WARNING: I just want to say in advance that my experience with egg collection is not the norm! If you are going through IVF or planning to go through IVF and have yet to experience this part of it then I don't want to freak anyone out with the details of my experience by having you think that this is the standard. It's not! I have spoken to MANY woman who have been through this who had none of the side effects I did so please remember that I am just one person and this is just one perspective. GOOD LUCK!!
For those of you who have no idea how egg collection during IVF is performed then here is a brief outline (not for the squeamish!)
A vaginal ultrasound probe with a long fine hollow needle attached to it, is inserted into the vagina. Under ultrasound guidance, the needle is then advanced from the vaginal wall into the ovary to suck out the fluid from the follicle which contains the egg. Each egg is removed in turn through the needle by a suction device.
I had hoped that the pain relief would make me dopey enough not to fully comprehend what was going on. I knew I would be awake but I had heard from friends that they were so out of it that by the end they couldn't remember much of it at all. I'm not sure if perhaps I am just one of those people who the sedation drugs don't work too well for or it was just my bad luck that it was worse for me than it had been for others but I remember and felt everything. They inserted the drugs into a vein in my hand, fitted the face mask and then we started . . . in the beginning it wasn't that bad and although I had some mild discomfort I felt I was handling it quite well, however by the end I was in agony. The trouble was that my FS had been right, it was like having 2 collections in one as it took alot longer to empty out all my follicles and by the end he was trying to reach the follicles that were more awkward to get to. I don't think the fact I was shaking in pain and therefore not lying still helped but it was completely involuntary and I couldn't stop it. The nurses at the clinic were absolutely wonderful though and I said to my husband at the end that I wasn't even aware he was stroking my hair because I had been so focused on the nurse next to me who was rubbing my arm and murmuring supportive words about how well I was doing! They counted them as they went but I was so focused on handling the pain I wasn't paying too much attention but by the end we had 18 EGGS!! As I went to sit up though I very nearly passed out! My blood pressure dropped and pulse slowed and they said I was in shock from the pain and had to stay lying down breathing deeply for about 15 minutes before I was wheeled out to the recovery room in a wheelchair! How embarrassing!
After a nice hot milo and some biccies we were ready to leave as I felt alot better. As it is a procedure performed under sedation, I hadn't been allowed to eat past midnight the previous night so I decided I wanted something greasy (the whole comfort food thing that comes into play when you're not feeling well, you all know what I'm talking about!) so off to Macca's we went. I was still in a bit of pain (more uncomfortable than anything, just mild abdominal cramping and tenderness) but the second we sat down with our Big Macs and fries I started feeling incredibly faint again and felt the blood drain from my face, my body tingling and started swaying feeling like I was going to faint right out cold. Not a good look and I think I scared the hell out of my husband who wasn't looking too keen on picking me up off the floor of the local McDonalds and was looking around rather nervously before I started feeling a bit better and decided we'd be best to take our lunch home!
MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't go to MacDonalds after egg collection!! (At least not until after you have had a large coffee!)
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