I can’t believe we were FINALLY able to do our egg retrieval! If you missed our journey leading up to this point, check out this post and this post to read more about how we got here. If you’re prepping for your own egg retrieval, this post breaks down exactly what to expect during your egg retrieval.
What to Expect During Your Egg Retrieval
Trigger Shot
I went for my final follicle check Saturday morning. I had 18 Follicles, but my nurse said it looked like only 8 of them had matured. We were told that it was still a good number, and gave me the “go ahead” to trigger the next day! Ethan gave me what they call a trigger shot on Sunday, November 20th at 8:45 PM. I had 2 shots to take that night, and one additional one to take at 8:45 the next morning. YAY for being done with shots for a few weeks!! This trigger shot told my body to mature the eggs and my body would release them around 36 hours later. Saturday afternoon I got a call from the doctors office to schedule my appointment for 8:45 Tuesday morning. She told me to be sure to start drinking a lot of electrolytes, so I was drinking a lot of propel and gatorade zero.
Egg Retrieval Day
My arrival time was 7:45. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night prior, so I was feeling pretty thirsty. After we checked in, they called Ethan back to do his sperm collection, and then called me back shortly after to prep me for my operation. I dressed in the beautiful gown and super flattering hair cap, but I was going to stay in my fuzzy socks until I notice the grips on their hospital socks had paw prints. Done. They were on my feet immediately. It kind of gave me a sense of comfort and made me feel like my dogs were with me. A few minutes later, they brought Ethan back to my room to hang out with me until I had to go back to the operating room.
The nurses came in and checked my vitals and gave me an IV (which I had a million questions about because I have never had one) and then I met the anesthesiologist who gave me the run down on what would happen when I was taken back for my procedure. About 5 minutes later, I was taken back to the room and instructed to lay on the table and put my feet in the stirrups. They confirmed my identification and procedure, and started the anesthesia. I remember asking if people snored while under (LOL,) and few seconds later I felt my arm get warm then I just remember waking up from what felt like the best nap of my life and looking over to see Ethan sitting next to me. (Have I said how incredibly amazing he has been through this whole process???) The nurse came in and let me know that they got 14 eggs!!! That’s 6 more than what I was anticipating, and I was SO pumped. Then, I got an airdrop of pictures that my oh so loving husband took. I looked up to see him laughing, so I decided to scroll though several VERY flattering photos of me konked and an even more special video of ME SNORING. How romantic. They were actually so funny, and we send them to each other periodically for a good laugh. 30 minutes after my procedure, they came and checked my vitals again, then I was released to go home.
Recovery
Ethan drove me home, and after inhaling food, I spent a while relaxing on the couch. I truly did not feel bad at all though, so my rest time was short and I got to packing for our trip the next day. Here is what I did to help with recovery:
- Drank a LOT of electrolytes beginning a few days before.
- Ate high sodium foods afterwards.
- Listened to my body. If I felt tired or started to feel uncomfortable, I laid down.
- Ate more fiber. I actually wish I would have ate even more though, and it is highly recommended to take stool softeners in advance.
Next Steps
They called on day 1, 3, and day 6 with updates on our eggs. Day 1, we found out that 9 embryos fertilized. 1 did not mature, 3 did not fertilize correctly, and one stayed in limbo. On day 3, we had 7 that grew to what they were hoping for, and 2 that were one cell behind that they were hanging on to them because they anticipated them getting to where they wanted to be. Day 6 they called and said out of the 9 that originally fertilized, all 9 made it to the blastocyst stage and were being frozen!!
After they were frozen, we needed to have the PGT-A and PGT-SR testing done due to some results we received after my previous miscarriage. PGT-A checks for abnormalities in the number of chromosomes, not for specific genetic diagnoses. The PGT-SR looks for structural chromosomal rearrangements. Since we had to send ours for that additional testing, we have an additional few weeks before we find our our final number and can move forward with the transfer.
My transfer cycle is a little bit longer than my retrieval cycle, as it is about 7-8 weeks. I started birth control on day 2 of my cycle following the retrieval. This gives the doctors more control over my body, preventing the ovulation and shedding of my uterus. I will be on this until we get the results back from the labs, probably about 4 weeks. After that, I will start an oral medication and an injectable medication again to avoid ovulating and assist in thickening my uterus lining.
For now, baaaaaack to the dreaded waiting game while we wait for our final, official embryo count. 🤞❤️
