Journal: Freezing My Eggs in Barcelona

Like many of us women, when I was younger, I assumed I’d have kids by 35, yet here I am freezing my eggs in Barcelona. And I could not be more excited. Because as you probably know, I also wasn’t expecting to still be successfully traveling the world at 35 either.



And it’s not just the fact that I go to extreme, slightly dangerous destinations, and do things like gorilla trekking in D.R. Congo, expeditions to Antarctica, and visiting ex cannibal tribes in Papua New Guinea; but I am thoroughly enjoying the freedom and opportunities of being able to do those things. I want to keep showing people it’s possible to work from anywhere, to go to these allegedly dangerous destinations, and to live your life to the fullest.



I also want to keep waking up whenever I feel like it, only having to worry about feeding myself and my dog, and finally getting to spend my hard earned money on myself before devoting my life to a child.



Anyway, I’ll stop there because I have an entire blog post with my reasons for freezing my eggs, so I’ll just finish this intro by explaining what this post will entail. This is not like my regular guides, it will be more story-telling and journal format. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up turning it into a book so I can reach more women who don’t know about this amazing opportunity (lmk your thoughts on that).



Speaking of your thoughts; this is a subject and process that is very personal, so I’d love your support and love by just a simple comment here or sharing this with a friend or on social media. I wish I would have seen someone do this sooner because I definitely would have done it years ago and saved a lot of time worrying and feeling pressured!



Before I start, if you haven’t read my blog post about how the actual egg freezing in Barcelona process works, you should read that here so the days of the process make sense!



July 17 Day 0: Picking up Meds and Meeting the Fertility Clinic…and realizing my timing might be off



Yesterday was my first meeting with Fertilab, the fertility clinic I’ll be using for freezing my eggs in Barcelona. I’ve been in contact with them via email since February and have done the video consultation with the doctor, so yesterday was just to go meet them and have the meds explained to me. This meeting isn’t necessary in person, you can do it by video call, but since I’m in Barcelona, and documenting the process, I just went in.



Unrelated to egg freezing, it was a bit of a funny morning, and since this is a journal, I’ll go ahead and tell you about it. I had this grand idea that since I love riding motorbikes, I’d rent one of the electric ones they have here via app called Yego. I’m used to riding mine in Tulum, mostly on dirt roads, and so riding in a city didn’t really cross my mind.



Anyway, I got the app working, but of course, couldn’t get the bike off the kickstand (it’s the kind where you have to roll it on and off a stand), and by the time I did, the hair and makeup I did for my videos had all melted off. But I felt successful to finally get going. The next feat was to pick up my best friend Jenny who lives in Barcelona, which would be another hurtle since in the past, any time I’ve tried to put someone on the back, we just fall over. Long story short, I was able to do it (I forgot I’ve only tried this with men and Jenny is very small), so off we went!



By the way; one of the many reasons I chose Barcelona to freeze my eggs, is because I have quite a few friends here. Two girls have frozen their eggs here and gave me a lot of advice and support. And of course Jenny is like an emotional support human, and offered to be with me any part of the way, even if it makes us look like a gay couple trying to have a baby (this is a joke that you’ll hear in a sec).



The first stop was a local pharmacy close to the fertility clinic where the doctors had already called in my prescription for me to pick up. They had also sent it to me by email, and I was going to try to compare pricing in Mexico, France, and Italy, but I honestly was a bit embarrassed to do it, especially alone. While I’m very proud of doing this process, I’m still human and don’t feel like being judged, even though that’s likely all in my head.



We had to ring the bell for them to unlock the door, which means we likely were interrupting the pharmacists siesta time. This prove true when she came out grumpy AF half yelling at us in Spanish about what we needed. I gave her my name and she went to the back, reappearing with four boxes of meds. My first thought was that I was going to have to do four daily injections, which I was confused about, because I thought it was just one injection for ten days (both of which are wrong).



She grumpily scanned the boxes, and then I paid using the wallet on my phone (no one uses actual cards here) and she handed me my receipt, to which Jenny let out a huge gasp.



She said “Did you see how much that costs?!”, and I laughed and was like “Ya girl, it’s like $1k!” to which she said, “I thought it was going to be like $97, not $970!”. All of this made the pharmacist laugh, and then I told her “Estoy pagando mas tiempo” which means, “I’m paying for more time.” She laughed again and told me that’s the truth, and the whole exchange got me some empathy. Instead of shooing us out, she carefully put an ice block in the bag with the meds that need to be kept cold, then handed me everything and said good luck and to have a nice trip.



