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Step 4: If you decide to go forward, the data from your first tests will be used to determine your initial medications & doses. You'll be shown how to give yourself 2-3 subcutaneous shots (into your belly fat, NOT into veins or muscle) each day.pic.twitter.com/2oxFv9Ymnr
Step 5: Lots of appointments and blood draws. You can expect 2-3 appointments per week for blood tests and ultrasounds. Your dosages will be adjusted as the development of your eggs is monitored. Toward the end, you may be doing 4-5 injections per day.
Step 6: The trigger shot! After 10-14 days of shots, this final injection will induce ovulation. Precision is required: you'll be told exactly when to do the trigger, and your retrieval procedure will be 36 hours after that. Come hell or high water, you will not reschedule.
Step 7: The retrieval. You'll be under twilight/light general anesthesia, and the eggs will be retrieved via a needle inserted into the ovaries through the vaginal canal. You will probably not remember much. There will be no scar or external trace of the procedure.
(This kind of sedation is weird. If you're anything like me, you'll appear fully conscious and you will fucking sing like a canary. Ideally, the friend who takes you home will already know all of your deepest insecurities & darkest secrets.)
Step 8: Within a day or two of your retrieval, your doctor will be able to tell you how many eggs were retrieved, how many were mature, and how many were successfully frozen. Immature eggs can't currently be used in IVF, but some clinics will freeze them for future tech.
This is all pretty expensive. My cycles were $10-13k each, but I opted for some optional medication (hellllllo, human growth hormone!) and had all of my treatments done in LA (not the most price-sensitive area). Insurance won't usually cover it, but it's worth checking.
Physically, the process isn't that bad. I hate needles, but the shots were fine. The needles are tiny & it takes no skill to inject into fat. A friend did them for me during my first cycle; after that, I was comfortable taking over. Having blood drawn 3x/week is the worst part!
You *do* have to mix/prepare some of the medications (typically just measuring saline and adding it to powder). This can be both fun (like a chemistry experiment!) and mildly horrifying (I shouldn't be trusted with this!)
Psychologically, it's a ride. I usually have some loopy dumb-dumb days toward the beginning. I'm a bit more irritable/tired than usual until I get my next period. I am ALL ABOUT BABIES for the last week, which is incredibly annoying to everyone around me who isn't a baby. YMMV.
A few clinics are starting to offer split cycles — basically, you pay nothing and get to keep some of your eggs in return for donating some (most?) of them. @springfertility in SF mentions a program like this on their website:https://springfertility.com/egg-freezing/
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