Elena is working as a product manager in a technology company. She and her husband have yet to decide whether to become parents but want to preserve the choice to make a decision in the future.
Q: How did you and/or your partner make up your mind on going for fertility preservation treatment?
As I turned 30 and friends around us began having kids, we realized that we want to remain open-minded in terms of when and whether we would have children. Since we think we would perhaps revisit the topic at least 5 years away from now, it makes sense to freeze embryos at an age of early 30s rather than late 30s.
Q: How did you and/or your partner decide on the location, clinic and doctor?
Given we are planning longer term, the local regulations of our home country are restrictive as the duration of storage is limited to 10 years. We chose the United States because their laws are more friendly for embryo freezing and transfer, providing more flexibility in terms of choices down the road. I chose the doctor and clinic that a trusted friend of mine has already used and gone through a similar procedure.
Q: What preparation did you and/or your partner make before you began?
Making travel arrangements could be quite hectic during COVID so we had to plan early and build in a lot of time buffer. We had to be very careful not to catch COVID before the retrieval procedures or else it could jeopardize my treatment cycle. We flew into Los Angeles before starting any medication and stayed another week after the retrieval to ensure proper recovery.
Q: What were your and/or your partner’s major concerns going in and how did you overcome/manage them?
COVID was the biggest uncertainty before going in. During the process, it was the lack of upfront information from the clinic and doctor that caused some stress. We expected the doctor and nurses to explain very clearly the process, procedures, trade-offs and risks involved. However, we felt that we had to proactively ask questions in order to understand the options we could have. The process was a bit of a black-box and required a lot of our own research to help us formulate the questions needed to be asked.
If you remain on the fence about freezing or unsure when or whether to have children, it may make sense to at least conduct a blood test to check your fertility.
Some surprises along the way could have been avoided.
Q: What did you and/or your partner find surprising or unexpected during your journey?
I wish I knew better the types of questions to ask the doctor and nurses upfront so that we would be better prepared and experience less anxiety.
We did not consider the distance between where we were staying (hotel) and the clinic and the pharmacy. My husband and I had to go into the clinic every 2 days for blood work and ultrasound and the commute was a lot for a hormone-filled body. We also didn’t expect to have to go pick up our own medication at the pharmacy that is in a separate location 20 minutes away from the clinic itself.
Another surprise was how fast my ovaries reacted. We planned for a 14-day cycle but by day 8 I was ready for egg retrieval. We also had a scare in the middle of the cycle where I got an urgent call from the clinic to inject medication immediately. The hormone assessment from the blood work indicated that my eggs were about to be released. If I do not inject the medication in time to stop the ovulation, I would have to start over my cycle.
Q: What side effects did you experience (if any) and how did you manage them?
Before egg retrieval, my side effects were minimal. I had some bruising around the injection site but overall was feeling quite fine. After egg retrieval, I experienced prolonged constipation and that contributed to most of my discomfort.
Having a support system was important for me. My husband did my injections and helped me deal with the stress and side effects during the treatment cycle.
I wish I knew better the types of questions to ask the doctor and nurses upfront so that we would be better prepared and experience less anxiety.
Q: How has the treatment impacted you and your partner?
Embryo freezing helped us alleviate the stress from my biological clock and get my husband and I on the same page regarding our preferred time to have children. It made us feel less worried about holding out until the conditions are right for us to start a family.
Q: What advice do you have for women who are thinking of fertility preservation treatment for elective reasons?
If you remain on the fence about freezing or unsure when or whether to have children, it may make sense to at least conduct a blood test to check your fertility. Even if your fertility level is fine now, it does not necessarily mean that you would retrieve a lot of quality eggs. So plan ahead before it’s too late!
