12 eggs!

My egg retrieval was this morning. In the end, we got 12 eggs. No great surprises, but that's just about as good as we could reasonably expect so I am happy. I also had an irrational fear that I would have already ovulated, so I was so relieved to hear there were actual eggs in there:) The whole experience was very surreal, probably thanks to the anesthesia.

We checked in to the day surgery department at 8am. The nurses took my vitals and I got my uber fashionable gown and hospital pj pants. Y went to to hand in The Sample and I listened to my Anji pre-retrieval meditation track on my iPhone one last time:) After 30 minutes or so, they brought me down to the OR. They brought us into a smaller inner waiting area off of the ORs. There was another couple there when we arrived. After about 20 minutes, they were called in and a few minutes later, another couple arrived. This couple, who we would spend most of the rest of the day next to, was on their 5th IVF. I so very much hope that they are successful this round! Once they arrived, we waited a full hour before the nurse called me back! This was definitely the most nerve-wracking part of our morning, and the other couple was getting pretty anxious and antsy, too.

Finally, I was off to the OR. The anesthesiologist arrived and asked me questions about my health and anesthesia history. Since the REs in the clinic do the ERs on a rotating basis, I had no idea who I would be getting. I was really relieved and happy to get my favorite RE. He did my hysteroscopy as well and I know that he is very gentle.

He asked me how many eggs I was expecting and when I told him just around 10, he surprised me by asking whether I wanted local anesthesia instead of general and whether I have good pain tolerance. I know Y also prefers operating under local anesthesia whenever it's possible since it means fewer risks and a quicker recovery for the patient, but I wasn't too thrilled with this idea. The thing that's funny is that a few years ago, I probably would have said yes, seeing it as some opportunity to prove myself. However, I really didn't feel like I needed to prove anything so I told him the truth, which was that I wasn't so afraid of pain but that I didn't want to remember a thing!

Anyhow, the anesthesiologist put in my IV. I asked him if he had started pushing the drugs yet and he said no. Then he said he would start slowly and that the anesthesia would be progressive. The next thing I know the RE was telling me he got 12 eggs. The funny thing is that I don't remember seeing him or having my eyes open. What seemed like only a minute later, I was in the recovery room and Y was there. Y said a full hour had passed since the time that we parted ways - amazing, because to me it could have been just 10 minutes. After about 30 minutes, the pulse oximeter and EKG leads came off and an orderly arrived and I was on my way!

They brought me back up to the day surgery unit, hooked my IV back up, and then I was able to drink some tea. The whole thing was kind of a production - I thought I would be out of there by noon but the day wore on. First, they wanted me to eat something after my tea. Then, they wanted me to pee. I spent most of the afternoon napping. Finally, around 2:30 a RE (a different one) came around and went over instructions with us and discharged me. I was so ready to get out of there and go home!

Unfortunately, because of where Y parked the car, we had to walk through the medical school (where my lab is located) in order to get out of there. I was sooooo cranky and I didn't want to be seen by anyone because I knew I looked like crap and I prefer to keep my treatments as private as possible. I kept seeing people I know, averting my eyes, and whining to Y. It was pretty embarrassing.

I asked Y to get me a giant fruit smoothie on our way home, which I consumed in about 3 minutes. I was so happy to be home, take more Optalgin (awesome OTC pain medication in Israel that is illegal in the states), and sleep! I was quite uncomfortable and groggy for a while, but now it is 10:30pm and I am awake and feeling better and more with it - just sore and crampy. Hopefully, I will be able to go to work tomorrow - we'll see.

Tomorrow is another big day for us - we should get the fert report around 10am. I am hoping and praying that across town tonight, my eggs and Y's sperm are playing nice, giving rise to some beautiful, healthy embryos!