With two bags full of meds in hands, we walked a few blocks away to Fertilab, where my face did a little cringe at the sight of all the enlarged photos of pregnant women plastered on all the windows. I took it as yet another sign I am making a very good decision to wait on babies.



Inside the office was clean and chic, and I quickly learned that they have a mostly female staff which I personally feel more comfortable with. Oh, and as we were walking up, Jenny snickers and says, “Do you think they’re going to think we’re lesbians coming to have a baby?” To which I told her ‘probably’, since it’s actually something they market catering to on their website, which I think is pretty cool and inclusive.



We met first with the doctor that I did the video call with, who basically just asked if I had any questions. However every question I had, he just told me an assistant or nurse would answer it. I wasn’t sad at all to hear that he was going to be on vacation during my procedure, and I’d be having the female doctor instead. By the way, you can request a female doctor! I should have thought of that since I only go to female gynecologists, so I’m very glad it worked out like this!



He did explain the overview of the medication process, which resulted in me being like, “Sorry, WHAT?” Like I said before, I thought the process was just 10 days of injections, and then extractions.



I was also very confused and had mixed messages about when this starts as well. At one point I was told you can start injections at any time, and that it doesn’t matter when your cycle and period is. Then I was told it needs to start the second day of your period.



Now the doctor was telling me that not only does it need to start on the second day of my period, but the first injection goes in on that day, and then I have to wait 7 days for the next ones. The next injections don’t have a set period of time because they depend on how your follicles (egg sacs) respond to that first injection. So on day 7, you go back to the clinic and get another round of bloodwork and a transvaginal ultrasound (included in the overall price) to see how big they are and how many have come out. The goal of the meds is to get more follicles to come out than normal, so they can take as many eggs out as possible. If there aren’t a lot of follicles, the doctor will increase the dosage of the next medication injection, which means it will take more days. If there are a lot, you will do it for less days. They said it could be between 3-7 days of more injections before they do the retrieval.



So my mind immediately assumed I’d need the max amount of injections and days, and didn’t think of the suffering, just the one way, non-refundable flight I have in a few weeks to Uganda to start my thirty person group trip to see the gorillas.



He looked at the calendar and said calmly that I should be fine…as long as my period is on time…



I tried not to stress, since you know, stress can delay your period, and tried to internally thank my body for being punctual, and kindly ask it to do the same this month. Assuming the max injection days, I only would have two days max of my period being late to make this egg freezing process happen this month. Oh and by the way, it HAS to happen this month, because I won’t have enough visa days left to cover the amount of time it takes when I return from Africa, and then I won’t be able to come back to EU for 6 months. No pressure.



I tried not to think about that tid bit of information as we were taken to a nurse’s office for her to explain all of the boxes of meds. To be honest, I could have attempted this last month/period and had plenty of time, but at the time, taking my first “successful girl European summer” and hopping all over Amalfi Coast, Sicily, and Sardinia for a month just sounded like a way more appealing idea than freezing my eggs. That mentality is yet another reminder of why I HAVE to get this done.



The nurse pulled out all of the boxes and started with the one that needed to be kept on the ice pack. Again, I thought I only needed one medication and one injection for ten days. And in front of me were four different meds.



I’ll be writing this in bullet form or something easier to understand/reference on my main How to Freeze Your Eggs in Barcelona as a Foreigner post, so if it gets confusing just ignore the names.



So the first injection is a medication called ***. This gets injected into your abdomen, and she showed me how to measure three fingers away from your belly button, then squeeze the skin together, and inject in the middle of it. She also said if I don’t want to do it, I can come to the clinic and they will do it, which I actually might do to avoid feeling like I’m purposely torturing myself.



This first medication is just one injection that goes in on the second day of your period, when your follicles start to come out for that cycle. The second day of period is also when you have to get the preliminary ultrasound, which is gross, but is how they see the follicles. Anyway, this medication takes 7 days to work, but again, it’s only ONE injection.



As the doctor said, on day 7, I will come in for bloodwork and an ultrasound, and the doctor will then tell me the verdict of how many days I need to do the next medication called **. There is then the third medication which is slightly confusing, because she said the doctor would tell me if I need to use that one as well. From what I gathered, if the follicles/eggs aren’t large enough, you have to inject this second medication, which means there’s a chance of two injections per day, for 3-7 days. Can’t wait.



