Hey Ladies,
Just wanted to give you an update. Got out of ER a few hours ago. They got 4 eggs, all of which look like they are mature. Prior to retrieval, there were 8 follies, and 7 over 14, so I was pretty crushed by the result at first. But since I've had some time to think about it, I realize it could have been much worse and am thankful for these 4 eggs. Hopefully some/all fertilize and grow okay.
What happened was that when I went in for bloodwork yesterday morning after taking the HCG shot late Monday, my bloodwork indicated that I was prematurely surging (LH was about 25) and that my e2 had dropped significantly. Coo.per called me yesterday afternoon to let me know what was happening and that to prepare myself for retrieval not going well/working out. They said we might have to convert to IUI. I (of course) lost my shi*, after flying cross country and getting 4 hours of sleep and having PTSD after so many terrible cycles. I threw a little fit and they brought me in last night for an ultrasound to see if the follies were still there around 6pm. To our shock, all 7 were still there and another 10mm had even popped up.
So this was a good thing, but the question still remained why my e2 had dropped. One of the techs said it might be a sign of bad egg quality, which of course made me feel scared and awful. But DH and I went to our friends' house for dinner and tried to forget about it. We had a great time and for awhile I did forget about it.
But then we got back to the hotel and I couldn't sleep. Then at 2:30am my sides starting hurting really bad, with the same pain I usually get when I ovulate. I was convinced it was over and I had ovulated. But when we got to Coo.per they did another ultrasound and all the follies were still there - the biggie was supposedly at 26mm and the next at 21.
But if they were still there, then what happened with the rest of the follies?
The big one was apparently NOT still there, even though it looks as if it was on the ultrasound. According to Cho.e (whome DH had a 15 minutes conversation with afterwards), she went into the follie and it wasn't there. She thinks it either ruptured or the egg got stuck to the follicular wall and then it dried up. Either would explain the drop in e2. Who knew that could even happen?
As far as the premature surge, they don't know why it happened. And to my knowledge, I've never had a premature surge, even when CCRM let my lead follie get to 33mm! My inclination is they let me go too long before triggering, but who know? This was also the first time I've done an HCG intermuscular and I do absorb medicine at lightening speeds. I guess if it happens again we'll know that was the problem.
So for now we just wait.
The other issue is that the ER was incredibly painful for some reason - probably because they used a lot of fluid to make sure to try and get all the follies. I actually woke up from the anesthesia and started writhing in pain and semi-yelling. That was definitely a first. I have a very high pain tolerance and have always felt totally fine - if not somewhat good - after ERs. But they gave me some morphine and perceset (sp), so it should be fine.
Despite all this craziness, the good news is the got 4 eggs. I'm just going to keep repeating that to myself. 4 eggs is pretty good for low-stim I think.....the other good news is DH is going to stay with me until the ET. He was originally going to go home early for work, but I think after the last 24 hours he is nervous to leave me here alone. LOL. I'll take the company.
Sorry for the novel. I just wanted to give folks the update. (And it was a little cathartic to write the whole drama out.
Off to watch some bad daytime TV.
xo,
Sara Q