12th August 2013
Okie...there are no egg report today.
Woke up blowing my nose.
Shit. Hope its not a cold onset.
Actually I dont feel too good. I woke up at 10.30am and I still dont feel hungry. Not sure if its the Hcg at work here messing with my appetite.
I felt kinda nauseous. I couldnt drink much water. I felt unwell. So I did the only thing I could, I opened the fridge and opened my bottle of Gatorade. Surprisingly, my body didnt reject it and I had about 1/4 of a bottle to start.
I didnt eat anything till 12pm with 2 fried eggs only. Still feeling full at 3pm.
I couldnt even do my usual stretches.
I'm still thinking if I want to go for my Jap class later at 6pm.
Will that 1.5hr do me any good?
I better go get started on my chicken soup first.
Tomorrow is my egg transfer day, if any embryo made it to Day 5.
I should know by morning. The lab will call me.
My operation is scheduled at 2pm but I need to be there by 1pm.
The weather report for tomorrow is crappy rain.
The whole week will be Typhoon rain.
Oh crap. Better stock up.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
IVF Egg fertilization report : DAY 3
11th Aug 2013 (Sunday)
The nice lab lady from day 1 called again!
Again, I missed her call because I was trying to take a dump after feeling constipated since Thursday. I didnt want to squeeze my tummy but I know "the harvesting" time is near.
I called her back but she was busy and so it was a long 30mins wait.
I had nasty thoughts. What if its delayed because its bad news and she needed to frame her thots?
Finally she called me back at 10.30am and she sounded ok, though not as chirpy as Day 1.
Today is the eggs grading day!
ICSI egg report
4 eggs - Grade 2
1 egg - Grade 2-
Natural fertilisation
6 eggs - Grade 2
I was slightly relieved. SO far the 10 eggs seemed to make it! However, I am surprised the 8 cell eggs from Day 2 was still in the race!
I asked the lab lady if the G2- is the 8 cell egg and she replied yes after saying I'm a smart gal. Lol.
Again, the lab lady repeated what Dr Ingrid had told me. about the 4 embryos to be frozen.
Apparently, the natural fertilization will be stored individually while the ICSI ones will be store together.
I asked her what is the difference for different techniques and she told me so that the embryo cann be thawed individually when required for FET. Ah so I see! It didnt occur to me about the thawing part. Lol.
Then the lab lady said they wont call me tomorrow because they tend to leave Day 4 eggs along to continue to do their work. She said sometimes, Day 4 is the day they either stop or they will split into more cells rapidly so they wont disturb the eggs.
I am crossing my fingers.
Sunday Injection
I went to outpatient to get my jab at 12.30pm,. This time round its only 1 jab, still at the butt area.
Apparently, the nurse rem me because I am the only IVF patient she knew that always ice my injection spot prior the jab. Interesting. I thot it would be more prevalent. Maybe the rest dont worry about bruising as much as I do.
Halfway through the day, I finally poo.
Thank God.
I snooze again from 5-7pm.
I am tired now prob from the injection.
My breakfast was 2 eggs, and lunch at 3pm I had brocoli in kelp soup, and pan fried salmon.
Usually I like my salmon pink in the middle but I cooked it thru this time and yak, I hated it.
I didnt feel too good either but I didnt want to sleep immediately this time for fear of nausea when I wake.
I felt very full when I woke. I noticed my water intake has lessen because I can stomach less now. My body doesnt seem to want it but my pee is normal. Also, I didnt drink any milk after Day 1 because my body hated it. If it was calcium they needed, I got mine from my vegetables. I read the recent studies that Milk is actually BAD for our body and deplete calcium from our body overtime, and that the calcium from veges are more easily absorbed than that from milk. Plus I dont like dairy products in general so I rather not eat things that make me sick.
I ordered grouper fish soup as I wasnt hungry. I drank ALOT of soup.
However, I think I am feeling abit off from fish. My body seems to not like fish now for some reason. I have no idea why.
I ran out of coconut and supermart ran out too. Damnit! I should have bought more the other day.
I couldnt do as much stretching as I didnt feel good.
I went to bed at 1.30am and fell asleep immediately.
I hope I dont catch a cold from my man
The nice lab lady from day 1 called again!
Again, I missed her call because I was trying to take a dump after feeling constipated since Thursday. I didnt want to squeeze my tummy but I know "the harvesting" time is near.
I called her back but she was busy and so it was a long 30mins wait.
I had nasty thoughts. What if its delayed because its bad news and she needed to frame her thots?
Finally she called me back at 10.30am and she sounded ok, though not as chirpy as Day 1.
Today is the eggs grading day!
ICSI egg report
4 eggs - Grade 2
1 egg - Grade 2-
Natural fertilisation
6 eggs - Grade 2
I was slightly relieved. SO far the 10 eggs seemed to make it! However, I am surprised the 8 cell eggs from Day 2 was still in the race!
I asked the lab lady if the G2- is the 8 cell egg and she replied yes after saying I'm a smart gal. Lol.
