Today we bring you an interview with a woman who decided to share her story and decision to freeze her eggs. This interview will give you insight into how she made this important decision, the process she went through, and what she thinks women should know if they are considering a similar step.
The topic of egg freezing is still shrouded in a number of question marks and taboos, our effort at Femvie is to bring information, share open stories of women and show that you are not alone in what you are going through. If you are also going through something and want to share your story, we would be happy if you contact us.
What made you consider freezing your eggs?
It's something I've been thinking about for a while. I'm not in a serious relationship right now, but I've always wanted kids. I started thinking about it again last summer, but then I put it aside. However, the topic came up again over Christmas, thanks to a friend who's also thinking about it.
What did you base your final decision on?
I turned 35 in July and there had been no major changes in my personal life. Having been thinking about this idea for a while, I decided that there was no point in waiting. It's a cliché, but our biological clocks are ticking, and I'm even more aware of this because my father is a gynecologist. I'm healthy and there's nothing stopping me from having this procedure. So I decided to consult a fertility doctor, and that's when everything started to go smoothly. Since I like to have things under control in my life, I wanted to make sure that if I couldn't get pregnant naturally in the future, I had a backup plan. I didn't want to regret not doing everything I needed to do to have the opportunity.
What should women know before deciding to freeze their eggs?
How did the whole process go?
As I mentioned, it's impossible to generalize this widely, as the length of the process and hormone doses will vary based on individual factors, medical history, and other aspects . Here's a timeline of my procedure, from my first visit to my fertility doctor, where I made the decision, to the day of the procedure itself:
The procedure itself takes about 15 minutes . You will be taken to the operating room, where you will be positioned as if you were preparing for childbirth, and you will be given general anesthesia. The anesthesia will put you to sleep, so you will not feel the needle being inserted into your ovary to remove your eggs.
You must not be at home alone on the day of the procedure, due to possible complications after the procedure. Doctors are primarily concerned about the possibility of bleeding into the abdomen.
As for the results, I was really lucky because I managed to retrieve 18 eggs , of which I have 16 frozen . I say I was lucky because I follow women my age on Instagram who share their experiences, and some of them only had 2 eggs retrieved after the procedure and had to undergo several more procedures to have more. FYI, this procedure can be done every six months.
How do you feel now, after having successfully undergone the procedure?
It's been a month since the procedure, but it feels like much longer. The first three days after the procedure I was tired and had a stomach ache, similar to PMS. Plus, your periods are irregular due to hormones, so the first month is quite unpredictable. In my case, everything was fine a month after the procedure.
Do you think women need more information to better decide when to consider egg freezing?
Absolutely! I decided to share my experience on my Instagram page. I'm not an influencer, but I have over 1,000 followers, most of whom are women, so I thought why not. I'm the daughter of a gynecologist and I didn't know much about it either.
During those three weeks, I shared photos of the injections on Instagram, videos of me learning how to inject myself, etc., and I got a lot of women and even a few men who were not only very supportive, but also said they didn't know much about it, and some women told me they had the procedure but never wanted to talk about it. Which is of course their decision, but I'm pretty open about it. But what one woman told me in our conversation is that freezing eggs is still like an abortion, TABOO. Which is pretty sad because all of these things, just like menstruation or childbirth, are part of women's health.
What would you like to know sooner?
When I spoke to a fertility doctor, she told me that women usually start thinking about this procedure around the age of 30 to 35 because they are "taught" that they are "old" at 30. Which is nonsense, but unfortunately, we have been conditioned to do so for decades. The doctor told me that she would recommend that women start thinking about it around the age of 25 because that is the age when they are most fertile. However, she herself admitted that 20-year-old girls don't think about it because for many of them, having children is not a current topic these days (it wasn't for me 10 years ago either).
