Day 18 – Embryo Transfer
Sunday, June 3, 2012
I woke up at 5:00am because I could not sleep. I laid in bed and played my games on my phone until about 6:00am. I got up and started to get ready, with Pete right behind me. Unlike the egg retrieval I was allowed to eat breakfast first and drink, since I will not be under any anesthesia. We ate a piece of toast so it would better absorb the medicine I needed to take. When we were about 45 minutes into our drive I took one 5mg pill of vallium. I tried to take the Vicodin but Pete was persistent that it would not be a good idea. In my mind they did not tell me I could not take it and on the Internet it states Vicodin is class C. This means it has not been proven or unproven that it is unhealthy for a pregnant woman. The vallium worked rather quickly and Pete could tell I was way more relaxed. We decided I did not need the other vallium. We arrived at RMA and I undressed, put on the robe, hat and booties. The nurse gave me another pill so my uterus would not cramp afterwards. I also decided to take half of the 5mg vallium just to make sure I would be okay.
We only waited about 15 more minutes and they wheeled me in the surgical room. The nurse started out with the ultrasound on my stomach. This was uncomfortable because you need a full bladder when doing a stomach ultrasound. Dr Arredondo arrived and he put in the speculum. Of course I made sure they were using the smallest one and they said yes. Next he cleaned my cervix twice which made me jump because that area is sensitive and the wipes were cold. The catheter was then inserted with the syringe on the end through my cervix and into my uterus. The embryologist went and got the embryos and inserted them into the catheter tube. The embryos were then shot into my uterus. The catheter was removed and checked to make sure the embryos were not stuck inside the tubing anywhere. The doctor removed the speculum and then inserted the catheter to drain my bladder. The bladder had to be drained because I cannot get up for the next 30 minutes after the transfer. The bladder catheter did not hurt going in, but boy was it uncomfortable when he pulled it out of my bladder.
The whole procedure took all of 5 minutes. I was so relived when everything was over. I laid there for 30 minutes talking with Pete while we took pictures. Oh we also got to keep the petrie dish where the embryos were stored inside, along with a scan of the embryos. The restrooms have nice egg/sperm wall art as well. My time was up so I got dressed and we went to our normal breakfast place called Corner Bakery Cafe. I was cramping a little bit but nothing compared to the egg retrieval. The key for the day was to rest as much as possible. I had Pete stop at HEB so we could get some pineapple. My friend Diana told me that the ingredients in pineapple will help make the embryos grow. The pineapple has bromelain, which has anti-inflammatory effects.
I walked slow and carefully the rest of the evening. For the next seven days I need to take the doxycycline, prednisone and tylenol as needed. The prednisone will help with the growth and the doxycycline will ward off any infections.
Next steps are for me to get blood work done in two days, which will tell us if I am getting enough progesterone. Eleven days from today the blood work will be drawn to find out if I am pregnant. Pray and keep your fingers crossed!!!
Day 17 – Progesterone Shot Day 19 – Day After Embryo Transfer