Today was my egg retrieval surgery, this is typically the hardest and most invasive part of the IVF process. I arrived at our private clinic in Smrčkova at 9:30am. One thing I noticed about healthcare facilities in Prague is that patients and their families are not able to wear the same footwear they wear outside. Same thing for the doctors and nurse staff. Our shoes were checked into lockers and we were given a pair of crocs! This method helps to enhance a sterile environment.
My husband and I met the anesthesiologist and medical team, we completed some consent paperwork and then before we know it, the time had come for me to be wheeled into the surgery room. One of the strangest most anxiety-provoking feelings ever is being laying helpless and exposed on a surgical table surrounded by a medical staff wearing face masks speaking a language you can’t understand.
In what seems like a brief moment later, I awaken in a private recovery room. The anesthesia is making me incredibly sleepy but I ask the nurse to fetch my husband and we happily unite. I have to stay laying down in the recovery room for several hours after the procedure. I am given two IV and some painkillers.
The doctor finally comes in to announce they retrieved 31 eggs. My husband jokes around that I’m his little hen but in all reality, I was overstimulated and now at a very high risk of developing OHSS which is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. I’m given an additional medication protocol to treat the side effects of OHSS and to help prevent blood clots. We were expecting 15 so this was obviously a huge surprise.
Now we wait until tomorrow for the fertilization report. Tomorrow we will know how many eggs were mature and fertilized. 
My mid-section is severely bloated and covered in bruises from the 11 days of stims injections. 60+ needles and syringes that I self injected.
Getting Prague-nat 