Four years ago I was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. I was desperate to have a baby and after a long time of trying and using various other methods, we took the route of IVF. The process is not an easy one but with its’ superb track record, it seemed like the most logical option. I won’t go into how IVF works but after the embryos were placed back into me, they were successful however, within days I was in great pain. Not knowing what I had, I was told it was normal and stayed at home while my body began to swell. The pain increased and after a pleading conversation with my doctor, I went off to a hospital an hour away. I was diagnosed with a severe case of OHSS, Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome. “No” I hadn’t heard of it either but in tiny writing at the bottom of your IVF form, it is mentioned. Less than 1% of women who undergoing IVF get a severe case of OHSS and sadly I joined a select group and it is probably the only time in my life, I did not want to be in such an exclusive club.
Now don’t get worried, OHSS is avoidable in most cases. If your doctor has pre-tested you on the IVF drugs then he should be able to safely proceed with that knowledge.
OHSS is a life threatening condition where your body’s organs are in danger of shutting down. You are treated with large amounts of fluid and in my case, despite not eating; I expanded 30 pounds during a 3 week period. I cannot begin to describe the pain but I was told by a German doctor that in terms of pain, this would be the hardest situation I would ever have to go through. Even after childbirth, I can testify that his statement could not have been more honest. I was given a large quantity of sleeping pills, pain pills and drained four times to let some of the fluid that was now quite stagnant, out of my body. During this time I was evidently pregnant with twins, sadly one decided that it was too much to take however the other one did hang around. After three weeks in hospital it was decided I could go home. Despite still feeling awful and looking rather bloated I went home and to be honest was just relieved to be home. Although my other half was very kind, I felt very alone this entire time as I had no-one to explain to me first hand, what I was going through, no-one who understood what was happening to me.
Sadly, OHSS doesn’t end there but I’ll make the next steps in the process very short as I don’t want to make you fall asleep. Within the next 3 weeks I developed blood clots in my neck, I was put on a blood thinning injections which I administered to myself daily, my body had two major blood clots in my chest and I spent countless additional nights in my local hospital. During birth I was told that there was a high possibility that I could bleed to death. Today, I am regularly monitored and at the moment, I only experience pain on the left side of my body which has been diagnosed as Thoracic outlet syndrome. It has been a long road to some type of recovery but due to the nature of OHSS, I am always looking over my shoulder hoping there is not another step to this vicious life threatening condition.

I must point out that on a very good note, I have a beautiful little boy called Mackenzie and more good news developed as during my pregnancy I had a brain storm and woke up my husband to explain the idea of Patients Talking. I was desperate to read or hear from someone who had the same thing as me. I looked on the internet but found it time consuming & confusing to get specific information written by a patient. It would have really helped me, my family and my friends, to read or make contact with someone who actually knew first hand, what I was going through. I then created a one stop shop where you can write about any illness you have experienced or are going through within a diary. Patients Talking is free, confidential and safe to use. You write your diary and you can search for other diaries on your subject. People no longer have to feel alone.

Patients Talking.com is fast becoming a household name and in June 2008 alone we have been in The Sun on line, The Sunday Express and were included as one of 20 notable internet sites in an E-Health article about Web Health 2.0 Companies.

I would love Patients Talking to continue to grow and help as many people as possible when it comes to their health and medical experiences.

Author's Bio: 

Soozi Rowbotham is the Founder of Patients Talking