My Egg Retrieval process at Manipal Hospital Bangalore

Preparation for Egg Retrieval (ER) consisted of a one-time antibiotic dose with a few shots of Injection Gonal F 300IU (Gonadotropins) and Injection Menopur (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), both daily for at least 5 days to start with. Follicular Monitoring (FM) was done by timely scans after the initial 5 days of stimulation and the next dosage was prescribed based on my body's reaction to the medication. A few more shots were administered before a single shot of Injection Pregnyl (human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG) was administered in MHB at an exact specified time, 36 hours prior to my ER schedule. I might be missing few details here, if so, I will update later. For your information, IVF Specialists in India prefer under-stimulating the patient's body, rather than inviting Ovarian HyperStimulation Syndrome (OHSS).

On the day of my ER, my DH was asked to be prepared to give a fresh sample of semen (the 4-day abstinence rule to be followed). The objective was to fertilize two of the extracted eggs and keep the embryos ready for a Day-3 transfer in the same ICSI cycle. Since a good number of sperm ejaculation was in question, IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) was considered for our case.

 

ER process was done under General Anaesthesia (GA) and they retrieved 13 eggs. Meanwhile, they cryopreserved all 13 eggs and my DH gave his sample to work on the fertilization part for ICSI.

Similar to Hysteroscopy, ER was also painless. After I woke up from a 30-minute anaesthesia sleep, I could feel slight pull/ cramps in my lower abdomen, which continued for a day or two. Doctors/ Nurses told that it was pretty normal, as the body is trying to do the built-up of any damages done to the cells/ membranes.

Post-TESE: Excruciating pain for more than a month

Egg Retrieval (ER) process in MHB is done under General Anaesthesia (GA). Similar to Hysteroscopy, I got my Pre-Anaesthesia Check (PAC) done two days prior to the specified procedure date.

Unfortunately, even after a month of rest and recovery, my DH's pain was unbearable. He had troubling driving to work, sitting on his office chair for long hours, basically each and every activity which involved lower body movement.

So after my PAC that day, we requested Dr. Vasan S.S. to have a look at the surgery site. Even before inspecting the source of pain, he concluded it to be an internal clot and said it would heal on its own. Upon requesting him hard enough, he agreed to check. For your information, everyday at least 10 patients came to consult only him.

Turned out that the pain was caused by the sloppy suturing done during TESE a month ago. Dr. Vasan did cut out a small piece of thread but the excruciating pain continued. More about it later.

My Hysteroscopy Report

After taking medication for a month, my DH got CASA done in Dec' 12. Reports showed 2% Slow Progressive Sperms in Nov as well as in Dec; Total Motility increased from 3% to 4% in Dec; Volume was 0.5ml and Sperm Concentration was 1 million/ml for both the months, but the Percentage of Live Sperms reduced from 14% to 2% after taking medication. Off those 2% Live Sperms, Percentage of Normal Sperms was Zero.

My Hysteroscopy was planned for Dec' 12 itself, and Egg Retrieval (ER) was planned for Feb' 13, so we were asked to continue with his medication and see if it has more effect by then.

I got my Pre-Anaesthesia Check (PAC) done by anaesthetist two days prior to my procedure. Since I was diagnosed of Hypertension in June' 12, they thought of getting an ECG done. MHB is very professional and they check your body thoroughly before performing any procedure. As everything seemed normal, my procedure was given a go-ahead.

Hysteroscopy took place in Dec' 12 and everything was normal and healthy. I was asked to take rest for two months and let the body recover from the internal scratches; ER was re-planned for Mar' 13.

But before my ER, Dr. Vasan S.S. wanted to get good sperms from my DH to perform ICSI in March itself. For that, he repeated CASA test and instructed his lab to freeze the sample obtained from ejaculation instead of performing test, in case good sperms were observed. Our bad, no sperms were retrieved :-(