My Egg Freezing Experience

 

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If I did things ‘God’s way’, wouldn’t God bless me with the partner + kids I have always longed for? It never occurred to me to learn what other options were available to me. It felt heart breaking to even begin to research my fertility options at age 34—because it felt like an admission of being in a place that I never wanted to be in: single + childless. In this podcast episode, I’m sharing my process of choosing to freeze my eggs, the logistics of the actual procedure, the results, costs, and…is it worth it? 


March of 2020

  • I first started learning about fertility through Modern Fertility and Dr. Natalie Crawford.

  • I took an at home fertility test with Modern Fertility and found out I had very low AMH levels for my age.

2022

  • I began wrestling with big questions

    • Do I really want to be a mom?

    • How will I become a mom? Am I willing to use a sperm donor? 

  • I met with my fertility specialist, Dr. Natalie Crawford.

    • Statistically speaking in  order to get 1-2 viable embryos, you ideally want to retrieve 16-20 eggs. 



Is egg freezing just for rich people?

  • I was fortunate to have the money set aside after saving aggressively

  • The total cost was $21k and my insurance did not cover any of it

    • $5k for bloodwork and DNA testing

    • $9k for fertility specialist

    • $7k for meds

    • Major caveat: some insurances + jobs cover partial or full coverage.

The procedure

  • I took leuprolide shots every night for 2 weeks to suppress ovulation. 

  • Then, I had 12 days of omnitriope, menopur + follistim —  FSH /hormone.

  • Every few days, I had ultrasounds and bloodwork.

  • A few days before my egg retrieval was scheduled, I found out that I only had 4 egg follicles growing. 

  • I took a pregnancy test the day before my retrieval and it came back positive. I had no idea that would happen in the egg freezing process.

  • My mom came into town to be with me during the process. I woke up from the procedure to hear my doctor telling my mom that only one egg was retrieved. 



What do you do when your heart breaks in an instant?

Who do you become?

Where do you turn to?

 

I feel like my body betrayed me. 

I feel left behind by God. 

I’m realizing I had this deep tit for tat with God. 

Do I need to get a sperm donor? If so, when? 

Can I afford to do another round? 

Is it wise to do another round? 

Ten years from now, what will I have wished I had done? 

But here’s the deal: I would do it all over again. My heart is sad and heavy. I'm not sure when I'll do it again, or if. But if you’re interested in it, please look into it.

I wish I would’ve known this info 10 years ago.

I wish I would've known what my options were.

And hopefully through my story, YOU CAN!



Fertility Resources:


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PodcastKatherine Harristhe refined collective, libsyn podcast, apple podcast, spotify podcast, fertility, egg freezing, modern fertility, fertilitiy specialist, fertility specialist, fertility resources, reproductive health, children, motherhood, ivf, coparenting, grief, procedure, cost, amh testing, sperm donor, faith