IVF Expectation:
Take out the egg, fertilize it with sperm, stick the fertilized egg in the uterus. Guaranteed pregnancy.
IVF Reality:
- Fertility acupuncture
- Strict diet with supplements and Chinese herbs
- Birth control pills
- No drinking water, only electrolytes
- Ovarian stimulation (injections)
- Monitoring appointments with bloodwork and vaginal ultrasounds every other day
- Required pre-op COVID-19 test
- Egg retrieval surgery
- Sperm preparation
- Fertilization
- Embryo development and monitoring
- Cryopreservation (Embryo freezing)
- Sonohysterogram and/or Hysteroscopy
- Endometrium preparation (injections)
- Embryo Transfer
34% chance of getting pregnant
Note: Everyone’s IVF protocol is different. Consult your doctor before trying anything you read online.
Fertility Acupuncture Expectation:
Sessions where I would have meditative experiences of tranquility, balance, harmony, ohmmm… and feeling stress-free immediately after.
Fertility Acupuncture Reality:
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed acupuncture and felt that it was helpful, but I didn’t find it relaxing. My acupuncturist was recommended to me by one of my canoe paddling sisters a couple of years ago, but when I inquired I was deterred by the cost. I was quoted $115 for the first appointment, $68 per session if I go twice per week or $89 if I go once per week. After having the IVF consultation appointment, I was in a waiting period to start the process and decided to revisit the idea of acupuncture. I looked up reviews for this particular acupuncturist and learned that she’s been working closely with my doctor for over 15 years. The first session was very informative. My acupuncturist shared so much about IVF with me and explained how fertility acupuncture can work in collaboration with IVF. She said I was late to the party as I was starting IVF soon and she typically works with patients for many months before they start the process. She wanted to do everything she could for me, so she had, in my opinion of limited acupuncture experience, a more aggressive approach of doing electroacupuncture, sessions twice per week, a recommendation to go on a strict anti-Candida diet right away, and prescribed 4 different Chinese herbs and 3 supplements, including tablets of cow ovaries, that I had to take 3x a day. The cost of electroacupuncture was more than regular acupuncture and the herbs and supplements were expensive. I planned to do acupuncture once a week for about a month, which would have cost $356 total. I instead spent $1,123.50. I believe in acupuncture and am glad that I did it because it was something that I knew if I didn’t do, I would regret not doing it. I thought it was beneficial for my fertility, but it was an overall stressful experience with the cost, strict diet, and having to drink 4 different kinds of herbs in hot water THREE TIMES a day. I’m sorry if this is offensive, but they taste like dirt tea. And I used less water so I could drink them faster, but then they were thick like hot, dirt shakes. 🙁
Ovarian Stimulation Expectation:
The injection of medications for 8-14 days, to induce the ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Based on my internet research and talking to a couple of people that have gone through it, women learn how to mix their medications from vials into syringes and self-administer the injections into their abdominal area. You get to be your very own chemist and nurse without having to go to school for it! *nervous laugh* I read and heard that the IVF injections make you an extremely bloated, uncomfortable, headachey, nauseous, hormonal mess.
Ovarian Stimulation Reality:
The first shot I took was Follistim. This conveniently came prefilled and premixed in a little vial that I just needed to drop into a pen-like contraption, turn the dial for the dosage, stick the thin, short needle into my belly, and push the injectant in. There was a very slight pinch when the needle goes in, but not bad at all. The second shot I took was of Menopur and I read that the medicine burns. One of the nurses described it to me as the same feeling as when you have a cut on your foot and you walk into the ocean. To mix the injectant, I had to use a syringe with a long needle to draw out sodium chloride from a vial and put it into another vial with the Menopur powder, mix it up, and draw it back into the syringe. Then just like on TV, push the plunger up a little and flick it so it won’t have air bubbles. I freaked out because it had a huge air bubble and FaceTimed my nurse practitioner friend to ask for help. I was sweating and nervous and when I injected myself dramatically imagined the stinging to be worse than it was. After that first night of shots, stims was totally fine.
