Reasons for freezing
I am in my mid-30s and was concerned that I would not find a husband and have children in time. Freezing my eggs has relieved this time pressure. It doesn't mean that I will procrastinate dating or having children, but the "deadline" can be temporarily pushed back. Freezing my eggs gives me "reproductive insurance" so I don't feel rushed, nor feel so bad when my dates are not near ideal husband material or when a relationship ends. I can enjoy my dates more, rather than feel the stress of each date being an audition for a husband. Even if I meet a potential Mr. Right tomorrow, I want to spend enough time with him to know him well and decide whether I want to have children with him. I don't want to rush into marriage just because I want to have children by a certain age given the risks of birth defects associated with advanced maternal age. Even if I marry someone in a few years, or end up never meeting Mr. Right, I can still use the eggs I froze because they will be of better genetic quality since they are from my younger self. Medical technology has essentially helped stop my biological clock. And it has given me a sense of control over this (reproductive) part of my life.
My fertility doctor showed me a chart listing the chances of having a baby for women in various age groups. There was a slight difference in fertility between women who were 32 and 35, but a bigger difference between women who were 35 and 38. So I wanted to freeze my eggs as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, my insurance would not cover the cost because it was an elective procedure. There was nothing medically wrong with me, per se. So I paid out of pocket, which totaled over $10K for the medical visits, medications, and harvest. There was also a fee for egg storage which was several hundred dollars each year. This annual fee covered all the eggs to be stored. It does not cover fertilizing or implanting them later.
I recommend researching your area to review the reputation and statistics/success rates of local fertility doctors/centers. In addition to going to one with a good reputation, location is important as well. Because you will need daily office visits each morning for about two weeks, it is convenient to pick a place near your home or work.
Biology 101
Within each ovary are many follicles. Each follicle contains an immature egg. Girls are born with all the (immature) eggs she will have in her lifetime. Over time, the number of eggs decreases. By puberty, she will have hundreds of thousands left. With each menstrual cycle, another thousand or so are lost, and usually only one egg matures and is released. With estrogen injections, more eggs mature. After the eggs are harvested, the doctors see how many are mature or good. Ideally, 20 eggs are harvested which will likely result in 1-3 babies (but technically could mean 0-20 kids). I have two friends in their late 30's who only harvested 4-5 eggs each. Another friend underwent several harvests and yielded 14-22 eggs per cycle but only half were usable. Most women my age harvest 10-12 eggs per cycle. I was fortunate to have 18 eggs harvested during my cycle, and all were good.The daily routine
The entire process takes about 8-14 days. Once my menstrual period started, I called the fertility nurse because the hormone injections need to be started early in the cycle. Every morning before work, I had blood drawn to track my estrogen level. Because the phlebotomists tried to reuse the same couple of veins (which I appreciated), there were multiple track marks and bruises on my arm. (I could have been mistaken for an intravenous drug user.) I also had a transvaginal ultrasound every morning to track the maturation of my eggs. Every afternoon, I received a phone call from the nurse to tell me how many vials of hormones to inject that night, which depended on my estrogen level and maturation of eggs from that morning's labs and ultrasound.
Hormone injections
Every night, around the same time (within a 30-60 minute window), I gave myself hormone (estrogen) injections in the lower abdomen to help my eggs mature. During the second week, I also had to give myself another set of hormone injections every morning to prevent ovulation. I am generally an independent person but needed a friend to be there for emotional support the first time I gave myself a hormone injection. I had never given myself an injection before, and it seemed scary. I was fine after the first time though because I knew what to expect.
The process of hormone injection starts with preparing the hormone solution by adding saline to the vial of hormone powder and then drawing the solution into a syringe. The needle I used to inject myself was thin (27 gauge) and 3/4 inch long. I first cleaned the site of injection with an alcohol pad, pinched the abdomen upwards, and then injected the entire length of the needle. Sometimes it burned as I injected the needle or hormone. After I removed the syringe, I put an alcohol pad over the site and applied pressure for a few minutes. Rubbing and massaging the site helped it burn less.
If you are concerned about the pain associated with injections (or just feel sad/frustrated/tired during any part of this process), just think about the reason you are going through this ordeal - for your future children - and it will help you gather courage. The hardship from these two weeks will be well worth it when you are holding your baby.
Hyperstimulation syndrome
Although I am extremely happy with my 18 eggs, they came with a health risk. I was able to produce many eggs because my ovaries responded very well to the estrogen injections. My estrogen levels were so high that it made my doctors uncomfortable because I was at risk for forming a clot or having a stroke. I was having daily headaches which made the doctors more nervous that the headaches could be due to a clot or stroke. They even asked if I wanted to cancel the harvest 36 hours prior to the procedure. I declined and took the risk because I did not want to come out empty-handed after all I went through and the money I spent. My ovaries were also very large because there were so many maturing eggs that I was at risk for ovarian torsion. (I was able to sometimes feel where my ovaries were because of their large size.) Given my risks, I had to be somewhat active to minimize my chances of forming a clot but could not be too active that I would torse my ovary.
The harvest
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| How I felt during the process |
After the harvest
After I awoke from the anesthesia, I felt tremendous abdominal bloating and discomfort which caused me to have difficulty walking. (I was walking as slow as a grandmother). The doctor said that women usually go back to work the day after the harvest. I have a high tolerance for pain yet I felt I needed two days. The symptoms gradually subsided over 2-3 days.
Most women gain 5 pounds per harvest and have a hard time losing the weight. Because I am very thin and petite, I gained 3 pounds but lost it one week post-harvest. My period came two weeks after the harvest and was very heavy, which was to be expected since my uterus was preparing for multiple babies.
I want to have two children. Because statistics suggest that 20 eggs will likely yield 1-3 babies, I am concerned that I may only end up with one child from my 18 eggs. Therefore, I will undergo a second harvest.
Most women gain 5 pounds per harvest and have a hard time losing the weight. Because I am very thin and petite, I gained 3 pounds but lost it one week post-harvest. My period came two weeks after the harvest and was very heavy, which was to be expected since my uterus was preparing for multiple babies.
I want to have two children. Because statistics suggest that 20 eggs will likely yield 1-3 babies, I am concerned that I may only end up with one child from my 18 eggs. Therefore, I will undergo a second harvest.
Thank you for sharing your personal beautiful experience with us.
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