If you’re gearing up for an egg retrieval, hi and welcome! I am currently going through my 1st round of IVF and had my egg retrieval a little over a month ago. I am super thankful that everything went well, and we are happy with the number of embryos that we were able to freeze! But I know how scary and lonely IVF can be, so hopefully this post will be helpful – especially if it’s your first time going through it.

Please Note: I am not a medical professional; this post is a reflection of my own personal experience and is not intended to be taken as medical advice. Always consult with your doctor or medical professionals with any questions, or before implementing any changes.

Egg Retrieval Prep

Here are a few things I did to prepare for egg retrieval:

• Nutrition: I’ve always been a healthy eater, but I really focused on getting enough nutrients leading up to my ER. Lots of eggs, avocado, berries, greek yogurt, leafy greens, vegetables, wild caught salmon, whole grains, nuts, and all the other “fertility foods.” I cut out alcohol, and limited caffeine to one cup of coffee a day. Tip: If you’re a wine lover like I am, try replacing your glass of wine with pomegranate juice in a wine glass. It looks like red wine and it’s full of antioxidants! I really enjoy it. I also limited processed foods/junk food, refined sugar, and anything that I know will make me feel bad/bloated.

• Exercise: I’m not a hard core workout girl to begin with, but I replaced any weight lifting or HIIT style workouts with things like walking, yoga, or pilates. The goal here is to keep cortisol levels low and increase blood circulation. Once you get into stim injections, your doctor will probably tell you to avoid any movements that involve twisting – this is to protect your ovaries since they grow quite a bit.

• Supplements: The only supplements my doctor told me to take were a good quality prenatal vitamin, and baby aspirin. In addition to that (and approved my by doctor) I added in COQ10 and folate. I also eat 2 brazil nuts each day, which have a ton of fertility benefits!

• Sleep: One of the best things you can do for your health is getting enough sleep, so that has been a big priority of mine the last few months. I tend to have a hard time falling asleep – when I close my eyes is when my brain starts running through anything and everything it could think of… but one thing that has helped tremendously is implementing a relaxing night time routine to wind down before falling asleep. Taking a hot shower, doing my skin care routine, putting on comfy pajamas, making a cup of herbal tea, journaling and then reading in bed has been my little night time ritual. I look forward to it each day haha.

• Reducing Stress: Life is stressful enough to begin with, and IVF is incredibly stressful on top of that. Mentally, financially, and physically… it’s hard. And it’s impossible not to stress at all, but I try my best to keep my stress levels down as much as I can. A few things that I find helpful: my daily gratitude journal, walking, yoga, self care, reading, snuggling/playing with my dog, cooking, cleaning and keeping my house tidy. I will also unfollow or “hide” any social media accounts that negatively affect my mood/energy, and I have no problem declining social activities that I know will give me anxiety.

• Reducing Toxins: There is a lot of information out there on toxins and their effect on hormones, egg/sperm quality, and fertility in general. It’s impossible to cut out all toxins, but I did try to minimize exposure where I could. As I ran out of beauty or household products, I looked for “clean” / non toxic alternatives to purchase next. Fragrances are known for being hormone disrupters, so instead of burning candles (which I love) I started diffusing lavender oil. I quit using perfume. I swapped any plastic items around the house to glass (tupperware for example.) There’s probably more that I’m forgetting, but you get the idea. Honestly I didn’t stress over this too much, but I did make little changes where I could!

Self Care Favorites:

Day Of Retrieval:

Egg retrieval is a minor procedure, but you will be under anesthesia. It was quick and easy! I checked into the clinic and was taken back to the OR room where I changed into a gown and got hooked up to an IV. I was considered high risk for OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) so they gave me 2L of fluids through the IV to help prevent it. I was taken back to the operating room where the anesthesiologist gave me some pain meds and put me to sleep. When I woke up I was pretty loopy, but not in pain. They were able to get 29 eggs which we were really happy with!

A couple tips for egg retrieval day:

• You’ll need to have someone drive you
• Wear loose, comfortable clothes
• Bring a pad as you may have some spotting or light bleeding
• I was told to eat as soon as possible afterwards to prevent nausea
• Plan to rest the next couple of days
• Drink as much water and electrolytes as you physically can to prevent OHSS
• Have easy snacks to grab & plan something for dinner that you won’t need to cook

If you are worried about OHSS, ask your doctor about cabergoline. Mine prescribed it for me and I think it helped!

Egg Retrieval Recovery:

I’ve chatted with quite a few people about egg retrieval recovery, and it can be completely different from person to person. Some are back to work the next day, and others are in bed for several days. My theory is that the more follicles/eggs you have, the harder recovery will be for you. A good problem to have I guess? For me, recovery was much harder than I expected it to be. The day of retrieval wasn’t bad (probably because I still had the good pain meds in my system..) but days 2 and 3 I was in a lot of pain. I could barely move. It was several days before the pain went away, but the bloating stuck around for a week or two. Your clinic will send you home with recovery instructions, but here are a few tips I’ll add from my experience:

• Hydrate: Drink as many fluids as you can, especially electrolytes, because this is the best thing you can do for preventing OHSS. I alternated between water, body armor lyte and gatorade.
• Rest: Your ovaries go through A LOT between stims and retrieval, and they’re going to be sore. Rest as much as you can, for as long as you need to. I mentioned this earlier but again, have easy meals and snacks prepped or planned in case you don’t feel like cooking (I sure didn’t.)
• Stool Softener: This was recommended to me (apparently anesthesia messes things up) and it was much needed!
• Heating pad: I was attached to my heating pad for days after retrieval – it was really helpful for the pain/soreness and discomfort.

Recovery Essentials:

We did not do a fresh transfer, by the way. Recovery may be different with a fresh transfer, so keep that in mind. This was just my personal experience! We will be doing a frozen transfer sometime in the near future, and I’m basically doing the same prep that I mentioned above as far as nutrition, exercise, etc. Hopefully I will be writing another post soon detailing everything I did for a successful 1st FET 😉 Until then, wish me luck and baby dust!

Feel free to leave a comment below with any questions, or any advice to share!