I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have any side effects for the first 8 days! I had a little bit of tenderness at the injection sites on my belly, but I iced them right after and only got two small bruises. On the 9th day, my ovaries were super sensitive and my tummy started to get bloated. I had to sit down very slowly because when I sat down at the normal speed, I would feel like I was going to pop my ovaries. (This was also the day that I stopped pooping. This is an important detail for later.) On the 10th and 11th days, I did my two normal injections and added a third, Cetrotide, to prevent ovulation. This additional shot was so worth it because it made my ovaries less sensitive and I was able to sit down at a regular speed. On the 12th day, my follicles were ready! I did the normals shots. Then finally got to do the hCG injection or “trigger shot” to force ovulation. It was anxiety-provoking because one of the nurses told me that it had to be injected at exactly 8:00pm or else I’d have no eggs! Once I did this shot, I was extremely dizzy and couldn’t stand without holding on to the furniture or walls. I was going into work every day but had to finally call in sick the next day. Luckily, I had an acupuncture session scheduled. I was treated for vertigo and my acupuncturist put ear seeds in my ear on points for dizziness, my liver, and stress. I could press on these seeds whenever I needed to.
Egg Retrieval Surgery Expectation:
While the patient is under anesthesia, the doctor will use the ultrasound to identify the ovaries that will have expanded from almond-size to grape-fruit-size by this time. Then she will gently guide a needle attached to a catheter through the vaginal wall. And one by one, the eggs will be drawn out using light suction. They’ll be collected in test tubes and handed off to the embryologist. After the egg retrieval process, the doctor will examine the vaginal wall and ovaries and apply pressure if there’s any bleeding. The patient wakes up, feeling high as a kite, goes home, rests, and recovers.
Egg Retrieval Surgery Reality:
My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am and I had to be checked in at 6:00am. I woke up at 5:00am still crazy dizzy and I couldn’t eat or drink anything to try to feel better. All I could do was desperately press on my ear seed in hopes of making the room stop spinning. I struggled walking to the car, through the drive, and then the walk to the admissions room. I got to the SurgiCenter, changed into the gown, cap, and Cozy Warrior socks from a sweet friend, and laid down to wait for my surgery. That was when I simultaneously felt less dizzy and realized I was in pain from not pooping. I hadn’t pooped for 3 days! I was so worried about what felt like a hard rock in my butt and not being able to say goodbye to it before my surgery. The nurses, anesthesiologists, and whoever else that checked on me heard about it. And yet, no one gave me anything that could help. All I got was an IV.
I said see you later to John, my bed was wheeled into the operating room, someone took off my cheetah print mask and put on the anesthesia mask. I told all 9 people in the OR, “This feels like I’m in a movie!” and that’s the last thing I remember. I woke up in the recovery room wearing huge disposable underwear and a pad that was thicker than the pillow under my head. The nurse watching me checked my pad (that was weird) and gave me saltine crackers and a cup of water. I immediately told him, “I’m doing IVF, so I can’t have carbs or water!” He called my doctor and she said I could have only one cracker and a little water, but that’s it. After a while, my doctor came to check on me and I told her I’m ok but I haven’t pooped for 3 days. She recommended Milk of Magnesia and told me that 36 eggs were retrieved! She also said my right ovary had so many eggs that she had to do stitches because of the bleeding. I was wheeled back to the SurgiCenter where John was waiting for me. He had gone home, brought his semen sample to the lab, drank Starbucks upstairs, and also heard the good news that we got so many eggs. He went to find something for me to eat since I couldn’t have any more crackers. He came back with a veggie burger patty and the laxative. What an angel. I peed 2 hours later and they let us go home. I slept on and off throughout the day, was on a Zoom call at night with my friends when the laxative kicked in and I pooped 7x in two hours, plus fell asleep mid-conversation.
Because I have PCOS-like ovaries and had so many eggs, my doctor was worried I would get Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. I had to eat a lot of proteins, drink tons of electrolytes, and take antibiotics and a medication to lower my prolactin hormone level. One of the nurses told me to buy a scale and weigh myself every day. It’s typical to get more bloated after the egg retrieval, but it’s concerning if you gain 1 pound per day so I had to track my weight. I actually lost 1 pound per day for 5 days. Day 2 post-egg retrieval, I felt 50% better. My coworker dropped off dinner for me and John! I was so hungry and so touched. Day 3, I felt 75% better and went to work. Day 4, I felt 99% better and realized I didn’t poop for a long time again, for 4 days this time. That was the last time I took a laxative and I’ve been taking a fiber supplement three times a day since. If you’re wondering why I keep talking about pooping it’s because no one else was talking about it! Everything went smoothly. Except my bowel movements! And I only found out this was normal after it happened to me and I googled it. Anyway…
Our final count:
36 eggs retrieved
21 eggs mature
15 eggs fertilized
6 embryos made it to blastocysts stage!
They are frozen and awaiting the last 3 steps that we have to do to complete this IVF cycle. We are over the moon that we now have 6 embabies that are literally chillin’. They’ll be in the Ice Age for another few months.
I now understand why this process is so expensive