Disclosure: I am not a doctor, I just wanted to share my personal experience of the egg retrieval as part of my IVF process. I hope this can assist others in knowing a possibility of what to expect and provide comfort that you are not alone.

If you’ve been reading my blog posts, you may be aware that my husband and I are undergoing IVF in order to conceive. This has been a rollercoaster of a process, and when they say it’s ‘hurry up and wait’, they’re not kidding. The most recent procedure that we have undergone is the egg retrieval. We are now currently waiting to take the next regimen of medicines in order to prepare for FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer).

If you’d like to follow our journey and learn more about the overall IVF process, this might be a good place to start.

So as part of our IVF Journey, one of the biggest steps is the egg retrieval. Just so that you have a little background knowledge on what that is; basically you have spent time taking medication to increase your follicles into mature eggs on the ovaries. Then when they are as mature as the doctor would like, he schedules a retrieval to literally harvest the eggs. A couple days post trigger-shot, you go to a surgical center to undergo a procedure involving mild anesthesia. During the procedure, the doctor uses a catheter with a needle on the end, enters the uterus vaginally, and pokes into the ovary to suck the eggs. Yep, suck the eggs. Once he has them, they go to the embryologist to be examined in upcoming days. Then, hopefully they become embryos – or actually I think technically blastocysts, but let’s just say embryos 😉

Okay so now that we know more about what it is, let’s talk recovery. I have to be honest, I had NO idea how much pain I could potentially be in post surgery. I never even saw anything in my IVF research about this, and the little knowledge I did have came from acquaintances/friends who have been kind enough to share their wisdom that they learned from the experience. What I was told is have a heating pad because of the bloating. And that’s it.

What I didn’t know was that I could have pretty bad pain mostly from the bloating, but also muscle soreness post-procedure. I had a GOOD amount of pain, to the point in which the nurse had to give me a narcotic in order to leave the hospital. So if this is you, it is absolutely a possibility of what you’ll experience.

I definitely had some ovarian hyper stimulation, but I essentially assumed this would happen to me because of my poly-cystic ovary and the fact that we were pushing my one little ovary to make a good number of eggs. Luckily, these recovery strategies helped me get through the several days following the procedure and my body was able to return to normal.

Here’s my experience of what you might expect

Day of procedure – REST!

This first day, when I left the hospital I knew that I wasn’t allowed to work but I assumed I would be just milking some rest time with little to no pain. I was wrong. The ride home was very bumpy and due to my increased muscle pain from ya know having a needle inserted inside me, and from my body starting to bloat more than it already was, I felt every bump. (Now keep in mind, this is just MY experience and I’ve heard from others that 1 experience was similar to this, but they had to do a second cycle and that wasn’t their experience the second time. It also could be vice versa, everyone is different and every experience might be different. I just personally would rather have all the facts up front to be prepared just in case.)

So my biggest advice for day 1 (day of procedure) just rest. Give yourself the grace, you’ve been through a lot already, allow yourself some much needed rest.

My second biggest advice for day 1 drink A LOT of fluid. Actually this will be a theme for all the days. I thought I knew what staying hydrated was since I drink out of a 64 ounce water bottle every day, but I was wrong! Up your fluid intake by AT LEAST 3 times as much as you normally consume. Or maybe that’s only advice for me since I already drink a lot throughout the day. Drink as much as you’re physically able without water intoxicating yourself. Lol, that’s a bit dramatic, but you get my point.

This is REALLY important. I was also told by my nurse (though this would have been good to know BEFORE the procedure so I could be prepared) to have a sport’s drink to help me stay hydrated. This helped a TON! I can’t recommend that enough, it was a literal game changer.

I do also recommend a heating pad, but this was on and off helpful for me, I actually found some comfort with an ice pack at times.

Also, take NSAIDs. Pain meds. Whatever you’re comfortable with, but take them. I was taking ibuprofen as often as was recommended on the bottle and I really needed it.

Day 2 – Keep resting and drinking fluids.

I was SOO bloated on day 2. I honestly wished that I had taken this day off of work too because I was still very much struggling. I was sitting as much as I could in order to rest, drinking lots of fluids, still taking ibuprofen, and using the heating pad, which actually helped a little more this day. It seemed as though a good amount of the pain from surgery was dissipating, but the bloating was worse than ever. However, I called my dr. and the nurse told me that all that I was experiencing was normal and this was when I really upped my fluid intake. If only I knew sooner..

Day 3 – Still bloated. Keep drinking and taking meds if needed.

This day, I swear I think I know what pregnancy MIGHT feel like. I could not stop rubbing my belly to get some of the bloating to go down. My family was looking at me funny because I just kept rubbing in circular motions. Here’s the good news though, even though I was definitely still bloated, it felt like a more “normal” bloat, if that makes sense.

Oh and I forgot, I was SO constipated. That was definitely the most uncomfortable part at this point and I could tell that even though I was uncomfortable still, that I was improving.

This is very important. If you are suffering from hyper stimulation, you might want to measure your belly with a string and monitor each day that the belly/bloat is going down and NOT up. This was advice from the nurse at my doctor’s office, but fortunately I could tell that I was getting better and didn’t need to try this method.

Day 4 – Finally I had a BM!

TMI I know haha! But seriously, this was like the most glorious thing. Following this, my bloat was SUPER manageable and essentially non-existent. I didn’t need to take ibuprofen any longer, I was still drinking a good amount of fluids, and I didn’t really need my heating pad anymore.

The next week

Honestly, it took a while to feel completely back to normal. However, this is mostly due to the fact that my period came about 6 days post procedure. Isn’t that crazy?!

So they take you off the birth control when you undergo the meds, but once you stop the meds your body starts going back to its natural processes and the trigger shot makes the body ovulate. Post-ovulation comes the period. I had no clue this would happen so quickly though! I remember way back at the start, they told me that post egg-retrieval, I would then wait for my period and then we’ll talk next steps. I figured I would have to wait awhile, but guess not!

So a large part of not feeling completely normal is because I had my period, but once that was cleared out I definitely felt more myself.

Other things to expect from egg retrieval

I have heard from other friends that have undergone this procedure, and also from the nurse, that it is normal to expect some light bleeding post procedure. I didn’t have any bleeding, but I definitely had the bloating haha. In case that wasn’t clear before 😉

What you’ll need to survive post egg retrieval

1. Pads – In case you do experience bleeding, you will want to be prepared.
2. Pain Meds – I recommend following the dose on the bottle and sticking with it until it’s no longer needed.
3. Sports Drinks – Stay SUPER hydrated. When I started upping my fluids substantially, it made a huge difference.
4. Heating pad – This may help with some of the bloating and discomfort.
5. Rest – Take it easy! If you’re able to rest for at least 4 days post surgery, then just do it!
6. Support – Reach out to someone you know that’s gone through this, even if you reach out to me! I would love to help you through this crazy and possibly scary time.

Well there you have it! I wish you all the luck and blessings in the world and I hope this helps you to better understand this experience.