# Pain relief during egg collection



## emivf (May 17, 2011)

I've been offered two forms of pain relief during egg collection and not sure which to go for. I have no idea how painful or uncomfortable the procedure will be. I can either be sedated or I can choose to self administer the pain relief as and when I feel I need it - with the second option I will be able to witrness the egg collection on the screen.

I'm fascinated by the process, but like I say, don't know how painful it will be - so even though I'd love to be awake and be able to see what's happening I also like the option of being put to sleep and just letting them get on with it all.

What have other people opted for??


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

hi emivf.


I had my first cycle of IVF in april. At the clinic where I go, they don't do sedation. I was given a pain killing suppository which went up the    and temazepam to relax me a little.


I found the process very painful. I don't want to scare you but the needle used to retrieve the eggs is pushed through the wall of your vagina up to the ovaries. Everytime the needle pierced a follicle I felt the pain.


Given the choice I would go for sedation as whilst I could have watched on the screen, the pain prevented me doing so as I couldn't focus on anything anyhow. They offered gas and air, but it makes me sick, but next time I will take a chance on vomitting on the floor   


Good luck whatever you decide x


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

You poor thing - thanks for your honesty!

My options are far more appealing. I've also been told that if there isn't an aneasthetist available then I have to do the self adminstration and I'll only find this out just before the procedure - so it might be that I won't be able to opt for sedation at all.

I'm still 50/50 on this at the moment as I'd love to watch but I also hate the pain. I imagine it's quite like the pain I experienced during my HSG which was horrendous and I don't fancy that for a prolonged period.

How long does the egg collection take - I guess this depends on the amount of follicles - I've got about 15 I think.


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## Flygirl77 (Apr 3, 2011)

Emivf

I was sedated and you're not completely out. You are aware of sound touch and you get the occasional pain on the needle piercing but it's a short sharp pain. I would take sedation if my pain afterwards was anything to go by but it's your call honey. How high is your pain threshold??

Good luck with ec and I hope you get lots of fab eggs
Luv c xx


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## babysparkle (Mar 28, 2011)

Hi emivf,

I had my first cycle of ivf back in feb at a private clinic and there was no choice, it was heavy sedation and I don't remember a single thing! Having seen a diagram of how they do the egg retrieval (as explained by ekitten1) I was rather glad!! Although I agree it would be amazing to watch the process happening I honestly would go for sedation! Mine took 45 mins as they had great trouble getting to the left ovary and I would worry that if you were awake they wouldn't be able to be as forceful. As soon as I came round they offered painkillers straight away so all was fine before, during and after  
Obviously at the end of the day the decision is yours, wishing you lots of luck xx


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

emivf - I only had 5 eggs collected and it took about 15-20 minutes. I think it was more painful than the HSG. I hate to scare you, you may actually find it's not that bad, but I prefer to be as honest as possible.


Flygirl77 - Know what you mean about the after pains, every few minutes I felt like someone had just stuck a knitting needle up there.


Maybe it is more painful because the ovaries are already tender from the stimulation. Saying that, I will still be going for round 2 in about 4 weeks time as I think the pain will all be worth it to have the chance of a baby


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

After reading your replies I think I'm going to opt for sedation as if they have 15eggs or more to get I'll be bored watching after the first few. I have a high pain threshold as I've suffered with endo all my life. I don't fancy having to self administer for a long period of time. Do u go in alone or can your partner go in too?


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## babysparkle (Mar 28, 2011)

I went in alone for egg collection but dh was allowed in for transfer 

Good luck!


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

DP came in for both ec and et x


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

I had 16 eggs collected this morning, but warned that some of these might not be mature enough to use. God sample of sperm too with good motility. Yay! They'll be mixed together today and let's hope some magic happens overnight. I opted for sedation and the worst bit was the needle that had to go in my hand. It wouldn't go in right so I had to have another inserted furrther up my arm. Had a painkiller shoved up the bum at the end which was very odd but it got to work really quickly and the stomach pains have subsided. Now in bed at home resting and hubby just made me egg+soldiers for a very late breakfast. Going to have a snooze and then try out the progesterone pessary things I've been asked to use everyday


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## Flygirl77 (Apr 3, 2011)

Em
16 fantastic here's hoping they all get jiggy lol
Take it easy and watch out for the trapped wind it can be torture. Get you dh to go get you some peppermint tea or cordial it really helps 

When you going for et? Good luck honey
Luv c xx


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

Not got TW yet bug hot water botttle at the ready and hubby will be makIng me tea on demand all day. Going to spend most of today chilling out under the duvet. Going for ET on Thursday.


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Emivf - Great news, 16 is a good result. May they have lots of fun dancing away with   tonight. Good luck and fingers crossed


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## x-stacey-x (Mar 6, 2011)

*Emivf* Fantastic news!  Hope all goes well between now & then   

I started reading this thread last nite & it's all I can think about now. I'm due to go for EC on Monday & after reading everyones comments I'm really scared  I don't have a choice about sedation. I have a Voltarol suppository which I need to use 1hr before EC then and a sedative but I'm still conscious & aware the whole time 

xx


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

I'm really glad I got sedated. The pain after isn't so bad. Just a bit crampy. I had a pain killer inserted at the end of the procedure and that's really helped. Not had any need for further pain killers this evening. Just using a hot water bottle to ease the slight cramping. Just done my first progesterone gel insert and thought that would start me cramping again but it's given me no bad side effects yet. I feel very lucky as some of you guys sound you've been in a lot of pain. I'm just going through mental pain as we now to decide how many to Put back. Making my head hurt.


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Stacey, please don't worry. i did it without sedation and will again be doing it without sedation soon. It has to be done and hopefully any pain will be worth it.


To be honest, it does hurt but it is over pretty fast, the after pains only lasted a few hours for me and only the first hour was really uncomfortable. The worst is the horrid trapped wind and constipation everyone seems to get after ET. I would advise you all the be prepared and get some Fybogel in if you really need to get things moving easier. My clinic advised Fybogel is safe to take.


And I will just say that it does hurt going into the follicles but with every egg that comes out, it feels like a victory. I cried with every egg   , the nurses had a laugh at me.


Good luck to all of you and     for BFP's all round xxx


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## ekitten1 (Dec 18, 2009)

emivf - It very much is a personal choice as to whether you have one or two put back. we decided on 2 because the embies were a bit fragmented but we had already decided anyhow. We didn't want to be in the position of having a BFN and kicking ourselves for having a single embie put back. As it was, neither of them implanted so I am glad we did 2 because we gave it our best shot.


The other side of course is the risk of twins, I think it's 20% of BFP's having 2 put back will get twins. From my cycle buddies thread I think we got just one set of twins conceived last month and we were a busy thread of about 35 ladies xx


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## emivf (May 17, 2011)

We've opted for one, but open to discussion with clinic as they're the experts and we need to hear their opinions in order to fully decide.


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