How Would You Like Your Eggs?

Morning of the egg retrevial

Now when I was told that my fertility might be compromised during chemotherapy, I never wanted a child more in that instant. Freezing my eggs was the only choice to at having a somewhat ‘normal’ pregnancy. The downfall to completing this procedure is that the fertility clinic was two hours away. I went and did a consult with one of the clinic’s nurses. They completed an ultrasound on my ovaries and not knowing what it would mean, the nurse said I had Polycystic Ovaries (PCOS) (story to follow). Anyway, they ordered my medicine and a few short days later I began injecting myself to begin the process for egg retrieval. Thanks to the Livestrong Foundation, and well I guess being a cancer patient, I was able to complete this process a process valued at $10,000 for free (minus the anesthesia cost).

‘In order to retrieve eggs for freezing, a patient undergoes the same hormone-injection process as in-vitro fertilization. The only difference is that following egg retrieval, they are frozen for a period of time before they are thawed, fertilized and transferred to the uterus as embryos. Once the eggs have adequately matured, they are removed with a needle placed through the vagina under ultrasound guidance. This procedure is done under intravenous sedation and is not painful. The eggs are then immediately frozen. When the patient is ready to attempt pregnancy (this can be several years later) the eggs are thawed, injected with a single sperm to achieve fertilization, and transferred to the uterus as embryos.’

Start of OHSS
Bruising from injections

During the course of two weeks I had to make several trips to Syracuse for them to view how my ovaries were reacting to the hormones.  The process was pretty simple once you get over the fact that you have to give yourself a shot. The day of retrieval came and I was so excited to get this part of the journey over with. They took 35 eggs and the following day it was confirmed that they were able to freeze 32 eggs! It was a little uncomfortable to walk the remainder of the day, and overall just cramp-y.  You bloat up a little bit from the hormones in your lower abdominal area, and that should go away shortly after retrieval. However, for me, it did not- I got bigger. Remember how I mentioned me having PCOS? Well, one of the side effects of egg retrieval in conjunction with PCOS is Ovarian Hyper stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Hold up, wait, too many acronyms- and I don’t know what you’re talking about.

PCOS is a problem in which a woman's hormones are out of balance (could this be where my cancer came from-perhaps).  It’s more of a genetic disease that comes with several symptoms that tend to be pretty mild at first: acne, trouble losing weight, thicker hair, etc.

Mom always cuddling me to comfort.

Having this fairly rare disease (1 in 10 women) was probably what caused my ovaries to be hyper stimulated. OHSS is where too there is too much hormone medication in your system in which your ovaries become swollen and painful. A small number of women may develop severe OHSS, which can cause rapid weight gain, abdominal pain, vomiting and shortness of breath.

Leaving Syracuse for the final time.
Happy with the news of:
"All tapped out!"

The pain was unbearable; I couldn’t walk, sit, stand, anything without horrible pain coursing through my lower abdomen. I really did not feel good. In essence, my ovaries were put into overdrive by the trigger shot I took that. The HCG in the shot made my ovaries react all bonkers and started to leak fluid, and that fluid started to move into my abdomen.  I had gained almost 20 pounds in just a few short days due to the ‘water weight’. Once I realized this pain was abnormal, and it wasn’t going away. I made a trip to Syracuse to speak to the nurses and doctors about my issue. Treatment for OHSS is only to make you feel more comfortable, and boy was I in pain. The treatment plan is basically the same procedure as the egg retrieval but instead of retrieving eggs, they drain the cavity using a needle.  Sadly, that day was a day I decided to go by myself- HUGE MISTAKE! They wanted to put me under for the procedure, but because I didn’t have a ride, that meant no anesthesia. Naturally, I had psyched myself up to experience the worst pain imaginable, and I wasn’t too far off. However, it was more of a pressure than a pain feeling. They took out 1.5 liters of fluid that day. In the course of the week  I had to travel to Syracuse 4 times to be ‘tapped’ and each time the drained me they took about 2 liters (and no, I never went alone to those appointments after that first one).

