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FAQ
EGG FREEZING PROCESS
How does the egg freezing process work?
Your personalized fertility plan is based upon the presumption that you're fine, but first, we need to know that.
Step 1: We get to know you and see which treatment is best for you. At SCRC, we create a personalized treatment path for each patient.
The first thing is to get to know you to ensure this is a good idea for you and the right choice. Even though in theory, it should be, we need to determine what protocol will work best for you based on a clinical evaluation. The evaluation consists of lab tests and an ultrasound.
Step 2: Lab work.
When is the best time to do the lab tests?
You could do all of the tests at the beginning of a cycle, which might be the most efficient way to do things to minimize the number of things you need to do. You will do this with us at our clinic if you are a local patient. If you are in a different part of the country, patients may opt to use a local lab before traveling to our fertility clinic in Southern California for egg freezing.
Regarding the ultrasound, sometimes gynecologists do that in their office, or you could do that at a local radiology center. If you aren’t doing it here at our clinic, it will be up to you as to where you go, but we're going to want to know where so that we can give you an order and get a result that will be accurate.
When someone has their period, how many eggs do they typically produce?
When you menstruate, you're in a resting state. So, that's when it's a good time to see how many eggs you're producing by doing hormone tests and ultrasounds to give us an idea of your unique situation, because everybody is different. For example, the number of eggs you produce now will differ from the number of eggs you will produce when your ovaries are stimulated.
Step 3: Create a fertility calendar.
After we review the results of your fertility test together, we will create a custom fertility calendar for you.
Step 4: Decide what fertility stimulants are best for your treatment plan.
There are options when it comes to the stimulants. This may include what you should take, when you should take them, and how you should take them. We will determine this information after reviewing your clinical evaluation.
TIMING
How long do you have to be in California after the procedure?
You need to be here a few days before and a couple of days after the procedure. You will need to be here locally for a minimum of a week. We suggest resting after the treatment, because your ovaries are going to be stimulated. We want to make sure that they go back to normal. For example, I don't want you to aspirate your eggs on Thursday, leave Friday morning, and get on a plane.
What is the best age to freeze my eggs?
Sooner rather than later is always the best approach. Early to mid twenties or early thirties is the best time to freeze your eggs. 36 is also a pretty typical age to freeze your eggs. Your fertility today is not as good as it was five years ago, but it's better than it's going to be a few years from now. It's going to be double what it is at 36. It would be better to do this if you could when you're 36 instead of waiting. The process works best when you are younger. If you are considering freezing your eggs, sometime in the near future would be a good idea. Don’t put it off. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes as you get older.
If I am not actively trying to have kids. Should I still consider freezing my eggs?
Yes, to keep that option open for yourself because you never know what the future holds.
I definitely don't want to have kids. Should I still freeze my eggs?
Yes, because that's definitely today. The reason you're doing this is because you don't know if you will feel the same way a few years from now. You don't know if you're going to want kids then. You don't know if you're going to be with somebody who is going to want kids. You just don't know. The purpose of freezing your eggs is to have an insurance policy for your fertility, because your opinion may change and you just don’t know.
That being said, if you know you absolutely don’t want kids, do what is right for you. Only you know what is best for you, and you should never go against the lifestyle choice that is right for you. No one should try to change your opinion on wanting kids. This is a deeply personal decision. I can help you if you want to keep the option open- but I won’t change someone’s mind – nor do I think anyone should. We have to respect all lifestyle choices- and for some- that includes childfree by choice.
EGG STORAGE
How does the egg freezing process work?
What happens to the eggs after you freeze them? Where are they stored, and for how long?
It's up to you. This is a very personal decision. The eggs are good in their preserved state for at least 12 to 15 years. Whenever you choose to use them, you would fertilize them. It is only after you fertilize eggs that you know what they are genetically going to produce. Only a fertilized egg or embryo can be genetically tested. An unfertilized egg cannot be, and that's the reason why the idea for fertility preservation is to make more eggs to be able to genetically test the eggs and have a higher number of viable eggs.
Is there ever a time when you tell someone, don't do this; this isn't right for you?
Yes. If you're not making eggs, for example. Some people make very few eggs. If that is the case, we advise them to fertilize the eggs so that we can see what they are like. They are advised to use a donor to fertilize the eggs if they don't have a partner.
What do you do with the fertilized egg?
It's preserved for you if it's normal, but it can then be genetically tested. You cannot genetically test unfertilized eggs. If you make enough eggs, for example, 12 eggs, then that should be okay. But if you make one or two, then that may not be okay. The purpose of doing the screening and testing is to see who you are and what you're likely to do to make sure this is a good idea for you.
