Things I didn't know when I froze my eggs at 30
- jackie
- Nov 9
- 10 min read
Updated: Nov 10
Why I Chose to Freeze My Eggs
As a full-time engineer and part-time content creator who spends weekends exploring trails with my dog or traveling with a camera in hand, I knew I wanted to give myself more time—more time to pursue the things I love, more time with my dog, and more time to build the life I want, travel, especially as I approach my 30s unmarried with no defined plan for children. I can proudly say i'm satisified with the diverse experiences I've had in my life up till this point: backpacking across Europe with my best friend in college, finishing my degree in computer science, heavy investing in my 401K in my early 20s (yay compound interest), traveling all over Asia for work, girls trips everywhere, moving across the country with my dog four times, starting over in new cities, skiing around the world, lots of hiking, building my own photography/content creation brand, investing time in my friendships and myself, the list goes on.
I spent my 20s building out new experiences, traveling to new places, meeting new people, deepening friendships with those close to me, and dating different people to learn more about myself. Your 30s are coming home to yourself and your second childhood. You get deeper to your friendships, you travel with more intention, and you take time to re-try hobbies you loved as a kid. I also have the non-hormonal IUD (yes you can freeze your eggs with this in), so I wanted to maximize the 10 years I get with it, because it is painful to insert (but so worth it!).
As year 30 made its way to me, I decided to finally put a big bowl of ice and eggs on the vision board for 2025; it was time to freeze my eggs. Along with all the other things I wanted to do this year, that was the big one, because I know deep down, I'm not at the place where I'm ready to be a mom yet - emotionally and maybe financially. I'd love to have a real home of my own and be married before starting that chapter. I'm also working on building out multiple careers and income streams, like many others, so I can continue forward with some more financial security.
My dog, Sora, is my main priority right now, so I'm happy to get to focus on enjoying my time with her for now. Some people theorize, at least on Reddit, that our soul dogs come into our lives during a time when we could have had children. I think that's why me, and many other women (and men!), really find deep connections with our pets. We raise them from puppyhood, bond to them emotionally through difficult times, and we often project our desire for parenting onto the dog. Is it healthy? I don't really care because I love this little creature as if I birthed her myself.
I've been a bridesmaid five times now, and I've also lined up amongst the other unmarried women to catch the bouquet more times than I remember. While it is fun and playful to participate in these, there's something humiliating about it as you desperately wave your hands in the air, hoping to catch this flying, tumbling, colorful ball. It's symbolic as the bride finally has her turn to be married, and she throws out that chapter to the rest of us. I still think they are fun, but underneath it all, I know the other women feel the same pressures as me. I must have wanted it really badly this time because I actually caught it.
Even with catching the bouquet at that wedding, I just felt the immense pressure of the world and society weighing on me. "When are you and your boyfriend getting married?" "Do you want kids someday?" I know people are genuinely excited and curious for me, but it's tiring, and while I do want those things, there's no guarantee for all of us, and our timelines don't look the same. We can work towards that and hope for it, but I'm trying to focus on the things I can control.
preparing for the process to get your best eggs
Before you freeze your eggs, you should get some bloodwork done just to know where you're at health-wise. Most fertility doctors will probably recommend a lot of the same things. I love being able to dive deep into a subject when the time comes to learn it. I found the whole process fascinating and also frustrating. Why were we not educated on women's fertility at all growing up? I didn't know even the basics, so when I had my first pelvic ultrasound and saw my own follicles, I was amazed and shocked. It's so cool to see where your ovaries actually are, where the eggs would live, and learning about your own human anatomy. I spent a lot of time researching and learning before it even started.
You should also be closer to optimal health if you can! I was actively hiking, running, doing pilates, and walking every day with my dog. Some fertility doctors mentioned running is bad for your fertility, but I think being overweight is obviously worse. Just make sure you're eating enough food and not pushing your body over the edge physically, and you should be fine. I was definitely under-eating nutrition-wise.
I watched a lot of fertility doctor influencer, Lora Shahine, to inform myself of the process, what to expect, and how to get the best results (e.g., supplements, habits, etc.), and then I watched about 5 or so random vlogs of women who went through the process and how they felt after! I didn't know anyone else in my life who did it, so that was the next best thing.
