Hyperstimulation

Just wanted to hear from anyone who has suffered from hyperstimulation or knows much about it. Obviously my FS and the nurses have given me heaps of info but it would be great to hear about an actual instance and what to look for.

I was scheduled for egg pick up on Fri 28th Nov but when I went for my scan on Monday they discovered I had at least 48 follicles and were going to cancel the whole cycle. Fortunately my hormone levels were low enough to go ahead with the pick up but it had to get pushed forward to yesterday. So I went in yesterday petrified about what the outcome would be. I awoke to be informed that they collected 27 eggs and will find out shortly how many have fertilised. At this stage it is still unsure whether I will have a transfer, depends on how I go over the next few days but so far so good. I actually don't feel too bad today so fingers crossed.

Any tips on what I can do to help my chances?

Molly - given your hormone levels were ok, you may not actually develop OHSS (fingers crossed) - i had 59 dominant follicles, collected 22 eggs and was fine for transfer as my hormone levels were ok. here's hoping that happens with you

i have developed OHSS on two cycles though - not severe OHSS thankfully, but bad enough to feel uncomfy - the main things to keep in mind - you need to keep up fluids even now - drink water water water - and when you think you're water logged, have a bit more! to keep your body fluids balanced, substitute some gatorade or similar in there - the electrolytes will help. eat protein rich food (eggs, meat etc). keep an eye on your weight or stomach girth - if weight goes up a lot in a short time, it's a sign your ovaries are leaking fluid to your abdomen. same if stomach girth goes up. i managed this by laying on my back, marking two points on my hip bones underneath my belly botton, and measuring couple of times a day. if you have ANY impact to your breathing (hurts to breath, you are struggling AT ALL - go straight to the hospital

be prepared, if you have a transfer and DO have mild OHSS it can get a whole lot worse if you get a positive result. i hyperstimmed on my most recent IUI cycle, but just on one ovary (no idea how i managed that) - and even at 12w pg, that ovary is still "really chunky" so it can be uncomfy for a while!

good luck, and hoping you just had a good response, not the OHSS.

BG

Hi BG

Thanks so much for sharing your advice. It is great sometimes just to hear that someone else has had high numbers and not necessarily gone on to be OHSS.

I am off to measure my stomach right now..............

Mollygirl, BG has pretty much said it all. I've been knocked down with bad OHSS twice, and had a milder case develop on the third stim cycle - which was the first where I got to transfer and gave me the baby I have due in 7 weeks.

The only thing I will add is REST. Make sure you are eating, too. The problems arose for me when I stopped eating (it hurt too much) or when I did too much (caused more fluid to leak).

I will also say - don't be scared if they suggest not transferring. It really is in your best interest. I spent a week in hospital with the second round, and it was honestly the best place for me. When I got mild OHSS with pregnancy, it hung around until about 10 weeks before it even started to resolve and I still had painful ovaries at 15-16 weeks. A bad case of OHSS and pregnancy means you are looking at significantly longer in hospital, abdominal drains and worst case scenario is termination to keep you alive.

That's the scary side of things, though. I've been there three times and survived... I can give a more detailed and sensible post after work if necessary.

BW

Hi there Molly girl

When I had OHSS on my first cycle - I was told to triple my protein, which meant having at least a protein shake, couple of handfuls of nuts and meat for lunch and dinner. that apparently helps with the OHSS. Your clinic should be able to give you a handout on how to cope with it if you get it.

ciao for now

Well just got a call from the scientists - apparently 23 of the 27 eggs were mature and of those, 19 fertilised !!!!

Now i just have the nervous wait to see if we get any blasties and if i am well enough for the transfer on Monday - :crossfingers:

Wow. 23 fertilised. That is absolutely fantastic. Well done. Fingers crossed and lots of baby dust to you. Don't forget to have lots of protein.

Wow great result!! Keep going little embies!!! I had a very mild case of OHSS after 30 eggs were collected. I went on to have a transfer on day 5 that cycle. As the other ladies have said keep up the fluids and the protein. My FS told me to drink Sustagen, perhaps if you could get your partner to go to the shops for you and pick some up and maybe some gatorade to.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I have jokes to my husband that i want him to bring the tv into the bathroom as i seem to be in there every 10 minutes with all the fluids i am drinking.

I am still quite bloated today and still a bit sore but generally i don't feel bad. I am quite suprised however that since my egg pick up 2 days ago, no one from the hospital or clininc have called to see how I am. At my last IVF clinic they semed to be calling all the time to check up.

Anyway I am off to make myself a breakfast full of protein and wash it down with copius amounts of water.

Mollygirl, I've never had hospital people call to check on me. But my clinic would call every day. Mainly just the scientists to update me on how my embryos were going, but they also checked on me and had my specialist call me if I was doing badly... We also get a phone call from the nurses at the half way point between transfer and blood test, and the time I was hospitalised with OHSS I had nurses calling me in hospital to check that the hospital was treating me correctly and that I was recovering ok. The hospital paperwork indicated that hospital people would contact me to check on recovery, but I suspect that because they knew the clinic would be in such close contact with the EPU patients that they just didn't bother.

I know the feeling of being in the loo constantly - it's even worse than pregnancy! I got so stressed about watching weight and fluids, etc that I'd even end up weighing myself after each loo trip!

BW