Hi all,
I just wanted to post about my experience with OHSS as when I had it I searched high and low and nothing actually correlated completely with me and if this post can help even one person then that would be great.
I AM NOT A DOCTOR AND THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL VIEWS AND EXPERIENCE.
Bit of background, I am 32 and undergoing my first IVF round. I conceived naturally with my son and he is 3 but something changed in the last 3 years apparently and now we have male factor as an issue (same dad).
Anyway, tests done in the lead up showed I had high AMH levels / high number of follicles so OHSS was mentioned to me from the beginning as a likely risk even though I do not have any of the other high risk factors (no PCOS, I am average weight, etc.)
1st round went surprisingly well. I was lucky that I didn't really have any side effects. 2 days leading up to my transfer I started to feel pretty heavy and bloated but nothing to awful.
Day of egg collection, again petrified but it was absolutely fine. I had 58 folliciles (that explained the bloating..), we got 28 eggs. At that point I was told 100% had to be a frozen transfer as anything over 20 is as it is then fairly likely you will get some form of OHSS.
We then got told 23 mature enough to fertilise, 15 made it overnight and eventually ended up with 6 frozen blastocysts on day 5 chilling in the freezer until I was ready.
I was told OHSS was either mild, moderate or severe. It seemed to be quite black and white where I read things but I definitely was a mix of moderate to severe.
I put on 13.5lbs in 5 days, this was all swelling in my stomach. I honestly looked 9 months pregnant it was mental - technically anything over 2lbs a day is classed as severe so I was in constant panic that I was going to end up in hospital but I managed it at home.
I was able to keep down fluids. I forced myself (because you really feel full you don't really want to drink loads) to drink minimum 2.5 litres of water a day plus 3 electrolyte drinks a day (I make this at home from 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar mixed with water - disgusting but works) and the odd still Lucozade orange and I honestly think that having that many electrolyte drinks and water saved me from having to go into hospital. Because I was 'hydrated' I could stay at home as all they do in hospital is give you a drip.
My doctor just said 'water is fine have electrolytes if you want' but salt is what helps water get into your blood stream and keeps you hydrated (hence athletes have electrolyte drinks as they sweat out water) and with OHSS you are basically leaking water from your blood into your tummy so that needs to be replaced... so I thought duh the more hydrated I am, the less sick I will feel and then won't need a drip.
This also went into my food, I had lots of salty foods. When I say lots.. I didn't have a great appetite as I felt like I was about to combust but when I did eat I made sure it was salty food.
Pain wise.. it felt like heartburn but all across my stomach, and I was thinking is this 'severe pain' as they say in the leaflets but really only class severe pain as being literally doubled over for ages and not being able to move with cramps / pain (I had the odd 10 mins of being on all fours like OUCH and, again, panicked is this it am I dying/have to go to hospital, but it passed).
Another thing that drove me crazy is no where would tell me when the hell I would start to feel better. But with a lot of research on many different sites and my own experience I would say day 5-7 after you start experiencing symptoms. Drove me mental I would see 7 days but I was like FROM WHEN?! As the trigger injection is what 'sets it off' but the egg collection can also 'set it off' it was all a bit confusing.. but yes, 5-7 days after SYMPTOMS seems to be the average.
The weight took another 5/6 days after my turning point to come off and after 8 days I was actually 3lb lighter than when I started (prob lack of appetite) so silver lining and all that.
I have rambled for ages but the most important thing I will say is anyone who gets / has OHSS please just hydrate hydrate hydrate and try not to panic (easier said than done as all I did was panic) but you will feel better soon.
xxx