I know that when I was about to start my first egg donor cycle last month, I was a little nervous and looked high and low for what to expect. Everyone's experience can be different, but if any other women are curious what it's like, I figured I'd type out a little piece in the hopes that it will help someone along the way!
Basically, I started birth control to align myself with the recipients cycle. No weird side effects, but I had been on BC before in my life so I kinda knew what to expect -- my boobs got bigger and sometimes I had a headache.
I was only on the pill for about 19 days. Some of those days overlapped with my Lupron shots. I took 10 units at first, every morning. The shot doesn't really hurt at all, except after a few days if you stick yourself in the same spot (what can I say, I'm a creature of habit!) it does begin to bruise and sometimes hurts initially. Nothing to worry about, nothing a little cursing out couldn't cure.
When it was time to start the stimulation drugs, my nurse advised me to do 150 units of GOnal F and mix it with one vial of Menopur (I believe its 75 units). This shot I administered at night. It too did not hurt. The needles are so small and really there were some times when I did not feel anything at all. Otherwise just a tiny pinch. Once, I messed up mixing the two vials, but rather than risk a fouled-up injection, I simply discarded the mix and started with new fresh vials. I don't know what other clinics are like, but with mine, replacing "mistakes" is not a problem. They didn't give me a hard time; in fact they put me at ease by telling me I did the right thing-- not sticking myself with a inaccurate mixture.
Most of the time I felt fine, however a few times I was nauseous and very very tired. It wasn't too much of a problem, though, and I persevered just fine. Eventually they dropped my Lupron to 5 units a day and my Gonal F to 113. When I went in for ultrasounds (i had to go nearly every day-- I didn't really ask why because I am quite grateful that they monitored me so closely) I was shown the follicles on the screen. They developed nicely over time and as of today (about 3 or 4 days from retrieval) I have 22. Some are mature, but most are ALMOST there. Hopefully they'll be good to go tomorrow, so I can do the trigger shot and get this show on the road!
I feel a little heavy in the lower abdomen, but otherwise it's nothing too inconvenient. I did get a migraine yesterday, but it passed in about 3 hours. Not pleasant, but really I prepared myself for MUCH worse. I thought I was going to be crazy and crying all the time and super-bloated. Maybe I am very lucky, but I have been relatively FINE. I didn't stop my running/working out until this past thursday, when I could feel the "weight" of my ovaries increasing.
Tonight they have me only taking Menopur, not the Gonal-F. I'm guessing this is because I have a "good" amount of follicles, but they just need a lil' bit of maturing before they can be retrieved.
I can't say enough about the wonderful people at my clinic. They monitor me very closely, and even though I know it's not true, I always feel like the ONLY woman who's cycling at that moment. It's nice. I think my compensation is on the "lower end" of what is going around nationally, but I would sacrifice a small amount of payment for what I see to be superior care.
I'm excited about the retrieval (because i am DYING to start running again, and get rid of these bruises!) and I'm sure the recipient is too. Of course it's not over yet!
I hope it's a success for us both. If someone asked me today if I would do egg donation again, I would say emphatically YES. Sure, it hasn't been without little speedbumps but for the most part, it's a small price to pay to help a happy parent(s) out and help myself out too.
Thats my experience so far-- I'll update with the final results in a few days!