If I freeze my eggs with you, let's say I want to get pregnant three years from now. Do you think someone should try and get pregnant first on their own? Or should they use the eggs?
Everybody is different. It depends upon you and who you are three years from now. When you're 39, you may be very fertile. Or you may not be, but if you're not, you'll have the eggs for when you were 36, which will be better. The point of freezing your eggs is to create fertility insurance for you.
Discarding frozen eggs.
What does it mean to discard an egg?
You' are given a choice when you preserve human tissue to do several things with it. Should you choose not to use it - one of the choices is to discard it. The other is to donate it for research.
Does anyone ever say, I'm not having kids throw out my eggs?
You are in complete control of what happens with your eggs. You can choose to donate the eggs to someone else or continue preserving the eggs. It is a personal decision and up to you.
PROCEDURE
Do you do this procedure for me, or does someone else do it?
Yes. I do the procedure for my patients. You can book a consultation to start your fertility journey today.
Will I be awake during the procedure?
You get some intravenous sedation called propofol, which is something that essentially relaxes you, but you're breathing for yourself. It's not a general anesthetic. It would be similar to what you might get if you went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled.
FERTILITY TESTING
What do you test for?
The most viable and reliable marker is the Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), which goes up when you have a lot of eggs and goes down when you're not making any eggs. That value implies what you're doing to be accurate, and it tells us a direction that you should go in when it comes to stimulants and which stimulants you should take.
If you have an AMH of less than 1, that's relatively low. You have a different protocol than if you have an AMH of 5, which is very high. It changes, so that's the reason why we need to get to know you before we can give you any details about what you'd be doing because getting to know you allows us to develop a protocol that's going to be best suited for you.
You will do a blood test and can do many of these tests at other times of your cycle. But when you start the process, it begins when you're menstruating. If you want to do this at the beginning of your period, then you don't have to repeat any of these things at the beginning of your period. You could do things at the end of a cycle, but when you're ready to start, you will have to do a couple of things at the beginning of the cycle.
We will send you further information on the process, but the details will be contingent upon the results of your evaluation. We will copy you on the orders we're going to give you to a lab, so you'll know exactly what you will be doing and when, and then we'll need to know about the ultrasound.
What if I'm not producing any eggs? If you do this and you find that out, then what?
That's not likely, but it's very possible that you're creating a few eggs. If that were to be true, there are protocols and stimulants to accommodate that.
The process consists of natural releasing factors. That's what you inject underneath the skin. There are things like Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Growth Hormone. These are things that your pituitary gland normally produces. They send signals to your ovaries to produce eggs. The eggs will then produce your own hormones (estrogen and progesterone), so you're not taking artificial hormones. The natural releasing factors that produce eggs that we're going to be giving you to produce more eggs will be out of your system when you menstruate the following month.
Are there any side effects?
There are no long-term side effects. The short-term side effects could be that if you're successful at creating a lot of eggs that you could get swollen while you're doing that, you could gain a little bit of weight and your ovaries could get enlarged. The idea is to make more follicles, more eggs, and have enlarged ovaries for a few days.
During those few days, you will be advised not to do heavy aerobic exercise or have intercourse. If you respond well to the stimulants, there will be a period of time that will range from a week up to ten days, when you may be on some modified form of pelvic rest. This is a temporary phenomenon, and it resolves itself with your cycle.
Do you ever do an ultrasound and decide that it is not a good idea to proceed?
Ultrasound Precautions: When to Pause and Assess Before Proceeding
Sometimes. For example, if you were to do an ultrasound of the pelvis and have an ovarian tumor, then we say, time out. We're not going to do this now. First, you’re going to find out what you have, because there are contraindications to stimulating your ovaries. The most common one being some pre-existing condition that is a little unusual or abnormal. There are many common ovarian cysts or tumors that are not cancerous and might temporarily preclude you from egg freezing.
There are options available. Contact us today for a consultation.
If you’ve been trying to conceive but you’re not able to get pregnant, Dr. Mark Surrey can help. He has over 20 years of experience helping individuals like you find the root cause of infertility and start their dream family. Our Beverly Hills fertility clinic provides compassionate care matched with cutting-edge IVF technology and a full range of infertility treatment that you won’t find anywhere else in Southern California.
If you have questions regarding gestational surrogacy, give us a call or submit a consultation form and we’ll be happy to talk you through all of your available options.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
If you’re ready to start your fertility journey, please fill out the form below and tell us a little about yourself. Once we receive your information a member of our team will reach out to schedule your initial one on one consultation with Dr. Surrey.
We look forward to meeting you and helping you plan your family!