My mom pointed out to me today that I haven't updated my blog in a while. I guess I haven't had much to report other than the fact that my OHSS symptoms seem to be getting worse and worse. I'm pretty much constantly in some sort of pain, whether it's my upper abdomen area, chest pains, ovarian region, sides, or collarbone. Breathing has become difficult and I really just don't have much energy. Sometimes the symptoms just make me feel a little uncomfortable, other times I'm in excruciating pain.
The other night at like 3 AM, it got so bad that James asked me if I needed to go to the ER. I didn't want to do that, but I was feeling miserable, so we called the on-call doctor. He had me take a one-time Percocet to help me with the pain so I could sleep a little and then insisted that I come in first thing in the morning to be seen. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot you can do for OHSS. If you're bloated enough, they can drain the fluid out. They typically only do this in the most severe cases, where patients are gaining large amounts of weight (2+ lbs a day). I've actually lost 5 lbs since my retrieval (just can't seem to eat much at a time without feeling really full), so they didn't see any reason to drain me. My doctor gave me some prescriptions to help me feel more comfortable and told me to get lots of rest.
So now, I'm just taking it easy. I feel like I've missed so much work lately but have the feeling I might have to continue half days for the beginning of next week. We'll see....
I have to continue to tell myself that this will all worth it in the end....that when I get to hold my baby in my arms, I won't even remember all this pain.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Embryo Transfer
If you read my "OHSS" post, you know that the last 24 hours have been rough for the Ashers. A lot of anxiety of not knowing...
But despite all that, we were able to do our transfer today! It was a very busy day over at RRC, so we unfortunately had a bit of a wait, but my nerves were pretty calm. I guess Valium will do that to you! We went back and did the whole "undress from the waist down" thing and then the doctor came in. She gave us an update on our embryos, saying they were all doing well and that they picked out the two most perfect ones to transfer. And then they put them under a microscope and showed them to us on a TV that had set up in the room. Granted they both just looked like two grey circles, but knowing that we were looking at our babies was just such an awesome experience! They then got started with the procedure. I was told it was pretty painless, but still thought I might have some discomfort considering my full bladder and all the other issues I've been dealing with lately. Luckily, it was a walk in the park. Very quick. Very painless. When we were finished, they had me relax for about 15 minutes then I was told I could go.
I'm currently on bedrest for today and tomorrow. Then on Thursday, I'm released to go back to work.
I have to say, I really feel good about all this. I've had doubts at various times throughout this whole journey, but right now...I just feel so positive about it. I truly think this is it! We have to wait a while until everything is confirmed, but until then...as far as I'm concerned, I'm pregnant until proven otherwise!
But despite all that, we were able to do our transfer today! It was a very busy day over at RRC, so we unfortunately had a bit of a wait, but my nerves were pretty calm. I guess Valium will do that to you! We went back and did the whole "undress from the waist down" thing and then the doctor came in. She gave us an update on our embryos, saying they were all doing well and that they picked out the two most perfect ones to transfer. And then they put them under a microscope and showed them to us on a TV that had set up in the room. Granted they both just looked like two grey circles, but knowing that we were looking at our babies was just such an awesome experience! They then got started with the procedure. I was told it was pretty painless, but still thought I might have some discomfort considering my full bladder and all the other issues I've been dealing with lately. Luckily, it was a walk in the park. Very quick. Very painless. When we were finished, they had me relax for about 15 minutes then I was told I could go.
I'm currently on bedrest for today and tomorrow. Then on Thursday, I'm released to go back to work.
I have to say, I really feel good about all this. I've had doubts at various times throughout this whole journey, but right now...I just feel so positive about it. I truly think this is it! We have to wait a while until everything is confirmed, but until then...as far as I'm concerned, I'm pregnant until proven otherwise!
I've got two of these beauties snuggling on in right now!
OHSS
It's been 5 days since my egg retrieval surgery and I've been unpleasantly surprised at how rough the recovery has been. This weekend I tried to back off my pain pills, so I only took ibuprofen until bed time when I caved and went ahead and took a Percocet. Meanwhile, I was experiencing some rather uncomfortable symptoms: severe abdominal bloating (like I literally look 3 months pregnant), upper pain in my abdomen below my ribs, and constant side aches (the kind you get when you run). This all kind of surprised me. I expected to feel ovarian pain, but it didn't seem to make sense that I was feeling so much discomfort in these other places.
Yesterday was my first day back at work. And honestly, I think I overdid it. That aching feeling in my side continued to get worse throughout the day and I was having a hard time catching my breath. By the time I got home around 6:00, I was pretty much out for the count. I plopped down on the couch and didn't move for the rest of the night. When I went to bed, I was feeling awful. The pain had inched all the way up my right side to my collarbone/shoulder. Aside from the fact that I felt horrible, I was freaking out that this couldn't be normal and that they were going to cancel my embryo transfer. Not gonna lie...I kind of just sobbed uncontrollably into my pillow for about 15 minutes. Luckily I had my wonderful hubby by my side who did a great job of consoling me until I was able to calm down.
