Egg Retrieval - Anesthesia or No?

Question

So I’m in my pre-procedure month for IVF, which means I’m about a month away from egg retrieval if all goes well. I originally said I didn’t want to pay the extra money for anesthesia, and would just do the pain medicine, but I’m wondering what everyone’s experience was like who did NOT do anesthesia for the retrieval. Did you wish you had done the anesthesia? I like to think I have a decent pain tolerance but don’t want to get into the procedure and be in a bunch of pain.

Answer

God bless the women who do it without anesthesia!!! I can’t even imagine.. I was in a lot of pain afterwards so I don’t want to know what it would feel like during!! Glad I was knocked out!

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I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING when I had my eggs retrieved. The pain wasn’t as bad as I thought because of the adrenaline rush as to how many eggs they’ll get. My experience was awesome and my husband recorded the whole experience. Gonna do it again in a few months 😇. My son is so precious

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I can’t even imagine not being put under for the retrieval.

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There’s different kinds of anesthesia. I had the least drowsy one I guess. Not sure what it was called. I was asleep for about 20 min. It was easy to wake up and within 10 min of waking up I was walking out and on my way home. It made it super easy and fast. I don’t know if I could handle not being asleep for something like that. ￼

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I did not have anesthesia and I did not mind it. It was uncomfortable and you do get a shot to keep your heart rate down that gives you cotton mouth. The excessive thirst was the worst part for me lol. I had 10 retrieved and it was over in about 10 minutes. I got to watch the whole thing I got the final count as soon as she was done. It was a really cool experience. 
I will say that there were moments that were slightly painful but bearable. My left side had the most mature follicles so it was a lot more tender. 
I have an extremely high pain tolerance (like gone weeks with broken bones without knowing, high). If you think you can handle it and you don't have like 25+ follicles, I say go for it. Being able to watch it all go down was worth it for me.

Answer

I did it without anesthesia, I wasn’t even given any other option?! Maybe if I pushed for it I suppose they would have but I honestly just followed the protocol and directions given to me. I was given a pain pill and a Xanax about 2 hours before. It relaxed me, but by the time I was in the room and nerves set it it wore off lol.   It was done right at my clinic with my Dr, a nurse, and the Embryologist. I had 29 eggs retrieved. It wasn’t exactly fun, but I was able to tolerate it. Some parts were worse than others it seemed. It didn’t take terribly too long. Maybe 15-20 min. It’s one of those things you just buckle down and keep breathing/focusing. That helped me. And I loved hearing them communicate and talking to me every step. It’s hard to even describe what it felt like. I mean It was the hardest part physically for me during the whole IVF process, but like I said is very quick and I stayed focused. I also have a fairly high pain tolerance. I had a daughter so it was totally worth it🙏🏻 🌸 The nurses were so sweet after and checked on me for awhile. I had some bleeding and cramping after as expected. After I went to the restroom I was free to go. The whole thing was maybe a couple hours and I just went home to rest:). Although it wasn’t super fun I would do it again in a heartbeat! Although next time i told my husband I may do a shot of whiskey right before to help 😂 Jk jk 😉 Lol sorta;)  Its uncomfortable but not excruciating. Good luck!☺️

Answer

It wasn't even an option for me to have anaesthesia for egg collection. I had conscious sedation and gas and air, so was awake throughout, although a bit fuzzy. It was painful but not unbearable, and I was out of it enough to not mind too much, I just kept telling them the gas and air must be empty 😂
Also more of a risk having anaesthesia at the moment with covid, so I'd be inclined to not, but you have to do what you're comfortable with 🙂

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Anesthesia wasn’t even an option given at my clinic. I had a cyst aspirated prior to start stims and it’s done the exact same way as egg retrieval. Because it was so quick they gave me nothing lol the nerves were the worst part and pain was minimal it was so quick. For the retrieval I was given some fentynl and an anxiety medication through IV but I was fully awake and aware. I could still feel everything but very little pain. I had no spotting or bleeding afterwards. I had a lot of bloating and discomfort for 2 days post retrieval and then on day 3 I woke up and the bloat was gone and I honestly felt 100%. I know everyone’s experience is different but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Being awake and getting to see what’s going on and watch the ultrasound was really cool. I also got to see some eggs on a big screen as well. Best of luck!!

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I had to do mine with local anesthesia only when the anesthesiologist got stuck on a train.  It was about the same pain as a colposcopy but for longer.  I’ve had it done under sedation in a past round, and I will say the pain after is much more significant if they don’t put you under.  It’s not unbearable though.

Answer

I did egg retrieval twice, both times without anesthesia. The first time was a complete walk in the park, I was laughing and joking with the nurse and embryologist the whole time. The second time was a lot worse and the anesthesiologist who was standing by, just in case actually asked me if I were sure that I didn't want anything but I held out. It was painful for a day or two after but it wasn't that bad.

Egg Retrieval - Anesthesia or No?

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