval process is probably the most painful part of the whole IVF program. The procedure is done under anesthesia, so I didn't feel a thing since I was out cold. However, the recovery process... super ouch!

DH and I arrived at the hospital around 7.30am, and after settling our admission details, I was escorted to my room and asked to change into a hospital gown and rest for a while. The procedure was scheduled at 10.30am, and I was to relieve myself one last time at 10am. I think it was good that I had a couple of hours to rest on the hospital bed before I was wheeled towards the Operating Room (OR).

Once inside the OR, the doctor, nurses and anesthesiologist all tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible. It helps that prior to starting an IV, the anesthesiologist gave me some lidocaine on the injection area before proceeding with the IV needle. Then it was lights out for me.

Diagram of an egg retrieval procedure. 

Image taken from www.mayoclinic.com

Once the procedure was done, which took around 30-45 minutes, I was transferred to my dayward room. I regained consciousness in the OR and was asked to rest and go back to sleep. Apparently, if you keep awake once you regain consciousness the patient might get drowsy, feel nauseous and throw up. This happened to patient lying next to my bed (the room was shared among three patients all doing egg retrievals). When I woke up I had a strong urge to urinate. My goodness did it hurt like crazy! Several people going through egg retrieval experience painful burning sensation while urinating after the procedure (felt like a razor blade was going through my urinary tract to me). The doctor told me to drink lots of fluids and said the painful feeling would go away. It did but only after a few painful trips to the bathroom.

Finally, I woke up around noon or 1pm and then started to feel very hungry as I have been fasting since 12am that day. On top of my egg cucumber and tomato sandwich which came around 1pm, I finished a whole bagful of cheese popcorn. My mom had the instinct of bringing some munchies in case I wanted any. Mother knows best. Anyhow, the nurse kept checking on me and how I was doing worried that I would suffer the same fate as my fellow roommate. As soon as she saw me munching on the popcorn and chatting with my mom, she was confident that I would be ok. The nurse then gave some painkillers prescribed by the doctor, and I was told the effect would last about 24 hours. Around 4pm I was sent home along with some antibiotics to prevent infection (it is invasive surgery after all) and Cyclogest vaginal pessaries to be taken twice a day. Our first IVF I was prescribed Crinone for progesterone support. The doctor said one wasn't better than the other and pretty much did the same job.

Once the Cyclogest is inserted, it is best to

lay down about 30 minutes - 1 hour to let

the hormones seep in and avoid the pessary

falling out.

We got home around 5pm and around 6pm I started to feel sharp pains in my stomach. I guess the pain killers didn't last for 24 hours. It hurt to use any of my stomach muscles. It hurt to bend down. It hurt to laugh. It hurt to turn sideways. I felt like my insides had gone through a food processor and was super gassy and bloated. It felt hard to breathe or take deep breaths. I couldn't lay down straight on my bed, so I had recline seated on the sofa. I ended up sleeping in that position.

Day 16 was pretty much similar to day 15 but the pain was much less and I was able to walk a bit more. I got a call today from the doctor's clinic around noon telling us that the embryo transfer will take place tomorrow at 12pm. I guess we will be inserting Day 3 embryos and not Day 5. Hope that it won't make much of a difference. More about Day 3 and Day 5 embryo transfers can be found here. I have stopped researching on the internet about this by the way. Like I said earlier, too much browsing can damage your brain. Not to mention bring your morale down if you stumble on "facts" that don't reflect what you want to read.

I am starting to feel nervous and a little anxous. Based on my first IVF experience, the doctor has decided to do the embryo transfer (ET) under sedation. Hope everything goes smoothly.

Spent the day at home resting and pretty much not engaged in anything strenuous. Unfortunately, DH won't be able to take me to the hospital tomorrow as he has an office emergency, but my beautiful mother will be with me every step of the way. I hope that one day I can be as much of a wonderful mother as she is to me.

A Better Tomorrow

Tough day today. So, unfortunately I am not in the mood to share tonight. Hopefully tomorrow things will be better.

Whoosah.

Ouch.

Day 15. Oocyte or egg retrieval day. The process went well overall. The doctor managed to retrieve eight eggs (we had 12 eggs the first time around), but we don't know how many will be of good quality.

I am taking antibiotics and vaginal supplement in addition to some pain killers. Speaking of which, I am still experience abdominal cramps and sharp pains but was told it's normal.

Can't write much. Hope to share more tomorrow.

Dos and Dont's

Day 14. Spent the day with my dear friends and loved ones.

I started feeling massive headache this afternoon -- not sure if it was because of the heatwave or a side effect from the Ovidrel -- and took a nap. Woke up with an even worse headache, so I had to take some acetaminophen pills to alleviate the pain. After a while, the pain reliever started to kick in and I felt much better.

I will have my egg retrieval tomorrow done at 7.30am tomorrow morning on Day 15. Go to this link to learn more about the egg retrieval process.

Got a long list of what to do and what not do from the clinic for egg retrieval tomorrow. The list  reminds me of a patient's pre-op list since it will be done under anesthesia.
- No food and drink after midnight.
- No contact lenses, eye glasses, etc.
- No nail polish, makeup, elaborate hairdo, hairpins
- Do not bring valuables
- Remove denture, inform Dr if loose tooth, etc.
- Empty bowel, bladder close to surgery
- Bath night before / morning after surgery, do not apply anything on skin
- Change in general health or cuts / rashes, inform Dr

Again, I am not so nervous about the egg retrieval perhaps because this is the second time around and I know what to expect. The only thing I totally am not looking forward are the IV needle and the sharp pangs that will come following the procedure. Hopefully the doctor will give me enough pain killers to deal with the pain.

I will be sleeping early tonight, so I will be fresh for tomorrow's procedure. DH will give his sample tomorrow as well at 10 am. Hope we have good quality eggs that will be fertilized and make good embryos.

Final Countdown

Day 13. Last day of injections. Hurrah!

DH and I purposely kept all the syringes and vials from the two weeks of hormone injections, partly because I wanted to see how much was going inside me, but also because we felt more comfortable disposing the medical waste at a hospital facility rather than at home.

The syringes and vials used for my short protocol 

IVF which lasted 13 Days. 

Can't imagine having to do this for long protocol. 

Apparently a lot jabbing, especially done by a non-medically trained person such as myself, doesn't do the body good. I kept hitting the small, tiny veins while doing my subcutaneous injections (subcu-whaaa? Click here to know more about it). So, the nurse told me that is what causes the bruising. 

Left side of my stomach. Photo taken today.

Right side of my stomach. Photo taken today. 

The doctor gave me one final injection, which was the Ovidrel, to do in the evening at 10.30pm. The timing was to be precise as the nurse calculated it considering the time of injections and egg retrieval, etc. It must be real important that I take it at the specified time. 

Pre-filled Ovidrel syringe (similar to Ogalutran).

Needle going in didn't hurt, and surprisingly the Ovidrel didn't hurt going in either. I read there are some side effects but at least I am aware of them and will deal with them as they come (hope they don't though!). 

We are still set for egg retrieval on Day 15. Don't know why but I don't feel nervous yet. I mean, should I?  I was a nervous wreck the first fresh cycle as well as the frozen ET. What's different now? I guess I have come to the realization that if it is meant to be, it will happen. All we can do is just try our best. The final decision and outcome is beyond anyone's control. 

On a separate note, yesterday was the one year anniversary of the day my dear friend and mentor passed away. I always looked up to her for advice and guidance, and she was always such a cheerleader in DH and my ART efforts. I wish I could share with her this IVF experience so she could see how far I have come to learn about patience and acceptance.