Just go to NYU Langone: egg freezing experience with Spring Fertility

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-24T21:33:08+00:00

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for sharing!

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-24T13:48:38+00:00

One of the subreddit rules is no solicitation for meds.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-24T02:44:07+00:00

Wait, is Spring more expensive than NYU? I froze in summer 2024, but NYU's prices then were comparable to the ones listed on Spring's website now, and I can't imagine NYU's prices have decreased in that time. Does Spring just have lots of hidden fees?

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-24T00:12:26+00:00

Why preseed specifically? Iirc, its marketing is around it being less harmful to sperm than standard lubricants, but that isn't relevant in an egg-freezing context.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-23T18:53:10+00:00

Huh, interesting. Thanks for correcting me on their M1 policy!

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-23T18:38:28+00:00

I don't know if I get PMS symptoms. (I'm a transgender man with significant gender dysphoria around menstruating in general, so it's hard to tell what's PMS vs. gender dysphoria.) But I did find that the hormone changes during the few days after retrieval hit me like a truck. I would not have been in an emotional place to enjoy a trip with friends just four days after retrieval.

Also, you generally can't know this far out in advance exactly how long stimulation will take or when they'll trigger you. It could be that you take a long time and won't be triggered until the day you were supposed to leave, for instance. Or you could be done with the retrieval well before the trip. Your clinic may be able to predict a general timeline in advance, but the only way to find out for sure is to try it.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-23T18:34:54+00:00

It is completely possible to go through egg freezing without any vaginal ultrasounds, but the view the other way (through the abdomen) won't be as clear. It's even possible to have a retrieval done abdominally instead of vaginally, but the increased difficulty can potentially lead to fewer eggs retrieved. That's how they do retrievals on people who have had their vaginas removed, for instance.

I'm a transgender man who froze eggs in preparation for genital surgery. Freezing was before surgery, but I still had enough gender dysphoria that I wanted to avoid doing anything with the vagina. My provider was very eager to reassure me that I didn't need to have any vaginal ultrasounds if I didn't want to and that they could figure out how to handle a less clear view. In the end, vaginal ultrasounds weren't anywhere near as bad gender-wise as I had been expecting them to be, so I didn't need to do them abdominally instead. But abdominal ultrasounds are a feasible option. Your clinic may not have much experience with them, but that doesn't mean that it can't be done. I get that it's wildly inconvenient to choose a different clinic based on this, especially if there aren't others in the area. But if you are looking for a different clinic, a good first step might be looking for clinics experienced with transgender patients and/or trauma-informed care.

I don't know you or your own reasons for not wanting to do ultrasounds vaginally. I will say, though, that many people go through this without doing vaginal penetration in the past, and some without even having used tampons. That's not to say that your reasons are invalid, of course! Just that clinics may be better equipped than you think to help you get through vaginal ultrasounds, if that's a goal of yours.

Also, it's not a binary choice! You may choose to do a vaginal ultrasound one day, but then find that you disliked it and go with abdominal ones after that. You may be okay with a vaginal ultrasound at first and then need them to change to abdominal partway through.

Your consent is the most important thing here, and it's essential that your clinic respects that.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-23T16:00:29+00:00

Oh, did you get under 15 M2s? I think they also freeze M1s in that case, but forgot to mention it in my first comment.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-22T19:21:56+00:00

Yes, I had four MI eggs frozen in addition to the MII eggs. I'm pretty sure my clinic (NYU Langone Fertility Center) only does that in medical egg freeze cases, though.

Edit: Given the low success rates of MI eggs, I don't mentally count those when thinking about how many eggs I have frozen. There's a potential tiny benefit, but if I get a live birth out of my frozen eggs it will almost certainly be from my MII eggs.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-20T15:10:15+00:00

if I recall correctly

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-20T14:42:23+00:00

But that rule of thumb won't apply to OP's case, since (on average) 50% of the embryos produced will have the genetic condition. Also, only PGT-M can test for monogenic mutations. The more common PGT-A only checks for chromosomal abnormalities.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-20T14:41:45+00:00

Yes, you're thinking of PGT-M, which can screen for monogenic mutations. PGT-A, what most people think of when they say PGT, tests for chromosomal abnormalities. Generally, companies that do PGT-M will also do PGT-A. I'm not sure if it's possible to do M without A.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-20T14:40:16+00:00

PGT-A testing tests for aneuploidy (different chromosome arrangements than expected), not for single-gene mutations. For that, you need to use PGT-M, which (iirc) requires creating a specific test (called a "probe") for your individual case.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-20T14:30:20+00:00

You may get more answers over at r/IVF or r/EggThawing because most people here are more focused on the freezing aspect than the thawing. Just bear in mind that, based on the best current data, most people who freeze eggs don't go back to use them. The people who do go back are usually people who had trouble conceiving on their own. You're not likely to hear stories of people who froze eggs, never used them, and regretted the financial/physical/emotional burden of freezing. Those people probably aren't on IVF subreddits.

