Skimlinks Test Why am I doing a second cycle of egg freezing?
At the end of the first cycle was the egg retrieval. It was the big reveal, for how well your body has been responding to the multiple nightly injections and stimulations in the past 1.5 months.
I had a decently high hope on the number of healthy and mature eggs being frozen since the beginning of the process. It was because what my doctor told me about my AMH level. Anyway, the end results were unexpectedly low and I felt so devastated. It was like you thought you did well in your exam but it turned out to be the worst in class.. I didn’t think of doing a second egg of freezing cycle at that time.
I didn’t believe what I heard from my nurse after the retrieval for the number of eggs frozen. A few days later, I had another conversation with my doctor (which tbh, I felt betrayed, as she gave me false hope). I felt really frustrated and didn’t think I would do a second cycle even the results weren’t good.
But after talking to her, my mind started to change gradually. She didn’t explain why they didn’t use the better treatment plan to better control my cycle in the first time (which I am still baffled to this day). But she did tell me what they can do to give a much better result (theoretically) if I was to try a second time. I chose to believe her once again.
A new treatment plan and the unexpected
Now I’m still doing my second cycle. But according to my nurse the estradiol level seems to be in a good spot. They say the initial estradiol level should be <50 pg/ml before hormonal stimulation. So I’m crossing my finger this time. At the same time hoping the medication won’t be too much for my body.
The major change in the treatment plan this time is that they use a stronger medication to control my cycle at the beginning. So it basically means all the follicles in the ovary are not allowed to grow and mature until they are told to do so. It seems to work well this time.
Unfortunately, the start of my second cycle of egg freezing coincided with the forest fire season in California! To this date, there are still a lot new and old fires burning in different areas of CA. Not only does the fires doing a lot of damages, it also make the air quality very bad in different parts of California. I still don’t know the exact cause, but I had a complication of feeling frequent palpitation and difficulty of breathing since the start.
Having spent all my times in making the go decision for this second cycle, as well as the money already spent on it, I didn’t even think to terminate the cycle.
I was almost forced to terminate the cycle due to the palpitation and breathing difficulties that I was encountering. I have to be assessed by an anesthesiologist to confirm that I will be okay to be under general anesthesia. Fortunately, everything was fine at the end.
This second cycle of egg freezing is more physically exhausting for me than before. I blame it all to the smoky air from the fire around me.
The outcome of my second cycle of egg freezing
Things are finally over now! I had my egg retrieval yesterday. I am really glad I did much better this time. I have more viable and mature eggs frozen this time, although the number collected didn’t change much.
I was expecting more eggs to be collected as the ultrasound monitoring showed more follicles were growing during the stimulation. Anyway, it is what it is and I’m fine with the number of eggs frozen in the two cycles added together. I’m not going to tell how many, as it is a very sensitive number to every woman doing egg freezing or IVF.
Considering the problems of egg freezing, I always tell myself I shouldn’t be too obsessed on the number of frozen eggs. Some studies suggest there are potential risks for women who do 3+ cycles of egg freezing. Many of the questions about the long-term health effects in undergoing multiple cycles of egg freezing or IVF are still unanswered.
