Prego and hyperstimulating!

[Faithinababy]

Hello everyone my husband and I are very excited to know that we are prego with our very first baby and it happened on the very first try of IVF. I had one embryo transfer and found out about 2 weeks ago we are prego. My hcg levels were in the high 300's so they think I might have twins we will have a u/s until July 23 to confirm. There is one little issue though I was wondering if there is anyone who was hyperstimulating during the first weeks of pregnacy. I have been soo bloated that it looks like I am 4 months prego with very bad back pain. The doc and nurses say it is very normal due to the hyperstimulation. I even had to be drained but the doc does not want to do that again. It has been so hard for me that I have already been off work for a month and start this coming Monday. I hope I can bare the back pain. It has also been hard for me to sleep at night because I feel this weight in my abdomen that makes it feel very uncomfy. Is there anyone that was in my situation and what did you all do to feel better and how long will I be like this? My doc said I have moderate hyperstimulation but my symptoms are exaggerated due to my pregnacy. I am very scared, nervous, tired I just would like to know that some of you have been thru this and that it went away after a few weeks. I am 4 weeks prego this July 11. Thanks to all of you and GOD bless all and your little future bundles of joy.

Hilda in El Paso!

[faithful]

Hilda,

First, I'd like to say congratulations to you and your DH on your happy news. I, like you, got pregnant on my first IVF cycle. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for us. In my 5th week of pregnancy I was hospitalized for hyperstimulation It was a nightmare! I didn't have to be drained, but I was given albumin intravenously along with TONS of IV fluids because I was basically dehydrated (all of the fluid was in the abdomen [a condition you probably know now to be called "ascites"] ). I, too, was looking like I was 4-5 months pregnant instead of 4-5 weeks pregnant.

I am now 11 weeks pregnant and all is well. I know that it can be a little nerve-wrecking..........OK a LOT nerve-wrecking, but your RE is correct in saying that the hyperstimulation is exacerbated by the pregnancy. So expect it to get worse before it gets better. The ascites pretty much resolved itself by the 8th week or so, but some woment remain hyperstimulated the entire through the entire 1st trimester to some degree. For instance, the fluid will go away, but the ovaries may remain enlarged for a few more weeks. My ovaries have gone down some, but they are still a little bit enlarged.........they're bigger than the baby!

Some bit of advice I can give you, however, besides of course staying positive is to drink plenty of gatorade, high protein snacks and lots of rest!

Good luck to you and God bless you and yours.

[Faithinababy]

Thank you soo much, I needed to know that I was not the only one, I am glad all is going well for you. I hope that I do not need to be hospitalized I am trying to deal with the whole thing. I just hope it will all be better. My ovaries are also a enlarged sometimes I feel this strong pinching pain for a minute when I get up from bed but then it goes away quick. I hope everything goes well for you and your baby. I will pray for you.

THanks!

[eristrawberry]

congrats on your success! i too had a successfull first IVF cycle. and i am also still "sufferring" with OHSS. i am now 7+ weeks pregnant and look like i'm 4-5 months. it looks pretty incredible. its difficult to explain to people (who ask) why i look so bloated in spite of being newly pregnant. i mostly try to avoid it.
but drinking pedialite and gatorade has helped the swelling go down some. oddly last week my belly swelled up again to its largest proportions and has remained so. but it's nice to know that this does not harm the pregnancy at all. and the pregnancy is actually whats driving it.

i also thought i was haveing twins (we were sure!) my first early beta was 442 and remained very high. when we went for the first ultrasound at 6weeks2days the dr prepared us to see twins and we ended up have one embryo with a healthy heartbeat. the dr thinks there was twins and one didnt survive for whatever reason.
i think i was a little disapointed, or maybe shocked, but i am SO grateful we're off to a good start.

good luck to you. get all the rest you need, dont strain those record breaking ovaries, and drink lots of electro-lites.

erica

[Faithinababy]

Thank you so much Erica, I know how you feel I get the same questions. I went to buy some Gatorade and have been drinking that all day yesterday and this morning. I starting to sleep a little better too because that was really hard with a big belly. My back is not hurting as much but it still bothers me at times. Your right the best thing is that this will not harm our babies. I am just so excited that I am finally having my first baby that we have been trying to have for about 9 years. I guess we will find out why my beta came back so high I am very anxious to know our first u/s will not be till July 23 and thats because our doc will be out all of next week if not we would of had it alot sooner. Thanks to all of you for your tips with this horrible hyperstimulation. GOD bless all of you and your babies we finally made it and I will pray for all of you.

