It's been a year since I posted about my egg freezing experience. In the past year I got many questions from people who are thinking about egg freezing or are going through it. Thought I'd share my answers here for many of you who might have the same questions :) As always, please feel free to email me if you want to chat about it.

The first question, shall I do it?

Q: Why do you decide to freeze eggs? Shall I do it?

I had two reasons for doing egg freezing:

• Reason #1: I don't feel ready to have kids for at least another 2-3 years. Given the sharp fertility dropoff after the age of 35, it might become difficult to get pregnant. I think of egg freezing as car insurance - it's something that might be helpful in the worse case scenario.
• Reason #2: I plan to have two kids eventually. So even if I can conceive natrually in 2-3 years, there's still a big risk for having the 2nd kids naturally a few years later. So egg freezing is also a good option for someone who plan to have the 2nd kid one day but not ready now.

It's a very personal choice. So if you are considering it, my suggestion would be - at least book an appointment for ultrasound to understand your fertility health. Some people start to have a decline at an earlier age than others. Knowing your own situation helps make an informed decision. Also consider it as an option for preserving the opporutnity to have a 2nd kid at a later age.

Q: It looks like only 10% chance of the frozen egg can lead to a successful pregnancy, but lots of works. Do you feel worth it?

I definitely feel worth it because it released so much pressure about fertility ... I wished I've done it earlier (assume I'll get more eggs per round if I do it earlier) .. It's 10% chance for each egg, but hopefully each round will get more than 10 eggs. I heard that normal people get 15-20 per round.

Cost, clinic and insurance options

Q: What's the cost of each round? Did you have insurance?

Each treatment cycle costs around $15K to $20K. Some companies provide special insurance to cover fertility treatment - the one I used was Aetna and Progyny. When I worked with Progyny, there is a patient advocate who was really helpful, giving me lots of information about the whole process and help me deal with the expense. So if you employer provide similar coverage, then definitely reach out to Progyny to talk with a patient advocate.

Q: What clinic do you recommend?

You can find a list of clinics in the Bay Area.

I worked with Stanford Children's Hospital and liked my experience. My primary doctor was Dr. Baker, but they do group practice, so you may get to see different doctors for your appointments and actual surgery.

Symptoms and feelings

Q: I heard of the symptoms during the treatment. It scares me a bit. Did you experience it?

I didn't feel much difference during the stimulation phase (hormone injection). The day after the retrieval, I felt very bloated and gained a bit weight. It only lasted 2-3 days though, and I feel normal after that.

Q: I'm going through this process now. It's been very emotional and frustrating especially because it didn't work on the first trial. Any tips on how to deal with this?

I had the same feeling when I only had 1 viable embryo after the first round... but I talked to many people after and learnt I'm not the only one. Almost everyone I talk to at my age or even younger had some issue in their first round. It's very common to do multiple rounds in order to get better results. The doctor said that it's definitely ok to do multiple rounds, as long as you get enough rest in between the rounds. So I think it's important to adjust your expectation - it's ok to do multiple rounds and not every round will work out well.

The other thing I learnt is that, the result may vary even with the same person based on what protocol you use. I tried two different protocols for the firs two rounds, neither had good results. So I scheduled an appointment to discuss with my doctor and see if there's another option. That's when the doctor suggested me to try the "estrace priming protocol" - it worked much better than the first two protocols. So I did 4 founds overall. It might be good to discuss with your doctor and see whether there's another option that you can try (either different protocols or same protocol with different dose).

Special circumstances

Q: How many eggs is usually a good target? I heard different numbers, some say 6-10, some say 15.

My doctor told me that a good number to target for each round is between 12-20. I always got lower than 12 though. I think the doctor tried to control to have only 12-15 growing because if too many eggs then you might have OOHS.

Q: How many round did you do? If the first round didn't go well, how long shall I wait before doing the 2nd round?

I did 4 rounds in total. There were 3 cycles had only 1 month gap in between. Doctor said it’s fine to do it with relatively short gap. But she did mention if I'm not in a hurry I can wait for a bit longer.

Hope it helps! :)