egg retrieval: a little midazolam, a little morphine, and a little nap

Warning, I’m still a little out of it.

We arrived at the clinic this morning and while waiting in the waiting lounge upstairs, my fabulous nurse came in to wish us luck. She wasn’t going to be with me during the procedure, but said that she would stop by recovery to check on me.

At 8am, I took a few Solpadeine (codeine) tablets as directed. Then another great nurse I’ve worked with before came to take us down to the IVF suite. I chose a bed, changed into the lovely paper gown, and met the RE who would be doing the egg retrieval. He spent A LOT of time with us. We went over my history, the legal documents we had signed (in case we have frozen embryos), and the plan of action. He said he was impressed that we had filled out all 28ish pages of paperwork correctly and said that it was obvious that we had put a lot of thought into our decisions.

I asked what meds he would be using for anesthesia and we discussed my anesthesia background. I guess most patients aren’t as interested in discussing drugs as I am ;) He said he would be using a small dose of Midazolam and Morphine because I was “slender”. Then I got nervous. Um, did he not see the extra 35 pounds from two IVF cycles, or my prednisone induced fat face? I laughed and said that I am in no way “slender” at this point. Anyway, he made my day with that comment. After speaking with him, the embryologist came in to talk with us and check, double check, then triple check paperwork, names, birth dates, and my patient id.

Finally it was time. I walked into the operating theatre, hopped up on the bed, and the RE started my IV. The nurse again verified my id, then another nurse opened a window directly into the embryology lab and again, names, birth dates, patient number, etc was reviewed between me, the two nurses, the RE, and the embryologist. Very thorough. As soon as the leads were placed, I was out.

I don’t remember anything until I woke up in recovery. The RE came in and told me the number of eggs retrieved, then the nurse told me to go back to sleep and said she would go get my husband. For the next three hours they monitored my vitals and I slept. I decided it was time to leave and got dressed. Just then my fabulous nurse came to visit and said she would try to see me next week for transfer.

The RE stopped by again to discuss the egg retrieval with both of us. The total count was 7 eggs, and all from the left side. Just like my first egg retrieval in Minsk, he didn’t even bother with the right side. The embryologist will call us tomorrow afternoon to discuss the fertilization report.

I am home now and for some reason, a lot more tired and groggy than I was for my first retrieval in Belarus, and I had a general for that, so I’m not sure where this is coming from. If you’ve made it this far into my midazolam, morphine clouded thoughts, congrats. As of tonight, I’m back on prednisone, baby aspirin, and heparin injections.

Final count, 7 eggs.