What I also wanted to point out that cost wise it’s cheaper to do it in Germany (I would assume overall in Europe). I did it here because I am German, but the doctors assured me that the stored eggs can be transferred to other countries easily, if I happened to move. In Germany we’re looking more in the range of 5000€ ($5,3k) and I paid even less ~2500€ ($2,6k), as it highly depends on every individual body and amount of medication needed. Also I ordered all medication by myself from a pharmacy in Belgium, as the medication was more affordable there. I’m glad that the doctors suggested it themselves for me to save some costs, although I was a bit nervous to make a mistake frankly speaking. Storage costs are ~260€ annually ($275), in my case.

As to the procedure itself: it was pretty smooth. The first self-injection was the hardest one, but I watched YouTube videos for that specific medication, which gave me reassurance, although the doctors explained to me where and how it should be done beforehand. Doing it by yourself at home is a different story though, and I was a bit nervous I must say. I also had a close friend with me for the first day who gave me additional reassurance.
The egg retrieval itself was also very smooth and not painful. I actually even worked until the very last minute before I had to go into the doctors room. I was on local anesthetic only and for me it worked fine for that 15min procedure. Overall I had 31 eggs successfully frozen (41 harvest), which is a lot, especially in one go, hence I was really happy and proud that I went through with it. It did make me feel empowered.

The only pain followed afterwards, for approximately 2-4 weeks. I still felt very bloated, I looked a bit pregnant. I could ride my bicycle even days later only very carefully as I felt every bump on the road very differently, as if not all inside of me had “healed” yet. But that’s about it, all 100% back to normal after 2-4 weeks.

That was my experience which I’m happy to share here.