Again, the lab lady repeated what Dr Ingrid had told me. about the 4 embryos to be frozen.
Apparently, the natural fertilization will be stored individually while the ICSI ones will be store together.
I asked her what is the difference for different techniques and she told me so that the embryo cann be thawed individually when required for FET. Ah so I see! It didnt occur to me about the thawing part. Lol.
Then the lab lady said they wont call me tomorrow because they tend to leave Day 4 eggs along to continue to do their work. She said sometimes, Day 4 is the day they either stop or they will split into more cells rapidly so they wont disturb the eggs.
I am crossing my fingers.
Sunday Injection
I went to outpatient to get my jab at 12.30pm,. This time round its only 1 jab, still at the butt area.
Apparently, the nurse rem me because I am the only IVF patient she knew that always ice my injection spot prior the jab. Interesting. I thot it would be more prevalent. Maybe the rest dont worry about bruising as much as I do.
Halfway through the day, I finally poo.
Thank God.
However, while the first batch was firm and slightly harder, the 2nd batch was too soft for my liking. I hope I am not coming down with a bad tummy.
I snooze again from 5-7pm.
I am tired now prob from the injection.
My breakfast was 2 eggs, and lunch at 3pm I had brocoli in kelp soup, and pan fried salmon.
Usually I like my salmon pink in the middle but I cooked it thru this time and yak, I hated it.
I didnt feel too good either but I didnt want to sleep immediately this time for fear of nausea when I wake.
I felt very full when I woke. I noticed my water intake has lessen because I can stomach less now. My body doesnt seem to want it but my pee is normal. Also, I didnt drink any milk after Day 1 because my body hated it. If it was calcium they needed, I got mine from my vegetables. I read the recent studies that Milk is actually BAD for our body and deplete calcium from our body overtime, and that the calcium from veges are more easily absorbed than that from milk. Plus I dont like dairy products in general so I rather not eat things that make me sick.
I ordered grouper fish soup as I wasnt hungry. I drank ALOT of soup.
However, I think I am feeling abit off from fish. My body seems to not like fish now for some reason. I have no idea why.
I ran out of coconut and supermart ran out too. Damnit! I should have bought more the other day.
I couldnt do as much stretching as I didnt feel good.
I went to bed at 1.30am and fell asleep immediately.
I hope I dont catch a cold from my man
Saturday, August 10, 2013
IVF Egg fertilization report : DAY 2
10th Aug 2013 (Sat)
This time round, I am expecting the call at 10am so I woke up slightly past 9.45am.
This time round it's a different lady and she isnt as "detailed" as the last.
She didnt do a breakdown as per ICSI vs natural fertilsation but gave me a total that the number of viable eggs stands at 11 eggs.
I requested to know the status of the cells breakdown and she quickly gave me the report as below:
3 eggs - 2 cells
1 egg - 3 cells
6 eggs - 4 cells
1 egg - 8 cell
I didnt know if it's good or bad that some of my eggs are growing so quickly. The lab lady isnt optimistic about the 8 cell egg, so to me, I have written that off and consider myself to be left with 10 viable eggs.
I asked the lady so what happens from here. What happens if my eggs dont look like it will survive to Day 5, and if I need to do Day 3 transfer. The lab lady stunned me saying that she dont think Dr Ingrid will let me do transfer this cycle, because she reckons I will need a good environment before the embryo with stick. Meaning, to let the drugs wear itself out first.
I was slightly disappointed but I understand the process. So again I thanked her and prepared to get dressed for my appointment at 11.30am with Dr Ingrid.
Doctor's appointment.
I was expecting a long wait with all the sat crowd but I didnt have to wait long! They scheduled me in promptly on time! That's a first!!
I was seated and prep for the ultrascan and Dr Ingrid came into the room smiling asking how I was feeling. I told her all is well and it didnt feel like I had a recent op. She said that's good and now to check for fluid in my ovaries.
Usually I hate Mr Wandy probing round my right ovary and it hurt like hell but because its swollen, I didnt feel a thing as it was easily scanned. My right ovary looks ok but of course slightly swollen. My left ovary has some fluid which Dr Ingrid pointed out to me on the TV screen. If I rem correctly, I think my ovary is about 7 cm if I catch them correctly?
After the scan, I got dressed and went to the office.
Dr ingrid seemed optimistic on my Day 2 report and my current health status. She said "I think we can go embryo transfer on Day 5"
I was stunned.
After the lab lady, I was expecting her to tell me to go back and rest but Dr Ingrid seemed satisfied with my body condition to proceed.
She did explain however that she would want to pick 2 best embryo from both categories and freeze them on Day 3. This is to prevent me from losing all my eggs and so that we have something to use for FET in future. I agreed with her.
She looked at the report and told me she dont think it's likely I will get zero eggs surviving to day 5. I was abit relieved but I wont count my chickens before the eggs are hatched. I know Day 3 is an important day where everything can go south. She also suggested for me to go for a Hcg Jab on Sunday to prepare for the Day 5 transfer.
