Retrieval Day

Mike and I woke up at 4:30 this morning for our retrieval appointment at 6:00. We didn’t get to sleep until about 10:30 last night, so we were a bit tired. Thankfully, there was very little traffic on I-15 so early in the morning, so we made it to UCRM in about 30 minutes.

We waited in the waiting area for about ten minutes before we saw anyone else in the office. Mike was starting to get a little nervous that we were in the wrong place, but soon a nurse named Meggan came to get us started.

We did all the normal things you do during a doctors’ visit: height and weight, blood pressure, etc. Meggan described everything that would be happening that day and gave me instructions for what to expect after the procedure. Another nurse came in to have me sign some consent forms, and then they took Mike away so he could provide his sample. Dr. Link also came in to introduce herself. She’s the doctor that actually performed the retrieval. She looked to be about 20 years old, but was very nice and friendly.

Next, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Call, came in and also had me sign some forms. Dr. Call explained that he would be giving me medication to make me very sleepy, and that if I felt too awake or felt too much pain, I just needed to let him know. This completely freaked me out, because I assumed that I would be completely asleep for the procedure. I asked him a few more questions, but he never came right out and said I would be asleep. Maybe he was trying to play it safe?

After Dr. Call was finished, Meggan came back and inserted an IV into the back of my left hand. She then led me down the hall to the room where the procedure occurred. I sat down on an examination table, and Meggan secured my IV line. The table was much like one you would find in any doctor’s office, except instead of stirrups for my feet, there were cushioned rests for my knees. Once we got them adjusted to the right height, I was extremely comfortable (even if I was sitting in the most awkward position possible!). Why don’t we use this table for all female examinations?

At this point, I was already starting to notice my vision getting a bit wavy. Dr. Call put an oxygen mask on me, and raised the table a bit, which was really weird with my drug-altered vision. Seeing a wavy ceiling get closer to me was a bit surreal. Then Dr. Call said he’d start the medication, which really confused me. Wasn’t I already on something that was making my vision screwy? Within seconds, I was asleep. And I’m happy to report that I was completely asleep for the entire procedure; no need to talk to the anesthesiologist!

Although I don’t remember it, the procedure was much like the other ultrasounds I’d had. Dr. Link was able to see all the eggs, measure each one, and determine which were mature enough to remove. However, this ultrasound probe had a needle attached to the end which allowed Dr. Link to take hold of the egg and remove it. I think I had pictured something more vacuum-like, but since the eggs are still quite small, a needle makes more sense.

I woke up a little later in the same room and chair I started the visit in. Mike was back, and he tried talking to me to get me a little more coherent. He was telling me that his results were back, and started telling me which countries he was from based on his DNA. I was incredibly confused, since I didn’t think that’s what his sample was for, nor did I think the lab could know that information so quickly. He had to remind me that he was reading an email from a separate company called Ancestry, which he had sent a DNA sample to a couple weeks ago. I’m still not sure if he gave me all the context to understand this.

It took about fifteen minutes to be awake enough to talk and eat a bit. I love how every time I’ve ever been sedated or anesthetized, the medical staff uses ability to eat cookies as a benchmark for how awake a patient is. Mike fed me Oreos and apple juice, and another nurse came in periodically to check on me and take my blood pressure.

At some point, someone came in to let us know that 13 eggs were retrieved. Knowing that Dr. Chalmers saw 23 last Friday and ___ were seen Monday, 13 was kind of a let down. I told myself that each step of the IVF process sees the number of viable eggs decrease a bit. Whoever told us this seemed excited at having 13 eggs, so I’m going to keep telling myself this is great.

We left the office shortly before 8:00, so the entire process took less than two hours. I felt almost completely normal; there was just a bit of discomfort in my lower abdomen, but nothing more than the light cramping that I feel during a normal menstrual cycle. I was warned that cramping and slight bleeding were possible.

Because I hadn’t had anything to eat but Oreos, Mike and I stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast on the way home. We also stopped at a Smith’s grocery store to buy some crackers, cheese, and juice – my go to foods when I don’t feel well. And since there was a donut shop next door, Mike ran in and got some donuts, too!

When we got back to Mike’s parents’ home in Layton, I cozied up on the couch and fell asleep for a couple of hours. I don’t know if this was a result of the sedation or just from waking up really early. I spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading a Harry Potter book and playing games on my iPad. Karen made me some soup for lunch, and we all watched TV in the evening. I really never felt any pain, and only a little discomfort.

In the evening, I began the last of my new medications. Mike gave me a shot of progesterone, right in the backside. Luckily, it only stings a bit when the needle goes in. Somehow, I don’t feel it even though the entire needle is inserted into the muscle. Unlike the other medications I’ve had, progesterone comes in a thick mixture with sesame oil. Its thickness made it difficult for Mike to withdraw into the syringe. Luckily, he is patient and detailed, and within a few minutes he had it figured out. Progesterone is a hormone that tells my body that pregnancy is imminent, and that my uterine lining should be preparing. Normally, this is secreted by what’s left of the follicle after the egg is fertilized, but because my fertilization is occurring outside my body, I need to manually introduce the hormone.

One nice thing about having completed the retrieval is that I no longer have to take the other injectable medications. No more needles in my abdomen! I realized today that I have two light yellow bruises and lots of little red marks where all the needles have gone in. Luckily, the injections didn't hurt, which is something people warned me about. Maybe I'm just tough!

All in all, today was a good 15th anniversary! It does make it easy to remember just when our little eggs were fertilized. Tomorrow is another day to relax. We’ll be heading home to St. George for a few days before returning for the embryo transfer on Monday.