Egg Freezing Diary 2024
Day 1: My period started. My anxiety level had been off the roof (“What if this cycle is unsuccessful? How will I do the self-injections?”) I called in to let my doctor know; he said to come in the next day for ultrasound. (A month ago, I did a preliminary ultrasound, they said I have good number of eggs, I should get 20 out of each cycle. My AMH hormone level was good too).
Day 2: Ultrasound came out good. They decided NOT to start egg stimulation until 10 days later. So I have another appointment for Cycle Day 10. Until then, I’m on birth control for 7 days. I take my prenatal vitamins religiously &… pray. Writing this blog has been helping a lot with my anxiety. Not looking forward to the daily injection, since some people told me that they experience weight gain & bloating.
Here’s the message I received from the nurse regarding cost of egg freezing and retrieval:
The the day you go in for your retrieval you will pay $1,295 for the surgery center fee’s and $495 for anesthesia.”
Day 10: I’m back at the Dr for ultrasound & blood test. After that, he told me start my daily injections tomorrow, in the evening (between 7-11pm). This is sub-cutaneous injection done by myself, it shouldn’t be too bad (versus intravenous injection – which can only be done by trained professionals, since you have to find your vein). For sub-cutaneous injection, you just puncture your belly. There’s no bleeding.
Now I get why people say it’s such a time consuming process. You have to report to the doctor for blood test/ultrasound every other day, for about 15 days. The schedule isn’t fixed; it all depends on how your body response, the doctor may move the appointment to earlier/later in the day or to another day. The only reason I can do this is because I’m working from home.
Blood tests today: FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE and ESTRADIOL. The reason they started & stopped birth control pill for me is to reset my system, so that Estradiol level would fall to near 0.
Day 11: Today I started my daily injections; this would last about 12 days until egg retrieval date. The initial meds pickup was about $2200. The cost varies because every patient is given a customized dosage and it depends on how your body reacts.
My nurse said the best spot to inject is into your belly because you’d feel the least pain. This is how big the needle is:
The meds we use are Menopur (2 parts per day) and Follistim (150 units per day) to stimulate the ovaries to produce many eggs.
Day 13: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL. Looks like I’m in follicular phase.
Day 15: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level keeps going up), and ultrasound (they counted 17 follicles). I’m still on Menopur and Follistim. Adding 1 more daily med: Ganirelix. This is a prefilled syringe. So in total I do 3 injections/night from now on.
I went to gym today & did 1h of running & light lifting. Even though I was told not to exercise other than walking during the cycle, I couldn’t stand not going to gym for so long. Today would be the last day that I go to gym before the egg retrieval.
Day 17: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is now over 1,200), and ultrasound (they counted 17 follicles). Today I picked up another meds refill which costs about $2000.
I’ve gained about 3lbs since I started the injections. The bloating is noticeable, my waist has increased by 5 inches. I was told that it’d go away as soon as I stop the meds. I’ve been eating well (meat + seafood + fresh veggies every day). I take my prenatal vitamins religiously & it seems to help a lot.
Day 19: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is now 2300), and ultrasound
Day 20: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is now 3000), and ultrasound
Day 21: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is now 4000), and ultrasound. Trigger shot tonight (leupron only, not Hcg). Meaning it’s still sub-cutaneous injection into the belly, not intramuscular (thanks God! I heard intramuscular is painful.)
Day 22: Blood test today: Progesterone and LH. No injection today.
Day 23: (Oct 27) Egg retrieval: I arrived at the doctor’s at 5:45am for egg retrieval at 6:45am. I spent the first 30mins filling out paperwork. Then changed into surgical gown. The nurse gave me IV in my arm (NaCl), then the anesthesiologist came to say hello. It’s general anesthesia (Propofol). The next thing I knew – I woke up after the procedure (at exactly 7:45am). Pain level 7/10. I asked the nurse for painkillers, she gave me some Tylenol and said I’m already on Morphine. 45 mins later, she checked on me, I asked for more painkillers since the pain barely subsided. She added more Morphine. I stayed for an additional 30mins, then I was discharged. The nurse helped take me downstairs and to the car.
I spent the rest of the day in bed. It was painful through the afternoon, especially when my bladder was full, it was a struggle to get out of bed. After I emptied my bladder, it got a lot easier.
The Dr. called and let me know that they were able to retrieve 15 eggs and 10 of them were mature and frozen.
The following day: I was able to drive & pick up grocery from the store.
2 days later: Still staying inside all day. No pain, but I can only walk slowly. I’ve been taking acetaminophen every 6h, and added ibuprofen today.
4 days later: Looks like my belly bloating goes down today. No pain, but I’m still taking it easy with no exercise today. Will head to gym tomorrow.
SUMMARY OF MY STATS
- AMH level before starting: 11.8. This is considered high.
- Number of follicles: 20.
- 15 eggs retrieved, and 10 of them were mature and frozen.