I thanked Dr Ingrid before I left, for a beautiful job she did for me and she humbly replied it was nothing.
I went home and was starving.
My man cooked my fav grilled chicken wings with honey chilli sauce. It wasnt spicy but it was yummy. Greedy me ate 7 wings and I think I overate and went straight to sleep shortly after at about 2pm.
BAD MISTAKE
I woke up at 6pm.
I felt really nauseous.
However my husband had booked dinner out at La Brasserie at Conrad HK hotel at 7pm so I figured I better go have a quick dinner.
Unfortunately, the feeling of nausea didnt go.
We sat there for 1.5hr waiting for our food. Annoying.
What was worse was that I felt like puking and went to toilet but had a couple of burp instead. I didnt want to sit and so walked around abit. I went back and chased after my food, it was soooo long. Meanwhile my man and I kept ourselves occupied with browsing OHSS on our mobile and chatting.
I asked him how long he wanted to try on IVF and he said as long as I can handle it. He reckoned my body will hate the jabs at some time. I told him, I think I can only handle for another year or so. Afterwhich, we may consider adopting.
Also, because IVF is prone to miscarriage and possible abnormal fetus, we both agreed that we probably wont tell anyone, including our families till the baby is viable to prevent disappointments and undue sympathies and hassles. I hate Chinese mums fussing over babies to be and knowing how much my mother in law hopes for a grandchild, I dont want to give her false hopes either. As for my mum, I dont think I can stand her nagging and so I really go stress free without having to worry about her. Then again, I have always been a low profile person. I dont normally tell anyone anything until the deed is done...prob why some of my frens didnt even know I was married till 2 years after, and my mum only few months before the wedding with absolutely no room for opinions or interference!
Finally my seabass came and it was horrid. I couldnt even touch the 2nd fillet and feedback to the manager.
He offered dessert but we cant have any of that so he offered fresh food.
We had raspberry and blue berries with strawberries. It was good for me since i felt off but some berries were off so I stopped.
Dinner was a disappointment but I did feel better.
The nausea feeling left thankfully.
I measured myself that night and my weight has gone down from 53.4kg on a full tummy to 52kg on a full tummy. My waist is now 82cm. Happy.
This time round, I am expecting the call at 10am so I woke up slightly past 9.45am.
This time round it's a different lady and she isnt as "detailed" as the last.
She didnt do a breakdown as per ICSI vs natural fertilsation but gave me a total that the number of viable eggs stands at 11 eggs.
I requested to know the status of the cells breakdown and she quickly gave me the report as below:
3 eggs - 2 cells
1 egg - 3 cells
6 eggs - 4 cells
1 egg - 8 cell
I didnt know if it's good or bad that some of my eggs are growing so quickly. The lab lady isnt optimistic about the 8 cell egg, so to me, I have written that off and consider myself to be left with 10 viable eggs.
I asked the lady so what happens from here. What happens if my eggs dont look like it will survive to Day 5, and if I need to do Day 3 transfer. The lab lady stunned me saying that she dont think Dr Ingrid will let me do transfer this cycle, because she reckons I will need a good environment before the embryo with stick. Meaning, to let the drugs wear itself out first.
I was slightly disappointed but I understand the process. So again I thanked her and prepared to get dressed for my appointment at 11.30am with Dr Ingrid.
Doctor's appointment.
I was expecting a long wait with all the sat crowd but I didnt have to wait long! They scheduled me in promptly on time! That's a first!!
I was seated and prep for the ultrascan and Dr Ingrid came into the room smiling asking how I was feeling. I told her all is well and it didnt feel like I had a recent op. She said that's good and now to check for fluid in my ovaries.
Usually I hate Mr Wandy probing round my right ovary and it hurt like hell but because its swollen, I didnt feel a thing as it was easily scanned. My right ovary looks ok but of course slightly swollen. My left ovary has some fluid which Dr Ingrid pointed out to me on the TV screen. If I rem correctly, I think my ovary is about 7 cm if I catch them correctly?
After the scan, I got dressed and went to the office.
Dr ingrid seemed optimistic on my Day 2 report and my current health status. She said "I think we can go embryo transfer on Day 5"
I was stunned.
After the lab lady, I was expecting her to tell me to go back and rest but Dr Ingrid seemed satisfied with my body condition to proceed.
She did explain however that she would want to pick 2 best embryo from both categories and freeze them on Day 3. This is to prevent me from losing all my eggs and so that we have something to use for FET in future. I agreed with her.
She looked at the report and told me she dont think it's likely I will get zero eggs surviving to day 5. I was abit relieved but I wont count my chickens before the eggs are hatched. I know Day 3 is an important day where everything can go south. She also suggested for me to go for a Hcg Jab on Sunday to prepare for the Day 5 transfer.
I thanked Dr Ingrid before I left, for a beautiful job she did for me and she humbly replied it was nothing.
I went home and was starving.
My man cooked my fav grilled chicken wings with honey chilli sauce. It wasnt spicy but it was yummy. Greedy me ate 7 wings and I think I overate and went straight to sleep shortly after at about 2pm.
