‘I’m 25 and this is why I’m freezing my eggs’

A young woman has revealed why she has made a brave choice at just 25 years old.

At just 25 Libby Wilson has made the decision to freeze her eggs. Picture: Supplied

A Cleveland woman was forced to make the drastic decision to freeze her eggs at only 25 after she received devastating news about her fertility earlier this year.

At 16 years old, Libby Wilson knew something was wrong was her body. It took her nearly 10 years to finally be diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a diagnosis that she described as bittersweet.

“It took me a very long time to get diagnosed. Knowing there was going on with my body and trying to get someone to listen was saddening. It has been so stressful,” she said.

“It presents in so many different ways. In November last year I had a very long cycle where I was abnormally late. It was a bit of a red flag for me.

“One minute you’re crying, you’re happy, you’re frustrated, you’re agitated but the last year I noticed they fluctuate a lot more. That was hard to explain to people.”

This is when Ms Wilson decided to search for answers.

“It was very much a quick ‘you’re diagnosed with PCOS, your AMH levels are this, they’re not fabulous’. I didn’t want to risk leaving it a year because there’s no guarantee that even in a year they’re going to be fine,” she said.

“If I leave it for much longer without having saving my eggs I could go through the process of the quality diminishing. I’m not going through a normal cycle which could cause problems for my ovaries.

Ms Wilson said receiving her PCOS diagnosis was bittersweet. Picture: Supplied

“I would rather put off treatment for PCOS to help my symptoms … my priority is family so having PCOS made me decide that I need to think quite smart about putting them on ice now.”

Ms Wilson had to face another obstacle: figure out a way to afford to freeze her eggs. Her healthcare provider suggested she withdraw her Superannuation early.

“To be able to access my Super I had to get approval from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for a compassionate release. I had to go see a psychiatrist and they wrote a letter about everything I’ve gone through my life. They wanted to see the whole picture of how I was before and how I am after,” she said.

“They get a snapshot and have a bunch of questions they need to answer from the ATO. They give you a form and you send that through with your application to the ATO as well as a fee estimate. We submitted all that and waited.”

She described the process as stressful, but ultimately a relief.

“Knowing that it’s even an option … I wouldn’t be able to do it without my Super. I hope that more people think that they don’t have the finances to do this, if they have enough Super and they go through the right steps they may be able to get some help,” she said.

Ms Wilson said even from a young age she always knew she wanted children.

Ms Wilson said she was over the moon when her application to withdraw her Super was approved. Picture: Supplied

“My biggest fear in life is not being able to fall pregnant or have my own family. I’m still single and waiting for that kind of relationship to come forward … I didn’t want to take the risk,” she said.

“Knowing that I’ve always wanted to be a mum was my biggest motivation for freezing my eggs. If I don’t find a person it takes the pressure off finding somebody. It allows me to go dating without a time crunch.

“I can go about having a family on my own. If I get to 30, 35, it’s an option for me to have a family without a partner.”

Ms Wilson said she has also had to face the possibility of none of the eggs being viable.

“It depends on how well I’ve responded to the medication as to how many they can retrieve. Just because they take 10 doesn’t mean all 10 are healthy,” she said.

“I could go through this whole process and not even get that many. I guess that’s why women go through multiple rounds but I personally can’t afford to do multiple rounds. I’ve taken out a lot of my Super to do this one round.

“I’m hoping that the majority of them will be healthy.”

Ms Wilson plans to undergo the egg retrieval process before the end of the year.

You can follow Ms Wilson’s fertility journey on TikTok.