A Tale of Two Offices

The gumball machine has officially been emptied! And let me tell ya, it was certainly a gumball machine since my doctor removed 22 follicles from my ovaries. It's important to note that on my last IVF cycle, they were only able to retrieve 5 follicles...so this was definitely good news AND worth the wait!

As I laid on the gurney looking around the room I couldn't help but notice a stark difference between CCRM and Dr. Thompson's office. I guess this is the difference between a world class office and a mediocre office. This was certainly a night and day experience for both myself and Jim. CCRM felt more like a surgery center whereas Dr. Thompson's office felt like a doctors office. At Dr. Thompson's office I swear I was placed in stirrups, given an IV, and knocked out for retrieval. At CCRM I was completely hooked up to monitors and given IV fluids for an hour prior to retrieval. Than I was wheeled to an OR where retrieval took place. I actually awoke in a full recovery room where I stayed for an additional 2 hours before I was released!

Jim left Denver once again immediately following retrieval and I'll be making the rest of this journey on my own. If my follicles fertilize properly than retrieval should be on Monday, which means I will not be returning to work on Monday as scheduled. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, especially considering I'm suppose to be on "vacation".

My estrogen levels continue to spike which means I'm still at a high risk of hyperstimulating. If I continue to hyperstimulate than it's possible that the rest of this cycle could be canceled and we would end up doing a frozen transfer at a later date when my estrogen levels out. Dr. Surrey ensured us that they have a 98% success rate on defrosting embryos. My ovaries are still in some pain and I feel really bloated. This is a direct result of the hyperstimulation so I'm on new medication and a very strict diet to try and combat these symptoms. In the meantime, I plan to spend another relaxing in our hotel room in front of the television.