15 Things I Wish I Knew Before Freezing My Eggs
No alcohol. No sex. No exercise.
“the level of mental angst and emotion that I endured during this time was certainly not what I expected”
You will be VERY hormonal.
I mean, it goes without saying — obviously you would expect to be hormonal as you boost your ovaries up with added hormones; however, the level of mental angst and emotion that I endured during this time was certainly not what I expected. So just imagine your PMS symptoms on steroids.
Say HELLO to LARGE NEEDLES.
Yes. Large. Long. Needles. That is what you’ll be using to insert the aforementioned hormones into your abdomen (or thigh) on numerous occasions [morning & night] throughout the next two weeks (give or take). Furthermore, you’ll be the nurse/chemist/doctor responsible for blending the hormonal treatments (aka mixing the meds) & administering the hormonal injections into your skin - so yea, have fun doc.
Yes. Large. Long. Needles.
Alcohol wipes are your friend.
Prior to injecting the medicine into your abdomen (or thigh), you’ll need to wipe the area of your skin that you’ll be inserting the needles into. Remember - wipe the area BEFORE INSERTION! However, the trick to avoiding a burning sensation from the needle injection is to ALLOW THE ALCOHOL TO DRY ON YOUR SKIN PRIOR TO INSERTING THE NEEDLE. Repeat this step for each needle insertion.
There is no definitive end date…..
In the beginning your doctor may provide you with an approximate date that you may retrieve your eggs — however, there’s no definitive retrieval date that can be stated with certainty as this process truly revolves around varying factors, such as how your body receives the hormones, how quickly your eggs grow in size and what stage of your cycle you are in. The process may likely take about 2 weeks, but it depends as it could take less time or take more.
You will have LOTS of doctor appointments.
The doctor visits start out as an every other day appointment, but eventually turn into every day appointments (early morning to be exact) as you get closer to egg retrieval day! During these appointments your blood will be taken (more needles, yay) and your ovaries will be monitored via ultrasound.
No alcohol. No sex. No exercise.
Pretty self explanatory - while going through the egg freezing process you cannot drink alcohol, have sex or exercise as a result of the risks associated with these activities (see point 7).
No alcohol. No sex. No exercise.
Egg Freezing is Quite Risky.
As your doctor will explain, the hormones you are injecting into your body are increasing the size of your ovaries by stimulating them to produce eggs — a process known as ovarian stimulation. This is pretty risky as your ovaries are at risk of bursting as they enlarge and could possibly cause bleeding and/or fluid accumulation. So, in reference to point 6, no extreme movement is recommended as you want to keep your ovaries cool, calm + collected.
your ovaries are at risk of bursting
Am I BLOATED or Actually Pregnant?!
Welcome discomfort + say hello to bloating. Prepare yourself to look 3-4 months pregnant throughout the egg freezing process + after. As a result of the added hormones, your stomach will bloat exponentially & as much as I wanted to believe it was over once they retrieved my eggs, it went one step further after my egg retrieval. I actually looked like one big balloon full of air.
I actually looked like one big balloon full of air.
Egg Retrieval Anesthesia — You Will Be Sedated.
On the day of egg retrieval you’ll be sedated. Anesthesia is used to retrieve your eggs and to ensure a pain free process - however, once awake you’ll have cramps that may feel similar to menstrual cramps.
Post Egg Retrieval: No Sex. No Exercise . & No Large Bodies of Water.
The fun does not stop here. For the two weeks following your egg retrieval you’ll still need to be VERY careful to allow your ovaries to decrease in size and return back to its normal activity. Although the injections are over and the eggs have been retrieved - you’re not out of the race. Be sure to follow your doctor’s orders to not shake things up on the inside and to prevent infections - hence the “no large bodies of water.” For me, this meant that I could only dip my feet in the beautiful, crystal clear, deep blue sea that I could not [+ did not] enjoy on my “post-egg-retrieval / pre-chemo trip” to the Bahamas. Yup, in the Bahamas with a dry bathing suit and a bloated belly - quite the joy!
a dry bathing suit and a bloated belly
Your doctor may not retrieve as many eggs as you expected.
Unfortunately, there’s no sure way to know how many eggs your doctor will retrieve until it gets closer to egg retrieval day. Prior to retrieving the eggs your doctor will conduct an ovarian reserve test to determine the number of healthy eggs you have in your ovaries that will most likely be the number of eggs retrieved on egg retrieval day. If possible your doctor may conduct this test prior to starting the egg freezing process to help you determine if the process is truly worth it for you.
Every egg retrieved does not equate to a baby.
We’d love to imagine that every egg retrieved equated to a child, however, the quality of the eggs are equally as important as the number of eggs retrieved. In simple terms, just because your doctor retrieved 20 eggs does not mean you’ll have 20 kids on ice. To begin in vitro fertilization (IVF) the eggs have to “thaw out” from the freezing process - this is known as the “egg thawing” process. Some eggs may not survive the unfreezing stage, which could possibly take you from 20 eggs to 17 eggs (just as an example). Then the eggs are fertilized and monitored to see which ones survived and are of good quality - this could take your number down again, to perhaps 13 eggs. Once it’s decided which embryos are good enough for insertion into the uterus, you’d then have to wait to see if it resulted in a viable pregnancy - which may or may not be the case, thus calling for a repeat of the previous steps. Oh to be a girl…
You can still freeze your eggs with an IUD.
If you have an IUD (intrauterine device as a form of birth control) you can still go through the egg freezing process without removing it.
Egg Freezing is Expensive.
Not only is this process tiring, emotional, risky and lengthy - it is also costly. The cost may vary from about ~ $12,000 to $15,000, with an additional yearly cost of $500 - $1,000 for egg storage. Luckily my job covered the cost of my egg freezing process and storage, however, this is not always likely, so I highly recommend exploring your options. If you have a medical condition that requires egg freezing your insurance may cover the costs or support groups and organizations may fund the cost.
…tiring, emotional, risky and lengthy
You can do it again + again + again.
Fortunately, there’s no limit to how many times you can freeze your eggs. Some women freeze their eggs multiple times to increase their egg count and their chances for pregnancy. So if your doctor was unable to retrieve a healthy amount of eggs during your 1st egg retrieval experience you could always try again later. It might not be fun, but it just might be worth it.
:: sigh:: the things we do for our [unborn] kids.
If you’ve experienced this process I’d love to hear your story in the comments [below] + tips you can share with others…