Thanks Erica!

[hhb]

Congrats on your BFP! I did hyperstim also, but not quite as bad as you. I will let you know that eating lots of protein helped me (in addition to LOTS of fluids), as when it's processed by the body it helps eliminate the extra fluids. I bought vanilla and chocolate rice protein powder and added it to a fruit/yogurt shake that I would make in the blender a few times a day, and tried to eat lots of chicken and eggs, etc. Kind of gross to eat so much protein, but I figured I'd do it before the pregnancy nausea set in. My breathing got easier by about 6 weeks, the pain and bloating was gone by about 8-9 weeks, and my ovaries were back to normal by about 12 weeks.

Regarding twins, I too was told there was a good chance that I was having twins because of how my body was reacting (I saw my RE for the hyperstim the day before my scheduled blood test) and was told not to be surprised by a "nice high number". It was 504. At my 6 week u/s there was one heartbeat and the second sack showed nothing (we had two embryos transferred) but I started bleeding shortly after that u/s and was back for three more over the next week and a half - at the third u/s there was a second heartbeat and I am now almost 22 weeks with twins.

Best of luck to you and I hope you feel some relief soon. The good thing, as the others have said, is that your body is responding to the pregnancy hormones, so try to keep that positive thought in the back of your head - it will be worth it!

-Heidi

[eristrawberry]

i wonder if there's some connection to OHSS and increased likelyhood for twins. i have PCOS which greatly increases my chances of OHSS. i've been a little curious to see if they find a twin at my next scan. doubtfull though because my first scan was at 6 weeks 2days, unlikely that a sac could hide at that point. oh well.

glad you're all doing better.

erica

[NEETA]

hi ladies, i am new to this board. I just found out i am pregnant!! I had my first ivf in July and transferred 2 healthy 8 cell embryos on July 12. So i am still very early and going into my 5th week.

I have PCOS, and had mild OHSS with previous treatments. I am very bloated, but some pants still fit, some I wear with a belly band. When i go up the steps i sometimes feel a bit out of breath which is rare for me, i am pretty fit.

My last beta was friday and it was 1200, it doubled like my RE wanted it to and they dont want to see me until aug 9 for an u/s.

Besides bloating what are the symptoms of OHSS?

[Faithinababy]

Neeta -

Congrats! It feels great when they call you and tell you that your prego. I still have a mild case of OHSS during my first 5 weeks it was the worst I could not eat much, walk, lay down everything was just too uncomfy and I was too bloated as well. I am now about 8+ almost 9 and I am still bloated with some minor pain. I can eat a little more and I can breath little better. I went to my second u/s with my ob/gyn and he also found out that my spinal is not straight and a little uneven so that is causing me to have back pain plus the weight that I have in my tummy can also cause pain for me but I am learning to deal with the whole thing. I still get tired when I walk around the stores and still get very sleepy so it's really hard for me during the week when I work. I am even considering not working anymore I mean we have tried soo much to have our little miracle and right now this baby is more important to me than anything else so I want to make sure that I rest enough and really take care of myself. My doc told me that the OHSS will not go away till about my 12 week of pregnacy so I am really looking foward to that week plus I am still having to inject progesterone and those are very painful. Well enough of me I wish all the luck and take care of yourself don't stress yourself out just remember that all this is worth it and before we know it our little miracles will be in our arms. How exciting is that YAY!!!!!

Good luck!!

[NEETA]

Faithinababy

sorry to hear your not feeling well, but it will all be worth it when you finally see your little one.

i guess i dont have OHSS, i have no problem eating but i am bloating so i thought maybe,,,, i have had a mild case w iui.

feel better soon!!

[kholtan]

Faithinababy~
I read your post and about had flashbacks! I was exactly the same way until about 12 weeks. Constantly felt full because if the OHSS and the worst part was the the insomnia! For almost 2 whole months I could not sleep because I was so sore.
I will say that working actually took my mind off of it. It was hard because I was so tired in the beginning but being active helped a lot. If I stayed home and rested it seemed I actually became more sore. Since I own my own business I had the liberty of trying it and quickly found that I felt much better getting off to work everyday. I was ready to quit from day one if needed but here I am at 30 weeks and still working.
Best of luck to you and everyone else on here! I hope you feel better soon!
Take care~
Kimberly