This morning I woke up praying that we'd be able to go through with our transfer. My nurse called around 8:15 and we chatted for a while about my symptoms. She then had me talk to my doctor for a while who went ahead and diagnosed me with OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). This was something that I was told to watch out for. It often happens with women who undergo fertility treatment and can have various levels of severity. Symptoms can include: abdominal bloating, nausea, diarrhea, excessive thirst, rapid weight gain (sometimes as much as 2+ lbs a day), infrequent urination, chest pain, and shortness of breath. I have not experience all these symptoms luckily. No weight gain or problems with urination. I was feeling really nauseous for the first few days after surgery, but that's subsided. Mostly, it's just the major discomfort from my ovaries being so enlarged and fluid leaking out and pushing all my insides up into my ribs.
After talking to the doctor she said we have two options:
Yesterday was my first day back at work. And honestly, I think I overdid it. That aching feeling in my side continued to get worse throughout the day and I was having a hard time catching my breath. By the time I got home around 6:00, I was pretty much out for the count. I plopped down on the couch and didn't move for the rest of the night. When I went to bed, I was feeling awful. The pain had inched all the way up my right side to my collarbone/shoulder. Aside from the fact that I felt horrible, I was freaking out that this couldn't be normal and that they were going to cancel my embryo transfer. Not gonna lie...I kind of just sobbed uncontrollably into my pillow for about 15 minutes. Luckily I had my wonderful hubby by my side who did a great job of consoling me until I was able to calm down.
This morning I woke up praying that we'd be able to go through with our transfer. My nurse called around 8:15 and we chatted for a while about my symptoms. She then had me talk to my doctor for a while who went ahead and diagnosed me with OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). This was something that I was told to watch out for. It often happens with women who undergo fertility treatment and can have various levels of severity. Symptoms can include: abdominal bloating, nausea, diarrhea, excessive thirst, rapid weight gain (sometimes as much as 2+ lbs a day), infrequent urination, chest pain, and shortness of breath. I have not experience all these symptoms luckily. No weight gain or problems with urination. I was feeling really nauseous for the first few days after surgery, but that's subsided. Mostly, it's just the major discomfort from my ovaries being so enlarged and fluid leaking out and pushing all my insides up into my ribs.
After talking to the doctor she said we have two options:
- Cancel the transfer and freeze the embryos. If we did this my symptoms would mostly likely go away with in a couple days...but of course, I wouldn't be pregnant.
- Continue with the transfer as planned. Doing this would prolong my symptoms...possibly up to 2-10 weeks. However, it would not affect our chances of getting pregnant or hurt the baby in any way if we were to get pregnant.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Shots in the Butt!
One thing I've dreaded from the beginning of this whole IVF thing was the progesterone shots. Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of needles. You really can't be when going through this whole thing. In the last month and a half, I've given myself 65 shots in the stomach and I've had my blood drawn 8 times. When I had my surgery, it took 3 attempts to get my IV in. Needles I can do.
However, all the shots I've had to give myself so far have been subcutaenous (just under the skin) shots into my stomach. The needles were either little insulin needles or 27 gauge, 1/2 inch long needles (both pretty small). These progesterone in oil shots are 22 gauge needles that are an inch and half long. They're huge. And they're intramuscular shots, which means they're injected directly into my butt. Yikes!
I had to take my first one yesterday. Since they go in my butt, I can't really do them myself, so James has gotten to do the honors. I'm not going to lie...I was terrified the first time. I iced it for 5-10 minutes beforehand, because I had heard that numbing it a bit can help relieve some of the pain. James didn't seem to have any nerves about stabbing a giant needle in my butt. In fact, I fear he may have even liked it a little. But when it was all said and done...it really didn't hurt bad at all!
Today's went well too, though now that the numbness has worn off, my butt muscle is a little sore. The point is...I've survived two days of progesterone shots. I feel like I can tackle the world!
However, all the shots I've had to give myself so far have been subcutaenous (just under the skin) shots into my stomach. The needles were either little insulin needles or 27 gauge, 1/2 inch long needles (both pretty small). These progesterone in oil shots are 22 gauge needles that are an inch and half long. They're huge. And they're intramuscular shots, which means they're injected directly into my butt. Yikes!
I had to take my first one yesterday. Since they go in my butt, I can't really do them myself, so James has gotten to do the honors. I'm not going to lie...I was terrified the first time. I iced it for 5-10 minutes beforehand, because I had heard that numbing it a bit can help relieve some of the pain. James didn't seem to have any nerves about stabbing a giant needle in my butt. In fact, I fear he may have even liked it a little. But when it was all said and done...it really didn't hurt bad at all!
Today's went well too, though now that the numbness has worn off, my butt muscle is a little sore. The point is...I've survived two days of progesterone shots. I feel like I can tackle the world!
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