Bleeding and Cramping 2-3 days after IVF Transfer

[poetgirl]

I explained a lot of this on the IVF thread but there aren't a lot of women going through ivf right now. Here is my situation. I'm not sure if I should be worried. I had estradiol levels around 6000 this cycle. I produced 34 follicles but only 11 eggs during my ER which was on Monday. I did not have pain, bleeding or cramping with the ER or ET. We transferred 3 embryos back two days later on Wed. Last night I had spotting. It was flecked with red bits and pink-tinged. I did not worry about this and took it as some signs of early implantation. As the night progressed, it turned more to a fresh red flow and I had terrible cramping, doubled over. At 4am, we called the oncall # and my RE was paged. He said all this was associated with my previous high estradiol levels, to take Tylenol and limit fluids to 32 oz/day. What is strange to me is that I really have NO classic signs of OHSS, and bleeding and cramping are really not typical symptoms. I'm peeing very frequently actually, almost making me wonder if I might be developing a UTI. It's a little hard to tell but I'm pretty sure the blood is vaginal and not in the urine. Today the bleeding and cramping are better than the middle of the night but still there. I've followed IVF threads for years here and I don't recall anyone having bleeding like this 2 days after transfer. I just really don't want to worry, and I guess I have to trust that if my RE was worried about an infection of perforation he would have communicated that. But still, it's freaking me out. I'm a very small person, my ovaries are hard to find and my uterus is tilted. Perhaps this was all just a lot for my body to take and the ovaries are swelling now and struggling to recover.
Any thoughts? Past experiences, etc?

[by-the-lake]

No experience but lots of hugs. Please hang in there and kepp us updated

[poetgirl]

Originally Posted by by-the-lake

No experience but lots of hugs. Please hang in there and kepp us updated

Thanks By-the-Lake.

I just found this on the Stanford IVF site:
"...it is common to have a sensation of heaviness or cramping in your pelvis 4-10 days after egg retrieval. Your ovaries frequently enlarge at this time. If you are gaining weight rapidly (more than a pound a day) which can occur due to fluid retention, or if you are not urinating the normal amount for you, or if you have any other concerns, please call. Light bleeding sometimes occurs in the weeks following egg retrieval, even if there is a normally developing pregnancy."

I guess all I can do is monitor the situation and try to distract myself as much as possible.

[goldfinches]

I got OHSS right around 3 days after retrieval. It lasted for at least 4 days pretty bad. I didn't have bleeding like you're describing, but have heard of many ladies who have. I think it's way too early in your cycle for it to be any AF type bleeding. I think you're right to limit your fluid intake and rest. Good luck!

[poetgirl]

Thanks Goldfinches. I appreciate your response. When I searched for bleeding after ET I couldn't find much and I got worried my body was rejecting the embryos or something. Anyhow, your response was comforting. As of now the bleeding and cramping seem to be over, so I hope that is the end of it.

[Noelle C.]

Originally Posted by poetgirl

Thanks By-the-Lake.

I just found this on the Stanford IVF site:
"...it is common to have a sensation of heaviness or cramping in your pelvis 4-10 days after egg retrieval. Your ovaries frequently enlarge at this time. If you are gaining weight rapidly (more than a pound a day) which can occur due to fluid retention, or if you are not urinating the normal amount for you, or if you have any other concerns, please call. Light bleeding sometimes occurs in the weeks following egg retrieval, even if there is a normally developing pregnancy."

I guess all I can do is monitor the situation and try to distract myself as much as possible.

Stanford is where I went! My direct doctor was/is the medical director herself, Valerie Baker! I had tinges of red and cramping after an FET (frozen embryo transfer using embryos left over from prior cycles). I'm due in December. I also had a f*ck-ton of pain and cramping and some bleeding after the fresh cycles. Cycle #1 did result in twins I lost. Cycle #2 was nothing.

It is COMPLETELY normal. It's concerning, but it is normal.

[poetgirl]

Originally Posted by Noelle C.

