Egg retrieval - no makeup?

[Shoegal30]

So I am due for egg retrieval on Friday- yay - but the nurse told me that I can't wear any make up? Can anybody tell me why?
Does this also include nail varnish? Moisturiser etc?

Forgive my ignorance, is this under general anaesthetic? Then if so, it's to allow for monitoring. Makeup/moisturisers etccan mean the pads and monitoring don't read accurately plus false eyelashes make it a pain to keep eyes closed. No nail varnish as it stops the monitor picking up your oxygen saturations reliably.

I was told by our nurse that for all egg retrievals and embryo transfers they have absolutely no make up to prevent any possible chemicals affecting eggs/embryos as they are very sensitive. I wasn't sure just how much damage a lick of mascara could do but I just went bare faced. I was also told not to wear deodorant or perfume. I just took my toiletry bag with me and made myself a little more human once the procedure was done and I was ready to head home.

Yep - no make up or anything perfumed.

No nail varnish either - they check your sats on your finger and the thingy (?) won't work through varnish.

Thanks all.

Does that also mean showering as I normally shower in the morning and use shower gel.

Also what about washing face in the morning and moisturiser?

I was never told any of this when I had egg transfer. I certainly showered as normal, wore deodorant, perfumme etc. I never really wear make up.

I've got three children now so I obviously didn't mess things up too much with a bit of spritz!

I had a normal shower, normal face cream but no make up.

I was given very clear instructions for my Egg retrieval (only under mild local anaesthetic, not general):
no make up
no nail varnish
no perfume
and I was given a special wash to use as shower gel that kills any germs.

I was told this was because it's in an operating theatre and is a mild operation, so to prevent any possible infections.
I never wear make up or nail varnish anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference to me, but it felt good that they were thorough. I think I might have worn moisturiser, as I get very dry skin, but you can always check if you're unsure.

Best of luck!

At my clinic the embryologists and consultants don't wear make-up either, so I think that's quite normal.

We had to wear unperfumed deodorant as well (be warned - it doesn't work!).

I think they're just really, really cautious - and that's a good thing.

Good luck!

Hope all went well today Shoegal

Thanks for the advice all.

I went native just to be on the safe side so no makeup/deodorant etc.

Rumples it went so much better than expected. 10 eggs retrieved which is great as only had 3 follicles ready when I went for my scan on Wednesday so think my last big dose of Menopur worked.

Just waiting for the call from the embryologist tomorrow morning now

10! Well done. More than I ever managed :-)

Fingers crossed for you and hope you get good news with that call.

Morning, have just heard back and out of the 10 eggs - 3 have fertilised normally.
My ET is booked in for Monday morning at which point they will be able to tell me the quality of the embryos, how many they will put back in etc.

She did say that the eggs that had fertilised looked perfect normally so have to keep my fingers crossed they survive until Monday.

Good luck to you - and remember, it only takes one. It's a massive cliche but true. X

3 good fertilised eggs is a very good result. As Cinnamon says it really does only take one. I think we had 4 good eggs, but only 2 survived until transfer day. We had one put back (not allowed 2 in our clinic), and I'm 11 weeks pregnant today!

Best of luck for you on the 2ww, it's painfully slow towards the end, but hopefully Christmas and the New Year will keep you occupied.
Let us know how you get on!

Thanks for the positive messages ladies.

Have just had my ET. Nothing to freeze but the transferred one was a top quality 8+3+3.

Just praying to god that this sticks now. Any tips of what I can do to aid this?

I have been having acupuncture for 6 months and had a session this morning and plan to have another one later.

Also am going to be eating pineapple, Brazil nuts and avacados xx

Glad all went well. In terms of making it stick, there's loads of (often contradictory) advice out there.

For what it's worth, I continued life very much as normal - active (walks, still cycling to work and weekly yoga) but not more than before, just listening to my body and not overdoing it. My midwife told me that light regular exercise was good as it helped blood circulation, which keeps healthy blood flowing to the uterus. I also did accupuncture between EC and ET, and then again later (but more for anxiety than actually "stickiness" iykwim). And foodwise I kept up my usual diet but with much less sugar than usual (ie chocolate once or twice a week rather than every day, as I would prefer!).

Best of luck!