Warning: This entry may be too descriptive and long. :p

The 2-week-wait (2ww) began and the end seemed so far. I’m still on my 2ww and left with a few more days to go. I was thankful that my egg retrieval went by without a hitch coz I read online that women with PCOS have higher chances of getting Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). During the embryo transfer, I overheard the nurse telling Dr. S that one transfer had to be cancelled due to OHSS.

Here’s a link on what you can expect during the 2ww – http://natural-fertility-info.com/two-week-wait.html

26 – 28 April 2014 (Day 1 – Day 3)
The days and nights went on as per normal during the 1st 2 days. My only experience were sharp stabbing pains at my lower abdomen on the 3rd night. The feeling was like when you are about to have your menses. I was literally curling up like a prawn. I was out of my normal painkillers so I just beared with it.

29 April – 3 May 2014(Day 4 – Day 8)
I tried to go about doing my daily stuffs but of course not much heavy lifting. I felt as if that my stomach started to feel a lil’ bloated but didn’t think much of it. The cramps comes and goes and it got a lil bit too painful for me to pee. My boobs began to feel sore and bras were a big no-no for me at home…. it just felt too uncomfortable. Sleeping @ night proved to be quite a challenge, I can’t have the fan blowing directly at me, so we ended up switching on the air-con (I’m sure the utilities bill will sky-rocket this 2 months). I would wake up in the middle of the night at about 2 – 3 in the morning and sleep while I’m sitting down with a pillow in between. It didn’t help that I had to wake up at 8am every morning for the morning inserts… :/

4 – 7 May 2014 (Day 9 – Day 12)
I was alone at home as the husband was on his morning shift. I felt that my stomach was about to explode. It was so tight and I noticed that my pee was decreasing. Abdominal pains were a lil’ unbearable and I do notice shortness in my breathings. I happen to have placed a status update on my FB and I got a FB PM from a friend who was just asking if I am going through IVF. I forgot that she too went through it and was asking her if she too felt the symptoms that I was having. She advised me that I may be suffering from OHSS and to call the hospital cos if not treated early, it may be fatal. Being alone at home, I was already crying out loud and worried. Called up KKH and they were asking me to come down to check it. It was almost 8.30pm and the husb was about to knock off from work.

I had already expected that there would be a blood test but the freaking doctor poked in to my veins, couln’t even extract out and had the cheek to still move in attempt to draw my blood out! He gave up and asked his nurse to do it and and again another failed attempt. The husb had to tell the nurse to take it out instead of moving the needle around. They resorted to using a butterfly needle to extract some blood out. For those who can’t stand needles, please request for this, I guess it’s less painful than the norm.

So this is where the count begins. 1 out of 3! We had to wait for a while for the blood test so we decided to grab some food. I was struggling to walk coz it my bloatedness was unbearable. The nurse called us back about an hour later and they did a scan on my stomach and the doctor showed us that I had fluid in my stomach but thankfully not in my lungs. They diagnosed me with severe OHSS. I recalled what my friend mentioned – she too had severe OHSS and was admitted for 10 days and her stomach had to be poked to extract out the water inside! I was literally crying after they mentioned that I have to be admitted!

By the time I was pushed up to an observation ward, it was almost midnight. They needed to get my blood again and I explained to them that I my veins are small and they may have difficulties. They mentioned that they will ask their MO on duty to do it later. Since it was an observation ward, the husband could not stay. Only after he went back THEN they decided to start all the pokings! I was literally in tears coz the MO tried to draw 3 times, unsuccessful, 2 times on my 2 arteries on each wrist which was WAY WAY WAY FREAKING PAINFUL!! Seeing that I was crying and in pain, they mentioned that they’d let me rest first. So the count was 1 out of 8 times.

Another blow was that they needed to monitor my fluid out so imagine my horror and pain that they had to place a urinary catheter in me! SAKIT!!!!! hu hu hu It was my first time admitted and I had to go through all these! WTH! I noticed it was then almost 3am and another MO on duty came and told me that they had to try to draw blood and place a drip. 1 time, unsuccessful and the 2nd time lucky plus a successful 1 time poke for drip. So the count is 3 out of 11. Mind you that all this was still on the same day…. I tried to sleep it off but with the catheter in me, it was so freaking uncomfortable! I was not able to sleep at all.

By the next day, the husband came early and Dr. S came by and explained that I may have to stay in the hospital for at least a week. If I do not get better, they may have to drain the water out from my stomach. She confirmed that for now I have a moderate case of OHSS instead of severe as my oxygen level is already stable. Thank god, she allowed the catheter to be taken out but the nurses will have to measure my fluid output each time. The blood results taken showed that my blood was too concentrated and feared that I may get blood clots. So I had to wear a special stocking plus another set of injections on the tummy to thin the blood… -_____-

The next few days was bloatedness, cramps, swollen hands from 1st drip, a few other pokes for blood draws and change of drip. Count came up to 6 out of 16… I think. *sigh* The only worry was that water getting into the lungs and the kidney failing due to the decrease in fluid output. Alhamdullilah, Dr. S gave the green light to discharge me on Wednesday. Mum picked me up upon discharge and rested at her place. But come afternoon, somehow the bloatedness got worst, I vomitted out everything I took in and I felt so so weak! Mum kept placing a hot pack over the tummy and I think coz I was too weak, I fell asleep till the husband came to pick me up later on at night.

8 May 2014 onwards (Day 13 onwards)
The bloatedness came on and off and when it did come, it was very painful. That morning, I had brownish red stains on my pantyliner. Showed the husband and I literally broke down. I just had to think positive and wait on till next week. The only scary thing to me right now is not knowing when OHSS will be flushed out from my system and that I would have to start all over again. 🙁

It has been a whirlwind journey but I do hope that things will come out positive. It’s been almost a month that I have not been at work and I do hope the job is still there for me. Though I had already informed my supervisor but I feel bad that my colleague has to cover for me throughout the past weeks.