I will add to this post as news comes in, but I wanted to ensure that the story of the frozen eggs is complete. As part of my current IVF cycle, I decided to thaw 6 of my 13 frozen eggs to increase my chances of an embryo to transfer. You can read the full detail of that on my other blog.
The embryologist called me this afternoon to let me know that only 2 out of the 6 eggs we chose to defrost, made it through this stage. 2 completely failed to 're-inflate', 1 did partially, and 1 seemed to be okay, but then collapsed in on itself. This was not the results I was expecting. This was not the result the embryologist was expecting.
Interestingly, I asked that 2 eggs from each of my 3 cycles be used in the thaw. The embryologist noted that the way they defrosted aligned to these pairings which could suggest there was an issue in the freezing process for the two sets that didn't make it. This is because the thaw procedure was obviously identical for all of the eggs. In particular he noted that one of the sets was 'stuck' to the plate they are frozen to and hard to remove (which could have damaged them).
I used a very reputable clinic which does a lot with donor eggs and so I don't think they were unskilled in any way. I do think that this is a new field and a difficult process and mistakes happen. I also suspect that in the past 3 years, technology has moved on and skills and techniques continue to improve. I'm happy that 2 made it, and those 2 were both able to be injected with sperm for ICSI. But each one of those precious eggs that didn't make it was a blow. I think I expected that maybe 1 wouldn't defrost properly, but certainly not 4. I believe that they are keeping the 2 from the frozen separate to incubate but I'm not sure. If they are, and I can update about their hopefully continued progress towards an embryo I will.
I wouldn't let this news detract anyone from doing egg freezing, but I would say it highlights two things- the importance of having enough eggs collected, and possibly the importance of having at least 2 cycles in case something went wrong with the freezing of one. I'm pretty sure at this point I would still do it over again if I had the chance to choose. But it is important that the risks are understood by anyone undertaking this journey.
Update 1: Both of the eggs that defrosted normally and were able to have ICSI fertilized. Next report on day 3.
Update 2: Day 3- the best looking embryo this morning is one of the two successful thaws, but the other is the worst that seems to have stopped at a 2-cell split. Fingers crossed for a transfer on day 5. Might be the frozen one, might be one of the fresh, depends on the rating.
Update 3: On Day 5, all of my six embryos, including the one from the frozen were in the morula stage so I had to wait until Day 6 to find out if any made it to blastocyst. The one frozen egg is the leading blastocyst rated good/very good. I'm going to transfer it today. I haven't decided if I will also be transferring a second blastocyst from the fresh collection at the same time.
Update 4: I decided to transfer only the blastocyst formed from the frozen egg as it's younger and so the odds of success are higher than my current eggs/blastocysts. Now the wait!
Showing posts with label results. Show all posts
Showing posts with label results. Show all posts
25 May 2016
12 November 2013
Final Costs
I went to the clinic today for my last follow up appointment. I have more to say about that, but I thought I'd separate the posts. This one is going to be about costs.
If you want to see all my posts documenting cost along the way, you can either click on the word cloud "cost" over to the right hand side, or, you can click here.
So here's the final breakdown:
The doctor I saw today did not charge me for the follow up appointment. I feel confident that if I'd seen either of the other two, they would have. I'm not complaining.
With 13 eggs in the freezer, that's around £1,100 per frozen egg. That's expensive. I mean, that's really expensive, when you consider that one or two may not defrost, and I may not even get a baby from them. Heck, I may not ever USE these eggs.
It's important to note that I have paid up front for 10 years storage. If I don't use all 10 years, I should be refunded some amount for the years I don't use (maybe £800 back let's say?). I also paid for blood tests and things that I might have been able to get done for free or for cheaper through my GP and not through the clinic (£250 or so?). There was also the added expense of not knowing about Healthcare at Home for my first cycle, and the cost difference for that is explicitly documented in my post about Reducing Drug Costs (£1000 approximately).
But here's the thing. If the time comes in the future that I did want to have the option to use frozen eggs, would I regret this if I had NOT frozen my eggs. 100% absolutely.
In the end it's only money. Regrets are far more expensive.
If you want to see all my posts documenting cost along the way, you can either click on the word cloud "cost" over to the right hand side, or, you can click here.