The final medication is what prevents ovulation…I think. To be honest, my ADHD started to kick in after she said they were going to just tell me what to do next at the next appointment. Luckily Jenny does not have ADHD and is highly organized, and made me write on the medication boxes when each of them needs be taken, and if they need to be cold or not. Yay for good friends.



Jenny also went ahead and asked if drinking is allowed during the process, since we have heard mixed answers, and she also wants me to be able to go out while I’m in town (haha). The nurse said it isn’t really recommended, not because it has an effect on the eggs, but because the meds will likely make you feel sick. I told Jenny to limit me to max 2 drinks if we go out and she of course said, “Ok, how big can the glass be?”



The last topic was very interesting, and something I was already thinking of in regards to avoiding it; NO SEX. I had told Jenny earlier that I’m not allowed meeting any of the very cute guys in Barcelona this month because if they even come close to me I’ll get pregnant. The nurse confirmed this, but worse; she basically said it would be possible to have multiple pregnancies. Can you imagine?! The meds make twenty usable eggs pop up then thousands of sperm attack them and you end up with a litter of babies?! #nothanks. Abstinence for me this month.



By the way, I’m not sure if I mentioned it anywhere, pretty sure I didn’t, but contrary to what most people think, just because I am often traveling solo, does not mean that I’m completely single. And also, I am not freezing my eggs because I “can’t find a guy who wants to have a baby”, it is actually the exact opposite…



My last boyfriend (the Colombian) basically demanded a baby ever since we started dating, and was actually trying for it. Luckily he knows absolutely nothing about the female reproductive system, so I simply avoided him on my ovulation days, but I felt a lot of pressure from him to have one. Luckily I didn’t though because he’s toxic AF and being stuck with him forever would be devastating to my extraordinary life.



Now, I am very cautiously dating a guy from Madrid who I met in Tulum. He’s extremely kind and caring; he even waters my plants in my apartment while I’m not there and is storing my motorbike in his garage. BUT we have only been dating a couple of months and he already has said he wants to marry me and have a baby. Luckily he also said “when I’m ready”, which makes me feel really good, because it’s like I have the option to have one now if I really want to, and I can decide with clarity if I do or if I don’t. So it’s not a concern of “when will I find someone”, because I have someone (and to be honest, with the men I’ve been meeting lately the options seem to be increasing), but that last statement in the parenthesis should give you a hint to one of the many reasons why I’m deciding to keep waiting. If you didn’t get the hint, it’s that I’m not fully sure if my current guy is the one, and as much as I’d love to selfishly take the ease of settling with someone who ticks the boxes of what I need, I’m just not sure yet if he has what I want . But, we’re also going traveling together in Spain after my Africa trips, so I’ll keep you updated, and will also keep him away from my ovaries.



Ok so that may be a little TMI, but if you’ve read my book, you’ll know that when I really write, I write it all. Especially since a lot of things I do not show on social media.



Oh there’s more. It doesn’t have to do with men though, it has to do with how good I’ve gotten at my job. My job is one of the main reasons I’m delaying babies. I’ve spent nine years building my brand as a travel blogger/influencer/figure/author/group trip company, and I don’t give myself enough credit, so I’ll go ahead and brag here. I’m basically so established and so good at properly marketing my clients through collabs, that I can get almost anything I want as a collaboration in exchange for marketing. You can probably guess where I’m going with this.



Initially I was fully prepared to pay the low price for my egg freezing in Barcelona. These days a couple thousand dollars for something important to my health and life is nothing. But then the boss lady brain of mine went and emailed the clinic asking if they had a referral program where I could earn a commission if I post about my procedure and people book it through my link. I knew other women would be interested, and if you’re reading this, I’m not wrong. They came back and said they’d never done it before but could look into it, but then they went ahead and also asked if I’d be interested in doing a standard collaboration, where my procedure would be free in exchange for posting about it.



Since I was going to post about it anyway, this seemed like a great deal for both of us, and I gladly accepted. So basically, my main reason for freezing my eggs has gotten me my eggs frozen for free, and that’s the universe telling me I am definitely making the right decision! (Just to note, I am still paying for all travel, accommodation, medications, and the preliminary bloodwork).



So now it’s Friday, we already went out last night with a bunch of friends, and I’m planning to do as much and drink as much as possible this weekend before I start the meds next week….HOPEFULLY on Wednesday…



Next up I will share how the injection went, and the reaction my body has to the first medication!



July 24: When My Period Was SUPPOSED To Start



Right now I am trying not to think about my period starting…or lack thereof, but wait yes I am because I’m sitting here writing about it. Anyway. My period has started exactly on the 24th for the last few months, but of course it has decided to postpone the one time I need it to be on time.



