Today was an interesting day. We received a phone call from the embryologist saying that another embryo had continued to grow, looked great, and we are now able to freeze 2. (Praise God!) Freezing embryos is a first for us, so I don't know much about it except that our clinic will keep them on site for one year and after that year they ship them to another state (I think Minnesota) for long term storage. If this IVF round is not successful, we'll attempt a frozen cycle. If it is, we'll have some decisions to make later on.
This phone call from the embryologist came sometime around 9am. I was unable to answer because I woke up this morning some time around 6:30am in excruciating pain. Since the retreival last Saturday, I've been dealing with extremely large ovaries that should be contracting back down to normal size. It is typical that after the retrieval they fill back up with fluid, which causes more discomfort and bloating (this is why it's common for IVF patients to look 4 months pregnant when they're not even pregnant yet - but it usually goes down after a week or two). However, the discomfort for me has progressively become worse. I had extreme pain from about 6:30am until 11am, when I finally decided to take a pain pill. At one point, Kellen was ready to call an ambulance because I was having a hard time breathing due to the cramps and bloating. I couldn't lie down, I couldn't sit, I couldn't walk....it was terrible. He didn't call 911, but he did call Dr. Jarrett's office and they had me go in for a scan.
I had two nurses in the room with me. Before she had me saddle up in the stirrups, she wanted to feel my belly. Not only did I look 6 months pregnant (her words, not mine) my abdomen was very tight all the way from my lower chest to my hips. She performed the scan and the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh, honey...." And she's just looking at one side of my ovaries. All the follicles the IVF stimulation meds had produced were still large and filled with fluid. There were also large fluid pockets throughout my abdomen.
Dr. Jarrett was on site, but he was in surgery the majority of the day. One of the nurses went upstairs to see if he was available -- luckily, he was. He came down to my room and performed an ultrasound scan on my belly looking for an area where he could use a needle to remove some of the fluid. Unfortunately, I was told that the safest areas to perform this procedure were not going to work, mostly due to having a smaller build. He instructed me to continue drinking a lot of water, take my pain pills, and if things were bad in the morning, to come back at 8am. Then, he points to my shirt (Monon Trail Crossfit) and says, "and none of that." Blahh....yes I know, I put my life on hold for this procedure and donate my body to science. It's worth it, but it's tough. I'd do it again - always.
Thankfully, Kellen was able to take the past two days off work to help me and be helpful with Khloe. And my friends are amazing as well - bringing me food and stuff!! I feel so grateful and so love....and so bloated. ;-)
This phone call from the embryologist came sometime around 9am. I was unable to answer because I woke up this morning some time around 6:30am in excruciating pain. Since the retreival last Saturday, I've been dealing with extremely large ovaries that should be contracting back down to normal size. It is typical that after the retrieval they fill back up with fluid, which causes more discomfort and bloating (this is why it's common for IVF patients to look 4 months pregnant when they're not even pregnant yet - but it usually goes down after a week or two). However, the discomfort for me has progressively become worse. I had extreme pain from about 6:30am until 11am, when I finally decided to take a pain pill. At one point, Kellen was ready to call an ambulance because I was having a hard time breathing due to the cramps and bloating. I couldn't lie down, I couldn't sit, I couldn't walk....it was terrible. He didn't call 911, but he did call Dr. Jarrett's office and they had me go in for a scan.
I had two nurses in the room with me. Before she had me saddle up in the stirrups, she wanted to feel my belly. Not only did I look 6 months pregnant (her words, not mine) my abdomen was very tight all the way from my lower chest to my hips. She performed the scan and the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh, honey...." And she's just looking at one side of my ovaries. All the follicles the IVF stimulation meds had produced were still large and filled with fluid. There were also large fluid pockets throughout my abdomen.
Dr. Jarrett was on site, but he was in surgery the majority of the day. One of the nurses went upstairs to see if he was available -- luckily, he was. He came down to my room and performed an ultrasound scan on my belly looking for an area where he could use a needle to remove some of the fluid. Unfortunately, I was told that the safest areas to perform this procedure were not going to work, mostly due to having a smaller build. He instructed me to continue drinking a lot of water, take my pain pills, and if things were bad in the morning, to come back at 8am. Then, he points to my shirt (Monon Trail Crossfit) and says, "and none of that." Blahh....yes I know, I put my life on hold for this procedure and donate my body to science. It's worth it, but it's tough. I'd do it again - always.
Thankfully, Kellen was able to take the past two days off work to help me and be helpful with Khloe. And my friends are amazing as well - bringing me food and stuff!! I feel so grateful and so love....and so bloated. ;-)
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