OHSS

OHSS is short for Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. It is a complication that can arise when egg production is being stimulated. And yes, I got it. Doctor Fisch told me I was at risk for it with the amount of eggs I was producing coupled with how long they had me on the stim meds. But there isn’t much we could do about it except to stay hydradted. So we waited, and about two days after egg retrieval, when I should have been nearly recovered, it hit me.

I’m not sure exactly how it works, but the extremely high levels of estrogen made my body retain fluid. The fluid swells typically in the abdominal region. I felt like I had a watermelon in my stomach. It is painful to move, to sit, to walk. The only thing that made it slightly better was lying down. There is also stinging pee that accompanies this syndrome because of the extreme amounts of dehydration the body is experiencing. Not  pleasant.

On rare occasion, the fluid also fills the chest cavity and the docs have to go in and drain the fluid out. I never had any problem breathing so my case never breached into severe mode. All I could do to combat it was drink as much gatorade and water as possible and lie still. It was awful! 🙂

By the third day of this complication, my stomach finally felt like it had a cantaloupe instead of a watermelon in it. This was also the day of embryo transfer so I was grateful to be feeling slightly better. Doc said the worst of it should be over, and it was. By the time I had done my “mandatory 24 hour bedrest” after the embryo transfer procedure, I was almost back to normal.

Doctor Fisch also said that if I got pregnant, the OHSS would likely come back. Guess what???

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