"Someone is getting a blue eyed nomadic baby". The famous line I kept telling all my friends over the last few weeks. & in the realm of TInder swiping for egg donors, I'm so curious who will end up having these little eggies. Before I tell you what the process is like from start to finish, I'd like to explain a bit more on why I decided to do this. First, since I was even in middle school I knew I did not want kids. Babysitting is one thing, but the idea of being a mom...yeah no. That gene never made its way to my DNA. & before everyone says, "You'll change your mind" I will share that I actually did get pregnant in high school my senior year. I miscarried at 8 ish weeks, and I think my body knew that it wasn't for me. I'd also like to put it out there, please stop telling people they will change their mind. If you don't want kids GREAT, if you do want kids GREAT, if you're on the fence then maybe you will change your mind.
Now back to the first big question, why would I and why did I decide to donate eggs. Mostly it was tied to the fact that two of my closest friends struggled with getting pregnant. Two friends who unlike myself, wanted to be a mom. (& are the most amazing mothers ever). Yes, there is a compensation piece to all this as well for those that are curious. The other big thing is just that knowing that my body had eggs and I didn't want them for myself, why not let them go to someone who truly would love to have a child. Heck I am even listed as an organ donor, my love of helping people is the biggest reasoning.
How the process worked:
Application period: I applied to The Center of Reproductive Health here in Nashville back in November. They needed to know all the nooks/crannies of my life. (Illnesses, surgeries, broken bones, lifestyle habits, age, you name it they asked).
Approval: Once I was approved, I had to meet with the advisor to go over all my tattoos, and also draw lab work to see if my levels were high enough to move forward. I felt bad this woman had to color this anatomical chart about my tattoo locations/list every one of them I had lol. The lab work determines if you're truly a candidate to start medications, and age can sometimes be a factor there. Age wise 30-32 in some places is a cutoff.
Lab results: This is where I was most intrigued on how the body works. Not only were my levels high and in range, everything pegged me as an ideal candidate. Now for those that know I had an eating disorder twice, and many years of no periods...I was stunned. To me I always thought I'd never be able to get pregnant. Hearing that I actually would easily get pregnant was crazy to me.
Medications/time length: Once your labs show you're eligible you sign consent paperwork, and then are overnighted a box of meds. From pills to injections they send you everything for about an 11-13 day window period.
Ultrasounds: Every other day you are going to the hospital to do blood and ultrasounds to see how your follicles are growing. (Or lack thereof). This was also the coolest thing to see as the steroids had my follicles growing- 9mm-11mm-15mm-19mm.
Retrieval date: Depending on how your follicles grow that date can be anywhere from 10-14 days. As you get closer the ultrasounds become daily, as there has to be a certain window to get the best eggies!
Once I signed everything I started my journey officially 1/10. Each day I was taking 7 pills (2 of which were an antibiotic I needed) and then doing 2-3 shots daily. Quite frankly, the shots weren't that bad to give myself. & I felt like I was back in science trying to draw up the ml needed to take the mediation. The only shot that actually felt uncomfortable was the last one (trigger shot) needed to secure my retrieval date. 30 shots, 7 pills a day, & 13 days later I was on my way to pull these bad boys out.
I got a lot of questions about how it felt, and what it was like. Let's be honest, who wants to stab themselves (willingly) each day like that. Day 1-3 wasn't terrible. I wasn't very nauseous, and I had the hang of how to give myself the shot accurately. It was SO neat feeling my ovaries expand. Almost like mini cramps, I felt a little bloated and I could just feel something was growing lol. The ultrasound tech. confirmed that one, when she told me in a day my follicles had jumped 4 mm. After day 3 though, OOF is all I can say. While I didn't feel bloated really, I could feel my body doing it's thing. My lower abdomen felt like a rock. (Only way I know how to describe it). Eating sucked, as I was nauseous mid afternoon on as I took more pills. Granted, being stubborn I did not want to take the nausea pills...so that one is also my fault. For those 8 days, I basically lived off oatmeal, peanut butter, fruits, and my 1st Phorm Level 1 powder. I got sick almost daily, and when I worked out I could feel there wasn't much room for my body to move. The best way I can also describe the sensation is to think of having a chronic tight hip flexor. Wasn't the worst and wasn't the most pleasant. Now the real kicker was my HORMONES. Lord bless every mother out there, because my hormones and emotions were all over the place. Crying, moody, and to be blunt my boobs hurt lol. I even told my mom, "Y'all willingly do this...some multiple times".
As the days went on, and I saw my follicles growing I kept wonder if I'd pull early. My date was scheduled for Thursday until my biggest ones decided they wanted to go off the beaten path and do their own thing. If that doesn't make you go, "Yup, sounds right for Taryn's body". I don't know what will LOL. I chuckled at this, because I tend to pick the unconventional route, and I guess my body is that dialed in with myself. Once that happened, those were no longer considered good and had to be left alone. Which meant my second group of follicles (13 mm) were now the leaders of the bunch. After that, I had to move my date to Sunday. However, when I went back Thursday they grew so much that my date changed to Saturday. (Today if you're reading this real time 1/22). Which meant NO MORE SHOTS!
I showed up Saturday morning hungry and thirsty AF. Being told you cannot eat or drink after midnight the day before (or possibly 8 hours thanks to a good friend telling me a fun fact) I was not thrilled. It felt like I was fasting, and fasting is not something I would voluntarily do. Drop off was at about 10 am that way I could get blood drawn one last time/my vitals checked. Which your girl is healthy as can be: BP 103/70 and 55 heartbeat. I threw on my gown, oh what a gem that thing is SO stylish and then went to proceed onto the good stuff. IV added, and some anesthesia...after that started flowing IDK what happened haha. I asked before how long I would be asleep, and was told anywhere from 20-25 minutes. PS up until a Google search last night, I actually had no idea HOW they even get these bad boys out. With a needle and machine they go into your vaginal area and retrieve mature eggs from each follicle you have. They ended up pulling 10 good ones from me! When my old roommate picked me up, I had no recollection of even coming out the room. Apparently though, I said my pain level was a 1 (non existent) and that I wanted Chick-Fil-A. (Can you tell I was hungry? & are we really shocked?) Oh and I did secure the goods of Chick-Fil-A. As I am writing this, I am about 2 hours post procedure. Tbh, I feel fine. I can feel a little cramping or pressure, I am not on any medication now, and if this is how it feels the next few days I won't be using the pain meds they gave me. (I hate taking meds, and I do not want to take pain meds unless I am basically dying).
Going into this whole process, (which minus the application approval is barely a two week total time) I had no idea what to expect. I've had many comments about how awesome it is, and many saying that's crazy they would never. Choosing to do this was just that, MY CHOICE. I am so fascinated by the body, and if I can be brutally honest...knowing that I don't want kids I actually wish I wasn't able to have them if I could somehow ensure someone else aspiring to be a mother could. However, life doesn't work like that and I am one of the lucky ones who is able to conceive. THAT is what sparked this journey. & now seeing the procedure start to finish, I would do it all over again. In fact, I have already asked if that is an option in the next few months once my ovaries calm down. If you're someone who has thought about it, I'd look into it. The discomfort is not bad, and the reward of knowing someone is getting healthy eggs to build their family makes my heart full. I laugh but someone out there is Tinder swiping on my egg donation profile to see if they can have my eggies. That is pretty dope if you ask me.
-Taryn
IG: Taryn_annette
Patreon to support my ventures
Email: Taryn.shaffer@yahoo.com
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