Supplements that were recommended and I took:
Foods to Limit or Avoid:
Excess caffeine, I drink a lot of espresso, courtesy of my beloved breville, but I needed to switch to decaffeinated espresso during this process to help with my egg quality. I found a local coffeeshop, had to shop around, that actually sold decaffeinated espresso beans. I'll definitely be doing that when I'm actually pregnant someday!
Alcohol - absolutely no alcohol during this process! it can disrupt estrogen balance and reduce egg quality. Ideally, you stop drinking a month or so before this entire process.
Foods that can improve quality:
Fruit - try to eat this every day
Eggs - fertility superfood, protein + vitamin D
Almonds - vitamin E + protein
Salmon - DHA/EPA for egg membrane health
Leafy greens, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, sweet pototo - circulation for the ovaries, detoxification
Coconut water, electrolytes
Avoiding Microplastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors
The fertility doctors online and at my clinic also recommended to I avoid microplastics as much as I could through the process. Microplastics are endocrine disruptors that can interfere with hormone balance and egg quality. This was news to me, as I've never really been mindful about them. I switched to only using my stainless steel pan and transferring my nuts and other foods to glass containers. These chemicals have been linked to lower ovarian reserve and/or poorer egg quality. While we can't change everything we're exposed to, we can do our best to limit what we can control.
Other common hormone disruptors that you can also avoid during the process and what to replace them with :
Category | What to Avoid | Safer Alternatives |
Food storage | Plastic Tupperware, cling wrap | Glass, stainless steel, or beeswax wraps |
Water bottles | Disposable plastic, single-use | Glass or stainless steel (Hydro Flask, Klean Kanteen) |
Cooking tools | Teflon, non-stick coatings | Cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic |
Cleaning supplies | Synthetic fragrance cleaners, bleach mixes | Vinegar + baking soda, unscented eco cleaners |
Laundry | Dryer sheets, scented detergents | Wool dryer balls, fragrance-free detergent |
Air fresheners | Plug-ins, candles with “fragrance” | Essential oil diffusers or beeswax candles |
Clothing | cheap synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, acrylic | organic cotton, wool, linen, tencel |
Other common things that contain chemicals? Receipts from the store! Who knew, right? This thermal paper often contains BPA, so if you do touch it, wash your hands after.
Choosing your clinic
I went with the Pacific Northwest Fertility Clinic in Bellevue, Washington. This will highly depend on your insurance, if your company is covering it. Otherwise, you may have some more options. I recommend obviously reading Google reviews, and also picking a clinic where you feel comfortable. I loved that all the staff at the clinic were women, and they had a good track record of 5-star reviews. They always answered the phone when I made calls before starting the process, and they weren't pushy! I actually did an initial consultation the previous year when I was 29, and then I decided I wasn't ready and didn't call them back to do it again until a full year later. I liked that they weren't aggressively trying to sell me on the process, and they let me decide when I was ready, if I was ever going to be ready.
stimulation and retrieval
The egg freezing process took about 2–3 weeks from start to retrieval. During stimulation, you take daily hormone injections to grow multiple follicles, followed by a trigger shot before retrieval.
The egg retrieval went smoothly — 15 eggs were retrieved, 14 were mature and successfully frozen, and 1 was immature and discarded. You can compare results for your age using this calculator to help you manage expectations.
For the injections, my nurse friend recommended this lidocaine, and it was so helpful for reducing pain with all the shots! You just rub it on your stomach where you'll do the injection, and it numbs it a little. People use it for things like tattoos.
estrogen and emotions
I definitely did not experience the emotional downs that a lot of women seemed to have experienced during the process. It really differs for everyone. I actually felt extremely calm and a little buzzing with happiness. After you suppress with birth control pills, you start the hormone injections that are essentially injecting FSH to grow many follicles at once, so you can hopefully produce an egg in as many follicles as possible (as opposed to pregnancy, where you just have one egg). A normal estrogen level is around 200 pg/mL, but during the egg freezing, it can reach up to 5000 around your trigger shot! Some people get moody and anxious with the high estrogen, but I actually felt really calm for once; estrogen can boost serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin.