BAD MISTAKE
I woke up at 6pm.
I felt really nauseous.
However my husband had booked dinner out at La Brasserie at Conrad HK hotel at 7pm so I figured I better go have a quick dinner.
Unfortunately, the feeling of nausea didnt go.
We sat there for 1.5hr waiting for our food. Annoying.
What was worse was that I felt like puking and went to toilet but had a couple of burp instead. I didnt want to sit and so walked around abit. I went back and chased after my food, it was soooo long. Meanwhile my man and I kept ourselves occupied with browsing OHSS on our mobile and chatting.
I asked him how long he wanted to try on IVF and he said as long as I can handle it. He reckoned my body will hate the jabs at some time. I told him, I think I can only handle for another year or so. Afterwhich, we may consider adopting.
Also, because IVF is prone to miscarriage and possible abnormal fetus, we both agreed that we probably wont tell anyone, including our families till the baby is viable to prevent disappointments and undue sympathies and hassles. I hate Chinese mums fussing over babies to be and knowing how much my mother in law hopes for a grandchild, I dont want to give her false hopes either. As for my mum, I dont think I can stand her nagging and so I really go stress free without having to worry about her. Then again, I have always been a low profile person. I dont normally tell anyone anything until the deed is done...prob why some of my frens didnt even know I was married till 2 years after, and my mum only few months before the wedding with absolutely no room for opinions or interference!
Finally my seabass came and it was horrid. I couldnt even touch the 2nd fillet and feedback to the manager.
He offered dessert but we cant have any of that so he offered fresh food.
We had raspberry and blue berries with strawberries. It was good for me since i felt off but some berries were off so I stopped.
Dinner was a disappointment but I did feel better.
The nausea feeling left thankfully.
I measured myself that night and my weight has gone down from 53.4kg on a full tummy to 52kg on a full tummy. My waist is now 82cm. Happy.
Friday, August 9, 2013
IVF Egg fertilization report : DAY 1
9th August 2013, (Fri)
My phone rang at 10am. I wasnt expecting any call so I just let it ring since I was trying to poo but unsuccessful. I didnt want to squeeze it with my inflated ovaries.
Thankfully I had 9 eggs collected from EACH ovary. That's probably why both my ovaries felt about the same though I felt the left ovary to be more tight. I sneezed once when sitting up and
I felt a mild tugging on the left and I quickly bent over to reduce any stress. After this, the trick I discovered was to sneeze laying on your back or sitting, holding both knees inwards towards the chest. This helps to prevent any tugging feeling for me.
Anycase, back to missed call.
I picked up my mobile only to see "Blocked" under missed call. Ok, that can only be from HK Sanatorium hospital. So I quickly grab my land line and called back to find out the results.
The lady from the lab was very very nice.
First she congratulated me on being so great to produce 18eggs. I told her it was credit to my doctor really to monitor my medication.
Then comes the verdict. I held my breath.
Previously, prior to egg collection, Dr Ingrid discussed to have half of the eggs ICSI and the other natural fertilisation. I am happy to listen to her advice since both of us have no idea or expectation of how my eggs response to the sperms, or if my eggs have a hard shell that makes it hard for natural fertilisation.
So the lab lady broke down the report by category.
With ICSI report.
Out of the 9 eggs, they found
- 2 abnormal eggs
- 6 fertilised
- 1 looking abit abnormal
With natural fertilisation report.
Out of the 9 eggs, they found
My phone rang at 10am. I wasnt expecting any call so I just let it ring since I was trying to poo but unsuccessful. I didnt want to squeeze it with my inflated ovaries.
Thankfully I had 9 eggs collected from EACH ovary. That's probably why both my ovaries felt about the same though I felt the left ovary to be more tight. I sneezed once when sitting up and
I felt a mild tugging on the left and I quickly bent over to reduce any stress. After this, the trick I discovered was to sneeze laying on your back or sitting, holding both knees inwards towards the chest. This helps to prevent any tugging feeling for me.
Anycase, back to missed call.
I picked up my mobile only to see "Blocked" under missed call. Ok, that can only be from HK Sanatorium hospital. So I quickly grab my land line and called back to find out the results.
The lady from the lab was very very nice.
First she congratulated me on being so great to produce 18eggs. I told her it was credit to my doctor really to monitor my medication.
Then comes the verdict. I held my breath.
Previously, prior to egg collection, Dr Ingrid discussed to have half of the eggs ICSI and the other natural fertilisation. I am happy to listen to her advice since both of us have no idea or expectation of how my eggs response to the sperms, or if my eggs have a hard shell that makes it hard for natural fertilisation.
So the lab lady broke down the report by category.
With ICSI report.
Out of the 9 eggs, they found
- 2 abnormal eggs
- 6 fertilised
- 1 looking abit abnormal
With natural fertilisation report.
Out of the 9 eggs, they found
- 3 unfertilised
- 6 fertilised.
Okie. So my total is about 12 fertilised viable eggs on Day 1.
I should be thankful.
I thanked the lady and pray for news tomorrow.
