Retrieval Day!

It seriously does not matter how many blogs I write, I still can't believe I'm going through this whole process. It's very surreal and just "out of control" (that's a shout-out for Heather and Christina).

So today was my retrieval. Because I have many girls following who may go through this process, I'm about to give every detail. For those who don't like long-winded posts, you are going to hate me.

First of all, I can't believe I even slept last night! Before I went to bed I cleaned the house and put many things on my nightstand. I didn't want to come home to a dirty house, and I wanted to make sure I had things within my reach. So, I had a book and my meds all ready next to my bed. My procedure was scheduled for 7:15am but with an arrival time of 6:15. When Mr. Later Than Most and I pulled into the parking lot, I panicked that the regular office would not be open and that the IVF nurse may have forgot to tell me about the secret IVF door. I'm telling you, the negativity from IF just never wears off! Luckily, the door was very much open and another couple was already there. Of course, I had to scope them out. They looked our age and maybe younger. They for sure looked nervous.

A few minutes later they called us back. MH and I were both surprised that he was able to come. I just thought he'd wait in the waiting room until they called him to do his "duty." They took us back to a small, personal waiting room complete with our own bathroom, SCORE!. The nurse explained that they would ask me some questions (to make sure I've been following their directions), then the anesthesiologist would come in and set my IV drip, an embryologist would follow and discuss their details, and finally, my fav celebrity Dr. Miller would come in and say hello! So, all of this occurred just like she said. Though I wasn't nervous all morning, something was for sure bothering me and I couldn't figure out what it was. Well, until the nurse took my pulse. It was 105. She didn't say anything and she left. Right away Mr. Later Than Most said he thought that was a little high and asked me if I was nervous. I told him that I didn't think I was, but how could a person not be? Well, right away I felt like he was harassing me a bit and I had enough to worry about. So, I started crying! Ugh, fricken hormone injections. I quickly wiped my eyes with a tissue before embryology came in. That would be so embarrassing. Mr. Later Than Most had this look on his face like, "Holy shit, what did I do." Thank goodness I got those tears all wiped away.

Embryology came in and confirmed that they were doing ICSI. This is where they actually inject the sperm into the egg. It was created for MFI patients, specifically for morphology abnormalities and probably motility issues, but our office does it in 80% of IVF cases. They also confirmed a 2-3 embryo transfer. My heart jumped on this one. I told them last time that I'm too young for a 3, and that at my age and this being our first IVF, 2 is what we planned. Of course she was fine with that (yea, after I nearly took off her poor head). She said that the only reason I should do three is if the quality isn't good. I agreed and said we would decide when they called me the next couple of days. Finally, she said the best thing ever. . . they would give me a picture of my embryos! I've really had embryo envy since I joined Thebump.com Many IVF girls post pics of their embies, and I was so glad to know that I would get some too. If there is a .05% that those bad boys would grow more because I talked to the picture, then I'd friggen do it!

Soon enough, Dr. Miller came in to say hi. Boy was he tan! I wondered how the heck he had time for a vaca after he knocked-up like 6 girls a day. Soon after, my nurse came and took me back. The room was a very small operating room. I really liked it. The assistant in their was a very young girl who immediately told me that we had the same birthday. That made me feel so relaxed. I love normal conversations right before they shove a needle in your ovary! We chatted about school, jobs, vacations, and plenty of other stuff until the anesthesiologist came in. He and her started chatting and chatting. In the meantime embryology poked a head through a little flip window in the room, and had me confirm my name and my husband's name. Good thing, cause I didn't want the girl's embryos from the room next door. Actually, who am I kidding? I'll take any baby right now. Heehehehe. Anywho- The next thing I knew the anesthesiologist injected something into my IV. I immediately told him, "Well, it's working!" And that's the last thing I remember.

When I woke up, I was back in the little private room with Mr. Later Than Most sitting next to me. I woke up in a recliner! How the heck they did that, I don't know. As soon as I opened my eyes my husband said, "19 eggs!" Oh good, I thought. Then I teased him, "Is this real-life?" I said. Ha! If you've never seen David After Dentist on YouTube, you need to get over there and see it. I promise you'll love it.

After teasing him, I noticed the pain. Dr. Miller came in right after to tell me how great I did and confirm the number of eggs. Luckily, Mr. Later Than Most quickly told him I was in pain. Not even 1 minute later a nurse was in with a pain shot. Like any medical office, she made me rate that friggen pain on a scale of 1-10. I hate that! How the heck do I know where I am on the continuum? So, I shot-out a 7 at her but I was thinking I may be an 8. Either way, in about 20 minutes it was more dull than anything. The sucky thing was I was so queasy. She made me eat some animal crackers and ginger ale to get things moving. Once I did, she let me take some extra strength Tylenol too. I tell ya, if I listed all of the drugs I have put into my body for the past thirty days, you would truly be astounded.

FINALLY- At around 10:15 I felt ready to get up and get dressed and boy did it hurt. It was like really bad menstrual cramps pushing up against your abdomen. But, I was easily able to get myself dressed. Before leaving, she reminded me of all the drugs I would take when I get home: prenatal vitamin (for the future babe), oral steroid (so my body won't fight the embryos), Tylenol Codeine (pain killer), baby aspirin (prevent clotting), and antibiotic (I've been on that for 10 days). Oh and the fun vaginal suppositories start tomorrow. My husband nearly fell out of his chair when she said I would need to use those the first three months of pregnancy. Ugh, that's 270 something vajay deposits! Oh well!

So, Mr. Later Than Most walked me out of the secret exit (yes, they do have one). I noticed right away that I was the only one left in the IVF lab! There was one girl before me and three after! WTF was I doing? LOL The bumpy car ride home was interesting. I felt like my insides were wobbling all over. When we got home, I immediately climbed in bed. I was so thankful that I cleaned and had my stuff right at my bedside.

So, I slept for most of the day and let my husband wait on me. He was outstanding! He ran to get prescriptions, electrolyte water, and eventually McDonald's (hey, the nurse said I should eat whatever I wanted!). I slept about 7 hours and I only took 2 Tylenol codeine the whole day. :)

I still have some pain. I don't even want to explain what it feels like to go to the bathroom. I will leave something for the imagination. But the pain is enough to make me not want to drink! Okay, again, it's manageable, and if it will get us our baby, I'll do it all over again tomorrow.