Down and Out in the Egg Donor Dumps

I had my second egg retrieval of the year last Tuesday and it has not been a pretty recovery. There is a 2-3% chance of suffering from something called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome ( OHSS ) with every retrieval. With my first retrieval this did not happen to me, and I was back at work three days later. This time I was not so lucky.

<--------------------This is what hyperstimulated ovaries look like. Normally a woman's body would pump up only one of these little sacs per ovulation (and on only one side of her body.)

Here are some of the possible symptoms of OHSS (from Wikipedia): Symptoms are set into three categories: mild, moderate, and severe. Mild symptoms include abdominal bloating and feeling of fullness, nausea, diarrhea, and slight weight gain. Moderate symptoms include excessive weight gain (weight gain of greater than 2 pounds per day), increased abdominal girth, vomiting, diarrhea, darker urine and less in amount, excessive thirst, and skin and/or hair feeling dry (in addition to mild symptoms). Severe symptoms are fullness/bloating above the waist, shortness of breath, urination significantly darker or has ceased, calf and chest pains, marked abdominal bloating or distention, and lower abdominal pains (in addition to mild and moderate symptoms).

I had symptoms ranging from mild to severe, the shortness of breath, nausea and the abdominal distention being the worst. What they don’t mention is what happens when your abdomen bloats and swells. It pushes all of your other organs up, which is incredibly painful and makes it very hard to breathe. I was basically panting for 24 hours before I could be seen. Panting is cute on a dog. It’s scary on a human. Eric was incredibly supportive. I couldn’t sleep so he stayed up and talked to me through the bad breathing. He has asthma and has had years of being in and out of hospitals because of breathing issues so I really felt like I could listen to him and that it would be okay.

We went into the Doctor’s Saturday morning and they pumped me full of three IV bags and two things of plasma. My pulse was at 117; my blood pressure was high too. OHSS creates an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen so Sunday morning I was back in for surgery for the removal of the excess fluid. They took out a pound and a half. They were also able to knock out my nausea, so I was finally able to start eating on Sunday too.

It’s been a very slow recovery from there. Four days after the procedure my stomach and weight are almost back to normal and my energy is at about 85%. What made the recovery even more frustrating was that I had to lie flat on my back. My sides were too swollen and I couldn’t sit upright because of my squished internal organs. I couldn’t play on my laptop because I couldn’t sit up at a table or rest it on my abdomen (too sensitive.) I did a lot reading and watching of movies. I almost re-read the entire Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy by Tad Williams and finished seasons one and two of Weeds.

<-----This is my unhappy face.

To add insult to injury (literally), the Egg Donor company just informed me that my payment was on “hold” because it was being routed through a bank in Canada and probably wouldn’t arrive until the middle of August. I promptly responded that I expected it within 7-10 business days of the retrieval or they would be in breach of contract, and then I contacted my attorney to confirm. I am very happy that my donation is going to be able to help a woman start her own family, but I’m also very keen on the completion of a contract. I’ve upheld my end of the bargain completely; they need to do the same (I’ve got a wedding to plan here people.) They said it would “hopefully” arrive within the stated time. They better do a lot more than hope. What a way to kick a girl when she’s down.

 I’ve definitely decided that that was my last retrieval. The risks of getting OHSS again are not worth it. At all. If I had been teaching I would have missed two weeks of school. That would not have been good. Not only that, but I’m almost 30 and it’s time to keep enough eggs for my own Easter basket, if you get my drift.

On a cool and final note, the retrieval produced 10 healthy eggs that all fertilized into ‘beautiful’ embryos, as the doctor described them. They were frozen and sent to Australia! Wow. I had no idea the intended parent lived in Oz! What a miracle that they can even do something like that. It’s against the law in England and Australia to pay a woman for her embryos (technically it is in the US too, but you can pay a donor for pain and suffering, and believe, there’s pain and suffering.) Women can volunteer as donors but can receive no recompense, so often prospective parents look to Europe or America for donors. Someday there may be a little person running around Australia with half of my genetic material. Cool. I hope it works out for their family.

Egg Retrieval - Accomplished

So far, so good!  The egg retrieval happened this morning at 9:00 am. They knocked me out and about 30 minutes later woke me up and had me recover for about 30 minutes. I'm taking Darvocet for abdominal cramping/pain, so I feel great right now :) I gave them 15 healthy eggs. Go me! I heard that a donor next to me only had seven. Muhahah, I'm a fertile Myrtle!  I do hope the rest of the recovery goes well. I'm resting now in a hotel in Fullerton while Eric goes about his Code Camp business. I'm supposed to be on bed rest for 24 hours, but I really want to sneak down to the Geek Dinner tonight with Eric. I guess I'll play it by ear. It's in the hotel, so it's really not that far. Besides, what else will I eat for dinner? 