So here's the final breakdown:
| Previous total cost for 2 cycles | £10,481 |
| Follow up Appointment | £120 |
| Drugs from Healthcare at Home | £729 |
| Egg Freezing Cycle | £2800 |
| Final Total | £14,130 |
The doctor I saw today did not charge me for the follow up appointment. I feel confident that if I'd seen either of the other two, they would have. I'm not complaining.
With 13 eggs in the freezer, that's around £1,100 per frozen egg. That's expensive. I mean, that's really expensive, when you consider that one or two may not defrost, and I may not even get a baby from them. Heck, I may not ever USE these eggs.
It's important to note that I have paid up front for 10 years storage. If I don't use all 10 years, I should be refunded some amount for the years I don't use (maybe £800 back let's say?). I also paid for blood tests and things that I might have been able to get done for free or for cheaper through my GP and not through the clinic (£250 or so?). There was also the added expense of not knowing about Healthcare at Home for my first cycle, and the cost difference for that is explicitly documented in my post about Reducing Drug Costs (£1000 approximately).
But here's the thing. If the time comes in the future that I did want to have the option to use frozen eggs, would I regret this if I had NOT frozen my eggs. 100% absolutely.
In the end it's only money. Regrets are far more expensive.
29 October 2013
Cycle 3: Day 16
So my collection was this morning and I got 3 mature eggs that were able to be frozen.
This is not the ending that I was hoping for, for this particular journey or this final cycle. That brings the grand total of three rounds of egg freezing to 13 frozen eggs. Which is what many women (with two ovaries) get from their first and sometimes only cycle.
I hasten to add that I don't in any way regret that I've done this. Just that I am a bit sad about the results. As I think I mentioned in my last post, the odds of a live baby from 13 eggs seems maybe not so great. Of course there is no way to know that until I actually go to use the eggs. And even if I had 20 eggs there might not be a baby at the end of it.
It is what it is. I'm 39. It's little bit late. It would have made no sense to wait longer, although I do wish I had known about this, or done it sooner, these are things you can't change. So I worked with what I had, and so far this is what I've got. Which may actually be plenty or it may not at all.
I suppose I just don't have as much confidence as I would like. But as I say, that's a false hope anyway.
Everything towards the end of the cycle went easily and well. No problems with any of the injections. All was easy and simple at the clinic this morning. I don't have any pain or discomfort at the moment, though I might have a bit of cramping when everything wears off.
I have a counseling appointment in 2 weeks time and I think I'll schedule a follow up to talk through things like, when can I go back on birth control, and talk a bit about future pregnancy and timelines and things like that. The counseling appointment will probably be a good thing. The follow up appointment is a necessary thing, and I'll be annoyed, as usual, that I'll have to pay for it. But it's definitely weird to me to just leave things like this now. Especially when I have a number of questions.
When that's complete I'll also do a final cost tally.
And I'll probably prepare some final (or final for now) thoughts on this process overall. I think doing it right now however, probably isn't the best idea.
This is not the ending that I was hoping for, for this particular journey or this final cycle. That brings the grand total of three rounds of egg freezing to 13 frozen eggs. Which is what many women (with two ovaries) get from their first and sometimes only cycle.
I hasten to add that I don't in any way regret that I've done this. Just that I am a bit sad about the results. As I think I mentioned in my last post, the odds of a live baby from 13 eggs seems maybe not so great. Of course there is no way to know that until I actually go to use the eggs. And even if I had 20 eggs there might not be a baby at the end of it.
It is what it is. I'm 39. It's little bit late. It would have made no sense to wait longer, although I do wish I had known about this, or done it sooner, these are things you can't change. So I worked with what I had, and so far this is what I've got. Which may actually be plenty or it may not at all.
I suppose I just don't have as much confidence as I would like. But as I say, that's a false hope anyway.
Everything towards the end of the cycle went easily and well. No problems with any of the injections. All was easy and simple at the clinic this morning. I don't have any pain or discomfort at the moment, though I might have a bit of cramping when everything wears off.
I have a counseling appointment in 2 weeks time and I think I'll schedule a follow up to talk through things like, when can I go back on birth control, and talk a bit about future pregnancy and timelines and things like that. The counseling appointment will probably be a good thing. The follow up appointment is a necessary thing, and I'll be annoyed, as usual, that I'll have to pay for it. But it's definitely weird to me to just leave things like this now. Especially when I have a number of questions.
When that's complete I'll also do a final cost tally.
