Egg Retrieval

This was in the locker at the clinic where I stored my stuff during ER. 

So, yesterday was my egg retrieval. I had a page full of pre-op instructions to follow including no perfumes or scented products, wash my hair the night before, no mascara or make up, wear warm socks, take two Pepcids and a Visaril the night before and one of each in the morning, no food or drink after midnight, etc.

We arrived at the clinic at 8:30 and were taken back to the locker room within ten minutes. I got dressed for surgery and then we were seated in the pre-op/recovery room. The nurse went over all of the pre-op forms with us. I got a fancy looking hair net and a thermometer sticker on my forehead. John assured me that it was a good look. I chewed up two Tums, and the nurse took my baseline vitals. Then the IV. Ouch. I hate that part. It never felt comfortable to me, and I couldn't wait for them to take it out. I spoke to the anesthesiologist and then after a quick trip to the bathroom, they walked me into the OR.

Immediately after walking in, there were three or four people pulling at me, placing me in the right spot, putting the oxygen tubes up my nose. In less than a minute, the room got futz and then I was out.

I woke up in the recovery room and felt extremely groggy. One of the nurses walked by and I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I wanted to know how many eggs we got!!! She told me we got 14 eggs. I was so happy to hear this!! John came back to sit with me, and the doctor came back to talk to us before she had to do the next ER.

My recovery was going pretty well at first. The nurse say me up little by little. Then I got some crackers and ginger ale. About three crackers in, I started to feel a bit nauseous. The nurse came over and noticed that I looked pale. She laid me back down and drew some blood so she could check my hemoglobin. Those numbers were a tad low, but that was to be expected after ER. She checked them again later so she could compare, and those numbers were fine. She gave me a shot in my arm to help my heart rate which was low. Then I had sudden, intense pain on my left ovary. It hurt so much, there were tears in my eyes. She rushed to get the doctor who did a trans abdominal ultrasound. I tried to focus on my breathing because I knew I was starting to panic and hyperventilate. Thankfully, the ultrasound checked out ok and there wasn't any excessive fluid around my ovaries. The nurse came in to give me a shot in my hip of some sort of pain medication (Demarall?). The pain of the needle was a welcomed distraction from the pain in my ovary. Ten minutes later, the medicine kicked in and I felt a lot better. I had to lay in recovery for a while longer because the nurse was afraid that the pain medicine would cause me to get sick. I felt nauseous for a while, but we eventually were able to get me home and in bed. I had a puke bag ready to go in the car, but thankfully didn't need it.

The doctor sent me home with Percocet to manage the pain. I took two doses (at 2:45 and 6:45). That stuff knocked me out. The nurse called me within 30 minutes of arriving at home just to check on me.

John did a good job of taking care of me the rest of the day and night. He got me yummy chicken noodle soup from Benny's kitchen. And Gatorade. Lots of Gatorade! For dinner, I was able to have potato skins pizza from Chimney Rock. Yummmmm!!

I knocked out pretty instantly after taking the second Percocet. And then had the most horrifying dreams. I dreamt that Coda was out in the yard, nowhere to be seen, and then three bears came running through. I never saw him again. I called and called for him to come back, but I knew deep down that he was either hopelessly lost or that the bear got him. Then the next day, Mocha and I were outside and the bears were back on the other side of the fence. Mocha somehow jumped the fence and onto the bear's back. I screamed after her and tried to scare the other bears away. It seemed like Mocha was out for revenge, but she was outnumbered and they were so much bigger than her... I woke up before the other bears retaliated.

I am so nervous about my fert report from the embryologist. I have been dreading this moment for weeks. Any minute now... I hope and pray that things go differently this time. In the meantime, I am holding my breath waiting for the phone to ring.