Disclaimer: The comments expressed in this post are from personal experience and advice from personal research and discussions. I do not consider myself a medical expert on this subject and if experiencing OHSS, you should consult with your fertility doctor.

OHSS is the #1 risk a new donor has to face when donating. The other two risks are pregnancy (in multiples) and infection from surgery - antibiotics are normally given at the retrieval to combat possibility of infection, and abstinence is encouraged until getting your period after retrieval to prevent pregnancy.

To explain simply what OHSS is, the couple of weeks leading up to your egg retrieval is the ovarian stimulation period since you are instructing your body to mature more than one egg. To experience OHSS is when the hormone dosage was a little too high that your body stimulated too much, and for a week after the retrieval, you'll experience some uncomfortable side effects. Luckily, OHSS is only a temporary side effect lasting roughly a week, then going away as your period nears. It is your period that "resets" the hormones in your body and sets everything back to normal. The next month, you should only ovulate one egg again, and OHSS will not come back on its own. There are no long-lasting side effects with this.

There are ways to try to prevent OHSS. First, the purpose of the blood monitoring tests in the first week of the stimulation period is to check that your hormone levels are not spiking too high and keeping them within a safe range. If the doctor finds that your levels are too high, they will instruct you to lower your dosage to bring you within normal limits. So they will be doing what they can so that OHSS is not a factor for you at the end.

The main side effect of OHSS is abdominal fluid retention. Basically, really really bloated! You will gain pounds of water weight in your abdomen. One of the greatest suggestions to help slow down the bloating is to drink lots of Gatorade and V8 juice; because of all the sodium, potassium, and electrolytes, those minerals can bond to the water and help keep it in your bloodstream. Eating salty foods will also help, like Chinese food with soy sauce, chips, fast food, and chicken soup. Also, if you are feeling signs of bloating, also try this tip of taking Sudafed to slow down the liquid buildup from getting worse. The worst of it tends to be around days 3-6 after the retrieval before going away on its own.

In a moderate case of OHSS, the fluid buildup starts pressing against the diaphragm, suppressing your ability to breathe. I remember almost feeling claustrophobic from the feeling. In many moderate cases, it can be bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital to have this fluid drained to get some immediate relief from the pressure. It would still have gone away on its own, but sometimes the relief is needed. A donor has less than 1% of getting severe OHSS, but symptoms are fluid around the lungs, decreased urine output (kidneys are being suffocated), dehydration, vomiting and nausea. Hospitalization may be necessary to be kept on IV drip.

Every agency and clinic will purchase Donor Accidental Medical Insurance for every cycle, and AED purchases this when each donor starts her injections. Under this insurance, donors are covered for any medical expenses caused from the egg donation procedure and retrieval. You would be covered for 3 months after the retrieval for 100% of expenses up to $250,000. So don't hesitate to talk to your agency or clinic if you feel you need medical attention - even if you yourself don't have health insurance.

Here's some good news: It's really only the 1st time you donate that you are at most risk. This is because the doctors are having to give the average hormone dosage to achieve a good result. The chances of having OHSS your first time donating is as high as 15%. If you donated once before and didn't experience OHSS, then you're pretty safe from not ever getting it in future donations. If you do experience OHSS your first time, it's far less likely to happen again. The doctors that stimulate you in future donations will have your old cycle records and will be able to determine a safer stimulation plan for you, but you must always take responsibility in your own hands to inform them that you experienced OHSS in the past. I had OHSS my 1st time, but the 2nd and 3rd time were smooth sailing.

Lastly, OHSS is not painful (for mild to medium cases). It's just really uncomfortable. You have to wear looser fitted clothing because the bloated belly makes you look pregnant. It is certainly not a traumatic experience. Quite a few donors at AED have experienced OHSS too, and they were all willing to donate again. I hope that says enough for itself.