And I'll probably prepare some final (or final for now) thoughts on this process overall. I think doing it right now however, probably isn't the best idea.
29 June 2013
Cycle 2: Day 17
Sorry again for the day delay, all due to the stupid phone company. I'm now borrowing internet from my neighbor!
Facts first. I got 4 eggs and all 4 were able to be frozen. I'd like to have a bit more information than that, but I couldn't get my phone to work so instead the embryologist call went to voice-mail. I assume they were all mature and looked good. I hope the embryologist calls back today, but I'm not sure they will. I had a couple of other questions, but I can ask the doctor when I go back in a couple of weeks for a follow up appointment.
The day itself was both uneventful and eventful. My biggest gripe was that although I showed up 15 minutes early to make sure I was there for noon and I was supposed to be having my retrieval 37 hours past the Ovitrelle trigger at 12:30, I didn't even get in to my recovery room to change until 12:25 and I estimate my procedure was probably at 1:00 or even a little bit past. This just stressed me out, which is not what you really want when you're preparing for a medical procedure. I was assured by more than one person that it wouldn't make a difference but I was conscious of how few eggs I had to work with and the thought of losing a single one just gave me intense stress. This was compounded by my internet based knowledge that some clinics trigger as early as 35 hours before the retrieval and since my clinic goes with 37, that already seems on the "late" side of things. It just put a blip into my otherwise uneventful day!
So given that I was stressed I changed very quickly and was ready to go. A bit of 'hurry up and wait'. I could hear couples (mostly couples) in some of the other cubicles. This is the second time I've heard a male partner be rude to their female partner during what I assume is an IVF process. I get that men tend to fall into the 'I want to be able to help or I just get frustrated' category but seriously. This particular couple, it was obvious she was just out of retrieval and every time she saw him she came to enough to ask how many eggs they got. He said around 15. Then she'd slip out of consciousness, come back, and ask the same question. By the third time he started in with, "I already told you this!". Charming.
Eventually the anesthesiologist came to get me and we had a nice chat. I remembered a bit about him from the first time and I think he was amused that I remembered what we talked about. We chatted a bit more as he got me all set, put the cannula in, put electrodes on me. The doctor who did my procedure was not my main doctor but what I now think of as my second doctor. I remember asking about the delay and the impact. I also remember saying that I really wanted 4 eggs as a minimum and that if I got less I'd get depressed about it but then I'd get over it. They had me scooting down the table into position and I was alert when the mask went over my face, but not much beyond that. I think I have a vague memory of being transfered from the procedure table to the recovery bed. I definitely have a memory of the doctor coming to see me in the recovery room to tell me that got 4 eggs. Although that was very hazy, I know it happened, and then also turned out to be true, so reinforces that it happened.
Eventually I came to, nice and comfortable in the bed. The machine on my finger monitored my heart beat and a cuff on my arm did my blood pressure every five minutes. I came around more fully and the nurse told me my friend was here so I said they could let her come sit with me. They brought me tea with sugar and I drank that while chatting with my friend, none of which I can remember now. I know I was starving having not eaten since about 7 or 8 the night before so I also got some cookies and wolfed those down. Then I got dressed and we went home where my friend made me a lovely tray of macaroni and cheese for my dinner and for 'comfort'. Yum!
So today I feel mostly fine. Less cramping then the first cycle, but then, I had fewer follicles. I can still feel my ovary, so I know it's still enlarged and will stay like that until my period comes. On my last scan I had asked my doctor if I could cycle this week in Cambridge but he said he wouldn't advise it. His reasoning was that although the chance is small for torsion, because I only have the one ovary, his advice was to be super cautious about it and even a small risk was not one he would suggest I take, whereas if I had two ovaries he'd be less concerned. I thought that was fair, so I'm looking at a week of walking around Cambridge this week. But that's fine. I need to get my exercise back on track and walking seems a good way to start.
And so that's it for cycle 2. I'll update the costs again when I get around to it, and I'll update again when I have my follow up appointment. I also think I'm going to see the counselor that the clinic offers as a service, so I'll probably write about that as well. And obviously if and when cycle 3 comes on, I'll be back for that as well. Not quite done with this blog yet!