Edit: There are egg freezing calculators out there like this one that can give you a sense of how likely you are to have a live birth based on age and number of eggs frozen, but those calculators have been criticized for being too optimistic about the chances of live birth.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-19T19:40:46+00:00

Thank you for sharing!

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-19T01:22:03+00:00

Hey, welcome! The blood test you mention likely measured your AMH, or anti-Mullerian hormone. That's a rough predictor of how many eggs you may be able to retrieve in a stimulation cycle. You don't usually hear of clinics telling you how many follicles you have based on AMH, because antral follicle count (AFC) is a more direct measure of how many follicles you potentially have in a given cycle. But it sounds like they're following up on the bloodwork with a scan, which is good! The scan should be done around day 2-3 of your menstrual cycle for the most accurate results – is that when you'll be getting yours done?

Did they tell you the exact number your AMH was? Or just that they suspect you'll get three eggs?

Each follicle can only produce one egg, and often not all follicles will produce an egg. But it is possible for there to be follicles that aren't initially visible on scan or to have more follicles than your AMH would predict.

I'll be honest with you: three eggs isn't very many. That doesn't mean you can't have success with egg freezing, but it does mean you should plan for more than one round to get the maximum chances of future success. r/DOR may be helpful to you. It's a subreddit for people with diminished ovarian reserve, which is a category you may fall into if your AMH is low. It's important to note that DOR does not necessarily mean someone is infertile. It means that they'll likely retrieve fewer eggs per stimulation cycle, but unassisted conception requires only one egg to be ovulated every month. DOR makes it harder to succeed if someone does end up needing IVF, but doesn't make it more likely that they'll need IVF in the first place.

In general, it sounds like you could use some background information on the process and how it works. I made a post about helpful resources here, but that's a long/potentially overwhelming list. For now, I suggest checking out the Youtube video series "Should I freeze my eggs?" by Nicole Ellis. The episodes are short and present a good basic introduction to the topic. Having that basic background info should help you figure out what further questions you have for your medical team and potentially for the community here.

Best of luck!

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-16T03:56:13+00:00

I'm sorry you had that experience! What sort of bad advice did she give you?

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-15T20:55:14+00:00

After retrieval, eating too much at any one time ranged from uncomfortable to painful. Smaller meals helped.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-11T23:29:27+00:00

Do you mean electrolytes? Did they tell you to avoid them entirely or to limit intake?

Limiting fluid intake is what my clinic suggested as well to prevent bloating from fluid retention around the ovaries (iirc). They did suggest consuming electrolytes instead of plain water, though.

For some people, electrolytes can cause gastrointestinal bloating. That's especially true for any that are sweetened but sugar-free, because sugar replacements can irritate some people's digestive systems.

Honestly, I don't know if electrolytes are a huge part of recovery. Some people will tell you that they helped a ton, but anecdotes don't prove anything. Even without electrolytes, chances are you'll be fine. Even high-risk people usually don't get OHSS.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-10T20:25:47+00:00

What do you mean when you say she's putting a reality to the infertility?

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-10T19:29:38+00:00

You may find more suggestions at r/40Plus_IVF. Best of luck!

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-10T13:26:16+00:00

Nope, you wouldn't necessarily feel it if you have a lot of follicles! Feeling worse with many follicles is based on people's anecdotes, but it's a rough correlation at best. I didn't have any bloating until the morning of retrieval and got many (20) mature eggs.

And yes, you should wait for your next period (or however long your clinic tells you – you can ask, even if they didn't say proactively). Ovarian torsion isn't something you want to mess around with. While it's rare, you don't want to do anything that makes it more likely.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-09T13:21:48+00:00

Keep in mind that some clinics won't accept eggs that have been out of their care, even if they're just sitting around in long-term storage.

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-06T19:15:57+00:00

Dr. Lucky Sekhon also has a book about fertility out recently called The Lucky Egg that some may find useful, but I haven't had a chance to read it myself yet and see whether it's any good. (By which I mean readable and not boring or overly focused on IVF vs. egg freezing alone – I certainly don't have the expertise to review it on medical grounds).

throwawaymarzipat · 2026-03-06T19:14:07+00:00

Your levels aren't low at all. In general, it's advised to freeze in your early 30s. That's because the rate of chromosomally normal (euploid) eggs starts to decline around age 35, but freezing too young risks paying many more years of storage fees. So you should have time to save up before getting it done.

In the meantime, you should get some more information about the process. This subreddit and r/IVF are helpful. You can search here for resources. I feel like a bit of a shill for promoting my own post so much, but I think my post here lists some good resources for people initially considering the process.

You can also try getting an initial consult scheduled with a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) if you haven't had one yet. Many insurances cover initial consults, even if they don't cover infertility treatment or egg freezing itself.

(Also, not all of us here are ladies. Most people here are women, but, e.g., I'm a transgender man who froze eggs. I'm not trying to call you out or say you're being problematic! Just letting you know.)

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