Your nails and hair also grow a little bit during the process because of the hormones. Your stomach will expand for this, especially if you're small, and you can literally feel the pressure on your ovaries as you walk. It gets a little harder to walk each day as you get closer to retrieval, so just take things easy.
Timeline breakdown
The whole process can vary in how long it takes; it depends on individual factors, which age can be one of them, that influence how you'll respond to the hormones. I didn't realize how often you need to go in and get your bloodwork done, so being close to the clinic and/or asking your boss for remote work that week would be helpful.
Tip: if you have a friend who is a nurse and can help you with the first few shots, that is a lifesaver! She gave us an in-depth rundown and taught my boyfriend how to inject them for me. I am really squeamish with needles and blood, so it definitely helped to have someone else do it for me.
From start to finish:
Phase | Date | Notes |
Initial Consultation | Jan 2025 | Choose a fertility clinic after research & ensuring in-network insurance coverage |
Bloodwork & Ultrasound | Feb 2025 | AMH = 3.31, AFC = 24 follicles seen |
Birth Control Start | Early April 2025 | Began BC pills to suppress ovulation before stims (hormone shots) |
Stimulation Start (Injections) | Mid-April 2025 (1 week total) | Started Gonal-F & Menopur injections at home, every day at the same time |
Ultrasound/Bloodwork Check | April 16 | Cetrotide, started injections in the morning and continued Gonal-F & Menopur at night |
Ultrasound/Bloodwork Check | April 18 | |
Ultrasound/Bloodwork Check Trigger shot | April 20 | Cetrotide in the morning, then triggered that evening with 2 shots. |
Take a pregnancy test, your stomach is massive from bloat at this time!! | Pregnancy test confirmed the trigger shot worked, and the hormones were present | |
Egg Retrieval procedure under anesthesia | April 22 | Completed egg retrieval, 15 eggs retrieved, 14 mature and frozen. |
Period starts | April 26 | My period came about 4 days later than usual and was pretty heavy. |
Bloating Period | April 22-27 | I gained about 7lbs total from starting the process to the day after the retrieval, but the weight went down gradually over the next week and a half. It was gone after that and I returned to normal weight, and my stomach finally de-bloated after my period finished. |
medications i took
Medication | Dosage | Purpose |
Gonal-F | 225 IU daily (updated to 300/day 2 days before trigger) | Stimulates follicle growth |
Menopur | 150 IU daily | LH support for egg development |
Cetrotide | Started Day 6 | Prevents early ovulation |
Novarel (hCG) + Leuprolide | Trigger shot | Final egg maturation before retrieval |
post-retrieval recovery
Some things I wasn't aware of were that going through this process can bring about similar experiences to pregnancy. This can apply to telogen effluvium, skin aging, and just overall body tiredness. I already had some skin discoloring happening from aging, but after the hormone process, the melasma on my face progressed more, which was unexpected. It's just part of life, and I'm still glad that I took this big step for myself, so that I can make life easier on my future self.
In the days following the retrieval, I experienced bloating and abdominal distension, which is common due to the ovaries being enlarged from stimulation. However, I later noticed persistent bloating even three months afterward; my stomach still looked “pregnant” despite being 123 lbs.
I also experienced hair shedding starting about 2.5-3 months post-retrieval, consistent with telogen effluvium, which can occur after hormonal fluctuations. My dermatologist later confirmed I was not balding, attributing it to low ferritin rather than permanent hair loss. My nails began growing rapidly afterward, a sign of recovery, after starting the Nutrafol.
post egg-freezing products
I started Nutrafol because over time (and more noticeably after the egg freezing drop in hormones after the retrieval), I noticed my scalp started experiencing thinning. You can get $20 off if you want to try it, but you need to use it for at least 4 months to see results. Nothing works after just 1 or 2 months, sadly, for hair, but it's definitely worth trying, and a dermatologist recommended it! I've been tracking my hair progress, and it did eventually return to normal after the shedding phase. I also started tretinoin afterwards to help with my skin recovery and rosacea.
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