Last Friday I went in for my Hysterosalpingogram or more easily described as the dreaded HSG test. This test is performed by inserting a catheter type tube into your uterus and injecting contrast (dye) into your uterus and fallopian tubes to check for blockages and any other abnormalities using X-Rays. While all the medical personnel I spoke with said it wasn’t painful and that it feels like a normal pelvic exam, this was FAR from the truth. It was incredibly painful, scary and it is nothing I ever want to do again. The cramping itself only lasted about 15 minutes while the procedure was being done, but it was the worst cramps I have ever experienced.
I am really lucky to have Annie as my friend and support. She came with me to the procedure, since Mike had to work, and it was so wonderful to have her there and hold my hand. Mike and I even talked about how it was better she was there than him because she was such an amazing support. She is a big part of the reason I was able to get through the pain, asked questions I never would have thought to ask, and remembered everything I couldn’t focus on after the test. The PA allowed me to look at the X-Rays right away and was initially concerned that I may have a bicornuate uterus (heart-shaped), which is a uterine malformation where two “horns” form at the upper part of the uterus.
Picture of a "normal" uterus
Picture of MineNotice the Heart Shape
This is concerning because it can cause miscarriages, pre-term birth and most babies born from one are breech and require a cesarean. There is also only a 60% chance of delivering a live baby due to the high-risk of the pregnancy. This scared me because I was worried I was doing Clomid and my body wasn’t allowing an egg to implant and I was either going to have to skip straight to In-Vitro or was going to be told I couldn’t conceive. Annie helped me sort through my emotions after learning I could have a bicornuate uterus and helped me stay calm after hearing those results. Having her in my life has been huge in maintaining a positive attitude and getting through all of these setbacks and I don’t know how I became so blessed to call her my friend. She truly is incredible!
While I knew something was wrong with my uterine cavity, I didn’t want to freak out too much until I talked to Dr. Terry. I wasn’t positive it was bicornuate and I didn’t want to stress myself more than necessary during our “trying” time. The results weren’t ready for 48 hours and Dr. Terry was out until yesterday, so I tried to keep as much of a positive attitude as possible until he could go over the results.
I finally talked to his nurse last night and she diagnosed me with an arcuate uterus, which is still an abnormality, but not as severe. It can still cause miscarriages, contribute to infertility and cause pre-term labor, but the risks aren’t as high. Dr. Terry was confident I could still get pregnant and this wouldn’t factor into my fertility too much. He wants me to do one more round of Clomid and if I am not pregnant after Mexico, we will begin Artificial Insemination and Follicle testing.
While these aren’t the best results, they could be much worse and I am glad me and Dr. Terry are on the same page about the next steps in my fertility journey. I look forward to enjoying our time in Mexico and hopefully coming home with a Baby Ricci. If not, I am glad there is a new option in our near future. Now onto another few weeks of waiting and another month of being a pincushion!
7 comments:
I've got the same thing. I've had 2 very wonderful pregnancy and only 1 miscarriage that happened before I even knew I was pregnant. Keep your chin up. It took us 4 long years to get Piper, but she is worth every moment. I hate that we are starting the 'infertility' process all over again. Good luck on the news tonight. We'll be sure to watch.
You are lucky indeed to have such a good friend. I had to do that test all on my own. Talk about nerve-wracking! I sure wish we could watch you tonight but we don't even have bunny ears on our TV. I'm very excited for you though I'm sure it will open up lots of new possibilities. Lori I didn't know you're trying again! :)
I just had an appointment with an RE for the first time last week due to having 3 miscarriages in a row. My sister in law and brother have been trying for six years, with no success, until now. They did four rounds of clomid and 4 IUI's and progesterone. They are now pregnant! There is hope!
I tried for 5 years before our first round of IVF resulted in a live birth. We tried everything leading up to IVF. I know have one son who just turned 8 and a set of twins who just turned 6. I'd really love to have another child but I just don't have the money to do another round of IVF so we are hoping to an exception and conceive naturally. Good luck with your treatments. You seem to have a good support system. I looked long and far for support before turning to online support groups because when I was first trying there just wasn't support locally.
I saw you on the news and saw something about abnormal uterus so I had to come look at your blog.
I have a unicornuate uterus. It is rare to find others with uterine abnormalities in the infertility world, it is usually people with PCOS and endometriosis. Anyway, I'm glad that you don't have a bicornuate, and that your risks are smaller than you thought they would be. I have similar risks with my uterus. I only have 1 horn, not two. My husband and I tried for about 2 years. We tried clomid, artificial, I had surgery and then we decided to apply for adoption. I now have 2 babies 10 months apart, both adopted. Anyway, I know when I was going through infertility I liked hearing storis of people who got pregnant, so I hope my story isn't dis-heartening to you at all, we may try again in the future, adoption just happened to be right for us at the time. I think if we would've tried longer it would've happened, but my babies were coming to us a different way, and FAST, so I think that is why all of a sudden our hearts changed to adoption, plus I was exhausted. I'm sure things will work out soon for you! Keep getting through month by month, and don't give up on your dream of motherhood, it is worth all the pain in getting there. Artificial is not painful, a little awkward, but hey, what isn't awkward when it comes to fertility treatments and testing!!! Good luck, hopefully the clomid works! My blog is private, but if you want an invite email me at utkira at yahoo dot com.
I also just saw you on the news and felt compelled to write to you. My husband and I tried for 10 years to get pregnant. I had at least 10 miscarriages, tried IUI more times than I can count, and did in vitro twice. None of this worked. We adopted a little girl in 2002 and to our surprise we were pregnant(without any help!) and delivered a healthy boy in 2005. After the doctor saying he was a miracle, 14 months later we had another miracle in a little girl also born healthy. I just wanted to say that I understand where you are and I have been there and the feelings you have are so appropriate. I truly hope you have the wonderful outcome I did, both in the incredible feeling of adopting a child and also in carrying one. I wouldn't trade my 10 years of struggle for anything! Stay positive and visit my blog at utahwarehouse.blogspot.com
I saw you on the news last night and wanted to check out your blog. My husband and I have struggled with infertility for 10 years. We tried for 4 years with nothing. We did clomid, HSG test, genetic testing and then we proceeded to IUI with hormone injections. We had a sucessful pregnancy from IUI. We tried for 3 years after that having another child that kept resulting in miscarriages. I finally called my doctor in California who we had a successful pregnancy with and he helped us go through another round of IUI with hormone injections. My body wasn't responding like the first and he said I probably wouldn't get pregnant. We keep praying and trying and to our surprise we were pregnant with triplets. We have embraced our trial and blessing and love to share our story. We wish you the best of luck through the ups and downs. I know exactly how you feel witht he frustration. Good luck and I hope this all works out for you.
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