I have reached egg retrieval time. I can’t quite get my head around the fact that I am at this stage.

The info part

Egg retrieval in an IVF cycle is when they collect the eggs that your ovaries have been growing reading to be fertilised in the lab. When I was scanned on Friday I had follicles (cysts that hold our eggs) measuring 22mm, 17mm, 16mm, 3 at 15mm and a good few coming up behind them. They want the leading follicle to measure over 18mm so when they scanned me I was good to go. I’ve had one more dose of Menopur (the follicle growing drug!) and they will have grown another 2-4mm since then. When I go into the clinic tomorrow they will sedate me once I am in theatre. This is because in order to collect the eggs the doctor has to use the vaginal probe with a needle attached…this will then go through my vaginal wall into my ovaries and remove the follicles with suction. Hence the need to be knocked out! The eggs will then be placed into test tubes and the embryologist will count them and see how many have been retrieved.

I am such a mixture of emotions. Initially my consultant led me to believe they would get 15-20 eggs from me, which to be honest, is too many. When I started being scanned last week it seemed like I would barely have half a dozen. I just really want more than 10, I want to give them a good change of fertilising and making it to 5 day blastocysts (They will put them back in me at 5 days, and others will then be frozen.) I just really want some to go to freeze because I don’t feel like I’ll be lucky enough for it to work this time and I want some on standby.

I just have to see what will happen tomorrow though and that is not something that sits well with me. I’ve learnt through the IVF process that the unknown is a big factor, things change all the time, no one is really in control and I cannot deal with any of that!!!

Here’s to tomorrow, to having a needle stuck up my vagina and praying that my screwed up and scared body doesn’t fight against the poor doctor and hinder the process. I shall report back with the number of eggs!