00:00I just turned 33 in April and, you know, life comes at you fast.
00:06I want to freeze my eggs for many reasons.
00:08I'm thinking about my future family, my future self.
00:11I was diagnosed with endometriosis.
00:14I want to make sure that if I do decide to have children in the future, that is an option
00:18for me.
00:24Hey guys, it's Courtney.
00:26I'm here in New York City at RMA Fertility Clinic, and I am about to start my egg freezing
00:32journey.
00:33We're going to see if it's worth the time, the energy and the effort.
00:37Let's go.
00:38There really is no end goal.
00:39I don't have a man or a partner or a person, like, I'm just out here just trying to like
00:46live.
00:47I don't want to look up and be like, I should have done this or like, what if I had
00:50other
00:51options or it's too late.
00:52It took a long time for me to receive an endometriosis diagnosis.
00:58I had been in pain since I can remember.
01:00I actually have switched OBGYNs multiple times because no one was taking me seriously.
01:05And finally, I had a primary care doctor.
01:08She's a black woman based in Brooklyn who looked at me and said, your pain is not normal.
01:14She actually recommended Dr. Jackson Bay to me.
01:17Dr. Jackson Bay and my surgeon and my primary care physician all kind of banded together
01:22to create this plan for my future.
01:26Hi.
01:26My name is Dr. Tia Jackson Bay.
01:28I'm a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at RMA of New York in Brooklyn, where
01:33I've been working for the past five years.
01:35The average cost of egg freezing roughly is about $10,000.
01:40And so you can check with your employer to see if something like egg freezing is covered.
01:44I would say maybe the best chance of success is between the ages of 30 to 35.
01:49But that does not mean that someone who's younger than 30 or older than 35 should not be seen
01:55for a consult.
01:55So I usually recommend at least to come in, have the evaluation, learn about your body,
02:01and we can see how it goes from there.
02:03Egg freezing is just a tool that you could provide for yourself for your future family
02:08building.
02:08And it's very important to understand that egg freezing does not impact your future fertility
02:13in any negative way.
02:15So you may not need to use your frozen eggs when it's time for you to build your family.
02:19It only adds to your possibilities for later.
02:22I met Courtney a few months ago, and I'm so excited to do her consultation today.
02:27Hi, Courtney.
02:29So good to see you.
02:30You too.
02:31All right.
02:32So today is the big day.
02:33I did want to make sure that, you know, if you had any questions about everything that
02:38we did before that we get those addressed.
02:40Egg freezing in general is about a two-week process from when you start your medications
02:45until when the eggs are retrieved.
02:47The egg freezing process typically starts with a new patient consultation.
02:52For me, this involves doing an ultrasound of your pelvis as well as some important lab
02:59tests which include a hormonal evaluation and lets us know what's happening with your ovarian
03:04reserve.
03:05Based on the results of that lab, we'll determine if this is the best time to start your injections.
03:11You have to take injectable medication to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple follicles
03:16at once.
03:17And so that's what's given to you in the injections that you take daily.
03:20I did it!
03:23I did it!
03:25Ugh.
03:26I don't like that one.
03:28Day one.
03:29Done.
03:29No pain.
03:30Day two.
03:32We're going to sanitize this.
03:34We're going to twist it to our dosage.
03:36We're going to numb the area.
03:38I'm going to do a different area.
03:40Wipe down the area.
03:42Squeeze.
03:43Done.
03:43We're ready for needle number two.
03:46Ugh.
03:47I don't like that one.
03:49In order to prepare the eggs for retrieval, they'll take a different medication at night,
03:55which we typically call the surge or the trigger, which is the ovaries' signal to release and
04:00ready the eggs.
04:01The egg retrieval is typically done about 36 hours later.
04:05Today is day four of my egg freezing journey, and today I do not want to do this.
04:12This is the first day that I'm having to do three shots, but we are going to do this
04:16and get it over with so I can get back on the couch.
04:19Day six, egg freezing.
04:21The actual egg retrieval does not take long to accomplish.
04:25It's about 15 minutes, during which you'll be comfortable and asleep due to the anesthesia.
04:30The eggs are retrieved vaginally, so there's no incisions on your abdomen.
04:35If the eggs are mature, they'll be frozen that same day.
04:39Once the eggs are frozen, they remain that way until you need to use them in the future.
04:44So the eggs don't care if they're frozen one day, one week, one year, or several years.
04:49I've had a couple of sharp pains this morning, feeling a little bloated.
04:54I can feel things are happening down there.
04:56I'm powering through and telling myself, I can do hard things.
05:00It was really, really important for me to have a Black woman doctor or surgeon during
05:07this process because I want to feel seen and heard and taken care of in a way that, to
05:13be quite honest, I've only experienced through Black women.
05:17Representation and reproductive medicine is important because I think we have to talk
05:22about sensitive topics and in order to do that, people have to feel comfortable with
05:27who they're divulging information to.
05:30It was the morning after Beyonce.
05:33And all through the house, no creature was stirred, not even a mouse.
05:38Day 11, day 11, day 11, we're almost through.
05:42She just told me that instead of Sunday being distracted, might be until next weekend.
05:46This process is draining me now.
05:49The first week, I was feeling fine, as fine as you could.
05:53And this week, I feel like it's really caught up to me.
05:55It's nothing that I can't push through, but I feel like it's getting harder and harder.
06:00Sunday, I go back to the doctor and hopefully things will have progressed.
06:04We are going to try and do these three shots as quick and fast and painless as possible.