Last night I stayed at Chadmichael's house. It is so nice. He and his boyfriend Mito live in West Hollywood off of Fountain in a gorgeous craftsman style home. Chadmichael is a decorator and Mito is an interior designer, so you can only imagine how cool their house is. It was really good to hang out with Chadmichael again. We hadn't seen each other in over a year!

Update on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 10:19 by Charlotte

So I thought the recovery was going swimmingly, that is until I had a huge dinner of a Greek salad and some vegetarian lasagna at 9:00pm last night. I was so hungry!! The nurse had told me to eat light foods after the surgery, but I figured that meant directly after the surgery. Not much longer after eating my body started rejecting the food. I was up all night throwing up with horrible stomach pains. I have no idea if this was from the stuff they gave me to sedate me, or the meds I was on to mature my eggs. No clue, but my stomach and esophagus are not thanking me now. I feel weak and more tired today than I did yesterday. Yech. Don't try this at home kids.

So far, so good

Today marks day four of taking hormone stimulants for being an egg donor. I was really worried when I started taking them that I would become really emotional or have adverse physical reactions. So far the only symptoms I've noticed are fatigue (but this could be from the stress of the new job, and my period), diminished appetite (unusual for me, I am ALWAYS hungry), and a strange feeling of detachment. I feel very, very chill. Oh, and headaches. I've had a headache every day. Taking Tylenol knocks it out, but it's always lurking. Overall, these are symptoms that I can definitely deal with. I go in for an ultrasound tomorrow and they'll decide if I need to take a 4th stimulant or not. I hope not, just because I'd like to avoid any more drugs.  

On the teaching front, everything is moving forward splendidly. I've been meeting with the other 11th grade teachers to decide our second semester lesson plans and team projects. We're starting on the Civil War, so we're a bit behind. I'm hoping to be able to at least get up to American Foreign Policy in the 70s and be able to talk about the Cold War and American influence/interference in Latin America. We'll see though, just how far we can get.  I get to share an office with two other teachers, and I'm excited about getting my office and organizing materials out of storage. I've been trying to think about how I'll set up the class and working on lesson plans around slavery and the Civil War. We'll be reading this chapter from Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States as well as some primary source readings.

I want to buy a stool to put in my room, but can't figure out where to buy one! I called a few teaching supply stores and tried Staples and Office Depot, but no luck, so I'm going to get a cheap-o one at Ikea. I can't believe I'm all grown up and searching for teacher's stools for my new job. I'm still in shock about how quickly this all came about. I'm SO GLAD that this is a 3-day weekend as it will give me time to prepare. I'm supposed to teach on Tuesday and Thursday this coming week as Wednesday I have to go Pasadena for a pre-surgery check in and Friday is the egg retrieval.

Egg Donor Update

Today is day four of taking hormones for being an egg donor. On Monday I started taking Lupron. Eric has been a trooper, and has volunteered to shoot me up, as I’m completely squeamish about giving myself a shot. I’ve read a lot about the side effects of Lupron, so I wanted to try and document my body’s reaction to it. So far, so good – I think.

Over the break I was sick for two and a half weeks, and only on Tuesday did I finish with a round of antibiotics due to a sinus infection. As a result, I’m still not feeling 100%. Now that the round of antibiotics is done, you would think that I would feel 100%, but I’m still not there. This makes me wonder if it’s the Lupron, or if it’s a lingering cold?

Things I have noticed: When Eric gives me the shot (at night), and I lie down in bed, the skin in my belly tingles. Yesterday I felt light headed when I got to work after riding my bike. Last night I was pretty irritable (sorry Eric.) I feel a little bit ‘out of it.’ So, really not anything to write home about, and no way to really tell if those symptoms are a direct result of the Lupron.

Next Monday I start taking Follistim and Menopur, along with a reduced amount of Lupron, oh and I stop taking the birth control I’ve been on tomorrow. I’m also supposed to take Novarel, but I can’t remember when that starts. It will be interesting to track how my body handles such a cocktail of drugs. :gulp: I have two friends that have been egg donors, multiple times, and both highly recommended it. They said they suffered minimal discomfort and minimal recovery time, and that it was an awesome feeling to give a family the gift of life.

The actual egg extraction is scheduled to take place at the end of the month, on the same weekend as Eric’s Code Camp. Usually I love to go to Code Camp with him, but this time I think I’ll just have to chill in the hotel room. Maybe I can make the Geek Dinner!  Eric is presenting two sessions again this year, make sure to check him out.

If there’s anyone out there reading this blog that has been an egg donor, and wants to share her experience, I’d love to hear from you!