Facts first. I got 4 eggs and all 4 were able to be frozen. I'd like to have a bit more information than that, but I couldn't get my phone to work so instead the embryologist call went to voice-mail. I assume they were all mature and looked good. I hope the embryologist calls back today, but I'm not sure they will. I had a couple of other questions, but I can ask the doctor when I go back in a couple of weeks for a follow up appointment.
The day itself was both uneventful and eventful. My biggest gripe was that although I showed up 15 minutes early to make sure I was there for noon and I was supposed to be having my retrieval 37 hours past the Ovitrelle trigger at 12:30, I didn't even get in to my recovery room to change until 12:25 and I estimate my procedure was probably at 1:00 or even a little bit past. This just stressed me out, which is not what you really want when you're preparing for a medical procedure. I was assured by more than one person that it wouldn't make a difference but I was conscious of how few eggs I had to work with and the thought of losing a single one just gave me intense stress. This was compounded by my internet based knowledge that some clinics trigger as early as 35 hours before the retrieval and since my clinic goes with 37, that already seems on the "late" side of things. It just put a blip into my otherwise uneventful day!
So given that I was stressed I changed very quickly and was ready to go. A bit of 'hurry up and wait'. I could hear couples (mostly couples) in some of the other cubicles. This is the second time I've heard a male partner be rude to their female partner during what I assume is an IVF process. I get that men tend to fall into the 'I want to be able to help or I just get frustrated' category but seriously. This particular couple, it was obvious she was just out of retrieval and every time she saw him she came to enough to ask how many eggs they got. He said around 15. Then she'd slip out of consciousness, come back, and ask the same question. By the third time he started in with, "I already told you this!". Charming.
Eventually the anesthesiologist came to get me and we had a nice chat. I remembered a bit about him from the first time and I think he was amused that I remembered what we talked about. We chatted a bit more as he got me all set, put the cannula in, put electrodes on me. The doctor who did my procedure was not my main doctor but what I now think of as my second doctor. I remember asking about the delay and the impact. I also remember saying that I really wanted 4 eggs as a minimum and that if I got less I'd get depressed about it but then I'd get over it. They had me scooting down the table into position and I was alert when the mask went over my face, but not much beyond that. I think I have a vague memory of being transfered from the procedure table to the recovery bed. I definitely have a memory of the doctor coming to see me in the recovery room to tell me that got 4 eggs. Although that was very hazy, I know it happened, and then also turned out to be true, so reinforces that it happened.
Eventually I came to, nice and comfortable in the bed. The machine on my finger monitored my heart beat and a cuff on my arm did my blood pressure every five minutes. I came around more fully and the nurse told me my friend was here so I said they could let her come sit with me. They brought me tea with sugar and I drank that while chatting with my friend, none of which I can remember now. I know I was starving having not eaten since about 7 or 8 the night before so I also got some cookies and wolfed those down. Then I got dressed and we went home where my friend made me a lovely tray of macaroni and cheese for my dinner and for 'comfort'. Yum!
So today I feel mostly fine. Less cramping then the first cycle, but then, I had fewer follicles. I can still feel my ovary, so I know it's still enlarged and will stay like that until my period comes. On my last scan I had asked my doctor if I could cycle this week in Cambridge but he said he wouldn't advise it. His reasoning was that although the chance is small for torsion, because I only have the one ovary, his advice was to be super cautious about it and even a small risk was not one he would suggest I take, whereas if I had two ovaries he'd be less concerned. I thought that was fair, so I'm looking at a week of walking around Cambridge this week. But that's fine. I need to get my exercise back on track and walking seems a good way to start.
And so that's it for cycle 2. I'll update the costs again when I get around to it, and I'll update again when I have my follow up appointment. I also think I'm going to see the counselor that the clinic offers as a service, so I'll probably write about that as well. And obviously if and when cycle 3 comes on, I'll be back for that as well. Not quite done with this blog yet!
26 February 2013
Day 17 - Egg retrieval
So it's about a quarter past noon and I am at home sprawled on my couch chilling out. I don't know anything yet, so I'm going to probably save this post as a draft and update it later so it contains the entire story of the day. Although if you're reading this and I've posted it, it will contain the full story.
But while it's relatively fresh in my head, let me record how today has gone so far.
So I had dinner last night around 8pm and then only water with the last water being probably around 10:30 or so. Was feeling a bit anxious- just went to bed after setting two different alarms.
