A different trigger hormone shot was used for her second collection cycle, meaning she did not experience the side effect before becoming pregnant with Luca, now aged two.
The regulator reports up to one in three women undergoing IVF will experience mild OHSS, with the syndrome more common among those under 30 and women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
With more people than ever accessing IVF and freezing their eggs, the fertility sector regulator expects more patients will be at risk of experiencing moderate and serious side effects.
More than 16,000 people accessed fertility treatment in 2021, a 20 per cent jump from 2020. There was also a 23 per cent surge in egg freezing over the same period.
Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority chief executive Anna MacLeod said about 1 per cent of those accessing IVF in Victoria will potentially be hospitalised with the condition.
“We want IVF patients to understand what [OHSS] is and when to report symptoms … because a lot of IVF doctors think their own patients don’t always report the symptoms of ovarian hyperstimulation,” she said.
Ms Lawson said after experiencing OHSS she wanted women undergoing IVF to “not be scared, but proactive” about understanding the side effects and getting treatment if they needed it.
“When you’ve been going through IVF for a while and you’ve had all the emotional ups and downs, then you get this as well, it’s sort of like a kick in the guts,” she said.
“Now I’m really passionate about raising awareness for ovarian hyperstimulation, because when I was going through IVF, there was nobody else that I knew who talked about it.”
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An audit by the IVF regulator showed moderate and severe OHSS was underreported by IVF doctors in Victoria, with an additional 172 cases requiring a hospital stay discovered on top of 83 cases that had been disclosed across three years.
Ms MacLeod said the discrepancy probably resulted from recently changed requirements for fertility clinicians, who now have to report when their patient stays overnight in hospital with the condition. Previously, they were only required to report symptoms they classed as moderate or severe.
A “deep dive” into the circumstances of the 255 significant OHSS cases has begun, as the regulator attempts to find patterns that could lead to preventing the condition.
Ms MacLeod said that, “reassuringly”, an early analysis of the data had ruled out any suggestion severe cases were stemming from a few rogue fertility doctors.
“For most people, IVF is a very safe procedure. But like all medical interventions, it has its risks,” she said. “Now that we know how often these serious cases of OHSS are occurring in Victoria, we can work towards reducing them.”
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How more awareness could help prevent an IVF ‘kick in the guts’
Source: Philippines Alive
