Hello From Home, Finally!!!

Years ago, on a trip to New Orleans, I remember buying a t-shirt that said, "What a long, strange trip it's been." I know that's a lyric from a Grateful Dead song, but at the time, it seemed like the perfect saying for those past few days. Since then, however, I seem to think back that shirt and how it continually applies to my life. This past week is really no exception.

In my last blog, I told you we were on track to have the egg retrieval on Wednesday, 5/23. The weekend before that, however, my doctor decided that my hormone labs were looking elevated and my ovaries seemed to be getting stimulated too quickly so we moved the retrieval to Tuesday, 5/22. The final step to "mature" the eggs was an injection to be taken exactly 36 hours before the retrieval. So, on Sunday night at exactly 9:15pm, I gave myself the shot and went back to watching the news before bed. Little did we know at the time, that injection would set off a week and a half long chain of events! After the news was over at 10:00, I got up to go to bed only to find that I couldn't take a step on my right side without a horrible shooting pain. Well, making that long story short, it was a very restless night and following day using a heating pad and some Tylenol to help alleviate the pain. My doctor assured us that the pain would subside as soon as the eggs were gone and the ovaries were able to relax. He was right! Although I was groggy and slept most of the day after the retrieval, everything was great with no pain on Tuesday. But, on Wednesday, the follicles that housed the eggs before they were retrieved started to fill up with fluid and continued to stimulate. Then, it got worse on Thursday. Keep in mind, that was the day I should have been up and around and possibly back at work. But, by Friday morning, I was retaining so much fluid in my abdomen that I looked like I was several months pregnant. We made an appointment and went into the doctors office because not only was my abdomen swollen and painful, but that fluid was making it hard for me to breathe and I was really nauseated. After taking my vitals and seeing my pulse was 131, my doctor admitted me immediately to the hospital. I wish I could say I started getting better when that happened, but Saturday was the worst day. Saturday morning he stuck a huge needle in my belly and drained 3 liters of fluid. That did alleviate pressure, but all of my labs were so low they almost had to put me in ICU. Between the nausea medicine and Valium, I really don't remember too much about that day. Luckily, Sunday was the turning point. I was more alert and my kidneys finally started processing some of the fluid. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. On Monday, they drained another 2+ liters with the big ugly needle and the world started to turn for me again. That second time to drain the fluid was worse than the first. After sticking me with the 18 gauge, which they used on Saturday that took 2 hours to drain, they decided they needed to use a 16 gauge needle so it would go faster. Not only did they stick my once with the bigger one, but had to do it a second time. Yes, it was VERY PAINFUL! But, like I said, it made a huge difference. I got my appetite back and my kidneys started kicking into overdrive. I lost about 5 pounds of water weight between that night and the next morning. On Tuesday, I was able to get out of bed for the first time since Friday and walk. They discharged me that afternoon with nearly 20 extra pounds of water weight than I had when I started this whole endeavor. Last night and today my kidneys have been working to get rid of nearly 5 pounds. So, only 15 more to go! My doctor said everything should be back to normal by Friday, but I have my doubts. That's alot of tinkling in the next two days! The good news is I am now at home and feeling fine. I get winded walking across the floor, but I think I will get my stamina back soon. Like I said, what a long, strange road it's been!