Woke up before both alarms and also at some time in the night because I had to pee. I did try to drink a bunch of water yesterday- not only because I hear it makes recovery after the collection better, but also because my veins can be fiddly so it's better if I'm more hydrated than not. So I just lay in bed in and out of sleep waiting for the alarms. Eventually got up. Straight into the shower. Just a single swipe of deodorant, no other perfumes or scented products. Took care of the suppository, put my clothes on, grabbed my sealed sharps bin and headed out.
Got to the clinic around 8:20. The receptionists weren't there yet, although I saw people moving about inside, they didn't come answer the door when I rang. Had to wait about five minutes for someone to come to work who let me in, asked if I was there for a procedure, had me sit and then it was really a minute or less before one of the nurses came to get me.
First she asked me to empty my bladder, so I did that. Then she took me into the procedure/recovery suite. She showed me to a cubicle area and said it would be my area. It had a hospital type bed covered in paper, a pillow, a blanket, a hospital gown, a blood pressure machine, a chair, and a wardrobe. She told me I could put all of my things in the wardrobe. After covering my name and birthday, taking my blood pressure, and checking when I had last eaten or drank, she asked me to change into the gown and then just wait for the anesthetist. And she closed the curtain to my cubicle.
So I did all this. It's a bit awkward to try to tie up a gown in the back on your own. Yet another moment of "Ugh, this sucks to be on your own." but it quickly passed. I got changed, on the bed, covered myself up with the blanket and tried to just stay calm and rest. After all, I hadn't slept all that great, and I was nervous.
Another couple came in to a different cubicle for another procedure.
Then the anesthetist arrived. A kindly older man who asked me again for my name and birthday and when I last ate or drank and we went through some basic medical history that would be relevant to anesthetics. He seemed to suggest all was in order, so we could get ready to go.
The nurse came back for me and we walked to what I'm going to assume was a prep room. I'm not at all sure it was the actual procedure room and if pushed I'd suggest it wasn't. Based on my only other experience with UK set-ups, when I had my ovary out, they prep you in the prep room but everything happens in the procedure room which basically you never get to see. I could see that there was a very wide door to a more clinical looking room at the other end of what I think was the prep room. But, I may never know.
Because, basically, they asked me to get on the table which had an absorption pad for under your pelvis. They brought the pillow and the blanket so once I got settled they had me covered and resting on the pillow. They attached three electrodes to me and hooked them up to a machine. In the meantime, the anesthetist needed to get the cannula in my wrist. Despite drinking lots, my veins were being fiddly so he had me do a bunch of pumping and then he got it in. Cannula's are not the most comfortable things. It's not that it really hurt, it was just uncomfortable, but he was very gentle with it and once it was in placed my hand across my chest. My doctor showed up and asked how I was. I said I'd felt more bloated since the trigger shot and more uncomfortable on that side, which he said was normal. He explained the procedure, what they were going to do and went through the possible risks. With all that done, the anesthetist said he'd give me a drug that might make me a bit woozy and then asked what my PhD was about. I was telling him, and he said something like, "Oh, so you could tell me how to improve my Victorian terrace house." and I said something like, "Yeah, I could." and the nurse was having me get my leg into a stirrup and that is the last thing I remember.
Next thing I know, I'm coming out of a very pleasant sleep feeling nice and warm and toasty. There's a blood pressure cuff on my arm I think, or maybe just the thing on your finger. At any rate, I'm completely back in the cubicle I started off in. No idea how I got from the one to the other. I don't feel particularly much of anything out of the ordinary. My abdomen is a bit crampy, but nothing worse than period pains, although I'm also on painkillers, so I should bear this in mind as at some point they are going to wear off. A nurses comes in and gives me a cup of water which I drink. Then she asks me if I'd like some tea and how I take it (with sugar, no milk).
So then she brings me a mug of tea and some hard cookies/biscuits. I drink the tea, I eat the biscuits and I feel very alert. Almost euphoric. I want to laugh. I suppose it's just the stress of everything being really over. I ask if my friend has arrived and they say yes. I look at the machine and realize that it's past 10:30. I've been out for a while! The nurse comes back after a bit to take out the cannula. Another nurse comes to remind me of the info sheet. What not to do today, what drugs not to take. And then basically I'm discharged. They say the embryologist will call me later with the details of the collection and I can get dressed.
