Egg Retrieval Process

1. Hormones: First, you'll start with some hormone injections. They're there to tell your ovaries it's time to produce multiple mature eggs. More eggs mean more chances of success!

2. Monitoring: Your ovaries get a lot of love from the ultrasound wand and blood tests. The docs keep a close eye to pinpoint the perfect time for retrieval.

3. Trigger Shot: When the follicles containing mature eggs have reached the appropriate size, a final hormone injection known as the "trigger shot" (often human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG) is administered to induce the final maturation of the eggs.

4. Time to Retrieve: About 36 hours after the trigger shot, it's egg-retrieval day. You won't feel a thing because you're put under sedation or anesthesia.

5. The Scoop: With the magic of an ultrasound-guided needle, they gently suck out the fluid from the mature follicles in your ovaries. That fluid is where your eggs are.

6. Eggs on the Move: The eggs are collected in little test tubes or petri dishes and cryogenically frozen for future use.

And there you have it, the egg retrieval process in a nutshell – or rather, in a petri dish! It's a crucial step in the IVF journey, and the folks at the fertility clinic are there to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. So, relax, and let the science work its magic.

It’s also important to mention that LiveStrong offers fertility support. I got my hormone injections sponsored by them and 3 years of free storage for my eggs which was great. The hormones are half the cost of the egg retrieval process so that really helped. It’s also worth mentioning the fertility preservation was my biggest expense.