06:12Endometriosis is a condition of the female reproductive system where the lining of the
06:17uterus is found in places that it really should not be.
06:21One of the most significant hallmarks is pelvic pain.
06:24Unfortunately, not everyone's pain is equal and the pain of Black and brown women can often be overlooked.
06:31I felt like I was screaming and fighting and yelling and saying, I'm in pain, I'm in pain.
06:36And everyone was telling me that's just what it is.
06:39And if someone would have taken me seriously years ago, maybe I wouldn't be where I am now.
06:44We thought this was going to be a 10 day process.
06:46It is looking like four or two weeks and I am ready for it to be over.
06:52Praying for good news.
06:54Good news, good news, good news.
06:55Okay, bye.
06:58I've had a day.
07:00She kind of told me it would be like a Tuesday, Wednesday thing where we would do the
07:06retrieve of the eggs and I've already had my tears and I've already sat with it.
07:11I will say the first week was a breeze.
07:13The second week of this process took your girl down.
07:18I'm a little nervous with my endometriosis, my right ovary.
07:22It's harder for them to get to or to see or for the follicles to grow as big.
07:27So really, we're putting a lot of faith in my left ovary.
07:31So I'm just praying that all of this wasn't for nothing.
07:41Either way, it wouldn't have been for nothing.
07:42But once we got the endometriosis diagnosis, there was questions.
07:48Yeah.
07:48About will I be able to have children?
07:51Can I have children?
07:52What does this mean for my future self?
07:53What is what's happening inside of my body?
07:55It feels scary and invasive and there's all these doctors using these big words and saying these
08:00things that I don't understand.
08:02And I live in New York by myself.
08:03I'm a single woman.
08:04I've had to navigate this on my own, really.
08:11I commend Courtney so much for listening to what her body told her, for finding the right doctors
08:19who could guide her in the right way.
08:21It's just a reminder for everyone to not stop at the first provider or encounter
08:27that does not take your health and your pain seriously.
08:35It is 12.06.
08:38I just completed my last three shots.
08:42These are my trigger shots.
08:43A full two weeks process, but we made it.
08:47But yeah, I did every single one of these shots by myself.
08:51No one else did any of them for me.
08:53So I feel like a bad, bad, soon to be one day, not soon, but one day, mother.
09:02The most rewarding part of this work for me is absolutely helping people to build their families.
09:08It's just a joy, especially when you know how hard some people have worked and all that they've
09:14been through so that they can finally have the family that is important to them.
09:19We are on the way to the doctor or RMA to get my eggs retrieved.
09:27Yay.
09:28As soon as I got the endo diagnosis and knew that I was going to go down this egg freezing
09:33journey and just this journey in general, society puts a lot of pressure on women.
09:37If you don't have a family or a husband or kids or a partner, you're worthless.
09:43And I want to take control of my own health.
09:47The socks are nice.
09:48I love the little socks.
09:50This is my favorite part.
09:51And the warm blanket.
09:54So we're ready.
09:55I want to raise awareness.
09:57For endo, I want people to be able to freeze their eggs and take control of their reproductive health.
10:03Even if you don't know if you want to have kids, it's an option.
10:05It's a safety net there.
10:07Maybe one day you change your mind.
10:08I feel like I've done everything on my end to set myself up for success.
10:12And so now I have to trust in that.
10:13I have to trust my body.
10:15I have to trust the doctors.
10:16I have to lean on my support system in my village.
10:19And I'm really excited to be on the other side and to just take full control of my body and
10:26my future.
10:27I feel like I was in the deepest sleep of my life.
10:32I feel accomplished and like it wasn't in vain.
10:38So being more vocal I think is very important about sharing your process with egg freezing.
10:46You realize that you might be inspiring other people to have that evaluation or to go through the process or
10:52find that you're not alone.
10:53Oh, I froze my eggs last year.
10:55I did that last summer and not even know.
10:57So I really encourage you as much as you're comfortable to make it a normal part of your conversation with
11:02your friends and people around you.
11:04I've been very vulnerable about this experience with my friends, with my family.
11:08I have had to rely on my village to support me throughout this journey.
11:17So it's been 14 days exactly since I've had my retrieval and what a roller coaster this process and journey
11:25has been.
11:26I'm so, so, so grateful and so thankful that I did it.
11:29I would not change a thing about doing it.
11:32They were able to retrieve 12 eggs and they were able to freeze 11 of those 12 eggs.
11:38So that was just such a relief for me.
11:40The day after I kind of, yeah, I was having a little bit of a crash out the day after.
11:43My friends were there to support me.
11:45I think I was uncomfortable for probably like another week after that.
11:48And then I finally started feeling normal.
11:51My stomach went down.
11:52I started feeling better and I'm just ready for this chapter of my life to be over,
11:56to know that I have my eggs frozen and waiting for me if I need them and when I need
12:01them.
12:01And then to finally not be in pain anymore.
12:04And, you know, one of my doctors told me there's nothing that I could have done to change this.
12:08And I am going to sit with that and take that in and believe that and be kind to myself
12:12and be kind to my body.
12:14And I hope that me sharing my experience just can help someone else.
12:19So that's a wrap on the egg freezing journey.
12:21Until next time.
12:22Hopefully there won't be a next time, but until next time.
12:26Cheers.
12:27Cheers to the egg.
12:29Stay on the loose.
12:30Try to scramble.
12:34One, two, three, four, five, seven, seven, eight, seven, and eight, seven, eight, seven.
12:34I need that, and three, even five times a day.
12:34Why does the autumn start up?
12:34The autumn...
12:35It is going up a dessert
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