Treatment!

We went for our final scan on Wednesday 9th at Guy's hospital in London. I was surprised to find that they were happy with the size of my follicles and that my lining was thick enough so I met their criteria for egg retrieval. The date was set for Friday 11th. On the day of Egg retrieval I was given a pain killer suppository to use on the morning and was then asked to arrive at the ACU (assisted conception unit) one hour before treatment. All was going to plan until we received a last minute phone call asking us to go in earlier but thanks to the speedy Northern Line we made it in time. We were asked to put blue plastic bags over our shoes and taken through to a room with beds behind curtains and relaxing music. I was given a gown, hair net and slippers to change in to before I spoke to any of the doctors. After a slight bottom revealing crisis, Dan managed to find me a gown with all of the relevant ties and we were good to go. We were lucky to have the corner bay with what would be an incredible view over the roofs of London if it wasn't so foggy! I soon met the consultant and anaesthesiologist who explained the procedure and set me at ease as they were so friendly. Dan was taken away to make his 'contribution' and I was taken into what I suppose was theatre. It was a fairly small room full of gadgets and what appeared to be half a bed. I was asked to perch on the end and they they strapped my legs into what I can only describe as padded boots. I was wrapped up in a blanket and tucked in to make sure I didn't get cold. A cannula was inserted into the back of my hand and then I felt the drugs being administered and I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I woke up as I was being pushed back into my bay and Dan was emerging from the loo (typical!) I had a cuff on my arm to measure my blood pressure, a thingy on my finger to measure my pulse and an oxygen mask on which was removed fairly quickly. The nurse gave me some paracetamol, offered me codeine if I wanted it and left us alone whilst I woke up properly. I felt a bit sore, rather like period pains, so Dan asked for the codeine. The nurse then brought me a cup of tea and some biscuits which were very welcome as I had had to starve for six hours before the procedure. Once I was feeling fully awake (only a few minutes really), the nurse removed my cannula and I was able to get dressed again. We then had to wait for a short time until they were able to tell us about the number of eggs retrieved and the quality of the sperm sample. They collected twelve eggs and decided that the sample was good enough for them to be able to do ICSI(Intracytoplasmic sperm injection). I was sent home to rest and to drink three litres of water a day. I also had to start using Cyclogest pessaries twice a day. I was quite sore for a few days but it was no worse than period pain.