The past few days Travis and I have been in a bit of shock. We still cannot wrap our brains around how this happened. Going over to Miami was nice and glad we did it. It was refreshing to see my dad, Maria, and my little sister Chelsea who was down for the summer from Boston College. We wanted to stay over on Monday and just hang out in Miami but around 11 a.m. I started having very strong cramping, especially on my left side. I was so uncomfortable. We returned back to my dad's house, took some Alieve and started heading back to Naples.  The pain had not let up after two hours and I was worried that it was hyperstimulation. Called my IVF doctor and she wanted me to come in as soon as I got back to Naples. Great! This is all we want to do. We are still in an emotional daze and we have to go to the doctor to make sure I am not in danger of hyperstimulation:

The most worrisome complication of IVF is that of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), because of superovulation. The cause of "ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome" is that superovulated ovaries contain many follicles which are loaded with estrogen. After ovulation, a huge amount of estrogen-rich fluid is poured directly out of the enlarged and fragile ovaries into the abdominal cavity. This fluid also contains chemicals like kallikrein-kinin and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), which then coat the lining of the abdominal cavity (called the peritoneum) and cause it to become very permeable (leaky) . Fluid (serum) literally pours out of bloodstream into the peritoneal cavity because of the "leakiness" of the abdominal cavity's lining. The ovaries balloon in size, the abdomen swells, and some women may get lightheaded with relatively low blood pressure, or dizzy because of the decreased blood volume. From:
http://www.drmalpani.com/ovarian-hyperstimulation-syndrome.htm

After conducting an ultrasound my doctor was confident I did not have OHSS and the pain was probably caused by blood in my abdomen which is normal when ovulating as many eggs as I did.  The pain will go away when I get my period.

Seeing the doctor gave us an opportunity to ask questions as well. There was a 3% chance of this happening. Mostly premature ovulation happens with older woman doing IVF and seeing it in a patient like myself is even more rare. Not so comforting news.

Also not so good news was that we are expected to pay to start over. There are four phases.
Phase 1: Monitoring and stimulation (drugs and shots)
Phase 2: Egg retrieval and stimulation
Phase 3: Embryo transfer and stimulation
Phase 4: Past embryo transfer monitoring and stimulation

Each phase costs money. We never got to Phase 2 so we need to do phase 1 over again. We do not feel it is fair to have to pay 'x' amount of money because we did nothing wrong. We followed all the instructions perfectly and they should not charge us at all since we will have to repay for the drugs which cost thousands of dollars as it is. Travis left a message with the head guy at the clinic today. Because this is so rare and again, we did nothing wrong, they should give us a break. Pray for favor.

Starting over means, waiting until I start my cycle, then on day 3 starting the birth control (to calm my ovaries down so we can start at ground zero again), taking it for 3-4 weeks, monitoring and going from there. This puts us at egg retrieval around the end of August, beginning of September.

Please pray for Travis and I. We are thankful that we did not lose any embryos and did not receive a negative pregnancy test. On the other hand, this is a hit. We were not expecting it and it is taking some time to get back on track. It is hard to focus on everyday tasks, work, and other things when we have yet to process what really happened. I feel like crying but there are no tears.  I don't want to be sad but being happy doesn't feel natural either.  This evening, we had planned on going to church but I got home from work around 5:45 p.m., laid down and did not get up until after 7 p.m.  Travis didn't want to wake me.  I feel tired and restless at the same time.

I know each day will get better.  I have hope that it will.  If you know me, and if you are reading this blog than you most likely do, you must know that this has not shaken our faith. We believe God will turn this situation into something good. Something perfect. Like a baby for example!

Thank you for your prayers.

Love,
Lauren