The Results

So unlike most people when they get an HSG done, we had to wait 3 weeks to get our results. Usually you are told the results right away by the doctor doing the procedure. This particular doctor didn't really say anything. And so we had to wait for my doctor to get the report from him.

When the time finally came, we traveled down to where our fertility doctor's office is so that we could get the results. We got to the appointment and went back into my doctor's office. She chatted with us for a bit getting caught up since we had last seen her about a year and a half ago. She asked what they did for Randy and we told her that he'd had surgery and that they had recommended we return back to her after his results weren't improving as much as they had hoped. (Although they had improved quite a bit.)

After getting all caught up, she opened up the report in order to read us what the HSG doctor had said. As she was doing this she told us she honestly didn't understand them herself. He had said that there was a small amount of contrast in my right tube but no evidence of it flowing out into my ovary, and that my left tube only had a small amount of contrast right at the very beginning of the tube and none in it or flowing out. My fertility doctor said that she thought that he had done the procedure wrong somehow and pretty much told us that these results were inconclusive.

She then went over our options. We could attempt an IUI cycle with no medication, an IUI cycle with medication, or go straight to IVF. If we did an IUI cycle she said she would want me to have another HSG done just to double check to see if my tubes were actually open and that the HSG doctor I went to had actually done something wrong. If they were truly blocked they would put the money we had already paid for the IUI towards IVF. She said that before we made any decision that we should have our hormones all tested again, since it had been two years since we were last tested, and have Randy do another Semen Analysis. We agreed. So Randy and I went and had our blood drawn and Randy got his semen analysis done. Then the waiting began again.

After the appointment was over we went and filled in Randy's grandma on how things went. When I finally got Randy to stop talking so we could go, we went and got in the car and headed somewhere to get some lunch. On the way there I had a complete melt-down. I could not stop crying no matter how hard I tried. I just wanted to go home and curl up with my fur kids. I knew that the HSG doctor hadn't messed up. He had tried all he could to get the contrast through my tubes. I think the knowledge came as a shock and also as a relief. We finally knew the whole story. I was also kicking myself for not getting a repeat HSG sooner. If I had done it before Randy had had surgery I could have saved ourselves some money as well as saved Randy some pain. It took half the drive to Randy's parents house for me to calm myself down. I honestly didn't really want to see anyone else but I knew we needed to fill all our family in on how the appointment went. And that's just what we did, and I managed to keep myself together both times.

On our long drive home, Randy and I knew that we had a big decision to make. Should we attempt an IUI with an HSG that same cycle? Or should we go straight to IVF? There were pros and cons to both.An IUI is definitely cheaper, though I honestly wasn't sure if I was up to doing another HSG, that thing was PAINFUL. I knew IVF would be painful too, since I'd have to give myself shots every day and that instead of growing one egg I'd be growing multiple. We talked over all the different pros and cons and by the end of our drive we were actually leaning towards IVF.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to get the blood and semen analysis results. We got a call from my fertility doctor the next day. She told me that I passed all my blood tests with flying colors. Which is awesome! But that wasn't what we were worried about. She then told me the results for Randy's semen analysis. His numbers had dropped down to lower than pre-surgery levels. They wanted them to at least be 5 million motile sperm in order to do an IUI, his were 600,000 motile sperm. Giving us a 0%-2% chance of us conceiving with the assistance of an IUI. (0% if my tubes are truly blocked, and 1%-2% chance if they were open).

This immediately made our decision for us. The only way we will be able to get pregnant is through IVF. So we are going to begin the process of IVF starting this next month (July). We will first be having a few consults to go over pricing and what the whole procedure will entail. Then we will make a decision on when to do IVF. As of right now this depends on how those consults all go, I plan on documenting the whole thing as we go through the process so that others who find themselves in a similar situation can know what to expect.

I am so grateful to everyone who has been following our story and who has been continuously praying for us! You have no idea how much that means to us and we can definitely feel those prayers at work. We ask that you continue to pray for us and that we will have success when we do IVF.

Til next time!
Becca

Another HSG

After giving Randy's surgery a few months to see if we would be able to get pregnant naturally, without success, we decided it was time for the next step. We weren't exactly sure what that next step should be, and so we began contemplating. We talked about me going to have surgery to remove my endometriosis and then trying another IUI. And we talked about continuing to try on our own.

It wasn't until we opened up to some of our friends about these contemplations that they reminded us that we had wanted to do another HSG. Since my last one was unsuccessful. As soon as they reminded us of this the spirit confirmed to us that this was exactly what our next step should be.

Luckily for us. The day they reminded us about getting an HSG done, was actually day 1 of my cycle. So it being late at night, I proceeded to call my fertility doctor the next day in order to get an outside order prescribed for me to get an HSG done at our hospital. Once that was done, I then called our hospital and made the appointment for the HSG.

The day for the HSG finally came and we drove to the outpatient radiology building. We get there and get all checked in and then we waited for about 20 minutes before finally being called back. I changed into the hospital gown and went into the room where the assistant was waiting to go over everything with us. As she began she asked if I had taken and gotten a negative pregnancy test that morning. I was like no... I didn't know I was supposed to take one. So they sent us home to take one and told us if it was negative to come back, if it was positive to stay home.

I changed back into my clothes, drove the 10 minutes home, took a pregnancy test, waited the 5 minutes, saw it was negative (surprise, surprise), and drove back.

When we got back to the hospital we were able to immediately go back. I changed back into the hospital gown and then went into the room where the assistant went over everything. Once she was done she went and got the doctor. He went over the procedure in detail, telling us exactly what was going to happen. We already knew all this from when we had attempted the last HSG. Then they proceeded to do the procedure.

This is not my HSG! It is an example of possible results!

Let me just tell you. HSG's are NOT FUN! They are painful!! What they do is insert a catheter that has a sort of balloon on it. This balloon they blow up in order to expand the uterus. Once that is done they then inject iodine into the uterus to check to see if the fallopian tubes are open.

Usually the most painful part is the balloon being blown up. Which it was for me, until I was asked to turn onto my left side, and they injected more iodine in, which put even more pressure on my already expanded uterus. Luckily that part was fairly quick and then the procedure was done.

As of right now I do not know my results. We didn't even think about taking a picture of the x-ray at the time. I do go in to see my fertility doctor in a couple weeks to go over them. I am preparing myself for the worst. With endometriosis there is a higher likelihood that one or both tubes is blocked. Especially since I was asked to roll onto one side. I know they only do this when they're trying to get fluid to go through.

I will update with the results once I have them!

Till next time!
Becca