I really am thankful that I randomly picked Dr Ingrid at this moment.
Her "medication" control is excellent and hence I didnt feel much side effects to date. However I read that some OHSS have a late onset...so I am still drinking alot of water.
Diet
Instead of Gatorade which is the common "advice" in western countries, I decided to drink fresh coconut juice instead. Due to the sugar, I only drank once a day in the day so that the sugar can stabilised during the day, and hopefully the 1.5litre of water a day will help my kidney filter better.
Breakfast:
- 2 fried egg with avocado on bread.
- 1 glass of milk
- 2 dragon fruit because I really needed to poo.
Dinner for that night.
- Still chicken soup
I really am thankful that I randomly picked Dr Ingrid at this moment.
Her "medication" control is excellent and hence I didnt feel much side effects to date. However I read that some OHSS have a late onset...so I am still drinking alot of water.
Diet
Instead of Gatorade which is the common "advice" in western countries, I decided to drink fresh coconut juice instead. Due to the sugar, I only drank once a day in the day so that the sugar can stabilised during the day, and hopefully the 1.5litre of water a day will help my kidney filter better.
Breakfast:
- 2 fried egg with avocado on bread.
- 1 glass of milk
- 2 dragon fruit because I really needed to poo.
Dinner for that night.
- Still chicken soup
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Happy Lunch after egg retrieval
I was starving by the time I got home. As my man said, it's unbelievable that I have such a healthy appetite!
My sweet man made me yummy caramelised onion poached chicken sandwich, loaded with avocado, tomato and with my requested fried egg. Yum!
My sweet man made me yummy caramelised onion poached chicken sandwich, loaded with avocado, tomato and with my requested fried egg. Yum!
IVF Egg retrieval day @ Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital
8th August 2013 (thurs)
Here comes the first verdict day, to determine how many eggs can be retrieved from my follicles. I am trying to keep my expectation down because I have no idea how my ovaries react to the stimulation drugs, the number of "eggs" left, and more importantly, how many eggs are viable.
The advantage of the drugs, esg Hcg drugs make me sleepy easily and hence I didnt have to worry abput excitement keeping me up. I slept through though I did wake up before my alarm went off at 7am.
The hospital is a short 15mins walk away from home, so my target was to leave by 7.35am latest. I did some stretching, had a short warm shower while my husband had his breakfast. However, I was cautious NOT to use any scented shower gel, facial wash and skip my skincare regime completely. I rem reading in various article that the eggs and embryo are sensitive the chemical scent and may affect the quality. Better to be safe than sorry.
My mood was light and happy, with quite a few laughs along the way strolling with my man. We arrived punctually, signed a few documents and it was time to get changed. My man was supposed to provide his fresh sperm sample and he was deliberating if he should go before I start my op, or after I started my op. Seeing no reason for him to stick around, I told him to go ahead since he still have to run groceries errand to cook lunch later.
We asked the nurse as to what time he should be back. She said I prob will be asleep for 1 hour after the 20mins op if all goes well. So his timeline was to be back by 10.30am.
As he went off to get his "boys" squirted out, I went to have my pee sample ready for my nurse. Afterwhich, I sat on the bed, looking out of the window thanking god for a beautiful morning.
The nurse came to do her stuff and I told her to prepare lotsa of warm blanket later because I will be cold. I told her I always feel cold after waking from G.A.
By 8.30am, the anesthesiologist came by and introduced herself as Dr Fung. She was nice, asking if I know what op I am going to have. (It's SOP in this hospital to keep repeatedly ask the patient the same questions) She told me it will be easy op but I may feel a little nausea after the op but I have nothing to worry.
Having read soooooooo much horror stories about OHSS after egg retrieval online, I asked her about the possible cramp etc. She told me not to worry and it's not common. Ok. If u say so.
By 8.50am, the nurse came to get me and we walked to the op room. At the entrance, there was this blue floor map and for some reason, it was sticky and my slippers got stuck on it! Lol! The nurse and I started laughing and we started joking about it.
Meanwhile, they had me climbed up the bed and the attentive nurse suggested to unbutton the top button since it was yanking on my neck.
They had me lay down, legs placed on this legs holder. They asked me if I was comfortable and if there was any pain. I frankly told them the left holder was pressing against my calf too much and it was mildly uncomfortable.The nurse quickly adjusted the holder and all was good again.
By 9am, Dr Ingrid came in cheery and I greeted her happily too. She asked how I was feeling and I replied all was good. I jokingly told her that "My future now lies in your hands". She laughed and said "such pressure" Lol.
While Dr Ingrid was jotting down some stuff, Dr Fung told me it was time to get me ready for the anesthesia. I had this oxygen thing stuck at the entrance of my nose, while she jabbed my left hand. Ok the first instance was first but once the drug gets pumped in, it was OUCH.
I was like "Oh that hurts". Dr Fung said not to worry it will pass and some other patients have it worse, saying it felt like their hand was on fire. Ok, I didnt have that so I figured I should stop describing the sensation. Then it hit my head and started to feel dizzy. I asked her if it was normal, she said yes and that was the last I remembered.