- 10 days of stim for menopur+follistim
- Total cost (Dr appointments, meds, retrieval procedure): $14,000 (plus $550/year for storage)
Round 2:
Day 1 (Dec 31 2022): My period started. I was told to start birth control on day 2, and for 7 days in total.
Day 10: Today I came in for ultrasound & blood tests. My follicle size was about 2-3mm each. I started meds today (same dosage as before). Meds today cost $2,479 in total.
Day 12: Today I came in for blood test only.
Day 14: Today I came in for blood test & ultrasound. Follicle size 6. Start adding Ganirelix today.
Day 16: Today I came in for blood test & ultrasound. Follicle size 12.
Day 18: Today I came in for blood test & ultrasound. 
Day 19: Today I came in for blood test & ultrasound. Trigger shot tonight (same dose as before) at 8:15pm.
Day 20: Today I came in for blood test only. LH and Progesterone
Day 21: Today is egg retrieval surgery day. Surgery’s at 8:15am and I got home at 10:30am. I had a much better recovery day than last time, was able to walk slowly around my house by the evening.
Result: Retrieved 28 eggs and 21 of those were mature and frozen.
- 9 days of stim for menopur+follistim
Costs: Interestingly, I wasn’t charged for egg storage, since I already paid for 10-year storage last time. The surgery center charged me a total of $1500+$1295+$495 = $3290.
UCLA charged me a total of $928 for tests, but did not charge me a fixed fee like last time.
Meds were $2,479 for the first pickup (I used all) and $1,817.42 for the second pickup (photos below, most remains unused; I plan to use them for the next cycle). So total meds were about $2900 for this cycle.
SUMMARY OF MY STATS
- Number of follicles: 19.
- 28 eggs retrieved, and 21 of them were mature and frozen.
- Total cost (Dr appointments, meds, retrieval procedure): $7100
ROUND 3:
March 4 2024: My AMH level is now half of what it was 1.5 years ago (6.3 vs 11.8)
March 13: My period started at 6pm. I messed up a bit by not calling my doctor right away; so I was unable to schedule a time for ultrasound the following day as I’m supposed to do; I’ll come in the day after.
March 15: Ultrasound + bloodwork. Got green light to start injection today, between 7-11pm, same dose as before.
Paid fee to UCLA: $3864
Picked up meds today: $1480
Labs so far: $460
Parking: $35
Total so far: $5839
March 17: Bloodwork. My response isn’t as robust as the previous rounds, so the doc upped my Folistim to 225 from today; Menopur remains the same.
Lab today: $26, parking $15
March 19: Bloodwork and ultrasound.
Picked up 1 more follistim: $280; Lab today: $26, parking $15
March 20: Start adding Ganirelix from today, so 3 meds in total. My own projection for surgery date, based on first cycle is March 28 (Thursday).
March 21: Bloodwork and ultrasound. Continued dosage (3 meds), largest follicle size: 12.
Meds today: $1857.8; Parking $29.5
Comparing estradiol level: ROUND 3: 15 TO 21: 855
ROUND 1: 11 TO 17: 1200+
ROUND 2: 10 TO 16: 1541
March 23: Bloodwork and ultrasound. Continued dosage (3 meds), largest follicle size: 15.9.
Lab today: $240.25 Parking $15
Total so far: $8343.55
March 25: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is now 3000), and ultrasound. Largest follicle size: 19; 11 mature follicles.
Lab today: $111.25 Parking $28
March 26: Blood test today: ESTRADIOL (my level is over 4000 now), and ultrasound
Lab today: $26 Parking $28, Lupron $169.9.
Paid to surgery center: $1500
Trigger shot tonight at 7pm (leupron only); no other injection from tonight.
March 27: Blood test today, LH and Progesterone. No injection.
Lab today $145.25, Parking $7
Total so far: $10,358.95
Total this round: 11 days of stim, including 6 of ganirelix -> next time pick up 22 units menospur, 5 follistim, 5 of ganirelix (~$4.1k)
March 28: Egg retrieval at 7am. Need to be at surgery center at 6am. Pick up at 8:30am.
UCLA Tests: $85.25×2
Surgery center charge: $1295 + $791 for tests because I plan to use gestational carrier.
Anesthesiologist fee: $495
Other UCLA charges billed April 5: $376.75. Total: $13487.2
SUMMARY OF MY STATS
- Number of follicles: 19.
- 9 eggs retrieved, and 8 of them were mature and frozen.
- 11 days of stim for menopur+follistim
- Total cost (Dr appointments, meds, retrieval procedure): $13487.2
- Total Egg count after 3 cycles: 39. Which gives higher than 50% chance for 3 children.
For some reason my body didn’t response well in the 3rd cycle, even after the first couple days of stim. For the next cycle, my Dr. decided to start at higher dose right away, and start with 5 days of birth control pills.