Stanford is where I went! My direct doctor was/is the medical director herself, Valerie Baker! I had tinges of red and cramping after an FET (frozen embryo transfer using embryos left over from prior cycles). I'm due in December. I also had a f*ck-ton of pain and cramping and some bleeding after the fresh cycles. Cycle #1 did result in twins I lost. Cycle #2 was nothing.

It is COMPLETELY normal. It's concerning, but it is normal.

Thanks Noelle. I just had NO idea this was normal. My first ivf (which did not yield many good eggs) was sort of relaxing in all honesty by the 2ww. I guess my estradiol was 2-3x more this time. I am just in so much pain, I can't do anything and it's hard to imagine my uterus being relaxed enough for anything to stick, but I don't think that's how it works so much. All the women on here with full-on OHSS seem to all get pregnant and sustain it.
I'm so glad you had a cycle that was successful. Congratulations. You're obviously a warrior. And thanks for sharing.

[Bernzhill]

Was this pregnancy successful?

I'm experiencing the same thing you described. Please let me know.

[lesliesara63]

I believe it was.

[ratgrl]

Poet's pregnancy was absolutely successful. She's lovin' on her sweet little dude.

I had a huge amount of cramping and discomfort in the days following my IVF transfer. Both times the embryos implanted and I had a positive result. A good friend of mine spotted very heavily during her TWW after IVF transfer and is now 26 weeks with healthy twins. Try not to be too too worried about the spotting and cramping. Just means your body is working on something.

[poetgirl]

Yes! Successful! The cramping was so bad for me, I cried, threw up and called my doctor in the middle of the night. I took that 2ww as easy and mellow as possible and kept reassuring myself that it would not interfere with implantation. Take good care, and the absolute best to you. It's a span of time like no other. Fingers crossed for you.

[shahrzad]

I've just had  my FET( 5 days ago). i"ve ahde the same experience like you. I had a pinkish spotting on the s econd day and feel cramps.it really worries me.thinking ther might not be............

Dear, were you positive then?

[hopenlove]

Thank you all for your posts. I have been looking for a forum talking about the presence of both cramping and bleeding. I have received so much comfort because I have the same issues.I am most comforted by Poetgirl who went on to have a successful pregnancy test! I had my transfer on 17 Feb 2012, 3 strong, textbook description embryos. I have not been going to work, dedicating my time to this process. I had mild cramps through out but on day 9 after transfer, I had severe abdominal pain and bleeding when I wiped. This was on Saturday early morning. I went to the doctor and she found blood traces in my urine. She said it was microscopic. About 11 am when I wiped again, there was blood. Then it disappeared until I had another severe pain this morning (Monday) when I doubled over in pain and there was blood on wiping. I am due for an hcg test today and I am worried. I realy dont know what to expect:(

[hopenlove]

Okay...it seems like all of you except for Shahrzad are no longer active. Well, Shah, I tested positive today with 202.2 beta hcG! I simply cannot believe it! Witha combination of all those terrible cramps and spotting, I expected that I had lost the embryos. I'm gonna go in two weeks time to check how many took. Please let me know how you are doing. These blogs have really helped me. My husband is SO grateful because each time I read them, I felt so much better and it took the pressure off him to try and cheer me up when he no longer didnt know how. I mean, he was a ball of emotions as well. We are really pleased with the outcome.

[blueyezz4]

hopenlove - Congrats!!!!  Hope you have a h&h 9 months.  I'm friends w/ Poetgirl and yes, you are right, this thread doesn't seem very active but she did go on to have a healthy baby!!!!  Just so you know, there is an IVF graduate thread that is pretty active under the I'm Pregnant area with a lot of great ladies over there that I'm sure would welcome you w/ open arms if you are looking for a group to stay in contact w/.  Take care!!!

[kaliprincess]

Hello Ladies!

I hope some of you are still active.  I was searching the forum for any information on cramping and I finally found this one!  I had my retrieval done about 4 days ago now and yesterday I experienced the worst cramps.  The first couple days I had cramps but they were very mild.  Yesterdays cramps were so bad that it made me throw up.  I contacted my doctor and she told me to take tylenol.  About an hour later the cramping went away.  I was exhausted after though! =)

I was very glad to find you guys, it is very encouraging to read others posts.  

Thanks Ladies!!