More Photos from ER Day at Shady Grove

Me all hooked up. Also pics of my two fantastic nurses. The staff at Shady Grove is top notch!

ER DAY

Well, today was the big day....egg retrieval day. I woke up at 5am to get some food in my tummy and then went back to bed for a bit. I drank a bunch of Gatorade up until 8:30am and then I was cut off from all food and drink. I was able to shower this morning, but I could not put on lotion, perfume, makeup, or jewelry, so I was looking absolutely stunning today.

We arrived at Shady Grove and got things started immediately. I was first hooked up to an IV to get some fluids in me. After that, one of my nurses took my vitals and got me admitted (please note: "admitted" NOT "committed"). A bit later my anesthetist came in and got me prepped for the procedure. I had to empty my bladder and then walk with my IV into the procedure room. He pumped in some meds that would start making me sleepy, and oh did I love those! I was awake for another minute, and the next thing I remember is coming to in the recovery room. Because my heart rate / pulse dropped to 50 during the procedure, I had to have additional special meds given to me via IV. These meds caused me to have severe cotton mouth and made me feel a bit sick. Upon coming to, I was given anti-nausea meds in my IV and I took some Tylenol. The Tylenol wasn't cutting it, so I was given Vicodin, as well. Given the amount of discomfort I felt, my nurse administered some pain medication to my IV on top of the Vicodin and Tylenol. This helped tremendously, and I was able to go home soon after that. All in all, the results were quite pleasantly surpising. They were able to retrieve 22 follicles.

The ride home was brutal with all of the bumps and turns, but I have been feeling much better since arriving home. Matt administered my first progesterone in oil (PIO) intramuscular (IM)injection this evening, and it wasn't too bad. My muscle sort of jumped / contracted when the needle went in, but outside of that it was fine. Matt needs to massage the area for me after I receive a shot and then I need to put some heat on it. I also walk around for a bit to work out some of the pain. All of these things help to make the muscle feel better and help to keep the oil from pooling in that one spot and becoming lumpy. I need to take the rest of my hormones, vitamins, aspirin, and meds later this evening. I have to take it easy the rest of the day today and tomorrow, but I will should be all better come Monday. We will receive a fertilization report tomorrow afternoon from my primary nurse, and she will be able to tell us how many eggs fertilized and how many of those are dividing into multiple cells. By Monday we will know what day our egg transfer will take place.