Ten Signs You Could Be Prego After IVF

I had IVF a couple of weeks ago.  Many of you have asked me lots of questions, which I’ll answer in parts throughout this section.  Some I’ll post in separate posts, so you can read them  ONLY if you’re brave, and not squeamish reading medical details.  In summary though - I had the IVF retrieval nearly two weeks ago, on a Tuesday morning.  It was not fun - that’s all I’m saying in this post.  IVF is not for the faint-hearted.  It is only for the brave - and those of you who are multiple IVF’rs, you are to be admired. 

 I’ve had other fertility procedures before, but this one is the most involved, the riskiest, as well as more likely to produce offspring, if not multiples.  I’m okay with twins now, despite those of you who think I’m nuts.  I’ll have help, even if I only have one.  Three embryos were implanted last Friday - eight eggs were removed, six embryos formed, and three were implanted.  True “implantation” could occur within 24-48 hours, as opposed to regular fertilization process a couple would normally have. 

I won’t know until this week - and at times, I think I’m not.  I’ve thought I was before, with other procedures, with much lower odds.  This procedure brings higher odds without a doubt, but it’s also not an easy one to predict the outcome due to age, and many other factors.

But here are the top ten signs you could be prego (word stolen from the cute movie Juno):

  1. Release of near-dam like effect mouth-watering at the site of Gherkins sweet pickles and olives nestled next to one another in a snack plate
  2. Twinge or muscle-rolling in your stomach and uterus area within a few days that you begin to wonder what’s wrong - as opposed to what might be right….
  3. Weeping at something that does not typically bring about such reactions
  4. Looking at an Italian menu and choosing something you’ve never ordered before in your life - like Roasted Eggplant, Olives and Capers - and then getting it and wondering “what was I thinking?”
  5. Searing lower back pain a week or two out (nine days to be precise)
  6. A nagging headache, often accompanied recently, by neck pain
  7. A funny taste in your mouth, when you’re not drowning it in water
  8. Feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck if you don’t get over 9 hours of sleep
  9. Wierd sensations, near pain in your tummy, and perhaps a little spotting which increase if you’ve done chores and run errands for four or more hours - which make you wonder, am i NOT, and second, will I not be able to do five hours of work at one time - and then the list of worries begins - like am I going to have to “order” my groceries during the first trimester? Am I going to be on bed rest?  This is probably a bad sign, right?  Then after everything settles when you put your feet up, then you begin to wonder again, maybe this is actually a good sign - I’ll just have to hire help or know/learn my limits.
  10. A rod “must have been inserted in my breasts last night” - feeling - an inability to literally lie in one position because you feel as if the “rod” has just been re-inserted and adjusted
  11. Wondering if all of these sensations are “just in your head” or a result of the post-IVF progesterone they give you, or a weaning of the other hormones you just injected yourself with a few weeks prior.

I’ll know later this week - diagnosis PREGO - will be sent out to those in my close circle who’ve cared enough to stay in close tabs on this fertility journey for the past four years with great interest and affection.