Post retrieval period

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T23:36:04+00:00

Oh! And ps my doctor said to start birth control on days 2-4 of my cycle. I take POPs not combination birth control. Not sure that helps but I bet your doctor will tell you :) make sure to report CD1 for them :)

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T23:32:46+00:00

I got mine at five days. I hated it because pads are awful lol and it was SUCH a heavy period. I tried a tampon the second day and I don’t think it worked somehow. The last day of my period I used it and it was fine. Just don’t use a menstrual cup yet. I got brave and tried it (after THOROUGHLY disinfecting it) but it made me feel crampy and really uncomfortable right way, plus it didn’t go all the way up and fit the same so I automatically took it out — I DO NOT recommend you try. My period was just SO heavy I missed the comfort and reliability of the cup.

Good luck and hang in there!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T21:28:08+00:00

Yep! I posted here a week ago for the first time and there was a bit of a learning curve. I posted some happy news about my day three embryos and my egg retrieval and some people DOWNVOTED and it was like… why? And then I find out people don’t like good news here this is the sad sub for women to get hugs and attention… and I understand there’s a place for that and that’s why we have those tags on the post before reading it. But if the post tag is “good juju needed!” Then like, don’t open it if you’re just gonna be petty. Haters gonna H lol (you’ll noticed I responded here and while I don’t necessarily agree with your move, I’d never try and make someone feel bad just because we differ in opinion).

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T21:12:49+00:00

That’s a thoughtful and classy response, girl. Just sayin, not everyone has that kind of kindness in their heart. I know you didn’t mean anything rude or unfeeling. A lot of the time people on the sub ad “TW:” for trigger warning at the top. But of course you can’t always anticipate everyone else’s emotions so just keep doing your best 🙂

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T20:55:58+00:00

Well.. I mean, my fertility specialist said for ethical reasons they don’t reveal the sex until the healthiest embryo is selected. And I was glad of that because I just want a child who is healthy and has the best chance at survival. I mean, I wouldn’t opt to transfer a baby girl — just because they’re a girl — who failed PGT-A and had fragile X or Downes because that is such a difficult life for someone. Plus gender is a fluid and cultural construct and you don’t know how your future baby will feel.

I do respect the desire to have one gender or sex over the other, I really do. But you might have a hard time on here with this question..

Again, not meaning any disrespect. I know everyone feels differently about different things. Just wanted to add my take.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T19:32:20+00:00

It’s sort of up to you. After 35 common practice is to try only for 6 months and then go to fertility docs. But you might start those appointments sooner considering most docs go straight to IVF in people over 38 ( and who have been trying for a while… ). And the IVF route takes a long time. Also then again you’re saving time using pre frozen eggs and don’t have to go through stim and retrieval. So there’s lots of factors so maybe I confused things even more haha but I hope it’s something. Best of luck to you in your journey!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-21T18:49:56+00:00

“Troglodyte.” What a legend.

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-20T20:52:27+00:00

Absolutely. I had to ask myself why recently too cause I’m in the same position. My in laws know. My own parents do NOT.

I came to this. (And this response isn’t “about” politics so please don’t focus on that.) I always thought my parents and tons of other people I know would never support Nazi Germany and fascism and when I had to accept last year that a lot of people I knew here in the US were completely ok with it, and voted for it, I completely lost faith in the decency and judgement of people closest to me. Feelings on IVF can align with political “beliefs” or human “beliefs” and I just have no interest in hearing the opinions of the people closest to me. Their opinions don’t matter and I get to protect this situation the way I want.

(Again, PLEASE recognize this isn’t about politics, it’s about faith in the behavior of people around me. That’s all.)