Again, this is problematic because the medication must be started on the second day of your period, and then you have 10-15 days of meds before the extraction. And my flight to Uganda is on August 15th. Which means I have just a few days of wiggle room.



Manifesting that it comes by EOD.



July 26th: Still No Period & Spanish Press Interview



Wellp, so far nothing is going according to plan yet. My period is now 3 days behind which is of course stressing me out. I was also not supposed to meet any men, yet here I am about to go on a second date with a very handsome man who dropped that he wants marriage and babies on date uno.



I’ll have to casually mention to him today that I’m planning on starting my egg freezing meds soon, which means no more wine and dine dates, and definitely no sex. I’m sure he’ll pass on that quite quickly, and I’m not sad about it since I really need to keep men away from my ovaries right now.



Anyway, Fertilab asked if I would do an interview with the Spanish Press today about being a foreigner who came to Barcelona to freeze their eggs. It was supposed to be perfect timing where i’d go to the clinic for the interview and then have the nurse do my injection, but of course I’m still waiting!



I mentioned in the interview that something for visitors to consider if they want to do this is that their period might also not be on time. I asked if that’s why I heard it’s suggested to start birth control before the process, and the doctor said yes; so that you can literally plan exactly when your period will come. Oops. Well at least now you all know for future reference!



The interview asked questions like why I chose Barcelona for the procedure, what I thought of the healthcare here VS USA, and if I thought the ease of the process would entice more women to eventually have families in Spain. I said the obvious reason is because it’s nearly half the price to freeze your eggs in Barcelona than USA, and also because I consider this one of my homes.



Which got me thinking, that I really would consider living here as my primary base in a few years when I decide to unfreeze my eggs. So, right after I finish this, I shall resume my real estate hunting here! Even though I won’t even have time to do the 6 month digital nomad visa process for another two years thanks to my fully booked work-travel schedule! But overall, I feel like I’m getting a glimpse at what kind of timeline and future the universe has in store for me. And I am liking it mucho.



July 27: THE PERIOD HAS ARRIVED!!



Early this morning I was having one of my usual lucid dreams (I have chronic lucid dreaming every night by the way), and in it someone asked if I got my period yet, and I said no. In the dream I was super stressed out, way more than I am in real life, and I actually woke up with hives on my abdomen because of it. Yes, my dreams are so realistic that they cause my physical body to react sometimes.



Luckily though as I said, I’m not as stressed in real life, and my body rewarded me by finally shedding the dead uterus lining of the last menstrual cycle, and giving me the green light to start the first injection tomorrow! That means I’ll have more than enough time to complete the egg freezing process before my flight to Uganda on August 15th!



I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to get my period! Well, besides a few times last year when I was dating the toxic Colombian guy who was actively trying to get me pregnant for about 8 months. Thank god some men have no idea how the fertility window works.



Anyway, I used my menstrual cup like always and carried on back to work. By the way, if you haven’t tried a menstrual cup, it is one of the things I highly recommend, not only as a traveler, but as an environmental protection advocate. I’ve been using the same cup (easily sterilized in boiling water) for a couple of years, which means I’ve saved probably thousands of dollars on not buying tampons, plus have eliminated tons of waste! Check out my blog post about them and try them out!



Today I’ll definitely be popping a bottle of Rose Cava and heading to watch the Barbie movie with my girls in Barcelona to celebrate!



Oh, and as for the date. LOL. He first sent a minute long voicenote explaining that he needed to postpone because he was so tired since he stayed out until 3am the night before (red flag 1), and then the cloudy weather was making him feel tired (red flag 2), but wanted to do something the next day. I said I had movie plans and to feel better, and a few hours later…he texted asking if I wanted to meet him at a swanky bar for a drink (red flag 3). It was too many red flags for me, especially from a guy in his 40’s, and I’m definitely not trying to deal with all that drama while pumping my body full of excess hormones, so I’ll definitely be archiving that one for at least 2 months!



Instead, I am making chill yet fun plans with my girl friends for the weekend (who all know about my meds starting so they know not to entice me with endless wine and cava), and next week I am scheduling apartment showings, spa sessions, new dog parks to visit, and who knows, maybe I’ll finally resume writing my second book! The post Journal: Freezing My Eggs in Barcelona first appeared on My Life's a Movie . The post Journal: Freezing My Eggs in Barcelona appeared first on My Life's a Movie .