Freaking out! EPU and stitches?

I'm having a slight freak out right now. I recently went through an IVF cycle and had egg collection a couple of weeks ago. I was just in the shower and (tmi :redface: ) felt inside my vagina and could feel something odd. When I pulled my finger out there was a stitch on it! :o And there is definitely still more in there. No one told me that there would be stitches. I was under the impression that it's just a needle (albeit a big one) that goes through the vaginal wall, so I never imagined that it would require stitches!

I'm a little embarrassed to be asking about it, but my concern is greater than my embarrassment. Is it normal to have stitches?

could the stitch be from your previous birth??

Can't say that I've ever had stitches after an EPU. Then again, I wasn't exactly poking around in there after having had 26 and 32 eggs collected with my first two collections and quite nasty cases of OHSS!

My third - definitely no stitches and 20 eggs collected...

I can't imagine why you'd need stitches after an EPU, unless something went wrong. But you'd think they'd have told you when you came around after the anaesthetic in that case.

I'd also imagine that they'd use dissolvable stitches for any internal stitching and that they'd be well and truly dissolved by now. Worth calling your clinic tomorrow?

BW

did you have any stitches when K arrived hun? i have not heard of anyone having stitches for EPU at all...

I had a natural birth with Kyson and no stitches. These stitches are well and truly on the inside. They are done with dissolvable stitches and the one that came out had dissolved where it would have been through tissue (ie. the knotted bit and about 4-5mm on each side of the knots were not yet dissovled). The stitch material used was fairly thick and I'm not surprised that the others haven't fully dissolved and come out yet (based on my surgical vet nursing experience lol).

Everything I'm reading on the internet says that IVF is a cut and stitch free procedure. I can only imagine that I got the stitches due to something going wrong, but no one mentioned anything after the egg collection. I actually rang my nurse two days after collection because I was in more pain than I had expected (was still doubled over a bit and couldn't walk standing straight up), and was told it was normal to be in more pain a couple of days later because the pain relief in the anaesthetic had worn off. Still no mention of anything involving stitches then.

I'm definitely going to give them a call tomorrow, although they only answer the phones between 1-2pm on a Sat. I'm also a little worried because AF had just finished and I used tampons for the entire AF. I'm sure that was probably a bad thing when you have stitches in there...

What kind of pain were you in? Bruised type pain, or more cut type pain?

I remember being in absolutely horrific pain when I woke from my first EPU - the dr that did it was quite rough and after 26 eggs, I felt so bruised and sore. I was crying in pain, but each sob caused movement and more pain and it was just horrific. But feeling bruised and beaten up is very different to the way things feel if you've been cut and stitched up.

Also - the only way my pain has increased a couple of days later is because of OHSS developing. The thing about pain relief in the anaesthetic wearing off after a couple of days just doesn't sound right to me at all!

BW

definitely give them a call hun - that sounds a bit weird

BW - My pain was more like the bruising pain you mentioned. Sort of an achy pain when I was sitting still, and sort of like a super extreme version of ovulation pain when I was moving. I guess I never really felt a cut-type pain, but I'm not sure if it was just overpowered by the other pain. With regards to the pain relief and anaesthetic, they never mentioned there was pain relief in the anaesthetic before the procedure. I thought that if there was some in there they would have mentioned it considering I they put a red medical alert tag around my wrist that stated that I was sensitive to many pain relief medications. I know that at my vet clinic we add a pain relief to the pre-med given before a surgery and that lasts 24 hours, but I did't get any sort of pre-med before the egg collection.

BG - They'll definitely be hearing from me tomorrow!

I had stitches after my first epu as they had nicked a blood vessel while in there. Nobody said anything to me afterwards and it wasn't until I saw FS at our next appointment that he told me what had happened. In my case it was no big deal and certainly didn't impact on subsequent IVF procedures. Call them tomorrow but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

Lise

Thanks for you post Lise. Hopefully that's all that's happened with me too. I'm surprised that nothing was mentioned to either of us as soon as we woke up! It's a bit of a shock to discover stitches when you never knew they were there.

Best of luck for today Mylitta

I am curious to see what they say.

I never realised stitches may be required after an EPU.

Well I spoke to a nurse today, and there must be nothing about it on my file because she had to go and ask a senior nurse about it. When she came back on the line, she told me that very occassionally there will be some excess bleeding and that they may put a couple of stitches in (like what happened with Lise). She said she was absolutely SHOCKED that no one had told me and that I wasn't given any after-care instructions. She said it should definitely be followed up, and that I should call my usual nurse on Monday to talk to her about it, and that she would call my nurse on the Tuesday to follow it up as well. She was very supportive and said that in my position she would want to know what had happened too and that something had seriously gone wrong in the communication lines. She even mentioned that if I felt the need, I should see a doctor over the weekend to remove any worries, but I'm happy enough with her explanation of what's happened (if not with the lack of communication). I thought she mentioned "financial" something-or-rather, but I was outside on my mobile and didn't catch what she said. But if there's a chance of getting a discount or something on our next cycle, then I'll definitely take it. I'm going to let my nurse know how shocked I was when I found the stitches and how freaked out I was about it and see what happens. It's not about the money... but who wouldn't take a discount? ;)

Thanks for all the words of support. It definitely helped my frame of mind last night!

Well, glad it wasn't anything too serious. I would have freaked out too!

I have to shake my head... my clinic is soooo busy every cycle I've had they've forgotten something or overlooked things (nothing quite like that, though!). Not good enough for all the money we spend - get that discount!

i also required a stitch after my second EPU, it caused me so much pain, i also took antibiotics because of this, i got a BFP from that cycle

GL

:o oh wow im so silly id never heard of this,you poor thing .
i would have freaked out too ,but glad to hear its a normal thing hun take care and good luk