When people think about IVF, they often imagine the embryo transfer or seeing those two pink lines on a pregnancy test. But before any of that happens, one of the biggest milestones in the IVF journey comes: egg retrieval.
If you’re preparing for your retrieval, chances are you’re feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety, hope, and maybe even a little fear. I know I did. It was by far the most painful procedure.
What Is an Egg Retrieval?
Egg retrieval is a minor surgical procedure performed during an IVF cycle. After about 8–14 days of ovarian stimulation injections, your fertility clinic monitors the growth of your follicles through blood work and ultrasounds.
When enough follicles have reached the right size, you’ll take a trigger shot, which helps mature the eggs and prepares them for retrieval. Timing is everything—the retrieval usually takes place about 36 hours after the trigger shot, before ovulation occurs.
What Happens During the Procedure?
Using ultrasound guidance, the doctor inserts a thin needle through the vaginal wall into each ovary to collect the fluid from the follicles. Inside that fluid are the eggs, which are immediately handed to the embryology team to identify and evaluate. The procedure itself usually takes 15 to 30 minutes.
Recovery: What It Really Feels Like
Afterward, you’ll spend some time in recovery while the sedation wears off.
It’s common to experience:
- Mild to moderate cramping
- Bloating
- Light spotting
- Fatigue
- A feeling of fullness in your lower abdomen
For many people, the discomfort feels similar to menstrual cramps, although everyone’s experience is different.
The Wait Begins…
Once your eggs are retrieved, the embryology lab gets to work.
Over the next several days, you’ll likely receive updates on:
- How many eggs were retrieved
- How many were mature
- How many successfully fertilized
- How many developed into healthy embryos
- Whether any embryos reached the blastocyst stage for freezing or transfer
One thing I’ve learned is that quality matters far more than quantity. Some people retrieve many eggs but end up with only a few embryos. Others retrieve fewer eggs but achieve excellent outcomes.
Every IVF journey is unique.
My Painful Experience
In Quebec, egg retrievals are typically performed under conscious sedation rather than general anesthesia. Before my procedure, I told the medical team that I would likely need stronger pain medication because I had previously experienced significant pain during a polyp removal. Unfortunately, I don’t think they realized just how serious I was.
When the doctor began retrieving the follicles, the pain was unbearable. I screamed and begged them to stop. I was in tears throughout the procedure and instinctively reached out, almost grabbing the doctor’s hand because of how intense the pain was.
Eventually, the team increased my medication to four times the initial dose. Only then were they able to continue and complete the egg retrieval.
Despite having a low AMH, the outcome gave us hope. They retrieved six eggs; four were mature, and three developed into healthy blastocysts.
Looking back, although the procedure was far more painful than I expected, knowing we ended up with three blastocysts made every difficult moment feel worthwhile.
Immediately after my egg retrieval, I began taking progesterone twice a day using vaginal suppositories to help prepare my body for the next stage of the IVF process.
Have you gone through an egg retrieval, or are you preparing for one? I’d love to hear about your experience or answer any questions in the comments. You’re not alone on this journey. ❤️
Ga’L
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