sorry, long post - this was a soap opera day

Thanks for all the congrats, people.

I just had the best nap ever, so now I feel complete. lol

But seriously, I am bloated, constipated, swollen, and doubled over in pain ... and I don't think I could be more thankful about it. I also have Percocet in my possession, which is a good thing!

We got to the clinic 90 minutes early, so I thought we should walk around, since my back was hurting anyway, and DH needed to find a bank machine. I was hobbling, since my tummy started aching. Finally I realized that that wasn't going to work, so I made DH eat breakfast, and then we got to Lifequest. I felt as though I had both af and the flu, plus ovaries the size of basketballs, and was horribly uncomfortable.

They took me in to the back and got me settled on a recliner. The nurse had trouble inserting the IV; apparently I don't have veins in my arms, hence my Mutant status (right, Turtles?).

DH came to join me then, and he read jokes to me from Reader's Digest.

After half an hour, I started feeling even more poorly. I stood up and leaned my head on the table and forced out the words for DH to get a nurse. I felt as though my head was getting shut off from the rest of the world. I was burning up and dizzy, my abdomen was exploding, and thought I would throw up. Thought, "Feel like I'm dying; good thing I'm surrounded by medical personnel."

Dr H and nurses came running, and I couldn't respond to anything they were saying. I remember Dr H half-carrying me to the procedure room and saying repeatedly that I couldn't go to sleep. There, the doc and the nurses got me onto the table so that my head was positioned lower than the rest of my body, and then they put sugar water and anti-nausea meds into my IV. Everyone kept trying to wake me up, since I wasn't responding to them, though I could hear everything they were saying. After a while, I rejoined the land of the living.

I wasn't even medicated yet at that point! I don't know what happened, and neither did the medical team. It was scary. I turned bright white, apparently, and one of the nurses said to me later, "Seriously, I couldn't even see your nose; there was no colour on you anywhere."

So then the retrieval began. I was in monster pain the whole time; I had been assured by everyone ahead of time that I'd be fine, but I knew from the last ER that the sedation does not stop me from feeling what's being done internally. So I - and I don't remember half of this - cringed, bucked around, said "F*#$" repeatedly, and turned DH's hand purple from clutching it. And the nurse told me later that they were all at a loss for what to do about the painkillers, since I clearly needed more, but then I would've passed out, which they didn't want. So I soldiered on. Dr H wanted to stop the retrieval after a while, but I said no way - knowing my luck, that last two or three eggs would've been the only normal ones out of the batch. So he continued.

Finally we were all done. I thought I heard that 17 had been retrieved, but DH says it was 21. Dr H rubbed my shoulder, and I told them - in the spirit of being overdrugged - that I really loved him and Dr Perry, and that they made this process all bearable, and that I trusted them. haha That is the kind of drunk I am. Very loving. lol But I did mean what I was saying.

They brought me back to the recliner for a snooze while DH went to the Room O' Porn to do his business, which 'got off' (haha) without a hitch. And DH's sample was deemed 'good' for his situation: not good enough for plain IVF, but good enough for ICSI. I don't know if this judgement was passed before- or after-wash. I don't think DH realized this, but his overall number dropped again from the last sample: from 35 million to 4.5 million. I realize that sperm counts fluctuate, but he's been on an organic diet, with Dr H's recommended antioxidant vitamins, plus more exercise; and he hasn't been ill or in a hot tub or anything like that. I am wondering what is going on. Anyway, his motility was ultra-low, as usual, and we ended up leaving before the morphology was announced.

I stopped dozing in the recliner, since I stopped breathing every time I fell asleep. Made me nervous. I ate and drank right away, even though I wasn't supposed to, because I was dying of hunger and thirst.

The IVF nurse stopped by to give me my instructions, and to say that I had to also measure my fluid intake and my pee every day until further notice. DH mentioned to her as a joke his annoyance with me because I wouldn't go golfing with him, despite her saying it was ok, and she said, "No way, I didn't say that. She cannot make that twisting motion with her torso." He said, "Oh yes, I heard you say it was ok. So I'm taking her golfing tomorrow." She shot him the dirtiest look ever, and he howled, so she started laughing then, too. She's cool.

Was nauseous again later when I attempted to use the bathroom and get dressed - I got up too fast, I guess - so the nurse brought me down to the building's lobby in a wheelchair.

Yeah, drama queen, that's me. *Rolls eyes* Apparently the other woman having ER today had no problems and no pain at all. Though her partner fainted. Which isn't funny, but I still laughed. lol

I start Prometrium tomorrow (3x/day) and Estrace (2x/day).

And wait for the call tomorrow afternoon to say how many eggs fertilized.

DH wishes for me to tell you all that he likes this clinic, the Hannam Fertility Centre, because he was allowed to go in to the egg retrieval. He said he appreciated being able to stay with me, since he wasn't permitted to do so during the first IVF. He likes the doctors, and he says he recommends this place to other IF-ers. He also wants me to say that one of the nurses commented that he was the BEST partner, especially since he was trying to make me laugh in the ER room, and because he peeled my orange for me. He is wondering why he doesn't get a trophy. lol

So that's it for now. Back to my salty programming and dumping pee in a glass measuring cup.