***************************************************
I awoke to someone calling my name. It was like waking from a deep sleep and you wished the person had let you slept on. I vaguely thought I heard her told me the number of eggs collected but I figured I must have misheard. My mind wasnt clear yet. However, first thing I requested was for the nurse to adjust my flat bed to semi inclined position. I have always hated lying flat after GA because it makes me more ill. However, the other reason was because I read somewhere from forum that in event that there are accumulated leaking water from ovaries, it is better to sit up to prevent the water from flowing upwards to the diaphragm from the abdominal cavity. It's the help keep any possible fluid down as much as possible.
The first thing I did was to grab my mobile from the safe next to me. Ok, it was frankly quite a stretch but oh well, I didnt topple. I texted my man and told him I was out of the op and awake. I had prepped him in the morning to bring me my water heat pack. It took me 3 tries before I could send a proper text without all the typo. Yes, every word had misspelling.
I looked at the time and realised it was only 9.50am! SO much for the sleeping for 1 hour. My husband quickly replied ok but he was still in the supermart! I told him to hurry because I am REALLY COLD, despite the 4 layers of warm blanket. The nurse came over to check on me and I told her I am cold. She exclaimed I already had a lot of warm blankets and I touched her with my cold hands. She immediately got me another warm blanket. I too asked her for warm drink but she was reluctant to give me because she said most patients will puke. I told her, NO, just give me because I AM DYING OF THIRST. So she gave me a cup and i gulped it down fine.
Other than that, I was honestly thankful I didnt feel anything else. I am expecting cramps, headache, bloated feeling and nausea but I am very lucky not to experience that. I wasnt even groggy by 10am so I just took my phone, played some music while i played my "Pet Rescue" game waiting for my man. Not too bad, cleared 2 levels and reached level 136.
By 10.10am, my man arrived with my heat pack! YEAH!!! Instantly warmed my hands and chest up and I felt even more awake and alert. My man asked if I was ok and I gave him the victory sign. It was quite funny because none of us rem to ask the nurse how many eggs we have got. Instead, I told the nurse I desperately NEED TO PEE. Again the nurse looked kinda stunned because she mentioned its too early for me to get out of bed...but she asked if I was feeling fine and really urgent, to which I replied YES to both. She told me to give her a few mins before coming back to get me.
My husband helped me up. Ok, first 10 seconds, my head needed some adjustment to find my balance. After that, I shuffled to the toilet and saw the nurse had prep the toilet seat with a pee measurement basin to check the volume output. I peed like there was no tomorrow and it was a lot. I flushed the seat paper away and opened the door, the nurse was standing outside and checked the pee basin. She said "Wow! That's alot of pee indeed!" Lol. At least this declared I have passed stage 1 since I am urinating normally.
Getting back to the bed, I drank alot more water. I was busy drinking water like a camel and I must have drank like 10 cups. I was really thirsty. I chatted with my man for a while and it was only an hour later that I rem to ask my husband to find out the number of eggs. He went out and came back with an incredulous smile.
"You are a mother hen love! You have got 18 eggs!" Wow!
I am pleasantly surprised. I only expected 10 or so given my age at 38 and I have PCOS. However I told my man not to be too happy because my quality of eggs is yet to be determined. Not sure how many will fertilised or any abnormal ones.
Opposite us (thru 2 the curtains drawn), we overheard the nurse telling the lady they retrieved 4 eggs and something about freezing them for next round. My husband was whispering is that bad, I told him not necessarily because maybe all she need is one good egg and maybe she have 4 mature good quality eggs whereas I may be over stimulated with lesser quality eggs.
My lunch arrived and I had wintermelon soup since the nurse insisted I shouldnt have porridge even though I was famished. Sigh. I polished off everything in a flash.
The nurses came back to measure my blood pressure, and gave me a jab to my hip butt area. Ok I know that is gonna bruise because I saw a lot of blood. Sigh.
By 12pm, I was all alert and ready to go back. I got changed, my man went to make payment. I got my meds such as estroferm and the vaginal insert gel for thickening my lining I think. All medication starts tomorrow. The nurse told me to eat 4 egg whites daily, avoid herbs and chinese "blood nourishing" stuff including ginger and red dates. What?! No red dates? Instead, I'm supposed to drink milk and eat high protein food.
I got home by 12.45pm and my man started to make his chicken sandwich. I was still starving and requested for half sandwich. When I finished my chicken avocado sandwich with caramelised onion, I was still hungry so I asked for another WHOLE sandwich. Afterwhich, I am full and contented and drank half gatorade before sleeping.
I slept like a baby and dinner was ready by 6.30pm, my glorious chicken mushroom carrot soup. Apart from my tummy feeling slightly tight from over eating, I was fine. No pain thankfully and I went to weigh myself. I was 53.8kg after dinner and water intake. Ok. My waist was about 83cm. Ok, I think I am about 2 cm bigger than usual and slightly heavier than normal.