I do, I give over my sharps bin. I realize I'm in a slight daze. I'm alert, but everything seems a bit surreal. I meet up with my friend, and we head out. It's that simple. I took public transport home although they said not to, honestly, it was completely fine. I just feel a bit crampy.
On the way home, stopped by the grocery so I could pick up a ready-meal for lunch as I don't have anything in and don't want to have to go out until later, my friend got me up to my front door, and then he went back to work, and here I am on the couch.
The embryologist just called around 12:30. I have six eggs. They collected six, and all six were mature and able to be frozen. I don't know if they were all fully mature or the various gradations of mature. As per usual, I was slightly in shock by the call and so did not have the wherewithal to ask the questions that are now going through my head.
Six.
Closer to five than to ten. But better than nothing. Not as good as I had hoped for. But six eggs in the freezer is six eggs I otherwise did not have in the freezer before. So cycle two will definitely be June. I guess before then I'll try to have an appointment with the doctor to see if he thinks we should change the protocol based on this one to see if something should change to see if I can get closer to the ten.
Because I was completely out of it for the procedure, I have no idea how many follicles there actually were in the end. On Friday there were 13. But I only have one ovary. The response is within the expected range of five to ten, so that's good, just on the lower side of the expected range, but hey, that's life.
Now I just have to be gentle with my body over the coming days until I get my period and my ovary starts to deflate back to normal size.
I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit disappointed by six. But then this entire journey is just one crazy emotional roller coaster ride. And I need to remind myself- what is the alternative? Six eggs in the freezer, is six 38 year old eggs that would otherwise have been flushed. I will do a second cycle. If I want to preserve my fertility chances, then this is the best possible thing I can be doing at this point in time, and if this is what my body gives me, then that's what it is. I have to remember, the alternative to this, is to have absolutely nothing.
Six is basically enough for one IVF cycle. Hopefully I'll get at least as many on the next cycle. Then I'll probably need to see if I can find finances for a third cycle depending on how the second one goes. But as my doctor tells me- one step at a time! For now, it's be gentle, wait for period, enjoy the break in between, and then prepare to do it all again.
But while it's relatively fresh in my head, let me record how today has gone so far.
So I had dinner last night around 8pm and then only water with the last water being probably around 10:30 or so. Was feeling a bit anxious- just went to bed after setting two different alarms.
Woke up before both alarms and also at some time in the night because I had to pee. I did try to drink a bunch of water yesterday- not only because I hear it makes recovery after the collection better, but also because my veins can be fiddly so it's better if I'm more hydrated than not. So I just lay in bed in and out of sleep waiting for the alarms. Eventually got up. Straight into the shower. Just a single swipe of deodorant, no other perfumes or scented products. Took care of the suppository, put my clothes on, grabbed my sealed sharps bin and headed out.
Got to the clinic around 8:20. The receptionists weren't there yet, although I saw people moving about inside, they didn't come answer the door when I rang. Had to wait about five minutes for someone to come to work who let me in, asked if I was there for a procedure, had me sit and then it was really a minute or less before one of the nurses came to get me.
First she asked me to empty my bladder, so I did that. Then she took me into the procedure/recovery suite. She showed me to a cubicle area and said it would be my area. It had a hospital type bed covered in paper, a pillow, a blanket, a hospital gown, a blood pressure machine, a chair, and a wardrobe. She told me I could put all of my things in the wardrobe. After covering my name and birthday, taking my blood pressure, and checking when I had last eaten or drank, she asked me to change into the gown and then just wait for the anesthetist. And she closed the curtain to my cubicle.
So I did all this. It's a bit awkward to try to tie up a gown in the back on your own. Yet another moment of "Ugh, this sucks to be on your own." but it quickly passed. I got changed, on the bed, covered myself up with the blanket and tried to just stay calm and rest. After all, I hadn't slept all that great, and I was nervous.
Another couple came in to a different cubicle for another procedure.
Then the anesthetist arrived. A kindly older man who asked me again for my name and birthday and when I last ate or drank and we went through some basic medical history that would be relevant to anesthetics. He seemed to suggest all was in order, so we could get ready to go.
The nurse came back for me and we walked to what I'm going to assume was a prep room. I'm not at all sure it was the actual procedure room and if pushed I'd suggest it wasn't. Based on my only other experience with UK set-ups, when I had my ovary out, they prep you in the prep room but everything happens in the procedure room which basically you never get to see. I could see that there was a very wide door to a more clinical looking room at the other end of what I think was the prep room. But, I may never know.
