need advice after egg retrieval

[kelleyg]

Hi all...have been reading all of your posts (somebody should write a book on practical advice!!!) I have a question...i am on the later side
of my ivf cycle i had my eggs removed yesterday in boston, they removed
20 eggs.. WOW..anyway this is my 2nd attempt in a short period of time
and this AM I am very sore ...still bloated but having sore back and sore
abdomin..i was told i needed to be watched for ohss, my estrogen was high 3500 but i am better than last night ???anybody else go through this ? any advice ???? I am having blastocyst transfer saturday, i stayed home from work today hoping if i stay down it will help.... help!!

[Latina]

Hi Kelleyg,

Good news...It sounds like it went well!! 20 WOW...
Yes you will be sore and bloared for about 2 more days...but remember stay positive and drink lot water and gatorade 1 8oz every 4 hours.
Good luck to you!!

Sara

[kelleyg]

thanks Sarah im headed out now to the grocery and will pick up some gator aid its getting better as the day goes on got the call 15 of the 20 fertilized off to beantown on saturday for the blastocyst transfer...I am so nervous and excited and trying so hard not to get my hopes up ...i am blessed with 2 beautiful kids now so i just cross my fingers and be positive...it was so much easier when you could jump in the sack and hope your monthly buddy didnt show up... babydust to you and thanks so much for writing!!!!

[bella-s]

Kelley,

I had severe OHSS last year & was in hospital for a week. This year, after my EC, I started to feel the way you described & was worried I was maybe getting OHSS again. But fortunately, it wasn't! You are bound to be very sore & tender, and of course bloated - but hopefully this will not mean you are getting symptoms of OHSS. Drink lots, and if you feel like you need to go to the toilet a lot but when you do, not much comes out, then call your doctor straight away.

Good luck with your blastocyst transfer! It worked for me!!!

Bella.

[Sofia]

Hi Kelleyg

I am in a very similar situation to you. I too had 20 eggs collected (3 days ago), and my E2 levels were a sky-high 6,800 on trigger day. I am still super bloated, and had a check-up with my RE yesterday. He checked my ovaries to see what size they are - apparently if they are 5 cm on day five (post EC), then you are doing fine. If they are 13 cm, then they probably admit you to hospital. I was told that to be this uncomfortable is normal after a 'harvest' of 20 eggs. My ovaries yesterday were 6 cm and 7 cm, which is not great, but not too bad considering.

You absolutely must drink about 5 litres of water every day and eat a high protein diet. OHSS usually doesn't show untill after ET, so you need to do everything you can now to prevent it developing. That's what I'm doing, and getting so fed up drinking and running to the toilet! Oh, and you should also take either paracetomol or aspirin, which helps with the discomfort and thins the blood (preventing blood clotting which is a danger with OHSS).

Hope that helps! I have been freaking out for a few days now, so it's nice to know that there are other people out there and I'm not alone!!

Take care of yourself

Sofia

[Jools]

Hi All

I've not been on the board for a while now, but curiousity got the better of me today!

It sounds like you're all doing well.... however, be careful about drinking too much water. I remember someone quite a while back, drinking loads of water and ended up very ill as a result. 5 litres a day sounds quite excessive to me, and I'd suggest you stick to the recommended 2 - 3 litres a day if Zita Wests books are anything to go by. I know you've got enough to think about right now and the last thing I want to do is to worry you more, so the only advice I've got is to do what your instincts tell you is right.

Good luck.

Jools x

[langton]

hi kelly
the same thing happend to me. i got 20 collected and 15 fertillised. i was very sore and swolled.i went in to ohss the same night my eggs were collected, and ended up having a total freeze. belive me, i no you wont feel like it, but drink litres and litres of water, it really works. you feel like your'e gonna bust when your drinking it. but your belly will go down in no time.i no how you feel. it is painful, all the nurses were calling me mother hen. i had so my eggs. you should be ok. i was really bad cause i had 36 follicles.when the nurses scanned me before EC they told me i would be very lucky to geyt my transfer. your so lucky. that was in feb. im now having my transfer in 12 days. i cant wait.

good luck.

hayley

[kelleyg]

Thank you so much for responding everyone i truly am grateful, iwent back to work today and was the center of entertainment my friends where all laughing through tears for me watching me gulp down tons of water and jump up every half hour to hobble my way to the ladies room im still pretty sore so when i walk i look like im 80 years old i
have to admit someday hopefully this will be funny..anyway laughten good luck wishing you babydust and prayers and sofia thanks for all your support...i hadnt hear about the aspirin thing my nurse said no aspirin or ibuprofen so i had been taking tylenol....but i will jump on it i am so amazed at how fast your body can change ....for a good cause ...thanks again---Kell

[Sofia]

Yes, I know that 5 litres sounds drastic. But as long as you keep up your intake of salt and sugar, and snack regularly, you shouldn't get ill from it. (keeping your electrolyte balance).

Langton, when did your swollen belly subside? This is my fourth day now and no signs of abating. What were your signs of OHSS? Exactly how much water did you drink? Any help would be appreciated. Good luck with your little frosties.

Keep up the PMA kelleyg - I don't know if I could go into work!
(about the aspirin - I don't know why your nurse told you no aspirin - it is generally taken from ET onwards to aid blood flow to the womb anyway - with or without OHSS)

Sofia

[carbev]

Hi ladies - really hope you are feeling more comfortable now. Just wanted to respond to Sofia's comments about how to avoid OHSS - as she mentioned taking aspirin. You should really only take aspirin under the advice of your doctor and certainly not at the high levels of over-the- counter-bought-aspirin. Some doctors prescribe up to 100mg of aspirin daily to help prevent clots, it's true, but this is one quarter the adult dose and should be given to you by your doctor. Even kiddi aspirin may contain other ingredients which might compromise your fertility treatment. My doctor advised drinking 8 to 10 large glasses of water a day. Please don't self-medicate, you might do more harm than good. Why not call your doctor and see what s/he says?

All the best,
Caroline

[Sofia]

HI caroline

Yes, you are right about the higher doses - I forgot to mention that it should be only 75 mg aspirin, but as I understand it, many (if not most) ladies take this after ET to aid implantation anyway. Is there a way I can tell if there are some other ingrediants in the aspirin? Thanks for the advice.

Sofia

[kelleyg]

good to know it all i left a msg on my re's voicemail i am feeling much better i worked a 12 hour day today to make te time go by faster... i will be a mess for the 2 ww for sure .....please keep in touch hopefully we will all be able to come back w/ fantastic news if not im blessed to have had support from others that make me feel so special!!!!

[carbev]

Hi again, just to reply to Sofia's aspirin question - I'm not a doctor so I don't know what ingredients to look for. Just know that my doctor didn't want me to get kiddi aspirin but instead gave me capsules only containing aspirin. He also warned not to take any extra supplements as some of these - especially fish oil supplements can possibly cause bleeding and therefore risk of m/c when taken with aspirin. So I say again, please don't self medicate - go and ask your doctor what is safe to take and ask about vitamins and supplements too.

All the best for your 2ww everyone - can't wait to hear some BFP news!

Caroline