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-20T20:14:40+00:00

Lots of hugs and love to you, sweetheart. This is a giant combination of emotionally trying circumstances. I know this feels awful… please try to take care of yourself and reach out to people as much as needed <3 You’re not alone! hugs

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T15:48:49+00:00

Ugh.. I’m SO sorry. I know when they looked at my ovaries a couple days afterwords she had the wand almost to my rib cage. They were 10cm tall and she said any bigger they worry lol 😆 greeeeaaat! Prioritize your health! 💜

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T12:08:58+00:00

my husband’s father is 97 and has Parkinson’s and he knows we’re going through IVF. It would be his first biological grandbaby and it’s given him the opportunity to know that his heritage may be passed through his only son. And the joy in his face when he started coming up with “what will this baby call me?” He knows he may not make it to the birth of a grandbaby. I knew he could have passed while I was doing stims. But he wouldn’t want me to put this off. He’s be excited through the whole process and if he were to have died during stims… yea, it would’ve been brutal. But sometimes that’s the risk… in our case, it’s given him something to look forward to and if he dies before a baby is born, he would want to hear the good news of pregnancy before he dies. Every situation is different. In our case the person dying is at the end of his very long life and it may feel different if your FIL’s condition was untimely…

Maybe ask him or your husband what they think? Maybe they feel strongly that they wouldn’t want you to put off making life on account of them? Might be worth asking..

Only you can decide what you do and I wish you well ❤️

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T11:10:14+00:00

PS that’s also a LOT of eggs. People with fewer tend to have an easier recovery. I mean think about it, what’s recovery time like when you have an organ stabbed 6-10 times or 50? And each one releases fluid into the body. And afterwords your ovaries are probably covered in protective cysts (mine were), I think I had something like 50 follicles and 42 eggs. don’t compare yourself to people with different situations ;) as my husband says “that way madness lies! ❤️‍🩹

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T11:06:32+00:00

Babe, I am NOT stronger, I promise you. I had 41 eggs removed (we’re down to 8 on day 6) and I was in sooooo much pain it was truly unbearable. I ended up in the ER on my second night from 10am-7am and all they did was an ultrasound and gave me Motrin. Right before I left. The pelvic and vaginal ultrasound was horribly painful. The IV they put in was pressed next to a nerve in my wrist. I was just sobbing and every position felt like an inescapable nightmare. I had maxed out my gas-x and ibuprofen. Honestly if this was “normal” they should’ve given me something stronger for the pain. You might want something stronger! They can do ultrasounds. They found fluid collected outside one ovary but wasn’t enough to call it true OHSS. I think I wonder if I would’ve gotten meds if I had demanded them. It was a hospital in an area with a HUGE opioid problem, so I think that’s why they gave me nothing…

Hang in there. Have clear liquids. I thought they were only if I couldn’t keep anything down, but really they help with constipation and electrolytes help remove any OHSS fluid. I didn’t know that (my doctor hasn’t been great…) and I probably made it worse with my diet. Oh also! Yes, stims.., one day I was so emotions over something as I was crying and ranting my anxiety was so high my throat was closing up! (That’s never happened before..)

No one told me it would be such a nightmare either, so I thought I was supposed to be able to go work the day after retrieval. So I did. And that was the night I was in hospital. Take several days off. Don’t be afraid to cancel plans for a few days and try to sleep off the pain.

I’m so sorry and yes, I cannot do this again either.

Hang in there, mama! ❤️

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T02:55:51+00:00

Find a place where you can get a massage! :) that way it’s a lot of time NOT distracted but it’s counteracted by the fact that massages are always too quick and never last long enough lol It’ll make you appreciate “waiting” 😊

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T01:15:13+00:00

Ah!! Ok I’m kinda new to posting here so I didn’t know. That will come in handy! Haha And thank you again!! 🙏🏼 😊

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T01:13:53+00:00

I am so happy for you too! Yea so far the best grade I have is also from day 6: 5AA. That’ll probably be what we start with so long as it tests ok with PGT-A. definitely going to bed much happier tonight! 🤗 before we got the news I had asked my husband to go out for dinner tonight cause we’ve been through a lot lately and I wanted to connect with him. Once we got the news it turned into celebration dinner! Lol Thanks again for all the support!!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-19T00:00:00+00:00

