Your consent form lists OHSS and internal bleeding in text.
It never says how either one feels.
One donor lay in bed for two weeks and only afterward learned what to watch for.
Here is the description you should have had before your first cycle.
Six signs, in plain language.
1. You can't get a full breath in
One donor retrieved 63 eggs and ended up alone in a hotel.
Fluid was filling her abdomen.
She struggled to take a deep breath.
Another donor gained 15-20 lbs of water weight after two uneventful cycles.
She said she "could barely breathe."
This isn't being winded from the stairs.
It's breathlessness while you sit still, or a breath that won't go deep.
One donor described it as "literally drowning to death."
Her diagnosis was pleural effusion and pulmonary edema.
Trouble breathing is a go-now sign, and you don't need a second opinion to act on it.
If it turns out to be nothing, you lost an evening.
Chest pain is the next sign, and it's easy to mistake for bloating.
2. Your chest hurts
One donor went to the ER with chest pain after a 43-egg retrieval.
Chest pain isn't part of ordinary bloating.
It may feel like pressure, or tightness, or a sharp catch when you inhale.
Say exactly that to whoever answers the phone.
That same donor donated again and later ended up in a coma.
A scare on one cycle is information.
It deserves to be written down and taken seriously before the next one.
Pain on one side of your belly tells a different story.
3. One side of your belly hurts, and it's getting worse
Soreness after retrieval is expected.
This is different.
It sits on one side, and it grows instead of fading.
One donor had ovarian bleeding and spent three days in the hospital.
Doctors watched her blood levels fluctuate.
Another nearly lost an ovary during surgery to control internal bleeding.
Pain that keeps climbing on one side is a reason to go in, not a reason to wait and see.
Some signs show up when you stand, not when you sit.
4. You faint, or can't get out of bed
Tired is normal after a procedure.
Fainting is something else.
One donor fainted during IV insertion and struggled to get out of bed afterward.
She was later admitted as an inpatient with breathing trouble.
If you black out, or feel like you're about to every time you stand, don't write it off as tiredness.
Ask someone to stay with you, and tell them to call if you can't.
If you're alone in a hotel, that call may be the whole plan.
Set it up before retrieval.
Then there's the sign that separates a rough week from a dangerous one.
5. Nothing stays down, and you can't drink
Some donors share rough stories that end well.
One wrote that she wasn't hospitalized but "felt like shit for 5 days."
Vomiting and misery for a few days is one kind of story.
Being unable to eat or drink is another.
One donor said she "couldn't eat, couldn't drink, wouldn't be able to walk."
Her recovery took two weeks.
She had been told OHSS was "a very rare side effect."
She said it was "almost brushed aside."
If you can't keep fluids down, call your clinic and say those words.
Ask them where their line sits between "rough" and "come in."
The last sign is the one you can watch grow.
6. Your belly keeps growing, day after day
Some bloating is expected.
Bloating that makes you look three months pregnant is worth a phone call.
Bloating that keeps growing each day, with a scale that keeps climbing, is worth more than a phone call.
Weigh yourself every morning.
Write down the number, your pain, and how much you can drink.
One donor did exactly this so she could describe it accurately to a clinician.
If you end up at a local ER, bring your notes and say, "I'm an egg donor, and my retrieval was this many days ago."
Donors report that local doctors "didn't know what to do or how to treat me."
Your notes fill that gap.
Before you start, ask your clinic to confirm these thresholds.
Ask for a named after-hours contact and who pays if you're admitted.
If you've donated before, ask what changes on a repeat cycle.
If a past cycle needed higher medication, ask for a lower dose or a plan for over-response.
Asking isn't being difficult.
One donor asked her case manager to raise her concerns before a repeat cycle and reported a smoother experience.
No US registry follows donors over time, so nobody can tell you what several cycles add up to.
That's a reason to keep your own record, and to be believed when you read from it.
Many cycles go smoothly, and this donation can change a family's life.
Knowing these six signs is how you help them without paying for it with your health.