Day 4 Embryo Report + Egg Retrieval Story

Day 4 Embryo Report

I remember very well from IVF #1 that the time between day 3 and day 4 is the most important and most difficult for embryos.  It came as a warning from our embryologist during one of our early morning updates in January.

Hubs and I have been extra interested in this particular morning's phone call because we remember hearing those words. 

Here's a recap:

Fresh IVF #2: Egg Retrieval #2

Eggs retrieved: 7

Eggs mature: 6

Eggs ICSI'd: 6

Eggs fertilized normally: 5

Day 1: 5 embryos dividing normally

Day 2: 5 embryos dividing normally

Day 3: 5 embryos divding normally

Day 4: 4 embryos dividing normally; we lost one

The Egg Retrieval Story: IVF #2

One year ago the Hubs and I were basking in Caribbean sun.  Little did we know that twelve months later we'd have completed one IVF and be slap in the middle of IVF #2.  Wow.  It's a blur.  I'm pretty sure my second egg retrieval is not riveting reading, but I do want to record these memories for posterity. Although I still feel like an IVF newbie, that's not really true.  So maybe this info will help someone who is new to the game.  

On June 23rd, DH, my mom, and I drove to our local RE's office located inside a hospital very near our home.  DH had a vasectomy many years ago, so reversal has never been an option for us.  Bless his heart, he has to get cut open every single IVF attempt.  Yep, NO fun.  

We were to meet the urologist in the lab where I normally have my blood taken at 6:35 AM.  We arrived on time and the urologist and the lab director were in the waiting room to escort my man back.  Although he was gone MUCH longer than last time, he said it was a better experience.  When the doctor extracts a piece of...errr...tissue, DH has to hang out and wait for the lab director to run down to the embryology lab to make sure they had enough little guys to work with.  I'll never say he didn't suffer.  Suffer he did.  Twice in sixth months.  

By this time it was 7:55AM and I was due at One Day Surgery at 8AM so we rushed down the hall. 

I am far too familiar with this drill as it's my 3rd time to be put to sleep there in just six months.  Once I signed my life away, I was given a Chili's style waiting room beeper and instructed to report to the door of the OR when my little box started flashing red lights.  How calming : )

When it lit up like the 4th of July, I kissed my mom and hubs goodbye and rehearsed the verbal judo attack I had planned for the i.v. administrator on the walk back.  You may remember the experience I had there a few shorts months ago when I received NINE IV's before the nurses got one inserted properly. 

The nurses' futile attempts resulted in blood running from the top of my left hand, the top of my right hand, my left wrist, and the tender inside of my forearms.  Success only came with the third attempt of the anesthesiologist himself.   Let's just say I was prepared to head to the parking lot if the first stick was not a winner. 

I calmly explained to this poor guy whose job it was today about what happened to me last time.  I told him every single nurses' name who took turns poking me....they were standing right outside the curtain.  And I said, "If you don't think you are up for this, you need to go find somebody who is." To which he replied, "I'm the best there is." And with that, he had my confidence. 

 He kindly chose a child-size cathetar and we had not one single problem.  This was a HUGE answer to prayer.  He even gaved me a mini manicure after blood ran down my hand while taping the tubes.  He sat next to my bed and cleaned blood out from under all of my fingernails.  Poor guy.  I'll never forget his name or his Sai.nts tatoos. I saw him a few more time that day in recovery and each time I told him how much I appreciated him.  I'm made certain he knew that he had saved the day. 

Dr. B came in and spoke to mom and me for a quick minute.  My mom was wise to stay away until that point. More signing. More initialing.  You know the drill.  And it was time to say goodbye. 

The last egg retrieval was a very positive experience. No i.v. drama. No incredible pain.  It went just as my little handout from the office said it would. Textbook.  Except for one tiny thing. Our hospital uses propo.fol to put us to sleep for egg retrievals.  Yes, the same drug that killed a very famous man one year ago this week.  Here's the deal with that drug.  It's great...used in a proper medical setting of course.  It puts you to sleep immediately, has virtually no side effects, and the patient typically wakes up very quickly when the drug stops.  

Back to the last egg retrieval, the only thing that really threw me was the intense pain of the medicine entering up my forearm.  Many times I've told my family, "The egg retrieval was a piece of cake except for that darn propof.ol burning my arm." 

Of course I decide that this day, ER#2, I am going to forget my former shy self and become the most assertive patient. Ever. Lucky them, huh? 

So I kindly tell my anesthesiologist about the super awful prop.ofol sting last time. And she certainly concurred that it did sting a lot.  Sadly, she said nothing could be done, but she would tell the administrator in charge of pushing it in the i.v. today about my reservations.  She did talk to him immediately. 

When I was wheeled into the OR, he was there waiting.  And, boy, did he have the best news ever.  He had with him not one, but two, vials of lidocaine to push through my I.V. before he pushed the prop.ofol through.  And. let. me. just. tell. you. 

I did not feel a thing. 

Bless him.  This may be an appropriate place to record that

1 .my husband

2. the sweet man who put in my I.V.

3.and the OR angel who pushed 2 rounds of lidocaine through my I.V.

all have the same name. 

Couldn't have done it without any of the three of them. 

My husband and mom came back into recovery and I knew that every one of my husband's dimples showing at the same time HAD to be good news. 

And it was. 

How great is our God.