ROUND 4:
Aug 1 – Aug 6 2024: Birth control for 6 days
Picked up meds: $2,981.26
Uber: $30
Aug 10 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. My follicle size was about 3mm each. Started injection today. Dosage: 275 of Follistim pen & 150 (2 powder menopur) 7pm; bloodwork before 10am
Paid to UCLA: $3,864
Uber: $72
Blood test: $54
Total cost so far is $7,001.26
Aug 12 2024: Blood work only. The response is better than 1st round (133, 10 eggs) but still less robust than 2nd round (214, 20 eggs), so we’re increasing the Follistim dosage from tonight to 300.
Uber: $90, test: $26
Aug 14 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. Follicle size: 9-10.6.
Estradiol level: 645. Compared with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd round: 499, 735, 359.
Injection tonight: same dosage, add ganirelix tonight. Surgery date is 7-8 days after ganirelix, so next Wedn or Thu.
Uber: $80, test: $26, meds pick up $840
Aug 16 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. Follicle size: 10.6-13.1.
Estradiol level: 1572. Compared with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd round: 1217, 1541, 1300.
Number of follicles: 22.
Injection tonight: reduce follistim to 225, still add ganirelix tonight.
Uber: $80, test: $26, meds pick up $1671.82. Total so far: $9,838.08
Aug 18 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. Continue 3 meds at the same dosage.
Aug 19 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. Follicle size: 11-17
Reduce follistim to 150
Paid to UCLA: $217, uber 2 days: $99
The most recent med pickup was unnecessary as there’re many extra ($1600)
Total meds needed: 9 days
Aug 20 2024: Ultrasound & blood work. Trigger shot tonight
80 lupron, 7:45pm.
Surgery will be at 7:45am; need to get there by 6:45, ready at 9:30
Paid to UCLA: $114, uber: $85.79
Aug 21 2024: Blood work only.
Paid to UCLA: $52, uber: $68.5
Total so far: $10,474.37 (of which $1600 is unnecessary).
Aug 22 2024: Egg retrieval at 7:45am. I got the most eggs this cycle but also experienced the most pain, around 2pm after the surgery
Paid to UCLA: $88, uber: $25.5
Paid to UCLA Aug 24: $143
Paid to UCLA Aug 28: $88+176
Paid to UCLA Aug 29: $159.5
Paid to surgery center Aug 28 (blood tests): $791
Paid to surgery center: embryology lab fee at $1,500,
“The the day you go in for your retrieval you will pay $1,295 for the surgery center fee’s and $495 for anesthesia.”
Result:
– 22 eggs were retrieved, 17 frozen. So far: 56 total.
– Total cost: $15235.37 (of which $1600 is excess; so real cost ~ $13600)
The total Uber cost for this period is $605.29. If driving: 42+140= 182. extra cost of not having car: 415
ROUND 5:
Day 1: Nov 17 2024: My period started
Day 2: Ultrasound & tests:
FSH 4.4
Estradiol 29
Pick up meds: $2675, Parking $30, UCLA charges $3,864, test $54, pre-cycle consultation $200.
I was put on birth control from today until Nov 26
Day 13: Nov 30: Start injection today: 300 gonad 150 menopur (2 vials)
Ultrasound & tests: Estradiol<12 FSH 7
Parking $30, test $165
Day 15: Dec 1: Same dose: 300 gonad 150 menopur (2 vials)
Test: Estradiol 196
Parking $16, test $26
Day 18: Dec 4: Change dose: 225 gonad 150 menopur (2 vials)
Test: Estradiol 743, CBC
Parking $30, test $46
Dec 5: start adding ganirelix
Total meds needed: 9 days. Current projection: trigger shot Tues, egg freezing Thur Dec 12. Got follistim 6 days, menopur 9 days. So only need more follistim 3 days
Wedn am: need 7 more days (including today). menopur have 4.5 days -> need 2.5 day. follistim have 5 days -> need 2 days
Day 20: Dec 6: Parking $30, test $26, pick up more meds $1,024.95. Total so far: $8,216.95
Test: Estradiol 1566
Day 22: Dec 8: Parking $30, test $148.5
Test: Estradiol 2,499
Day 24: Dec 10: Parking $30, test $26 and $88
Test: Estradiol 4,918
Trigger tonight 80 lupron, 7:45pm.
Surgery will be at 7:45am; need to get there by 6:45, ready at 9:30
Day 25: Dec 11: Parking $30, test $16
Test: Progesterone 13.6 LH 25
Previous cycle: The surgery center charged me a total of $1500+$1295+$495 = $3290. This cycle: The surgery center charged me a total of $1500+$1100+$495 = $3095. Plus $729 for blood tests.
Day 26: Dec 12: Egg retrieval at 7:45am. I got the most eggs this cycle but also experienced the most pain when I woke up, needed 3 doses of painkillers IV.
Paid to UCLA: $74 and $143, uber: $25.
More charge on Dec 15: $71.5+$71.5
More charge on Dec 19: $308+$54
Result:
– 22 eggs were retrieved, 16 eggs were mature & frozen. So far: 72 total.
– Total cost: $12,794.45
