Eggs, Embryos, and the Possibility of Transfer

The egg retrieval procedure went very well on Thursday.  We left Knoxville bright and early and made it to Nashville with enough time to drive around a bit and take our time.  They prepped me for the procedure and the last thing I remember was the burning feeling of the anesthesia going into my IV.  I woke up in recovery and felt pretty good, all things considered.  I had some cramping but nothing too intense to keep us from driving back home.  They retrieved a total of 34 eggs!  I was a little shocked by this number.  As of Tuesday, my doctor had counted 26 but I knew there was the possibility of a couple being hidden since there were so many, especially on my right ovary.  We are very blessed that my body responded SO well to the stimulation phase.

We received our first update on the eggs yesterday morning.  Of the 34 retrieved, 22 were mature enough to be ICSI'd...this is the process where they take a single sperm and inject it straight into the egg.  We needed to use this procedure (versus just putting some sperm in a dish next to the egg and letting nature take its course) because of a result of a very specialized test that we had done in October that showed that Harrison's little swimmers had some difficulty penetrating the shell of the eggs.  So of the 22 ICSI'd, 19 fertilized!  Again, we are thrilled and very blessed with such a high number.  Now, not all of these will continue to develop for the 5 days in the lab, but we have a very, very good chance of having a good number of embryos to freeze.   Our second update came this morning, and while vague, the lab technician did say that "several" of our embryos are "developing well."

As of right now, our transfer is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning.  On Thursday, I was told that my estradiol level is extremely high....so high in fact that they don't know exactly what it is because the lab only calculates to 10,000.  So we know that it is above 10,000.   So hyperstimulation is still very, very possible.  I am weighing myself twice a day to check for fluid gain, trying to stay well hydrated, and just pay overall close attention to what my body is telling me.  The doctor said that if I am going to get sick, it would probably start Sunday or Monday, so the decision about a transfer won't be determined till Monday.   Now, even if i don't start getting sick and we are allowed to do a transfer, the possibility of me getting sick will still be there for a few weeks as my hormone level slowly comes back down.  The possibility will increase if I do get pregnant because of the additional hormones, but I won't know for 10-12 days after transfer whether or not I'm in fact pregnant.  So, all that said, there are still many unknowns and a lot still up in the air.  We are just praying diligently and trusting in God's plan and His timing.  Please join us in prayer these next few days as our little embryos continue to grow and develop.