IVF #1 Fail: 0 Eggs Collected




Leading up to our egg retrieval everything looked great, well actually better than great, I kept hearing the words "textbook." Even though my ovaries were almost touching and they were nervous about OHSS, my multiple follicles looked amazing and my estrogen was off the charts at over 5,000. I was going in for daily ultrasounds and blood work so nothing should have been a surprise. We triggered with Lupron Friday night in anticipation for our egg retrieval on Sunday.

Sunday morning I woke up nervous, but excited to finally meet our little embryos. Thank goodness our scheduled arrival time was 10am since you can't eat or drink the day of surgery. I was so used to drinking 80 oz or more of water my mouth was parched and my cramps/bloating was starting to get worse. Tony gave his sample and soon I was lead back to get changed into one of those sexy gowns that open in the back.

We met our Doctor who would be performing the egg retrieval and the anesthesiologist, who was absolutely hysterical. I love when people have a sense of humor and really try their best to make you feel comfortable. It's the little things isn't it! The last thing I remember before falling off into a deep sleep were the bright lights above me and the sound of the monitor as they tracked my blood pressure.

"I have some bad news..."

Five words I wasn't expecting to hear as the anesthesia was wearing off. I was informed they retrieved 0 eggs. Honestly I can't remember what she said after that. The tears just started flowing. I never even considered this as a possibility. My biggest fear was that we'd get X number of eggs and none would survive. Sad and defeated, we made our way home.

This morning my Doctor called. I had gone in Saturday morning so they had all my blood work that showed the trigger shot worked and my progesterone had doubled. Her response as to why this happened...unfortunately she doesn't really know, (insert frustrated sigh). She looked back through her files and only found two other cases where this happened with her patients. One theory is that I needed a stronger trigger shot. Even though the cells around my eggs responded, the egg themselves didn't respond correctly. Her second theory was that I may have an ovulatory dysfunction.

Since I'm still kinda in shock and Tony wasn't able to be on the call with her, we're going in the office next Monday to discuss. I will be bringing a list of questions to ask so if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, stories, etc please let me know. I want to come prepared and lay everything out on the table.

It sounds easy to say, well we'll try again, however since everything is out of pocket money plays a huge factor in our overall decision. Let's face it, at this point everything we do is an experiment. We just have to hope that we stumble upon the right protocol at the right time.

Next Steps:

- Compile a list of questions for Monday's meeting
- Continue to drink lots of water and recover from the past 2 weeks of stims and yesterday's egg retrieval
- Enjoy Thanksgiving break with friends and family and focus on what really matters