Retrieval Day Review :)

It is about 5:00 pm on Thursday, October 31st, Halloween!!

I am just about waking up from the in and out partial nap I took after  I got home from my egg retrieval this morning.  I'd like to give you all a breakdown of what my day looked like today, for anyone curious about the day of procedures...

First a quick recap of what the past month or so looked like for me: 3 weeks of BC pills(bled everyday) then 2 weeks of injections(2x/day) & then a trigger shot Tuesday night, Oh, and a car accident last night to top it all off. :)

So this morning...

5:00am: woke up from the most excruciating pain in my ovaries-think severe period cramps x100.  I was in tears and could barely walk the pain was so unbearable.  I took a shower & tried to relax, A nice cup of tea might have helped, but no liquid/food was allowed in my system after midnight last night.

6:30am:  6:30 seemed to take forever to come, as I sat in the living room, trying to get comfortable, and filling with anxiety, I finally heard my boyfriends alarm clock go off.  He was awake, half groggy and getting ready to hit the road for our 2 hour drive to the clinic, just outside of Boston.  As we got on the road the pain seemed to get worse and worse, every dip in the road, every bump caused shooting pain through my lower abdomen.  The 2 hour car ride, seemed to take forever and all I wanted to do was get out of the car and get some pain medications in my system.

8:30am: Finally, we were there, I started shaking from nerves as we walked into the clinic and were greeted by the receptionist..Upstairs we went to where they perform the egg retrievals.  I was feeling brave so I told Jamie, that he could sit in the waiting room, as I went in.  But when I walked in it hit me like a wall of bricks and the tears started flowing, so as quickly as I entered, I turned around and walked right out to get Jamie & bring him in with me.  Luckily, every other woman in there was joined by their significant other so i didn't feel so awkward, and we were not all donors...in fact, I'm pretty sure I was the only donor in the room since, the walls were just curtains I could hear all of the other couples speaking to each other about their dreams of babies, and it made me feel really great about what I was doing.  The nurse came in, introduced herself, put my IV in(I was already dehydrated & had a low grade fever).  I then met briefly with my anesthesiologist & doctor.

9:30am: 9:30 rolled around and it was time to head into the room where my retrieval would be done.  I walked into a room straight out of a movie, bright light shining right into where the doctor would be working & a mixture of nurses and doctors filled the room(about 4).  They helped me get situated on the table and the last thing I remember was my anesthesiologist telling me that he gave me some relaxation medications, my face felt tingly, so I asked if that was normal and then I was out.  I did not feel a thing during the retrieval.

10:00am:  I woke up in my recovery room in excruciating pain, crying a lot.  The pain was indescribable!!  I was told by the nurses that they were going to get Jamie and that I was crying and asking for my dog (mazy) I don't know why I was calling for Mazy, maybe because she is who I go to for comfort normally.  They gave me some pain medications through my IV and i instantly felt better.  It took me about 15-20 minutes to fully wake up and they told me that they retrieved 31 eggs! WOW!! They said that was a lot, and they were thrilled.  I was excited too, 31 eggs means that 4-5 families will get them, and hopefully all will conceive.  I donated to a frozen egg bank this time so I will not know who gets them or if they are successful, but I hope they are successful and I hope these families are grateful, although I'm sure they will be...

It is about 5:00pm and I am home now with some egg donation day gifts from my amazing boyfriend and his love and support by my side.  I have no regrets so far about this donation, although I am still in pain, so we will see how I recover over the next few days!



Thank you for reading about my day & learning about my egg donation!  Please, remember, if you have any questions please comment below or feel free to add me on Facebook.  As of today, I plan on donating again, so we will see where my life goes...I am definitely planning on taking a few months off though.  This experience has been truly rewarding, but also mentally, physically, and emotionally draining as well.

XOXOXO,

Needles, Bruises, and Giant Ovaries...OH MY!

So I have been logged out of social media and "work" for about a week now and I feel awful!!
Here is a quick update on what's going on in my life..

I am on day 7 of my egg donation cycle, and have my second cycle appointment tomorrow to check on how my cute little eggies are developing..

So i had my first appointment following the start of my medications(10/18) on Tuesday (10/22) where I had an ultrasound and some blood work.  My estrogen levels were at 144 which is exactly what they wanted.  They told me that I had alot of follicles on both my right and left ovaries with one measurable follicle at 9.4 in my left ovary.  They increased my Menopur injections to 150 units(previously 75 units) and have me continuing my Gonal F injections as 150 units.

My belly is a bit sore from all of the needles..and I have started to bleed a little bit after the Menopur injections, and bruise a little bit, as well.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for another ultrasound and bloodwork to see how my eggs are developing and im hoping for a retrieval date of Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.. YAY! 

