Retrieval Day

*** I wrote this blog a week after our transfer but because of unfortunate event, I am posting this just now. ***

After doing all our IVF stimulations to grow my follicles and produce more of them, it is time for the next step on our IVF cycle.

As written on my last blog post, we did our trigger shot last 17 March 2018 and stopped all my medications after that in preparation for our retrieval day which we did after two days.

On 19 March 2018, I was asked to take 1 tablet each of Medrol, Amoxil and Flagyl on an empty bladder and that we need to be at the Clinic at exactly 7:30 AM. My DH is allowed to accompany me, thus, we were then directed to a room with our lab gowns where the nurse gave me a tablet of Ativan. My nurse put me on IV and started administering oxygen and intravenous. A machine is on my side for monitoring of my blood pressure, pulse and oxygen level throughout the retrieval. I was then told that I was being injected, through IV, with Cefoxitine antibiotic, Versed for relaxation throughout retrieval and Fentanyl to help control the pain.

We started our retrieval at around 9:00 AM with my nurse, my embryologist, and my doctor. During our last scan, I have had 20 follicles on my ovaries. On retrieval day, my doctor collected all follicles on my left and right (yes, my right decided to fall for retrieval) ovaries and went directly to my embryologist who is the one counting (out loud, LOL) eggs on the follicles. We collected 10 eggs out of the 20 follicles. My nurse explains that inside the follicles, sometimes there will or will not be eggs on it. Thus, the number. DH and I were so happy with our eggs number.

After the retrieval, they transferred me in a room where I can sleep and recover from my procedure. That is the time where I felt all the drowsiness brought about by all the medications they gave me.

I am a little bit in pain because of the water on my ovaries. I have a mild OHSS caused by all the stimulations I did before retrieval. I was asked to drink lots of gatorade so as to help me pee and naturally remove the water on my ovaries. Also, orange juice to prevent infection. My nurse told me that if and when the water is still there on transfer day, the transfer may be cancelled and they have no choice but to freeze first our embryos and wait 2 months, at most, for my body to heal.

I slept for more than an hour in the recovery room. While I was asleep, my DH went on for his sperm collection. We are doing IVF with ICSI, thus, we went home super happy knowing and thinking our egg and sperm cells are meeting for the very first time not on the disc but directly with each other through ICSI just like the photo below:

Done with our retrieval. We went home with many medications in store for me such as Medrol, Amoxil, Flagyl and Aspirin. I have to start progesterone 2 days after retrieval. So many medications. What I did, I put everything on my alarm clock so it will just remind me to take this meds and that meds at this time. 

Anyway, we are not yet done, our IVF journey becomes harder as we level up and, yes, there will be more calls after that and this time it is not how many follicles are growing but the development of our embryos. I have had three calls from the clinic after retrieval:

Day 1: 9 Eggs were fertilized naturally

Day 2: 9 Eggs still growing with the below number of cells:

• 1 - 3 cells
• 4 - 4 cells
• 2 - 5 cells
• 2 - 6 cells

Day 3: 9 Eggs growing strong with the below number of cells:

• 1 - 5 cells
• 2- 6 cells
• 1 - 7 cells
• 3 - 8 cells
• 1 - 10 cells
• 1 - 15 cells

And since, our embryos our doing good in the lab, our clinic scheduled our transfer on Day 5 after retrieval. This is it, we are doing our embryo transfer, not on Day 3, but on a blastocyst stage of our embryos. We are beyond happy with all these baby steps we have accomplished. We are so thankful with our Father God for all the guidance He gave us in our very first IVF. We will not reached this far without Him by our side. Thank you dear Father God.