Now, I know there are a couple other egg freezing blogs out there where the women get 30+ eggs. But the reality is that, at least according to their website, NYU's average is 14 (note: I was not a patient of NYU). My doctor set my expectations at 8-10. And they say it takes 15-20 for a good chance at having a real, live, unfrozen baby.
I am quite happy with my 18 little bundles of hope. What does 18 mean to me? It means that I don't have to go through a second cycle. It means that I accomplished what I set out to do. This doesn't guarantee that I will ever have a biological child, but I feel that I've done what I could to give myself (and future husband???) a fighting chance.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteFirst - congratulations on the successful completion of your cycle - I hope I can be as successful!
Next - Thank you for posting all of this -- really, really awesome of you. I just stumbled upon your blog thru a Wikipedia link late last night and I couldn't stop reading. I'm shocked that there are no comments here. Not sure if that's a commentary on how few women are actually doing this or that no one really wants to talk about it?
In any event, thanks again for the play-by-play! With every one of my friends being on child #2 or 3 in their happy families and me embarking on this egg freezing adventure -- definitely some feelings of being 1) alone in this whole wacky process 2) a total weirdo for putting myself through this -- but of course keeping my 'eyes on the prize' and that larger ultimate goal of having a family of my own one day keeps those feelings at bay.
I just started my process this week with the birth control pill and will begin my injections not next week but the following. Sincerely hoping I have a similar hormonal/emotional experience as you, that's for sure.
So all of this is just to say that if any of your motivation for creating this diary of your egg freezing adventure was to help someone who was thinking of or in the process of doing this themselves -- MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! You can read all the medical stuff about what should happen in the egg freezing process, but to have a human account from someone actually going through it is a whole different thing. Thanks for putting it all out there.
Cheers!
Thank you so much for your comment (and for being my first official commenter!). I think that few women have done this, but every single woman over 30 whom I encounter is very interested.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I started to feel like men thought that I had expired/was expiring. Or maybe that was just in my own mind. Either way, from the day I made the first appointment at the fertility clinic, I felt so much more relaxed (and justified in subtracting 2 years from my age on my online dating profile ;o)
Good luck! And no matter what your emotional reaction is on the meds, you'll get back to normal soon and, more importantly, you'll know where you stand.
One other thing. I understood that I might get very few or no viable eggs when I started this. But even that would've calmed my anxiety. I mean, if I had discovered that to be the situation, then I would've also known that there was no reason to rush into a relationship or marriage with Mr. Wrong.
Again, best of luck and let me know how it goes!!!
I was so glad to stumble upon your blog. I am 31 and have endometriosis, PCOS, and only one ovary...the trifecta! I am considering freezing some eggs, but I am just starting graduate school and very basic health insurance. I have discussed the possibility of freezing some eggs with my OB/GYN and she has agreed to refer me to a fertility specialist if that is something I decide to pursue. I am not sure if this is an inappropriate question, so if it is I apologize, but it's so difficult to get info on cost for oocyte cryopreservation. Most of the information I've found so far is more specific to IVF. If you are comfortable saying, how much did the whole process cost?
ReplyDeleteHi Allymn!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. It is definitely a financial commitment. Think of it as an extra semester/year of grad school!
The media says that the entire cost is $10-15k for one cycle. The two costs are what the fertility specialist will charge you (they should give you an all-in number minus meds) and the meds. The price varies greatly by geography. In NYC, I believe the total can be as high as $18k per cycle.
I also checked Philly and DC, where it is cheaper ($7.5k - 10k for the doctor). California was somewhere in between. I had been given a meds estimate of $500 - $2k, but that wasn't even close. They came to about $3.5k, so you should be prepared for $2k-5k in meds. My all-in cost (doctor, tests, procedure, meds, everything) was about $11k-12k.
One thing to note is that some fertility centers have discount programs for people whose income is below a certain level. You might have to submit your past two years of tax returns to qualify, but it could save you thousands of $$$!
You should call the specialist your OB/GYN recommended and maybe some others in town and ask about the cost and any discount programs they may have. And, who knows, maybe because of your medical issues, it might be covered or partially covered by your insurance?
Good luck and please let me know what you decide.
MBM