Egg donation... then your own pregnancy?

kerif8

Hi all... this is my first post, but I've been lurking for awhile, learning the ropes. I tried to use the search feature, and went back a few pages, but couldn't find a thread on this.

 I just am looking for some uplifting stories! Has anyone donated their own eggs, and then successfully gotten pregnant later? 

I donated my eggs at age 20 to a family member and have been on birth control since age 15. I am now 29, have been off all hormones for over a year and a half, and I still feel like my cycle is abnormal. I'm trying to give it sometime, and I will visit the doc to get the lay of the land... but right now, in this moment of bumming out, I'm just hopeful for some uplifting stories about how anyone donated their eggs and had their own bundle of love later  

TIA!

DebateThis

What do you mean that your cycle is abnormal?

Egg donation does not generally impact fertility down the road. There are exceptions, of course, but you would know if you were an exception - severe OHSS and ovarian torsion are the big ones for stimulated donor cycles and they would have shown up immediately.

Also, thank you for being a donor. Your gift to your family member probably means more than they will ever be able to put into words.

eevieemariee

I don't have any info on egg donation... I just wanted to say how kind that was of you! And welcome! May your stay be short and sweet!

lebradford

I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but here I go.

First of all, like @DebateThis‌ said, egg donation is generally safe and not typically damaging to your own fertility.

I had a son when I was 17. I was on birth control for a really long time. Somewhere in there I was selected as an egg donor (but the donation never went through). Now I'm TTC again and having trouble. If I had donated, I might have thought my current infertility was related to egg donation, when in fact it would have been a coincidence, and I'm just experiencing random secondary infertility. My point is, your irregular cycles could very well be a fluke.

With that said, I'm sorry your cycles are irregular now. I think what you did for your family member is really amazing. Good luck!

brettanomyces

A friend of mine donated her eggs and then went on to have a healthy pregnancy of her own a few years later. 

kerif8

Thank you for all the supportive words, ladies 2 beautiful precious babes came from that experience, that I know of. They donated the remainder of the embryos and I'm incredibly hopeful another family was blessed as a result! 

I have read the research that says there should be no issues, but I also feel that there really hasn't been enough time since egg retrieval started for research to really know how it impacts our bodies. That was such a short period of time in my life though, and I think if I have issues that are taking my body a long time to adjust from, it's probably BC. I was on the pill most of that time, but did have short periods of time on the patch - which made my crazy even crazier

To answer the question about what I mean as "abnormal" -- I really started tracking and paying attention in January, and was off the pill for a year at that time. My cycle has run anywhere from 21-28 days and I start spotting around 6-10dpo. I worry about luteal phase and possibly progesterone issues. I've been using internet cheapie OPKS, but have really sucked at consistently temping so I can't say for sure whether I have actually ovulated, so that is my goal this month. 

Really, I am a worrier by nature but the logical part of me is usually able to self-talk through the crazy most days  Some days, like the other day, I just needed to know someone else had success after egg retrieval... so thank you for that AND for the additional encouraging words you all lent me. 

galv0515

I donated my eggs 4x in a two year span was over stimulated 2 out of the four times. I too was on the pill since I was 15 ( with the exception of the retrieval cycles) and am now 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I was worried that the donation may cause some issues when ttc, but other than the time it took to regulate my cycles after the pill, I haven't had any problems. Hope tht helps to put your mind at ease a bit . Good luck!!!

kerif8

galv0515 said:

I donated my eggs 4x in a two year span was over stimulated 2 out of the four times. I too was on the pill since I was 15 ( with the exception of the retrieval cycles) and am now 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I was worried that the donation may cause some issues when ttc, but other than the time it took to regulate my cycles after the pill, I haven't had any problems. Hope tht helps to put your mind at ease a bit . Good luck!!!

If I could hug you through the computer, I would. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Can I ask how old you are now? I was overstimulated the one and only time I did it. I can't believe you gave this gift 4 times. You are such a blessing.

sschwege

I've never donated, but I had a friend who donated 3 times.  She just had her first a few weeks ago.  

Also wanted to say that B6 supplements may help to lengthen your LP.  I tried that when I was TTC with my first and it seemed to help:

https://natural-fertility-info.com/luteal-phase-defect.html

kerif8

Thank you @sschwege -- I actually started taking Rainbow Light prenatals in January, and I credit that for the fact that it feels like my period gets more towards normal each cycle since. I'll read your article and see how much more B6 I might be able to add in addition to the prenatal to help.