I am feeling cramps and bloading my hcg shoyt was last night and my er is tomorrow. so I am nervous and excited at the same time

I thought egg retrieval was no big deal, but I tend to have a high pain tolerance and bounce back from anesthesia really quickly. Mine was on a Sunday but if I had one on a weekday - I would have considered going back to work. Clearly, you can see that everyone responds differently though.

What did freak me out was how I felt after my trigger. I triggered with HCG and shortly thereafter had some pain in my ovaries for about 24 hours. Similar to the ovulation twinges I would get but much more pronounced because of many more eggs. That was gone by the morning of my egg retrieval so I was a bit worried that I had already ovulated and it was a big bust. Turns out, that's a side effect of triggering with HCG and the pain I felt was from the meds and not actual ovulation. That's the one thing I wish I had known up front.

Other than that, I don't think your experience will change drastically in the couple days before trigger. So keep your plans!

Up until egg retrieval I felt great. After egg retrieval, I felt like I was donkey-kicked in the stomach 1 million times. So incredibly sore and constipated from the damn trigger. Drink lots of Gatorade & keep a heating pad nearby.

I had no bloating and no other symptoms while the follicles were growing. Had mild cramps only after the egg retrieval but Tylenol was enough to control the pain. I took rest next 2 days after the retrieval but that's because it was a weekend. Otherwise, I think I could have gone to work the next day or so. As someone already said, every body is different.

I think you will be just fine with your social plans leading up to retrieval. If you develop a few more than your current 11 follicles, you might start to feel a little bloated but that would interfere with a treadmill workout not a night out with your friends.

The day of my first retrieval my DH came home with me and I was bummed when he left for work. I was fine and awake and bored. So the day of my second one (a weekend) we walked to Georgetown, did some clothes shopping for him, had coffees and later went home. That night we went to a bbq and I would have, given a chance to do it again, skipped that part. By then I was bloated and bbq food and lots of standing left me a bit uncomfortable. But nothing major. By the next day I was ready for a hike with friends.

So, very good chance you'll have to miss nothing! But keep things flexible just in case you do want some rest mid-week.

Best of luck!!

I've had 4 retrievals and different reactions after each one. I was sick as and nauseous after one of them and could barely stay awake the rest of the day (morning retrieval). For two others, I felt fine and the 24 hour bed rest that the doctor recommended and my DH insisted on were a pain - I just wanted to get out and stay busy. For the last one, I felt a little ill but nothing terrible. It may be a matter of how you react to the anesthesia and post-retrieval meds.

Good luck!

The more follicles..likely more discomfort.

Anonymous wrote:I was fine - no issues at all. Took it easy the day of the egg retrieval and that was it.

Same here. It's probably better to keep busy. I didn't have any drugs for the transfer. It was like an IUI.

I stimmed for 12 days, had around 20 follicles. I was so bloated and crampy before my egg retrieval, it was like a really bad menstrual cramp.

I got to Shady Grove where a nurse named Shari/Sherry made me feel like I was being a baby and a wuss. Least comforting nurse in the world.

But the egg retrieval did not hurt one bit. First, youre knocked out so good (god bless anesthesia), and second, the discomfort afterwards is quite slight. 20-ish follicles, and all I needed was two regular Tylenols.

Egg retrieval relieved me of my 12 day stim misery. Anyone with 20-ish follicles and a 12-day stim should welcome it.

I felt good until the night before retrieval. then felt crampy. The dr usually expects you to take the day off from work for ER because you will have been under. But also remember, things can change day to day. I was told to stim for 10 days and then hit day 10 and called that afternoon to keep stimming. I really was waiting by the phone and stimmed to day 12. I anticipated a five day transfer and it ended up being 3. Pregnant now so it worked. Just try to keep your work/social life schedule as light as possible cause things change quickly!

OP, You won't know until you're there. You can see from the earlier posts that there are a variety of reactions. Personally, I had my ER very early in the morning (7:30/8am) and took that day off of work, as well as the next. I had discomfort, and unfortunately did not have a strong painkiller RX. (That has been remedied for attempt #2...) By the morning after my ER (the second day I took off work), I was feeling better, but needed the day at home because I had basically not slept the night before due to discomfort. Before the egg retrieval, I was totally fine. The trigger shot was a little uncomfortable, but it subsided within about 15 minutes. Good luck.

I was fine - no issues at all. Took it easy the day of the egg retrieval and that was it.

I wasn't in the mood for much socializing that week, but I had no pain from egg retrieval, and none of the other symptoms PP describes. I was resting, but I was not in discomfort, or not enough to recall. I did not take any drugs, neither after egg retrieval nor after transfer.

Personally, I felt fine right up till egg retrieval; I had to give myself my trigger shot in a friend's bathroom because I was hanging out that night. If you feel okay, I don't see why there'd be any reason to cut back on your activities.

AFTER your egg retrieval, however, you'll want to take it easy. They're sticking a big needle through your vagina and into your ovaries multiple times, and it'll hurt. The retrieval also releases fluid so you'll be bloated (and, if you're anything like me, you won't want to be too far from a bathroom). I got by fine with Tylenol that one day but I have friends who have needed something stronger than that. I was very happy to have taken the day off.

For transfer, you'll also probably want to take the day off, too. There's no reason to go on bedrest but my doctors gave me Valium to relax my uterus and I wouldn't have been any use at work. So I went home after transfer and took a nice long nap.

I'm on my first IVF and stimming for 8 days. So far 6 follicles and 5 follicles and I have no side effects. They are expecting to do egg retrieval by Wed or Thursday morning.
As I said no discomfort or anything so far. I do have plans every night this week for about 3/4 hours ie/ 7-11 pm. Do you think I'll continue to feel up to it the day b/f egg retrieval and after? And what about until the days leading up to the transfer, will I feel just fine then too? Just trying to figure out if I should cut back on some of the stuff going on, but really don't want to miss it!