Feeling so horrible and in pain since EC. What can I do?

[IvfStruggler]

Hello lovely people!

I'm currently 9 days past a 5 day transfer and I'm feeling awful. I have been having pain since my egg collection and although the pain is different now- it's still there and the discomfort is getting worse. First of all I'm still extremely bloated. I'm not using progesterone or oestrogen because I respond badly to supplements and instead I did a course of HCG injections. The last one was on Sunday (1500 dose).

After I have eaten something I start getting a really bad stomach pain. My stomach swells up and I look 5 months pregnant (so cruel). You can also see my ovaries bulge and not just after dinner. I had 12 eggs and have a low AMH so I don't think it's OHSS.

Then I have a horrible tight feeling in my bladder/womb. I got my urine checked a have a minor infection. I have been taking antibiotics since yesterday and I'm wondering if it's this that is making feel sick. I only had them once before and was fine. Normally my infections just clear up by themselves.

Meanwhile I feel so tired, hungry, emotional and my breasts hurts. Everything I feel before my period and when I'm pregnant (I've had earlier miscarriages). I'm wuss and terrified of testing- so there is no way I'm testing early. I also have some stingy pains in my vagina (sorry for TMI) which I've had when I had my miscarriages. But no bleeding/spotting yet.

Has anyone felt the same and can offer me some reassurance. I'll be so grateful for tips on what to do? I'm trying to keep drinking water but this is also so unpleasant. I cannot call my clinic until Monday.

Feeling hopeless about this cycle and frustrated I wasted another precious embryo.

Thanks for reading- hugs for everyone!

[Purpledoggy]

This sounds like it could be OHSS - HCG luteal support is more likely to cause OHSS than progesterone. Are your clinic not open tomorrow morning or is there not an OOH line they have given you? Otherwise you should really speak to your GP or if the pain is becoming worse over the weekend call 111 or go to A&E. It may well be something else but OHSS needs to be ruled out even though your AMH is low. xx

[IvfStruggler in reply to Purpledoggy]

Thank you so much for your reply. Xxx

[AuroraXen]

No idea if some of the symptoms are a good sign the ET may have worked, but it's way more important right now to get some of the worrying things checked out 💚 I agree with Purpledoggy, if you don't have an emergency line to the clinic you should go to a GP, walk-in clinic or actually just A&E. If you had a discharge letter, post EC, take that too. Bless you, this has clearly been a really rough fortnight! xx

[IvfStruggler in reply to AuroraXen]

Thank you for your reply. Xxx

[Gemstar20]

Hi hun, have you got an emergency number for your clinic, you have OHSS, depending on how many eggs collected. If less than 5, it’s unlikely to be OHSS, but sounds like you need to get it checked out hun xxx

[Gemstar20 in reply to Gemstar20]

Sorry was meant to say you could have OHSS, not you do have OHSS xx

[IvfStruggler in reply to Gemstar20]

Thank you so much for your reply. How are you doing? Xxx

[LuxFleur]

This exact thing happened to me. It's how I felt after my first egg collection and it was brutal. It can indeed be OHSS, so get it checked out when you can. If you feel worried don't feel bad about going in to A&E, it's better safe than sorry. And when it happened to me I just fasted for like five days since I simply couldn't eat. I know it's not ideal but it made me feel better. Drink a lot of water and have a doctor check you out next week. Don't eat anything at all that can increase gas. You should feel better soon. Do you have endometriosis? Xx

[IvfStruggler in reply to LuxFleur]

Thank you! (Wrote a general reply below). I may have endometriosis in my bowels and bladder but not officially diagnosed. Does this make it worse? Xxx

[LuxFleur in reply to IvfStruggler]

YES ABSOLUTELY! I also have endo in the bowels!!! This is why it was so bad. It also made my vagina hurt, because the bowel endo gets into the pouch of douglas and causes the pain. So I think this might be what you are feeling. When it happened to me it wasn't so bad right after EC but then it got much worse after the fifth day. Lasted for maybe another five days? Try to stay hydrated and stick to simple foods that are easy to digest if you need to eat something. Let us know how you feel later on. xo

[IvfStruggler]

Thank you everyone for getting back. I'm so reluctant to call the doctor. The last EC I had something similar but it was in the evening and the pain started straight after the procedure. I was in so much pain I couldn't sit or lay down and I could no longer wee. I went to hospital and they kept me in and I swelled up to something like 9 months pregnant. But they (including my ivf consultant) were convinced it wasn't OHSS. I was eventually discharged with 'constipation' (which I've not got at the moment) and I had a problem for about a week. I will go easy on the food and continue to drink water. If I get worse I will definitely call a doctor. Thank you all once again xxx

[Purpledoggy in reply to IvfStruggler]

Hope you feel better soon xx

[S2017 in reply to IvfStruggler]

Sorry just read this again and you mentioned that you don’t have constipation at this moment. In that case, I would get it checked out, better to be safe than sorry.

[Gatarra]

Hey 👋 I had this last time too . Also low amh they told me not likely to be OHSS and told me to go to the gp for constipation . I am doing a frozen transfer this time, so no egg collection . On day 4 of progesterone ( lubion plus cyclogest twice a day of each ) . I don’t have any of the symptoms I had last time so now I’m convinced what I had was OHSS. At this stage last time was pretty ill so it can’t have been the progesterone causing all of that surely ? Hang in there sweetie , keep hassling them . You deserve proper medical support . Good luck with everything 😘

[Savs]

This really sounds like OHSS to me. I had it after a successful ICSI cycle and was in hospital for 5 days. The pregnancy hormone HCG often makes it worse. You need to get seen ASAP. Good luck, I hope it’s the result of a successful cycle for you and I hope you feel better soon x

[S2017]

Hi, I just had my egg collection yesterday and had bad bad stomach cramps yesterday for hours. Just having a meal will make me so bloated as though I’m like 4-5 months pregnant. Was literally in the toilet for hours and could not go so assumed I had constipation. I bought prune juice and then although I could go, I then had diarrhoea but I did feel better (sorry it’s TMI) I then asked my Dr if it’s okay to take Buscopan and what a difference that made. Buscopan is available over the counter and should hopefully make a difference for you. I had similar experience during my 1st egg collection and something as small as constipation should not be underestimated (mine was due to the suppository) cause you can be suffering for hours/days. I initially thought it was OHSS as I also had nausea but in my case it was constipation. My stomach is also making a lot of gurgling sounds.

For me, until the constipation was not sorted, I did not feel better so my suggestion is to work on this first (very important) or go to A & E if you feel things are not improving/feel that it’s the right thing to do.

I hope you feel better soon.