Visit #5 - Oocyte Pick-Up (a.k.a. Egg Retrieval)

February 17, 2015 | We arrived at the clinic at 7:30am and we are already number 8 in the queue. It didn't matter actually, since we have an appointment and the procedure will happen at the prescribed time. So anyway, we started with the routine vital signs. My heart rate is a bit elevated and the nurse asked me if I'm nervous. "A bit", I said.

Hubby and I had pandesal with egg on the way to the clinic. Part of the prep instruction was to eat a light breakfast. Since I will not be sedated, I didn't have to fast. I was also instructed not to wear make up, nail polish and perfumed lotions. I decided to not apply any skin care product at all.

At 8:30, I was ushered into the Recovery Room where I was assigned Bed #2. I was second to undergo the OPI this morning. Patient #1 is in Bed #1. The bed is enclosed with a purple curtain. There was a locker on one side of the bed, a small closet with lock, actually. A hospital gown was provided, as well as a hair cover. I was asked to strip and change into the hospital gown. I also changed into the hospital provided slippers when I entered the recovery area. I also had to empty my bladder prior to the procedure.

One of the beds in the recovery room

The hair cover and hospital gown - yup, the gown is pink!

My bag inside the closet

The pink key bracelet

Pink hospital gown and purple slippers

I was led into the OR shortly before 9am. I changed into a fresh pair of slippers before being ushered into the operating room. There were at least 5 people in the room. Dr. Mendiola performed the Oocyte Pick-up assisted by nurses and embryologists. The procedure was fairly quick - we were done in about 5-10 minutes. I'm sure it was about 5 minutes, though it felt a bit longer because I couldn't wait for it to be over. It was very uncomfortable - maybe a bit painful. The nurse "distracted" me by showing the monitor where I can see the eggs being retrieved by a needle. It was fascinating.

After the procedure, I was led back to the recovery room where I rested for some time. I will not go into the gory details but basically, I was out of the recovery room in about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, hubby did his part in the male section of the clinic.

Then we waited outside for the result of the egg and sperm retrieval.

First, the embryologist explained the process to us. She has a very interesting job! Anyway, they were able to get two eggs - as expected. However, only one is viable for fertilization. That's fine. The embryologist explained the statistics to us, I guess to manage our expactations. Success rate is 50%. Basically, we want the fertilized egg to develop up to Blastocyst stage - about 6-8 days. That's the only time it will be viable for transfer back to the woman's body. She also explained that given our results, they feel it best to do Intra-Cytoplasmic Injection where they will select the best quality sperm and inject it directly into the egg to assist the fertilization. It costs more, but it will increase the chances of success.

Then we saw Dr. Mendiola where he just summarized what the Embryologist explained to us. I was also prescribed some meds for the next three days to help with the healing. I was also to refrain from strenuous activities in the next few days.

We were asked to come back next week, on February 25th, to discuss the results and how we will move forward. We, along with our prayer warriors, are claiming a successful embryo development. With God on our side, we will beat the odds.

So that's it. Today's visit cost us Php118,104. This is bulk of the expense, hopefully.

Just before I end this, I want to share this passage that encouraged me this past few days.

Please continue to pray with us.