I did some stretching since I am still recovering from a bad back. I actually felt less bloated after stretching. Happy!
I went back to sleep by 12am. Day is finally over and celebrating my jab free day!
Here comes the first verdict day, to determine how many eggs can be retrieved from my follicles. I am trying to keep my expectation down because I have no idea how my ovaries react to the stimulation drugs, the number of "eggs" left, and more importantly, how many eggs are viable.
The advantage of the drugs, esg Hcg drugs make me sleepy easily and hence I didnt have to worry abput excitement keeping me up. I slept through though I did wake up before my alarm went off at 7am.
The hospital is a short 15mins walk away from home, so my target was to leave by 7.35am latest. I did some stretching, had a short warm shower while my husband had his breakfast. However, I was cautious NOT to use any scented shower gel, facial wash and skip my skincare regime completely. I rem reading in various article that the eggs and embryo are sensitive the chemical scent and may affect the quality. Better to be safe than sorry.
My mood was light and happy, with quite a few laughs along the way strolling with my man. We arrived punctually, signed a few documents and it was time to get changed. My man was supposed to provide his fresh sperm sample and he was deliberating if he should go before I start my op, or after I started my op. Seeing no reason for him to stick around, I told him to go ahead since he still have to run groceries errand to cook lunch later.
We asked the nurse as to what time he should be back. She said I prob will be asleep for 1 hour after the 20mins op if all goes well. So his timeline was to be back by 10.30am.
As he went off to get his "boys" squirted out, I went to have my pee sample ready for my nurse. Afterwhich, I sat on the bed, looking out of the window thanking god for a beautiful morning.
The nurse came to do her stuff and I told her to prepare lotsa of warm blanket later because I will be cold. I told her I always feel cold after waking from G.A.
By 8.30am, the anesthesiologist came by and introduced herself as Dr Fung. She was nice, asking if I know what op I am going to have. (It's SOP in this hospital to keep repeatedly ask the patient the same questions) She told me it will be easy op but I may feel a little nausea after the op but I have nothing to worry.
Having read soooooooo much horror stories about OHSS after egg retrieval online, I asked her about the possible cramp etc. She told me not to worry and it's not common. Ok. If u say so.
By 8.50am, the nurse came to get me and we walked to the op room. At the entrance, there was this blue floor map and for some reason, it was sticky and my slippers got stuck on it! Lol! The nurse and I started laughing and we started joking about it.
Meanwhile, they had me climbed up the bed and the attentive nurse suggested to unbutton the top button since it was yanking on my neck.
They had me lay down, legs placed on this legs holder. They asked me if I was comfortable and if there was any pain. I frankly told them the left holder was pressing against my calf too much and it was mildly uncomfortable.The nurse quickly adjusted the holder and all was good again.
By 9am, Dr Ingrid came in cheery and I greeted her happily too. She asked how I was feeling and I replied all was good. I jokingly told her that "My future now lies in your hands". She laughed and said "such pressure" Lol.
While Dr Ingrid was jotting down some stuff, Dr Fung told me it was time to get me ready for the anesthesia. I had this oxygen thing stuck at the entrance of my nose, while she jabbed my left hand. Ok the first instance was first but once the drug gets pumped in, it was OUCH.
I was like "Oh that hurts". Dr Fung said not to worry it will pass and some other patients have it worse, saying it felt like their hand was on fire. Ok, I didnt have that so I figured I should stop describing the sensation. Then it hit my head and started to feel dizzy. I asked her if it was normal, she said yes and that was the last I remembered.
***************************************************
I awoke to someone calling my name. It was like waking from a deep sleep and you wished the person had let you slept on. I vaguely thought I heard her told me the number of eggs collected but I figured I must have misheard. My mind wasnt clear yet. However, first thing I requested was for the nurse to adjust my flat bed to semi inclined position. I have always hated lying flat after GA because it makes me more ill. However, the other reason was because I read somewhere from forum that in event that there are accumulated leaking water from ovaries, it is better to sit up to prevent the water from flowing upwards to the diaphragm from the abdominal cavity. It's the help keep any possible fluid down as much as possible.
The first thing I did was to grab my mobile from the safe next to me. Ok, it was frankly quite a stretch but oh well, I didnt topple. I texted my man and told him I was out of the op and awake. I had prepped him in the morning to bring me my water heat pack. It took me 3 tries before I could send a proper text without all the typo. Yes, every word had misspelling.
I looked at the time and realised it was only 9.50am! SO much for the sleeping for 1 hour. My husband quickly replied ok but he was still in the supermart! I told him to hurry because I am REALLY COLD, despite the 4 layers of warm blanket. The nurse came over to check on me and I told her I am cold. She exclaimed I already had a lot of warm blankets and I touched her with my cold hands. She immediately got me another warm blanket. I too asked her for warm drink but she was reluctant to give me because she said most patients will puke. I told her, NO, just give me because I AM DYING OF THIRST. So she gave me a cup and i gulped it down fine.
