Egg Freezing Review - Sharing My Real Experience and Detailed Steps at Beyond IVF

Hello, this is Jen! Today, I’m going to share my experience and review of egg freezing. First, I have to say that the egg freezing process takes a bit longer compared to male sperm testing. The process involves an internal examination, which must be done on the first or second day of your menstrual cycle. After that, we will collect the eggs 16-18 days after your period starts. Let’s take a look at the steps involved

Jen here again! I want to tell you that egg freezing is not as scary as many people think. It’s actually a simple process with just 4 main steps!

Step 1: Consult with the doctor
Step 2: Administer hormone injections to stimulate egg production
Step 3: Egg retrieval
Step 4: Freeze the eggs

Throughout these main steps, the doctor uses an ultrasound to check and monitor your eggs, and it’s completely painless. It’s very comfortable! Even when it’s time for egg retrieval, the clinic provides sedation, so you won’t feel anything at all. When you wake up, you might feel just a tiny bit of discomfort, but it goes away quickly.

Today, I’m going to give you a detailed review of the entire egg freezing process at Beyond IVF, showing you every step so you can see how simple and smooth the experience really is. Let’s dive in!

Egg Freezing Review - Day 1:

On the first day, blood was drawn to check for carrier status of diseases such as Hepatitis B, Thalassemia, and HIV. This test is done for both the woman and the man. After that, I met with the doctor to discuss the blood test results, and the doctor also provided some valuable information. My blood test results were all in a good range, so that was great!

Today, I also had an internal exam. At first, I thought they would just use the ultrasound machine on my stomach, but it wasn’t like that. They used a special ultrasound probe that is inserted into the body, all the way to the ovaries (I’ll share a picture of the device for you to see). This is to check how many eggs are in the ovaries. On my left side, there were 6 eggs, and on the right side, 8 eggs. The doctor said that I need to wait for 14 days for the eggs to mature. So, counting from today, it’s already day 2.

The doctor will give me hormone injections for 7 days, and then I will return for another check-up. After the check-up, I received my blood test results and ultrasound images showing my ovaries.

The quality of my eggs is similar to that of a woman around 25 years old, which is great. Some of my friends who are in their early 30s have eggs that are already aging like someone in their 40s, which would fall under the category of infertility. But even though my eggs are in good condition, the doctor wants to make sure I’m in the best possible shape to freeze the healthiest eggs. So, the doctor prescribed hormones for me to inject at home every day at the same time for 7-8 days.

Egg Freezing Review - Days 2 to 6:

I have to say, the first few days of giving myself injections were really difficult. It took me a while to gather the courage to do it, and it felt like hours before I could finally get it done. But, day one was probably the hardest. By day 2 and 3, I started to get the hang of it, and by day 4, 5, and 6, I was like a pro nurse! I was injecting every day, and I would visit the doctor for ultrasounds to check on the eggs and see how they were developing.

Egg Freezing Review - Day 7:

On day 7, it was time for my ultrasound to check how many mature eggs I had. When the ultrasound probe was inserted, we could immediately see several large eggs. The doctor measured each one to check their size in millimeters. I had a great number of eggs – 5 on the left ovary and 13 on the right. The doctor then gave me two more medications to inject. One hormone would help the other eggs grow larger, while the other would slow down the growth once the eggs reached 20 millimeters.

Egg Freezing Review - Day 13:

Back at the clinic on day 13 for my final ultrasound to check the eggs. Everything looked great, and I was ready to retrieve my eggs in two days. The doctor prescribed two more injections: one to continue stimulating the eggs, and the other to trigger ovulation 36 hours before the egg retrieval.

But then, something unexpected happened! I accidentally mixed up the instructions and injected both needles at the same time. Instead of waiting for two more days to retrieve my eggs, I was supposed to do it the very next day. Thankfully, the doctor was so understanding and reassured me that everything would be fine. I was lucky that the doctor was available that day, because if the eggs ovulated before retrieval, I’d have to start the process over from scratch.

Egg Freezing Review - Egg Retrieval Day

On the day of my egg retrieval, I had already prepared the night before. I had to fast for 6 hours, meaning no food or drink before the procedure. Additionally, I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup or nail polish (on both my hands and feet), as I was going to be sedated for the egg retrieval.

During the egg retrieval, they used the same ultrasound machine as before, along with a special needle to collect my eggs. Since I was fully sedated, I didn’t feel anything during the procedure and was completely asleep.

After the sedation, they advised me not to eat or drink for another 2 hours. It’s worth mentioning that the clinic uses a professional anesthesiologist for the sedation, and the operating room was very clean and well-maintained. I felt completely safe.

For the anesthesia, the process was very smooth. The anesthesiologist told me to count down from 3, 2, 1, and then I fell asleep immediately. When I woke up, I was already in the recovery room. The nurses told me the egg retrieval only took about 30 minutes. I rested in the recovery room for around 30 minutes, and then I was allowed to rest for an additional hour before heading home.

The egg retrieval process was quick and easy. It didn’t take long, and before I knew it, I was able to go home. It was a smooth and stress-free experience!

At Beyond IVF, the eggs are frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C to preserve the eggs as perfectly as possible. This process essentially "freezes" the eggs at the age they were retrieved, so for example, if you freeze your eggs at 25 years old and use them when you're 30, the eggs will still have the same quality and age as they did when you were 25.

After freezing the eggs, I could continue with my life normally without any major issues. However, on the second and third days, I did experience some bloating, which felt like menstrual cramps. The bloating made my abdomen swell, almost like water retention. Initially, my waist was around 23-24 inches, but by then, it was 35 inches, almost like I was pregnant!

The clinic advised me to consume protein from egg whites to help reduce the bloating. (For some individuals, bloating and swelling after egg retrieval may occur, and in those cases, the clinic suggests eating 8 egg whites per day to alleviate the symptoms.)

Restrictions After Egg Freezing

1. No Exercise: Avoid any form of strenuous physical activity for 1-2 weeks after the procedure to allow your body to heal properly and avoid strain.

2. No Sexual Intercourse: Refrain from sexual activities for at least 1-2 weeks to ensure your body can recover and to minimize any risk of infection.

3. No Alcohol: It's important to avoid alcohol for 1-2 weeks after egg retrieval to help your body recover and maintain overall health.

4. Avoid Fermented Foods: Steer clear of fermented foods, such as pickled items or foods with strong fermentation, as they may irritate the body during the recovery process.

These restrictions will help ensure that your body heals well and gives your eggs the best chance for success in the future.

It’s a great experience that I would recommend all women to try. Because with something like this, we can never know for sure until we get married and have a check-up. So, why wait until we get married? People these days are getting married much later than our parents' generation. That’s why we should consider preparing for egg freezing in advance. It’s another way to be ready for the future, especially if we want to have kids but are concerned about age. By doing this, you won’t have to worry about any potential risks, like whether your child could have any health issues. Freezing your eggs beforehand is definitely the best choice. Trust me on this

If you’re wondering where to freeze your eggs, it has to be at Beyond IVF! Not only do they offer great pricing—egg freezing costs only 99,900 THB—but they also provide tons of helpful documents. These include consent forms that detail how long you plan to store your eggs, whether you’ll store them for yourself or donate them, and options for disposal after a certain period, like 50 years, or even using them for medical research.

I truly recommend it because many of my friends never had their health checked, nor did they receive the HPV vaccine. I want to be a voice encouraging all women to get checked, undergo regular gynecological exams, and consider options like egg freezing. I believe these matters are not as distant or abstract as they might seem, so I really want to share my experience with Beyond IVF. It’s been a positive journey for me, and I hope others can benefit from it too