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I honestly was a bit upset hearing this, that I had to adapt and go through a new change.
I was scared because I didn’t know of anyone who had gone through it and especially under my circumstances (Hello universe, I’m sensing a pattern here). I made sure to write down everything from that consultation. I was told to stop my medication that I had been taking for 2 years to prevent me from getting my period because of how excruciating they had been even post removing my right ovary and the tumor. Taking this medication which is prescribed to people with endometriosis honestly improved my quality of life (no more excruciating periods, extreme mood swings and fatigue). My local gyno told me not to worry about fertility and that she would help me to come off it when I was ready to have kids. Flash forward to present times.. I was forced to come off of it and stressed because of it. I didn’t know how my body would react to this change as well as starting a process where I would have to inject myself with hormones to prepare it for egg retrieval.
Like the control freak I am (..my history.. can you blame me!?) I wanted to do everything I could to prepare myself mentally and physically. I made the decision to take a 2 week leave from work, I talked to people around me about the procedure and found out that so many of these women had also experienced reproductive health issues ( that sense of community and connection ya girl is always looking for), saw my naturopath for supplements to support this process and got acupuncture.
Before the procedure, even for those who are healthy and making the choice to freeze their eggs to be proactive or to donate to others will have to go through cycle monitoring to ensure that their ovary(ies) are stimulated and able to extract as many eggs as possible. You go in for cycle monitoring several times throughout a two week period leading up to the procedure.
Cycle monitoring: getting blood work, transvaginal ultrasound, check in with doctor to review those results (hour after) and check in with nurse to set you up with your medication until you are booked to come in again (At the beginning I came in 5 days after taking my pills and shots then I was going in every other day and finally 3 days in a row before the procedure).
I noticed my mindset gradually change once I made these minor (but felt quite impactful) changes which was at the start of the two weeks leading up to the procedure. I made sure to reduce the surrounding stress around the process itself and it positively impacted the course of the next few weeks. Although day 1-7 on pills and injection hormones were a breeze for me (minimal symptoms), day 8 onward my body was really feeling bloated, fatigued and emotionally overwhelmed. I was grateful during these tough moments that needed my full attention (aka sleep or rest) that I had the choice to take a 2 week medical leave from work. My last day of cycle monitoring was when everything hit me, I sat in the clinic waiting to be called and sobbed. My body had been poked and pulled at for 3 days straight, emotions were running high and I definitely sensed the end was approaching.
TO BE CONTINUED..