Embryos and Egg Retrieval Recovery

I had the Monday off after my egg retrieval because it was Victoria Day, so I was able to spend the day relaxing on the couch, drinking water and eating salty foods. I had constant abdominal discomfort. This got better as the week progressed and by about Thursday I only had pain if I twisted the wrong way.

I started progesterone suppositories Monday morning – 2 pills (200mg total) 3 times a day – to prepare for embryo transfer. I also picked up antibiotics that I would take the day before, day of, and day after embryo transfer. The progesterone suppositories are messy but I know from my IUI cycles that I need 400mg a day to prevent my uterine bleeding so I’ll do whatever necessary if it means I don’t have any bleeding.

The lab called the day after the egg retrieval to talk about the eggs/embryos. All 8 eggs were mature and fertilized with ICSI. 7 of them started to divide. With more than 4 embryos they recommend doing a day 5 transfer because there is usually a higher rate of success than a day 3 transfer, and with so many embryos it is likely that at least 1 will make it to day 5. For a day 5 transfer they don’t check the embryos on day 2 so the next update would be day 3.

I was prepared for a drop in the number of embryos on day 3 because I know it’s typical for there to be pretty significant drops in embryo numbers during an IVF cycle, but my husband was convinced all 7 would still be growing. He was right! I got the call on day 3 that all 7 embryos were still growing away and that they looked excellent, so my transfer was set for day 5