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It doesn’t seem like that long ago we were wrestling with question of whether or not to return to Colorado for another round of egg retrieval. Read more about that story here. We were dripping with worry and uncertainty (why 2020 and election woes don’t effect us like the rest; worry and uncertainty are landmarks of infertility that we’ve been navigating for 6 years). We made the decision and quickly returned back to “go.” Injections, diets, doctor appointments, and travel. We were back in Colorado by October and staring at the next procedure in hopes to retrieve enough eggs, to create enough embryos, that would make it to blastocyst, and test normal in order to bank them and have a chance for backups or equally important, siblings. We still had our one perfect little embaby from July. But that fact didn’t consider the likelihood that he/she would survive the thaw or stick for that matter. Fingers and toes still crossed. It also solidified that if we were blessed with a pregnancy it would be our only one. The stakes were high, along with emotions.

Things were going well. Almost alarmingly well. Enough that I asked my doctor if everything was okay since I wasn’t feeling like death warmed over. He assured me that my body was just responding nicely this round and that just because I didn’t have a ton of side effects it didn’t mean that the medicines weren’t working. Each ultrasound revealed growing and multiplying follicles and we grew more and more hopeful.

But my bloodwork was coming back with a few flags. Each follicle produces estrogen. And as the follicle grows the more estrogen it produces. So while we were ecstatic to have such a healthy number of follicles we had to slow down on some meds to allow the estrogen to safely return to normal while still allowing the follicles to mature for a successful retrieval. Each day we waited for the phonecall after the ultrasound/bloodwork appointment for updates and instructions. I kept R&R at the top of the list. We went for pedicures, took a few walks and took in the mountainous fall scenery, I booked at facial at Beau Visage (Zoe was amazing!), ate good food, I only joined class online when I felt up to it and rested the remainder of the time while we awaited retrieval day.

Retrieval was held back a day because my estrogen was still so high - around 7,000 when it should fall 2,000-4,000. We asked if this number was going to effect the eggs. The answer was no (whew!). However precautions had to be taken as I was at risk for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is an exaggerated response to excess hormones. It usually occurs in women taking injectable hormone medications to stimulate the development of eggs in the ovaries. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) causes the ovaries to swell and become painful. Following egg retrieval, the risk of filling with fluid in the now empty follicles is heightened.

OHSS Symptoms include:

Abdominal pain, bloating or increased waist size
Nausea
Vomiting
Tenderness in the area of your ovaries
Blood clots
Decreased urination
Shortness of breath
Tight or enlarged abdomen

Egg Retrieval

Treatment following retrieval to combat the OHSS risk included continued injections of Ganirelix for 6 days along with plenty of fluids and salty foods. I did experience some pain, bloating and tenderness but luckily nothing progressed past.

Immediately following the procedure is always a little fuzzy, but I do remember the nurse coming to tell us that they retrieved 25 eggs. WHAT? It took forever to process that information through the fog of anesthesia but I was pretty sure she said “twenty-five!!!” That night we had the traditional Giordano’s Pizza with my neice and her boyfriend who always go pick it up for us in Denver. I look forward to it all week and welcome the pass to have gluten and dairy for a few days.

The next morning as we lazily soaked up the hours before packing up our hotel room and hitting the road, we received the call from the lab. ALL 25 were mature and 22 of them fertilized. Derick’s exact words were “holy crap [long pause]” to which I quickly jumped in with “what he means is that’s great news, we are really excited to hear that!”

Jumping ahead to the 7 day call after we were home and getting back to the rigor of life - 7 embryos made it to 6 day blastocysts, and 3 were being watched as they were still progressing. And I’ll be damned, the next day the lab called to tell us those 3 had also made it to 7 day blasts! We had 10 BLASTOCYSTS to be sent to CCS (comprehensive chromosome screening).

And this week, we received the call (about 12 days later) to hear the results of that testing. To compare, In July we had only 2 blasts that made it far enough for CCS testing, and only one came back “normal.” Yesterday’s phone call was accompanied by trumpets playing and angels singing as we had 4 embryos test normal. We are still on cloud nine today and high fiving like high school students randomly passing each other in the kitchen. We are so relieved to know that we made the right decision and were on the path we were meant to be on. It gets SO HARD to hear God at times throughout this journey. But even when we were in Lone Tree we felt a sense of peace; like a warm hug that filled us with reassurance. The call this week confirmed those feelings.

So what was different?

Medications and doses were all the same, minus the alterations at the end in response to high estrogen. The only explanation we were given was that my body simply responded better this round. So here I will give you all the things I did in preparation for this egg retrieval, some the same and a few new rituals. Of course I can’t confirm that any of these played a role in our success this time, but here they are nonetheless. TTC minds always want to know!

Same as before

No gluten, dairy, soy
Organic, grass-fed, no antibiotics, free range, non-gmo
No fragrance, sulfates, parabens, PEGs
Acupuncture every other week
Chiropractor every 4 weeks
Supplements before stims: Myo Inositol, CoQ10, L Arginine, DHA Omega 3, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Melatonin. Also the usual prenatal vitamins I talk about here as well as a daily synbiotic every morning.

New

Yoni steam before starting stims and NOT while on cycle. Read more about it here.
Fertility yoga to coincide with menstrual cycle.
Castor oil packs over liver before and during stims leading up to days before retrieval
No added sugars - I watched this before but really didn’t focus on it in July and made it a mission to eliminate added sugars this round
I allowed myself grace! Yes. If I ate gluten, I didn’t hit the panic button. If I had dairy, I made sure it was organic grass-fed etc. Missed a night with a castor oil pack, I made time the next night.

Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.

So now we are gearing up to transfer our summer snowflake this December. We start transfer medications soon. This is uncharted territory as we have always quickly moved from retrieval to transfer within days of each other; no rest, recovery, or medications. We will stay faithful we are on the path He has paved for us and find peace in knowing the idol time is productive progress towards a healthy cozy home for that little snowflake to settle in for the next nine months. Encouragement and baby dust to you all!!! xoxo