The start of something VERY special

I have been meaning to sit down and start writing this post for about the last two weeks.  Instead, the days got the best of me and so now I am going to write it like the giant adventure it has been.  This post covers the last fortnight of our first IVF cycle, and so as not to bore you all too much, I'll write it like a journal entry.  Please excuse any misunderstood terminology, spelling errors, etc.   Obviously, this being our first IVF cycle, we are just getting used to all the jargon that goes with it.

Day 1: I get my period.  Weight = 59.5kg.  Waist = 76.5cm.

Day 2: Visit to the clinic to pick up my drugs (Gonal F and Orgalutran).  Start Gonal F injection 150mg daily.

Day 3: Gonal F 150mg

Day 4: Gonal F 150mg

Day 5: Gonal F 150mg

Day 6: Gonal F 150mg.  Also get infection in foot, start antibiotics.

Day 7: First follicle scan with Dr - approx. 20 follies.  Gonal F 150mg. Visit to Emergency Department for foot, antibiotic dose increased.

Day 8: Gonal F 150mg and Orgalutran 250mg.

Day 9: Gonal F 150mg and Orgalutran 250mg.  

Day 10: Second follicle scan with Dr - approx. 24 follies, ranging between 1.7-2cm each.  Approx. date for egg pick up Day 13.  Weight = 59.9kg.  Waist = 78cm.

Day 11: Visit clinic to pick up trigger injection (Ovidrel).  Gonal F 150mg and Orgalutran 250mg.  Ovidrel 250mcg at 6pm ON THE DOT! Weight = 60.6kg.  Waist = 81cm.

Day 12: No more drugs.  Fast from midnight for egg pick up tomorrow. Weight = 59.4kg.  Waist = 83cm.

Day 13:  Check in at hospital at 6am.  Greeted by Dr and scientist.  Am told that we will be going to "all freezing" cycle due to numbers and fluid retention.  Very highly Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS).  Wake up following procedure with a number written on my hand (33)!  Hubby brings me home from hospital, feeling bloated and crampy but otherwise fine.

Day 14: Spend day on couch with abdo cramps, otherwise fine.  Call from scientist at clinic - confirmed 33 eggs collected.  23 in Day 1 fertilisation.  Hubby and I are in shock!  Weight = 61.4kg.  Waist = 84cm.

Day 15: TODAY!  Feeling slightly short of breath.  Trying to drink lots of water, but appetite and thirst gone down.  Call from Dr who is concerned I will balloon any time now.  Go for walk around local shopping centre and feeling much better.  Wearing TEDS (Thrombo-embolitic Device Stockings) to reduce risk of fluid shift to legs and prevent clots.  Weight = 62kg.  Waist = 84.2cm.

 
Hubby and I are completely blown away with the numbers that we have produced so far.  Going into this cycle we had so many reservations and questions (read past entries) about whether this would all work or not.  Having tried all other methods before IVF to get pregnant and coming up short, we were nervous that IVF would produce answers that were far too scary to hear; are my eggs any good, why can't our eggs and sperm fertilise, what if it's my uterus, etc, etc.  So when I woke and found that I had made 33 shining little eggs, I was gob-smacked!  And to hear a day later from the scientist, that 23 of those 33 were fertilising, is absolutely incredible to us!  We are in a complete state of shock and awe.

There have been a few minor set backs though.  To hear that my OHSS was so bad we couldn't even consider safely transferring embies back this cycle was very upsetting.  Already I feel attached to those 23 little cells working away in the lab.  I want them back to me as soon as I can have them.  BUT, we realise that this is only a minor bump in the road.  If we were to transfer now, I'd become very sick very quickly, and that would put our strong little embies at a great risk, not to mention me!  So, we take the news in our stride, buck ourselves up and prepare for the time when we can have them back.  Our doctor has recommended a minimum of two cycles (the end of this cycle, plus the next) before he'll consider my levels safe enough.  So that gives us approximately six to eight weeks for me to get back to full health, and to mentally prepare for our transfer.  At this point we are undecided as to how many we'll transfer.  The scientist will call us again at Days 3 and 5 of fertilisation to let us know how our little ones are growing.

Right now we are in emotional limbo.  It's such a funny place to be.  Knowing that our genes are snuggled up safely in a lab a few suburbs away, doing the very best they can to join together and create the beginning of our little offspring.  I want to go over there and press my face against the glass, and watch as they each take another tiny step towards viability.  I already feel like such a proud parent.  Our little ones are fighting to exist.  God has made all this possible.  He has heard our cries, heard our pleas of longing, and answered with a resounding YES, IT IS POSSIBLE!  My heart is filled with joy and excitement about what comes next.  Soon, very, very soon, it will be time to take our embies home!!