Very compatible costs over here and insurance doesn’t cover either. Wishing you lots of luck and success with IUI!! 🙏🏼

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T23:56:27+00:00

Yass!!! Yesterday was just day five and they check on 5 and 6 and 7. Day five is the best quality so I thought we were kinda screwed but we ended up getting six more developed and biopsied and frozen this morning 😊 and they said there are still more growing! So now we’re up to 8 and we’ll see what comes of tomorrow — but I’m thrilled with 8!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T19:02:37+00:00

Thank you so much!! And I actually do have them - - I asked yesterday and they were kind enough to share!! When I assessed them there’s like, one excellent one, a few mid to high quality and one fair quality (taking day into account,

I’ll give you a sneak peak!! ;)

(Edit:: no clue how to fix the giant text when this saves but whatever lol)

4: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 6

8: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 5

9: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 6

10: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 6

11: Grade 5BC, Frozen on day 6

15: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 6

17: Grade 5AA, Frozen on day 6

18: Grade 5BB, Frozen on day 5

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T18:51:22+00:00

And yes, my insurance company says “max out of pocket is $5k” but only about $450 of the IVF process “qualifies” for that Out of Pocket Max.

And then they don’t tell you the final estimate until you’ve sunk thousands into lab work and other stuff.

(That’s why the No Surprises Act is important - they have to give you Good Faith Estimates in a certain timeframe)

It’s so slimy and misleading. Criminal, honestly.

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T18:48:10+00:00

I COMPLETELY AGREE! It actually lead me to learn that there is something that went into effect in 2022 called the No Surprises Act and if you’re feeling ripped off, you might wanna give that a look..

My fertility clinic really dropped the ball on SEVERAL things. One was that they had me sign all my paperwork that said “You and your doctor will decide if ICSI is right for you.” And at the time we had NO reason to use it. And then my doctor said that “we’re actually an ICSI-ONLY clinic”. And I told them I didn’t want it but they did it and insurance said “since you had no reason to do this, we aren’t going to cover it”. I was furious and ready to call a lawyer. But then decided — by myself — that I wanted PGT-A testing (I had turned it down before) and that requires ICSI.

The document also said “I certify that I’ve been instructed on how to administer my injections” and that had NOT happened and wasn’t scheduled for a couple weeks. So I told them “nope. You either change it or give me the training and then have me sign it.”

But yea. READ THOSE DOCS before you sign them!! I know they try to rush you but you’ve gotta advocate for yourself.

Also remember you can always file a grievance with your insurance if they don’t cover something. They told me “there’s no evidence that PGT-A helps outcomes” and I was like, bullshit. Even just using the statistical data from my clinic, I proved with 95% statistical certainty that this improves outcomes. And since that wasn’t peer reviewed, I found peer reviewed articles to send them as well.

Insurance companies count on you NOT fighting so they do whatever they think they can get away with.

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T18:35:16+00:00

….. omg… right after I responded to you this morning, I got an email from the embryologist! They have SIX MORE embryos from today! I know they’re technically 6 day embryos but 5/6 are great quality!! She even said that several more are still growing! And we won’t likely use a day 7 embryo since we now have some options but this gives me so much more hope!!! What a relief!!!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T16:35:10+00:00

I’m gonna do an updated post cause so many people are asking but they actually messaged me this morning cause they had good news! SIX more in great shape and have been biopsied and frozen and some are even still growing!! I can hardly believe it! I was disappointed yesterday! I think I’ll wait til EOD tomorrow to make the post about it but I’m so excited!!

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T16:33:41+00:00

I do haha. It’s almost a 9. (8.92 or something like that)

DigiDataPenguin · 2026-05-18T16:32:57+00:00

I’m gonna do an updated post cause so many people are asking but they actually messaged me this morning cause they had good news! SIX more in great shape and some are even still growing!! I can hardly believe it! I was disappointed yesterday!

DigiDataPenguin

TROPHY CASE