Laid Back Consult for my Egg Donation

I had my consult yesterday afternoon, with the recipient's clinic. Talk about laid back! If I was there in person, I think they would have offered me a massage or some chamomile tea! The consult lasted about 15 minutes and pretty much were the same questions that were on the new patient forms I filled out, but it was all good. We talked about my protocol and what would change based on my "advanced maternal age" (Dontcha' just love that phrase?) but let's face it in the world of makin babies, 36 is basically what 46 is to Hollywood stars..

So Dr. D is going to bump up my medicine protocol to match my age and then monitor me closely in case my E2 (estrogen) spikes too high so they can back down my stimulation medicine. To give you an idea of what it will be like here is a run down of an egg donation (from the donor's point of view)

• Birth Control Pills to synch the cycle of the recipient to the donor (this can be 3 wks or more of active pills only)
• Lupron (think of the needle a diabetic uses, injections in your stomach for about 2 weeks, this keeps you from ovulating) This is the baby of the IVF meds.
• After week 1 of Lupron, you are checked to see if you are suppressed (not about to ovulate) if so they introduce the bad mamma-jamma drugs, the actual IVF stimulation drugs. These are LONG needles that are either injected into your hip/thigh OR if you get the short straw into your BUTT yes think penicillin shot. Some meds have to be done intramuscular (or IM ) and well that's the broadside of my big ole big ole.. This happens for about 7-12 days, depending on how well you respond to the drugs
• Transvaginal ultrasounds along the way to check the egg growing (tube up your vajayjay
• Once they are "ripe" so to speak, one final BUTT shot of HCG (this is the chemical pregnant women produce that makes your EPT say yes or + or  2 lines, you get it.) to super charge the eggs maturation, kinda like the shot they give women in premature labor to rapidly mature a babies lungs.
• Retrieval - long metal vacuum attached to a long needle that is used to pierce your ovaries to retrieve each egg visible on the ultrasound (so think if you have 12-15 on each side, that's getting stuck 30 times) LUCKILY most clinic knock you out for this part. Some do just give twilight sedation or Valium (I don't think so for me buddy!!) So when you wake up you just feel crampy and want to take a nap.
• Your part is finished after that!
• Eggs are mixed with recipients husbands sperm and hopefully 12-24 hrs they get a call that all of their eggs fertilized and they have embryos! 
• 3 -5 days later 2-4 embryos are transferred to the recipient and hopefully they implant. About a week after that a pregnancy test is done at the Dr. office via a blood draw this is the BETA and lots more blood tests and ultrasounds follow if things went well.
 

And that folks, is how you make a baby in my world! 

So that's what I have to look forward to in this next few months, depending on when we get started..

I am going to update here each step of the way once it is underway so you can all cheer me on! I am hoping for at least 12-15 mature eggs so my recipient "D" has a better chance of having nice quality embryos at the end.  

Stay tuned for the Egg Donor Chronicles