Because, basically, they asked me to get on the table which had an absorption pad for under your pelvis. They brought the pillow and the blanket so once I got settled they had me covered and resting on the pillow. They attached three electrodes to me and hooked them up to a machine. In the meantime, the anesthetist needed to get the cannula in my wrist. Despite drinking lots, my veins were being fiddly so he had me do a bunch of pumping and then he got it in. Cannula's are not the most comfortable things. It's not that it really hurt, it was just uncomfortable, but he was very gentle with it and once it was in placed my hand across my chest. My doctor showed up and asked how I was. I said I'd felt more bloated since the trigger shot and more uncomfortable on that side, which he said was normal. He explained the procedure, what they were going to do and went through the possible risks. With all that done, the anesthetist said he'd give me a drug that might make me a bit woozy and then asked what my PhD was about. I was telling him, and he said something like, "Oh, so you could tell me how to improve my Victorian terrace house." and I said something like, "Yeah, I could." and the nurse was having me get my leg into a stirrup and that is the last thing I remember.
Next thing I know, I'm coming out of a very pleasant sleep feeling nice and warm and toasty. There's a blood pressure cuff on my arm I think, or maybe just the thing on your finger. At any rate, I'm completely back in the cubicle I started off in. No idea how I got from the one to the other. I don't feel particularly much of anything out of the ordinary. My abdomen is a bit crampy, but nothing worse than period pains, although I'm also on painkillers, so I should bear this in mind as at some point they are going to wear off. A nurses comes in and gives me a cup of water which I drink. Then she asks me if I'd like some tea and how I take it (with sugar, no milk).
So then she brings me a mug of tea and some hard cookies/biscuits. I drink the tea, I eat the biscuits and I feel very alert. Almost euphoric. I want to laugh. I suppose it's just the stress of everything being really over. I ask if my friend has arrived and they say yes. I look at the machine and realize that it's past 10:30. I've been out for a while! The nurse comes back after a bit to take out the cannula. Another nurse comes to remind me of the info sheet. What not to do today, what drugs not to take. And then basically I'm discharged. They say the embryologist will call me later with the details of the collection and I can get dressed.
I do, I give over my sharps bin. I realize I'm in a slight daze. I'm alert, but everything seems a bit surreal. I meet up with my friend, and we head out. It's that simple. I took public transport home although they said not to, honestly, it was completely fine. I just feel a bit crampy.
On the way home, stopped by the grocery so I could pick up a ready-meal for lunch as I don't have anything in and don't want to have to go out until later, my friend got me up to my front door, and then he went back to work, and here I am on the couch.
The embryologist just called around 12:30. I have six eggs. They collected six, and all six were mature and able to be frozen. I don't know if they were all fully mature or the various gradations of mature. As per usual, I was slightly in shock by the call and so did not have the wherewithal to ask the questions that are now going through my head.
Six.
Closer to five than to ten. But better than nothing. Not as good as I had hoped for. But six eggs in the freezer is six eggs I otherwise did not have in the freezer before. So cycle two will definitely be June. I guess before then I'll try to have an appointment with the doctor to see if he thinks we should change the protocol based on this one to see if something should change to see if I can get closer to the ten.
Because I was completely out of it for the procedure, I have no idea how many follicles there actually were in the end. On Friday there were 13. But I only have one ovary. The response is within the expected range of five to ten, so that's good, just on the lower side of the expected range, but hey, that's life.
Now I just have to be gentle with my body over the coming days until I get my period and my ovary starts to deflate back to normal size.
I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit disappointed by six. But then this entire journey is just one crazy emotional roller coaster ride. And I need to remind myself- what is the alternative? Six eggs in the freezer, is six 38 year old eggs that would otherwise have been flushed. I will do a second cycle. If I want to preserve my fertility chances, then this is the best possible thing I can be doing at this point in time, and if this is what my body gives me, then that's what it is. I have to remember, the alternative to this, is to have absolutely nothing.
Six is basically enough for one IVF cycle. Hopefully I'll get at least as many on the next cycle. Then I'll probably need to see if I can find finances for a third cycle depending on how the second one goes. But as my doctor tells me- one step at a time! For now, it's be gentle, wait for period, enjoy the break in between, and then prepare to do it all again.
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