Other than that, I was honestly thankful I didnt feel anything else. I am expecting cramps, headache, bloated feeling and nausea but I am very lucky not to experience that. I wasnt even groggy by 10am so I just took my phone, played some music while i played my "Pet Rescue" game waiting for my man. Not too bad, cleared 2 levels and reached level 136.
By 10.10am, my man arrived with my heat pack! YEAH!!! Instantly warmed my hands and chest up and I felt even more awake and alert. My man asked if I was ok and I gave him the victory sign. It was quite funny because none of us rem to ask the nurse how many eggs we have got. Instead, I told the nurse I desperately NEED TO PEE. Again the nurse looked kinda stunned because she mentioned its too early for me to get out of bed...but she asked if I was feeling fine and really urgent, to which I replied YES to both. She told me to give her a few mins before coming back to get me.
My husband helped me up. Ok, first 10 seconds, my head needed some adjustment to find my balance. After that, I shuffled to the toilet and saw the nurse had prep the toilet seat with a pee measurement basin to check the volume output. I peed like there was no tomorrow and it was a lot. I flushed the seat paper away and opened the door, the nurse was standing outside and checked the pee basin. She said "Wow! That's alot of pee indeed!" Lol. At least this declared I have passed stage 1 since I am urinating normally.
Getting back to the bed, I drank alot more water. I was busy drinking water like a camel and I must have drank like 10 cups. I was really thirsty. I chatted with my man for a while and it was only an hour later that I rem to ask my husband to find out the number of eggs. He went out and came back with an incredulous smile.
"You are a mother hen love! You have got 18 eggs!" Wow!
I am pleasantly surprised. I only expected 10 or so given my age at 38 and I have PCOS. However I told my man not to be too happy because my quality of eggs is yet to be determined. Not sure how many will fertilised or any abnormal ones.
Opposite us (thru 2 the curtains drawn), we overheard the nurse telling the lady they retrieved 4 eggs and something about freezing them for next round. My husband was whispering is that bad, I told him not necessarily because maybe all she need is one good egg and maybe she have 4 mature good quality eggs whereas I may be over stimulated with lesser quality eggs.
My lunch arrived and I had wintermelon soup since the nurse insisted I shouldnt have porridge even though I was famished. Sigh. I polished off everything in a flash.
The nurses came back to measure my blood pressure, and gave me a jab to my hip butt area. Ok I know that is gonna bruise because I saw a lot of blood. Sigh.
By 12pm, I was all alert and ready to go back. I got changed, my man went to make payment. I got my meds such as estroferm and the vaginal insert gel for thickening my lining I think. All medication starts tomorrow. The nurse told me to eat 4 egg whites daily, avoid herbs and chinese "blood nourishing" stuff including ginger and red dates. What?! No red dates? Instead, I'm supposed to drink milk and eat high protein food.
I got home by 12.45pm and my man started to make his chicken sandwich. I was still starving and requested for half sandwich. When I finished my chicken avocado sandwich with caramelised onion, I was still hungry so I asked for another WHOLE sandwich. Afterwhich, I am full and contented and drank half gatorade before sleeping.
I slept like a baby and dinner was ready by 6.30pm, my glorious chicken mushroom carrot soup. Apart from my tummy feeling slightly tight from over eating, I was fine. No pain thankfully and I went to weigh myself. I was 53.8kg after dinner and water intake. Ok. My waist was about 83cm. Ok, I think I am about 2 cm bigger than usual and slightly heavier than normal.
I did some stretching since I am still recovering from a bad back. I actually felt less bloated after stretching. Happy!
I went back to sleep by 12am. Day is finally over and celebrating my jab free day!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The day before IVF egg collection
7th August 2013
Nothing changed after the HcG shot on Tuesday night. Ate normally, slept normally and drank normally. I wasnt feeling particularly anxious or excited. I was just gonna leave it all to fate, though I must confess I have slight worries about the quality of my eggs as well as possible OHSS since I am a PCOS candidate. I didnt really dwell much on it and frankly, I didnt have time too since I was busy trying to get contractors in and out of my apartment to fix the bloody water seepage in both bedrooms due to the wearing out of the rubber seals. Sigh. Still, apart from that, I was in a happy chirpy mood.
I did wonder how many eggs out of the 10-11 follicles on each ovary will I get...and how their quality will be like. Afterall, at 38 going 39 in couple of months...it's no secret that quality is a real obstacle.
Nothing changed after the HcG shot on Tuesday night. Ate normally, slept normally and drank normally. I wasnt feeling particularly anxious or excited. I was just gonna leave it all to fate, though I must confess I have slight worries about the quality of my eggs as well as possible OHSS since I am a PCOS candidate. I didnt really dwell much on it and frankly, I didnt have time too since I was busy trying to get contractors in and out of my apartment to fix the bloody water seepage in both bedrooms due to the wearing out of the rubber seals. Sigh. Still, apart from that, I was in a happy chirpy mood.
I did wonder how many eggs out of the 10-11 follicles on each ovary will I get...and how their quality will be like. Afterall, at 38 going 39 in couple of months...it's no secret that quality is a real obstacle.
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