My biggest concern is not being sedated enough and feeling the procedure.  Every step in this process I have psyched myself up for and made myself think that it was going to be much worse than it actually was, so hopefully my procedure will be the same thing.  So far everything has gone pretty smooth, up until now I have hardly any ovarian pain, and today it is much worse..think severe period cramps, but a little different.

I am still so excited and blessed to be able to give this gift to someone and through the needles and bruises and soreness..I just keep thinking about what an amazing gift I am giving.  I am so pleased with this process so far that I am already working with an agency for my future donations..They emailed me today to ask me when my retrieval is so that they can get started on adding me to the system.

I am planning on doing an open donation next time, to give it a more personal feeling.  I am super grateful and lucky to have such a supportive group, WAED, during this cycle as well as an amazing partner to help me when im feeling awful.  He has been bringing surprises home to me every few days to brighten my mood.

Please consider your support system if you are ever considering donating..In my opinion it is one of the most important things.  I could not do what I have done with this man right here!!!  

Thanks for reading, loves. Don't forget to follow me on: FACEBOOK!

XOXOX,

The Needle Of Fire...

As I was giving the first of my MANY injections last night I was dreading my first shot, the Gonal F Pen..The needle was tiny, maybe 1/2", but the thought of stabbing myself in my lower abdomen terrified me..Could I really do this, I thought to myself?  Was I strong enough to stop being scared and stick the needle in...So here I go...ONE...TWO...THREE...NOPE!  I can't do this, I said over and over, and then finally I stopped thinking, squinted my eyes, pinched my skin and in it went...so smooth!  Wow, that was easy and completely painless I thought to myself! I couldn't figure out what all of the fuss was about.

So, with my somewhat cocky, confident attitude, I mixed up my next injection for the night...the Menopur, and as the needle went in I felt a sharp BURNING sensation and out of my mouth poured a fountain of profanities that I didn't even know were in my vocabulary.  I have since named this injection, "The Needle Of Fire,"  and it is my least favorite medication, thus far!

Like many other things in my life, every day of my egg donation, I must remind myself of my "why"...that sounds familiar doesn't it?  My "why" for my egg donation is a different "why" than the one I have for taking control of my health & life a little over 6 months ago, but in every endeavor I pursue in my life I must always have a strong "why" that will remind me every day why I am sticking the needle of fire, as I like to call it into my lower abdomen.

I am doing this, so that someone out there in the world, someone who is longing to be a parent, can do so.  I am in no way shape or form the "parent" of this child, but I also know that this child or children will change the world in some small way!  I am a firm believer that everybody is placed on this earth for some reason, and every person's life has meaning!  Every experience I have in my life teaches me something, and so far I have already done so much learning about myself during this process.  I am learning to be selfless, which sometimes, I have a hard time doing.  I will admit it, I have my moments where I can be extremely selfish, but there is no room for that in my donation..I am just so blessed, I truly feel I am with 100% of my being.

I have an appointment for blood work & ultrasounds on Tuesday morning, to check and see how many eggies are in there so far, so I will of course update then!

And if you would like to follow my daily updates, please follow me on my facebook page!

XOXO,

It's ANNOUNCEMENT time!!

So who remembers this post from my facebook page about 2 months ago??

I was working at a 9-5 office job where I was overworked and underpaid and full of anxiety & stress..

Sound familiar?  Well I have an announcement for you guys, something that I finally after a month shared with my facebook family, but now its time to share it with all of you! It's official!  I am a full time beachbody coach, & at 21 years old I have retired from the corporate world and am the proud owner of my own business!

If you are interested in learning more about how I made this dream a reality, please feel free to add me on facebook!!  I love connecting with people and sharing my story!

XOXO,

A Surprise Package..

Good Morning Loves,

I know it has been a while since I made a post, things have been a little hectic and I try to keep my updates up on my Facebook page so please feel free to follow me there too! :)

So here is a quick update on my egg donation!

Last Friday I received a GIANT package delivered to my front door, a nice perk of being an egg donor through my clinic...Full of Syringes, Alcohol Swabs, A Sharps Container, Ice Packs, & An assortment of fertility drugs just waiting to be injected into my poor belly..

Tomorrow I go for my egg suppression check which will hopefully come back the way they want and I will be starting my injections soon! I am ancy to get started partly because my fridge has a drawer full of fertility drugs that I would like to fill with food instead and partly because I am excited to get this cycle going. :) Most people would not be excited about the physical process of egg donation, and it would be a lie if I told you I wasn't scared, but for me this is more of an emotional and spiritual journey! I will be giving someone the most amazing gift that I could give anybody, in my opinion!

I'm curious, how many of you have either been an egg donor or thought of being one?What is your biggest question for me about egg donation!  I love answering questions!! 

XOXO,