OHSS

Ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a complication occasionally seen in women who take certain fertility medications that stimulate egg production.

Symptoms: (ones I'm having are bolded)

abdominal bloating
mild pain in the abdomen
weight gain
decreased urination
shortness of breath
significant weight gain (more than 10 lbs in 3-5 days)

Treatment:
Get plenty of rest with your legs raised. This helps your body release the fluid.
Drink 10-12 glasses of fluid a day (especially drinks with electrolytes).
Avoid alcohol or caffeinated beverages.
Avoid exercise.
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever.

Causes:
Normally a woman produces one egg per month. Some women undergoing fertility treatments are given medicines to help normalize development or increase egg production.

However, if the drugs stimulate the ovaries too much, the ovaries can become swollen, and fluid can leak into the belly and chest area. This is called OHSS. OHSS occurs only after the egg(s) are released.

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Yup. I've got a mild case of OHSS. I'm in pain on and off. I've been doing the prescribed rest with feet up, electrolyte fluid and monitoring of weight since last night (Friday). Last night was unbearable and I thought we might be at the RE this AM, but this morning was better. I did run errands and go to lunch with DH and felt much, much worse after. I've been resting at home with my feet up the past couple of hours and the pain is starting to lessen a bit.

Also, I still am getting hives. Dr. Opie has passed me off to my primary care doc at this point. He now thinks the hives are unrelated to the follistim. The hives aren't bugging me too much and are manageable with Benadryl, so for now I'm going to skip my primary care doc.

I think I've mostly come to terms with the cancellation. It still is sad, but I know we made the right decision. I'm in the anger, mopey mode right now and not really up for hearing all the "divine timing" and "everything happens for a reason" stuff, but I'm sure that eventually I'll be ready to hear everyone's well-meaning words.

I'm off to put my feet up again and hopefully this OHSS will settle down.