This morning while I was working on the weather wall at KTLA, I received numerous Facebook messages and tweets asking me if I was pregnant. In one word… no, I’m not … I just look like I’m three months preggers. Why? Well, since my life has become an open book thanks to social media, I thought I would share with all my friends/followers that I just went through the process of freezing my eggs.
Since I’m a career woman in my thirties and not quite ready to have kids yet, I figure why not take out some insurance?
So, in the last couple weeks, I’ve given myself numerous injections and my follicles have grown to the size of nickels. I stopped by my doctor’s office every other day for blood work and an ultrasound so my hormone levels and progress could be closely monitored. During the process, I learned that the more follicles you have and the bigger they are, the better… apparently it’s a sign that you’re fertile.
From the get-go, my ultrasound tech, Helen, called me fertile myrtle. After a few days of daily injections, Helen told me I had enough for two football teams. That also meant that my belly was getting bigger. And, for someone like me who loves working out and strives to maintain a flat stomach, I found myself struggling to watch my stomach swell. I felt like a stuffed sausage, like I had eaten a Thanksgiving meal everyday for the past week… but I kept telling myself it’s only temporary and no one is going to notice. Thanks to all my friends/followers… apparently, it’s noticeable.
Bottom line, even though my belly is distended, I feel like it’s a small price to pay for piece of mind. I now have more than two dozen eggs on ice. My doctor (Dr. Surrey from Southern California Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills) harvested 29, but only 25 were viable… according to him, that was a record number.
Now, I’m dealing with a bloated belly that won’t seem to go down. But, at least I know it’s for a brief period of time and there’s no rush to have kids. And when the time comes, if it doesn’t happen naturally, I can always go to one of those eggs on ice.
A few of the many injections
Ultrasound tech looking through images
The “trigger” that you inject 36 hours before egg retrieval
Final ultrasound before surgery
