Walking away from the egg-freezing seminar, I was pretty overwhelmed.
Just contemplating it seemed to open up not just a can of worms, but a family-sized multi-pack of worms.
The only sort of bite-sized first step that I took away was to go an have my FSH tested.
FSH stands for "follicle stimulating hormone" which is the hormone that your brain pumps out to tell your ovaries to do their thing.
Just as you get older and need much more of a kick in the pants to stay out past midnight and go dancing, the same goes for your ovaries.
Your brain has to crank out more and more FSH to get them motivated.
This ovarian motivation level is designated by a number.
The higher the number the closer you ovaries are to calling in sick, just sitting around, eating pizza and watching the Gilmore Girls.
Or maybe The Golden Girls would be more appropriate.
A couple of my friends have gone to have their eggs frozen, only to have their FSH tests tell them their ovaries are past their sell-by-date...
you're not in menopause yet, but the egg factory has definitely filed chapter 11.
Once this happens, doctors really don't think you're a good candidate for egg freezing.
They just don't think they'll get enough viable eggs from you to justify the process.
Both of these friends went through the grief stages...
shock, sadness replaying every nervous time they thought they could be pregnant in their 20's.
Then they decided to plod on and keep getting tested, with hope that their ovaries will be having a good month and the number will come in out of the red.
One friend went back each and every month to retake the test, keeping her fingers crossed for a particularly good month.
Even though the doctor said it wouldn't make any difference, she tried changing her diet, not drinking for awhile, exercising more.
It was like every month she was preparing for a high-school reunion.
In all the tests she took she never got scores that were the fertility equivalent of Ivy League, but she did get one score that was at least good enough to get her into a party school.
She cashed part of her 401k and pulled the trigger.
Another friend is still going through the testing process.
The first time she got her number tested it came back as 36.
I would tell the whole story...
but I think that's for her to tell.
I'll see if I can get her to do a little guest appearance and share her experiences.
My gyno said that FSH was not enough on it's own to tell my what stage of life my ovaries are in, so she also ordered a CBC and tests on my estradiol and progestin levels.
When you get your FSH tested you are supposed to go on the 3rd day of your cycle, which is the third day of your period.
That month it was on a Sunday for me.
The only lab in NY that was open on Sunday was deep down in the bowels of Chinatown, so I got on my bike and cruised down.
It was the stereotypical Chinatown scene like you'd see in the movies.
The whole lab looked kinda third-world and there was an elderly Chinese lady screaming at the top of her lungs at one of the techs...
about what I have no idea.
Finally my turn came and the guy took 6 vials of blood.
I left with the first case of panic and dread I've had so far about this whole fertility thing.
Either that or I was just really lightheaded.
Turns out it's not a great idea to be riding your bike after they take 6 vials of blood.
Just contemplating it seemed to open up not just a can of worms, but a family-sized multi-pack of worms.
The only sort of bite-sized first step that I took away was to go an have my FSH tested.
FSH stands for "follicle stimulating hormone" which is the hormone that your brain pumps out to tell your ovaries to do their thing.
Just as you get older and need much more of a kick in the pants to stay out past midnight and go dancing, the same goes for your ovaries.
Your brain has to crank out more and more FSH to get them motivated.
This ovarian motivation level is designated by a number.
The higher the number the closer you ovaries are to calling in sick, just sitting around, eating pizza and watching the Gilmore Girls.
Or maybe The Golden Girls would be more appropriate.
A couple of my friends have gone to have their eggs frozen, only to have their FSH tests tell them their ovaries are past their sell-by-date...
you're not in menopause yet, but the egg factory has definitely filed chapter 11.
Once this happens, doctors really don't think you're a good candidate for egg freezing.
They just don't think they'll get enough viable eggs from you to justify the process.
Both of these friends went through the grief stages...
shock, sadness replaying every nervous time they thought they could be pregnant in their 20's.
Then they decided to plod on and keep getting tested, with hope that their ovaries will be having a good month and the number will come in out of the red.
One friend went back each and every month to retake the test, keeping her fingers crossed for a particularly good month.
Even though the doctor said it wouldn't make any difference, she tried changing her diet, not drinking for awhile, exercising more.
It was like every month she was preparing for a high-school reunion.
In all the tests she took she never got scores that were the fertility equivalent of Ivy League, but she did get one score that was at least good enough to get her into a party school.
She cashed part of her 401k and pulled the trigger.
Another friend is still going through the testing process.
The first time she got her number tested it came back as 36.
I would tell the whole story...
but I think that's for her to tell.
I'll see if I can get her to do a little guest appearance and share her experiences.
My gyno said that FSH was not enough on it's own to tell my what stage of life my ovaries are in, so she also ordered a CBC and tests on my estradiol and progestin levels.
When you get your FSH tested you are supposed to go on the 3rd day of your cycle, which is the third day of your period.
That month it was on a Sunday for me.
The only lab in NY that was open on Sunday was deep down in the bowels of Chinatown, so I got on my bike and cruised down.
It was the stereotypical Chinatown scene like you'd see in the movies.
The whole lab looked kinda third-world and there was an elderly Chinese lady screaming at the top of her lungs at one of the techs...
about what I have no idea.
Finally my turn came and the guy took 6 vials of blood.
I left with the first case of panic and dread I've had so far about this whole fertility thing.
Either that or I was just really lightheaded.
Turns out it's not a great idea to be riding your bike after they take 6 vials of blood.