I did an egg freezing procedure in Feb/Mar 2023. I hope the details below will shed some light on the process – however other people’s experiences may vary and I may have overlooked some aspects of it. I will go more into the ‘how and what happened’, rather than the ‘why’ – that is for you to think about.
Deciding where to do it
After researching clinics across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Spain, and the UK, I chose Cambodia.
The practical reason? I was already working there, there was no requirement to be married (unlike some countries), and also no religious requirements (Malaysia is a cheap option due to exchange rate, but single Muslim women are no longer allowed to freeze eggs there). My ideal would have been doing it in Singapore where I’m from, but egg freezing was banned until 2022, and by then I was already over the age limit which was 35 at the time. Now they allow egg freezing between ages 21-37.
Going elsewhere, I would have needed to take at least a two-week holiday and go through this journey alone in a foreign country without support, which is not ideal. That said, in more developed nations, I’m sure you would get a full set of paperwork, consent forms etc in English, specific to egg-freezing, something which is lacking in the clinic I eventually used.
Initial consultation and tests
I went to Fertility Clinic Cambodia (FCC) and met with a French lady doctor who explained the procedure. When she picked up the calendar and started pointing out potential dates, I was still in two minds whether to proceed or not, and thought, “man, this is getting real.” It felt like I had to make a decision quite fast. The clinic could not tell me what is their success rate of egg freezing because they usually do IVF and only do a tiny amount of egg freezing procedures a year (and much fewer have actually been thawed out, fertilised, etc). Because of convenience, it was a risk I took with both eyes open.
Some preliminary steps included:
– Blood Test for AMH level (Anti-Mullerian Hormone)
– Ultrasound on the 2nd day of period to inspect my ovaries
– Birth control pills for 21 days to ‘reset’ my system
– Five days off the pills
– Another blood test before starting injections
The injection phase
The entire injection phase would last 10 days. The process began with two injections daily. I went to the clinic around the same time every day, including weekends and holidays. This is why I preferred doing it in Cambodia – there are nurses to help with injections. In other countries esp in the West, you likely have to inject yourself, which I did not want to do.
My body’s response was immediate:
– Day 1: I naturally stopped smoking as I didn’t feel like it
– Day 2: Felt nauseous, experienced projectile vomiting. So this is what it feels like to be pregnant!
– Day 3: Very bad diarrhoea
They prescribed Vometa and Smecta which helped manage the symptoms. By Day 6, a blood test showed my hormone level was at ‘600’ – considered good. By harvest time, it would exceed 1,400.
The treatment progressed to three injections, which became increasingly painful on my belly area. I started taking Panadol half an hour before the injections to ease the pain – this is not endorsed by the doctor, but I was just self-medicating.
Lifestyle changes
I researched online and made several changes in order to optimise the quality and quantity of my eggs:
– Avoided raw foods and cheese (especially my favourite blue cheese)
– Ate pretty much only avocado, chicken, salads, and green juice
– Drank coconut juice most days
– Took folic acid supplements
– Completely stopped alcohol and stopped smoking
My doctor did not make any particular recommendations as to what to eat etc – I just looked up advice meant for IVF patients. Please do your due diligence – do what is best for your body, don’t blindly follow what you find on the internet and preferably get your doctor’s advice.
The egg retrieval process
By Day 10, an ultrasound showed I was ready – these ultrasounds are done to count how many follicles have grown bigger/ripened to be ‘harvested’. The next challenge was a trigger shot, containing HCG hormones, which fell on a Saturday night. I had to inject this trigger shot exactly at 9.30pm (calculated 3 days backwards from the time my procedure would be on the following Monday). No way was I doing this myself – my good friend who is a GP kindly came over to help inject the fatty part of my belly below the belly button. The nurse at FCC promptly called me at the exact time on Saturday night to check whether I had injected already. A-star for service.
The procedure was done on a Monday morning.
– No eating or drinking (even water) after midnight before the procedure
– IV drip was placed in a painful spot (next to a bone!) at the top of my wrist
– Procedure performed by my usual French doctor who made cheerful small talk to make me feel comfortable
– Anaesthesia was administered by a local Khmer doctor
– Anaesthesia completely knocked me out for the egg retrieval process, and when I came to in the ‘recovery waiting area’, I felt whoozy and sleepy but painless
– Arranged for someone to take me home
Recovery: The reality
The doctor/nurses said I would be fine by lunchtime. This wasn’t exactly accurate. I had to cancel all meetings that afternoon. Please, please take annual leave for 1-2 days at least. If you recover sooner, good for you – at least you have allowed the time to rest.
My real recovery experience was – after the anaesthesia wore off that night, I felt pain for at least 5 days and was schlepping around walking like an old person. I was just told to take painkillers. My bladder felt weighed down and I felt like something was coming out of my stomach/womb – turned out my ovaries were still swollen because hormones were still in my system.
The good news? After healing, I did not develop any menstrual cramps or adverse effects. I did not experience any significant change. One of my main worries before I started my egg freezing journey was that I did not want things to change since I – thankfully – have cramp-free periods. Normal period cycle restarted 10 days after the procedure.
How many eggs is enough?
I came in with the intention of doing 2 rounds and I was advised to extract a total of 16-20 eggs to maximise my chances. However, after my experience with one round, which yielded a fair amount of eggs (below the full target, but quite okay considering my age), I decided to just do the one round and trust it will be enough. You can ultimately decide how many eggs are ‘good enough’ for you. Remember that egg freezing is not a fail-safe insurance and there is a no guarantee a baby will be born from those eggs.
Cost considerations
The procedure, including tests, cost just under USD4,000. Storage costs range from USD600-USD1,200 per year. This is far more affordable than other countries unless your country has grants or egg donation programmes. When you do want to make use of these eggs, you must come back to Cambodia to fertilise them – it is not possible to fly them over (as that will be very risky to the eggs).
Final advice
My advice is to take the process seriously and be kind to yourself. This means:
– Don’t do it while managing a major project or during stressful times
– Expect to make lifestyle adjustments over these 6 – 8 weeks of your life including full recovery, for just 1 round
– Understand it will affect your energy, health, and state of mind and may impact your productivity and social activities
– The optimal age is around 38 – old enough to know the ‘natural’ route hasn’t worked out, young enough to still have good quality eggs (AMH test can help you make an informed decision)
– Remember that your age and overall health affects recovery
Allow yourself plenty of time to recover – if you feel better sooner, then good for you! Overall, I am glad that I did it and lived to tell the tale, and it gives a bit of hope and back-up in the event I do need to resort to it, rather than wondering ‘what if’. There’s that Tony Bennett song which goes ‘I left my heart in San Francisco’ – well, I left my eggs in Phnom Penh *lol*!