Intro

[latte]

Hi! I have been lurking for a bit and thought I would intro.

I am 38 and my husband is 42 and we are getting prepared for our first round of IVF.

We live in Canada but for a few reasons, we are doing it in Barbados at the fertility clinic there, with the support of my doctors here. We fly down on September 5th for egg retrieval and transfer (approximate date of transfer is Sept. 15-17). We come home on the 22nd.

I am starting to get very anxious about the egg retrieval and should really step away from google. What should I expect? Any tips I should know? Does it hurt a lot? That is what is making me nervous, since I have seen a lot of people saying it is terrible. Sorry for the brain dump!

[seeyalater52]

Welcome to the best place you hope you'll never have to be. I hope your stay is short.

As far as egg retrieval I didn't think it was tooooo terrible but I know different people respond differently to it. I was very bloated the two days right before retrieval, felt a lot better on the day of retrieval (after retrieval) and started feeling crappy the day after retrieval which lasted 4-5 days. The first day I felt almost normal again was the day of my 5-day fresh transfer. Do you know what kind of anesthesia you will have for transfer? I had a nice twilight sedation so I was totally out and woke up feeling very rested. Post-retrieval I was just very sore in my abdomen and swollen. I managed the pain just fine with extra strength tylenol every 6 hours for a few days, as well as a heating pad which really helped with the soreness. I am a wimp about pain and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

I didn't have OHSS but I did have 17 follicles and they retrieved 12 eggs so there was a lot going on in there to recover from. The best tip I got (TMI alert) was to start taking colace or another non-laxative stool softener on the day of trigger to keep things moving... the combo of the meds and anesthesia can back you up a little and if you're not regular it can make the bloating and abdominal soreness a lot worse.

For me the emotional rollercoaster of the post-retrieval updates (fertilization, day 3, day 5 reports) was much more challenging than the physical recovery. That part was harder than I expected and I wasn't prepared for it in advance.

SO MUCH luck with your cycle! If you have other questions definitely ask them, the board is a wealth of knowledge. And join us in the weekly chat threads too so we can follow along.

[icedcoffee]

Welcome! I hope your stay is short and easy.

My coworker did IVF abroad at a clinic in South Africa with great success. I hope Barbados brings you the same!

Egg retrieval is not so bad. I had a ton retrieved (33) so I did have some discomfort afterwards. I focused on a lot of Gatorade, salty foods and protein and felt much better within the next week. Most people are totally fine after retrieval.

I did the Colace like seeyalater52. it was key and you'll need it for after child birth anyway.

[latte]

Thank you both for easing some of my anxiety! I will be sure to get some colace before we leave. 🙂

[scm1011]

My egg retrieval was so much easier than I anticipated. While leading up I was def bloaty, the aftermath of the procedure was cake for me. The RE retrieved 14 eggs and I felt so fine after that DH and I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home to grocery shop lol. I know everyone has different experiences, but for me it was less painful than period cramps.

Good luck to you!

[latte]

scm1011 thank you! All of these are making feel a lot better!

[pooh8402]

Welcome! I've had 3 retrievals, with 16, 24, and 25 eggs retrieved. I agree with everything seeyalater52 said. The worst for me was always the day of and day after.

Also, beginning day of retrieval through to at least transfer, eat a high salt, high protein, zero carb diet. I mean no free water, add salt to your powerade (I got powerade zero to avoid sugar), V8, canned foods and meats, sausages, eggs, pickle juice. I even took shots of soy sauce 2-3 times a day. This last time, I felt wonderful by day 4 after retrieval and was able to completely avoid OHSS (I had it pretty bad the first time and mild the second time). I attribute it to really concentrating on my diet (and a new medication regimen specifically for high risk OHSS).

[Jalapeñomel]

Welcome!

The egg retrieval was NBD, and I had very minimal pain.

[barney96]

Welcome, from another older newbie. My husband and I were in Barbados in February and I told my husband I wanted to see the clinic on the island (is there more than 1?). We changed our plans so we didn't go past it.

Can you tell me, and anyone else curious, about costs there? You have to be there for some time before you're allowed to travel back, right? I hope everything is super successful for you next month!

[latte]

Aug 12, 2018 20:21:16 GMT -5 barney96 said:

Welcome, from another older newbie. My husband and I were in Barbados in February and I told my husband I wanted to see the clinic on the island (is there more than 1?). We changed our plans so we didn't go past it.

Can you tell me, and anyone else curious, about costs there? You have to be there for some time before you're allowed to travel back, right? I hope everything is super successful for you next month!

There is only the one clinic on the island and for icsi plus assisted hatching, and there are some medications ($125) and the cost for all of that (incl medication) is $7653 USD. I got all of my major prescriptions filled here since I have some prescription coverage through work, so I can’t speak to the costs of that. You don’t have to stay any set amount of time, but we are staying a few extra days just in case anything was delayed.

We have never been to Barbados so I am excited to go!