OHSS? O Y-E-S!

Not one to be content just sitting around when it knows there are more extreme reactions it could be having, my body has turned the corner into full on OHSS.

Yaaaaaaaaay.

For the past few days, my stomach had been getting pretty tight and crampy. Which, of course, is one of the 129375716234 possible side effects of progesterone (and probably estrogen too) so I was like lovely, just add it to the joys of the fertility process, and let's move on.

But by yesterday, I woke up at 6am, unable to sleep any more because of the pain in my abdomen. "These are some intense cramps!" I thought to myself, and then tried to remember if regular menstrual cramps are just... constant? Do they come and go? Or is this constant pressure feeling normal? Eh, who knows, IVF drugs be cray.

Then I got up and started to get ready for the day, but had to stagger immediately back to bed as the bathroom started spinning and I got the cold sweats. So that was cool. But it passed, so whatever, fertility drugs suck, it is known, etc.

By the time I got to work, I noticed that all of the bloating that had mercifully been abating over the past week seemed to be back. Like, ALL of it. In one day. Also I couldn't eat anything.

By the time I got home, my stomach was the size of my 5-month-pregnant friend's, causing me substantial pain & discomfort, and hard to the touch. I realized I had not peed at all that day. I chugged a gatorade and emailed my RE nurse, but since it was well after hours by that point I wasn't expecting a reply until the morning.

Last night was... not fun. Lying in any position aside from on my back and propped up by pillows caused immediate acute pain. I couldn't take full breaths. I did not sleep much.

This morning I called my nurse to ask if there was anything else I could or should be doing aside from binging on Gatorade and protein. She immediately scheduled me for a sonogram.

Results: fluid accumulated throughout my abdominal cavity, including in both the left and right upper chambers. Not severe amounts, and no fluid in my lungs or anything, but enough that I can't fit into pants and the pressure on my diaphragm is pretty substantial. So they're sending me to the surgery office (where I had my HSG, the retrieval, and the transfer) to get some of this liquid pulled out of me later today.

The good-ish news is that with late-onset OHSS like this, the cause is almost always a spike in hCG... which would be due to a successful implantation. The bad news is that if I am in fact pregnant, the hCG will continue to feed this condition. So! Yay?

For now it's all about managing symptoms. My doctor wants to take a very proactive approach, draining the fluid now before it gets worse, and after the procedure I will be on a strict Gatorade and protein ONLY diet. There is nothing I can really do to stop it from happening (or getting worse.. or coming back) so I just have to take it easy and try to stay on top of it. At the moment I'm relieved there is some relief in my future, even if temporary. I'm also super thirsty right now, since my body is helpfully leaking everything I drink into my abdomen instead of using it to, say, hydrate my body, AND I am banned from any food or drink until the procedure later today (since they will use anesthesia) but they're having me come a full hour and a half early to put me on an IV to try and hydrate me up a little.

So! Actions being taken! Good things! Eyerolls all around at my body and its need to always be a delicate flower!