So, yes my kids (32 frozen eggs just waiting to be fertilized) were already giving me troubles! However, if it meant that this was my only way of conceiving my own children; I would do it all over again if I had to. It also makes me happy knowing that because I don’t plan on being ‘The Old Lady that Lived in a Shoe’ (having all 32 children) that another woman battling an aggressive cancer and needing to start treatment right away will find comfort knowing that she will be able to have children by using my eggs.

It was rare for me to get cancer, it was rare for me to get PCOS, it was rare for me to have OHSS; quite frankly, I was sick of being unique, and I just wanted to be normal. My normal; whatever that was, before cancer came and made me such a rarity.

XOXO-B

 

 

http://uscfertility.org/egg-freezing-faqs/

http://www.webmd.com/women/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview#1

https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.html

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ovarian-hyperstimulation-syndrome-ohss/home/ovc-20263580

Ports and Puking

May 3, 2016—Port Surgery



We had to wait a little over a month to get all of our ducks in a row before proceeding. The plan at my place of work was to send me to training to become a forensic interviewer, because I was unsure of how sick I was going to be during treatment, I thought it was best that I go to training before I started treatment. Then the following week I was undergoing the steps to freeze my eggs. I ended up having to miss a planned vacation with my brother, sister-in-law and niece to Disney World.  Sadly, I had to miss the picture below in person, so I could create memories with her, and my own children at Disney in the future.

 

The Chemo-Port

 

 

The surgery for my chemo port is actually my first real surgery besides getting my tonsils taken out in the third grade. A port (chemo port-a catheter) is a nifty little device that they put in you to receive chemotherapy. Because thye medicine given during chemo can burn you veins, I was strongly suggested to get this device, and looking back now, I’m glad I did. They can take blood samples, and give you your chemo treatment all through your port, in essence, fewer needles, less pokes, less pain.  Advice: ask for lidocaine cream to apply a half hour before your chemo appointment, and you won’t even feel that needle.

The special soap to shower with

Learn more about chemo ports here: http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/chemotherapy/catheters-and-ports-cancer-treatment

They give you this special soap to shower with the night before surgery. You not allowed to eat or drink past midnight. I walked in fairly confident, but, as soon as they gave me the gown to put on, it became real again. You see, I really didn’t feel like I was sick or I had cancer until I was in the hospital. It hit me, that they were going to put this device in, theoretically to help save my life, I saw it as the device that was going to help kill every good and bad cell in my body. Anyway, the  day of surgery you have to submit a urine sample, to ensure that you’re not pregnant. I believe I was in and out of the O.R. in two hours or so. Your mind plays tricks on you, you lead yourself to believe that things will be worse than they are, and in retrospect, port surgery was one of the easiest parts of this process.

You’re a little sore for a few days afterword’s, but completely manageable with pain killers and in fact Tylenol. However--- ADVICE: let your body rest, and always eat before you take a pain pill.



Bandage is where the port was placed.

However, the next day, I tried to be superwoman and go to work. I was scheduled to go to a meeting with a few co-workers in the next county over. I took my scheduled hydrocodone, without breakfast, and just as my ride pulled in the driveway, I got sick. I didn’t want to make Dave’s trip wasted by picking me up, and I didn’t want to call off work, so I grabbed a granola bar, a few grocery bags and jumped into his new-Dodge pickup truck. The meeting was roughly an hour away, my stomach still was not agreeing with me. As we were about five miles away from our destination, I started to feel hot, my throat started to sweat. Oh No! Not in his truck, but yes, I grabbed my grocery bags and got sick two times by the time we reached the courthouse. I felt so embarrassed, and I was afraid that this was what my life was going to be like for the next year so I started crying. Looking back at the story now, it’s not as embarrassing, I’m just glad I didn’t ruin his truck! The funny part of the story though...there was no trashcans outside the courthouse… so, I had to explain to security that they did not want this grocery bag to go through their metal detector, and that they surely didn’t want to look in it. Trying to remain as professional as possible, I informed them of what was in the bag, now realizing I didn’t pose a threat and a little disgusted, the officer let me through to dispose of my bag. I felt sick for the remainder of the day and in fact I had to travel two hours to Syracuse and back that day with mom for an egg appointment, where I continued to get sick while traveling. This cancer journey was sure going to be interesting.